VIETNAM TODAY

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched a regional project to enhance the resilience of wetlands in Lower Mekong countries on the occasion of World Wetlands Day (February 2).

The Government will continue efforts to complete institutions in 2017 to facilitate activities of citizens and businesses, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said at a press conference in Hanoi on February 3 following the monthly cabinet meeting.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has set a credit growth target of 18 % for this year and pledged to continue measures to keep credit growth adequate for economic growth.

The Louvre was to reopen in Paris Saturday, 24 hours after a soldier patrolling the museum shot a machete-wielding attacker, believed to be an Egyptian who entered the country on a tourist visa a week ago.

Vietnam will allow betting on international football and horse and greyhound racing according to a newly-issued decree by the government.

BIDV, Vietinbank and Vietcombank are valued at more than $200 million each and are on the list of the top 500 banking brands according Brand Finance.

A couple in the remote mountainous province of Lao Cai is calling for financial support to help treat their five-year-old daughter who is struggling with leukaemia.

Total trade in January was estimated at $29.3 billion. Export turnover was $14.6 billion, down 12 per cent against last month, while import turnover was $14.7 billion, down 13.9 per cent.

Aides to South Korean President Park Geun-hye turned away prosecutors trying to search her official compound on Friday, a confrontation that highlights the high stakes at play as investigators look into a scandal that knocked her from power.

F&N Dairy Investments has registered to purchase 21.77 million shares of Vinamilk in February after acquiring more than 16.5 million shares before the Lunar New Year Festival.

President Tran Dai Quang attended the annual Tich Dien (“Ploughing”) festival in Doi Son Commune, the Red River Delta province of Ha Nam, which hopes for a bumper rice harvest in 2017—the Year of the Rooster.

A street meal and a beer in Vietnam can cost the same as a coffee from Starbucks, travel writers say.

The State Audit Office of Vietnam has proposed USD1.6bn in fines last year, the highest in 22 years, on local businesses for their violations, according to their report to the prime minister.

The Tet holiday period saw 485 delayed and 18 cancelled flights out of 4,781 total flights.

The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) have cabled messages of congratulations to the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) over its 87th founding anniversary (February 3).

The number of foreign visitors to Hanoi through Noi Bai International Airport increased largely during the Tet festival with nearly 49,000 visitors in seven days, the Hanoi Customs Department announced on February 2.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a document requesting ministries and localities to work seriously and avoiding post-Tet indulgences after the holiday.

Vietnam expect to beat Hong Kong for the third time in a row in the first round match of Davis Cup’s Group II, Asia Oceania zone, on Friday.

The Ministry of Finance has unsurprisingly batted away criticism of its ministry-owned computerised lottery in Vietnam, underlining it operates in a totally transparent way and in line with the law.