VIETNAM TODAY

Reuters on December 28 published an article on Vietnam’s “Bamboo diplomacy”, highlighting the country's increasingly dynamic foreign policy approach and its most important diplomatic agreements over the last 12 months.

About 12.6 million international tourists have visited Vietnam this year, a 3.4-fold rise from 2022, surpassing the target of 8 million set earlier, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on December 29.

The headquarters of the HCM City People’s Committee will be opened to welcome visitors during the new year holiday.

Ho Thi Truc Mai was among three first-grade students of the first primary class which has just been opened on Con Co Island District in the central province of Quang Tri.

As many as 10 tonnes of dead animal parts confiscated from a smuggling case have been destroyed in the central province of Quang Nam.

Vietnam’s consumer price index in 2023 is estimated to rise 3.25% year-on-year, meeting the target set by the National Assembly (NA), the General Statistics Office reported on December 29.

The highest bonus for the coming Tet Lunar New Year in Hanoi will be around VND205 million (USD8,471), down from VND400 million last Tet.

Vietnam’s gross domestic product growth rate is estimated at 5.05% in 2023, the General Statistics Office announced on December 29.

The HCM City Department of Tourism and authorities in District 8 will pilot the purchase of all flowers and bonsai that traders are unable to sell during the coming Tet Lunar New Year.

Another pangolin has successfully given birth at the Saigon Zoo in HCM City.

HCM City is making preparations for setting up Nguyen Hue Flower Street to welcome the coming Tet Lunar New Year.

Asian stocks opened cautiously on Friday, largely continuing an end-of-year rally that has been boosted by investors' expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut as early as March.

A rare green turtle weighing around 80 kilos has been rescued after being stranded at a beach in Con Dao District in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The weather in the north will become warmer during the coming New Year holiday, but areas in the central region are forecasted to face rains.

The Prime Minister has signed a telegram, asking for solutions to be introduced to rein in the gold market that has fluctuated sharply in recent times.

Authorities in the northern border province of Cao Bang and China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region announced the upgrade of the Tra Linh (Vietnam) - Longbang (China) border gates on Thursday.

Binh Dinh authorities have announced that they had paid compensation of over VND 43 billion to the investor of Binh Duong Hotel in Quy Nhon City for the hotel's relocation from a local beach.

Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has forecast Vietnam’s growth in the medium term at around 7%, with many favourable signs.

A resettlement area in the central highlands province of Dak Lak has been largely abandoned as the residents, who are mostly farmers, do not have land nearby.