A conference on Vietnam’s performance across three pillars of the ASEAN Community took place in Hanoi on December 26, gathering 100 representatives from ministries and sectors involved in cooperative activities with the bloc.

 Authorities in Quang Ngai have turned down a proposal by Japanese firms to grow Japanese elephant garlic on the local island of Ly Son.

 Head of the Ministry of Finance's Corporate Finance Department Dang Quyet Tien has announced that the government will sell the remaining 36% stake in Sabeco.

 The UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam is holding a programme themed “Welcome the 2018 New Year” from December 24 to January 2.

 The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on December 26 opened a first-instance trial on a terrorism plot targeting Tan Son Nhat International Airport involving 16 suspects.

 General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong has requested the army to maintain its core role in the all-people defence and security.

Chilly weather in northern Vietnam has driven many elderly people and kids into hospitals while temperature in the south also decreased because the cold weather in the north has affected the south.

VietNamNet Bridge - Hotels not only have to compete in the food & beverage sector, a major source of revenue, but also in the restaurant chain and food court market.

 The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to keep Saigon Beer brand name unchanged, said a representative of the Business Finance Department under the Ministry of Finance yesterday.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The first edition of the dance-music fest on picturesque island revealed shortcomings that organisers are determined to avoid; Eizode 2 is set to get feet tapping and hearts thumping, 

Vietnam’s total information and communications technology (ICT) revenues in the year to date have exceeded VND2,136 trillion (US$94 billion), up 9.34% compared to the same period last year.

 The International Football Federation (FIFA) has recognised four Vietnamese referees as meeting its Elite 2018 level, after considering the proposals from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF)’s Referee Committee.

 The Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) has announced the auction of shares in five of its companies, with earnings estimated at more than VND1 trillion ($44.05 million).

The Foreign Investment Agency has announced that disbursement of foreign direct investment had reached a new record for this year as at December 20, of $17.5 billion, up 10.8 per cent year-on-year.

 The number of newly-established enterprises in 2017 was estimated at 153,307, setting a new record against the 110,100 recorded in 2016, according to statistics published by the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Agency for Business Registration.

HCM City residents are increasingly concerned about the number of heavy trucks, construction vehicles and container trucks entering the downtown area during peak hours, affecting the quality of living

VietNamNet Bridge - The M&A deals made in 2017 are expected to have the value of $2 billion, and the same value or higher has been predicted for 2018.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A superhero film coming to cinemas nationwide during the Christmas and New Year season is expected to do well at the box office and possibly surpass earnings of its competitors.

 Vietnam Airlines plans to reduce State ownership to 51 per cent of the charter capital in the next three years.

 More and more investors and large economic groups have shown interest in the Vietnamese market due to the success of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in November.