VIETNAM TODAY

Many businesses were honoured for pioneering science, technology and innovation to create sustainable value at the Vietnam ESG Awards 2025, held in Hanoi on December 22, 2025.

Ho Chi Minh City has approved adjustments to Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh-Tham Luong), extending the route by more than 200 metres to improve network connectivity.

Sky-watchers in Vietnam will have the opportunity to observe the Ursids meteor shower, which will reach its peak on the night of December 22, according to Time and Date.

The ESG Vietnam Forum 2025 opened on December 22, highlighting science, technology and digital transformation as key drivers for ESG implementation and sustainable development in Vietnam.

Authorities in Tay Ninh Province on December 22 held a memorial, funeral and burial ceremony for 183 sets of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia.

Phu Tho Province has approved the conversion of nearly four hectares of forest land to support construction of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant expansion project.

Police in Thanh Hoa Province have detained a woman and her mother for allegedly faking her death in 2020 to fraudulently claim insurance payouts worth more than VND 1.28 billion.

More than 1,000 traffic violations were detected by Hanoi’s AI-powered camera system in its first seven days of operation, with red-light running accounting for the majority, police said.

Vietnam’s supporting industries have made steady gains but still face technological bottlenecks that limit competitiveness and domestic value added.

Ho Chi Minh City has approved a key zoning task for a USD 3.5 billion Malaysia-backed international university project, reviving a long-delayed development in the city’s northwest.

PM Pham Minh Chinh has announced the establishment of an international financial centre in Vietnam, describing it as a turning point that will open the country to financial technology integration.

Two Vietnamese species, the sucker-mouthed fish Supradiscus varidiscus and the bee Habropoda pierwolae, were among over 70 new species identified in 2025 by the American Museum of Natural History.

Vietnam’s total import-export turnover in 2025 is expected to reach a record USD 920 billion, propelling the country into the top 15 global trading economies and second in ASEAN.

Indonesia will not import rice for either consumption or industrial use next year, citing sufficient domestic production, according to a government official.

Northern Vietnam is set to experience two additional cold air surges, bringing rain and lower temperatures from December 21 and again around December 24, according to the national weather agency.

Vietnam has rejected what it described as “biased and inaccurate” assessments contained in a recent update on religious freedom released by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The Asian Development Bank and BIDV have signed a USD 250 million financing package to support climate-resilient agriculture and expand access to credit for women-owned enterprises in Vietnam.

Police in the central province of Quang Tri have seized a shipment of 149 gun components that was being transported illegally to Hanoi.

Hanoi plans to build two additional waste-to-energy plants in Soc Son and Son Tay, with the goal of largely treating all of the city’s household waste by 2028.