Dazzling crystal cloud display in Yen Bai marks Uncle Ho’s birthdayVisitors to La Pan Tan commune, Mu Cang Chai district, the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai will be dazzled by a garden of crystal clouds which is set up to mark the 128th birthday of the late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19). The display is the first of its kind in Vietnam and the second in the world, following the Crystal Cloud garden created by artists Andy Cao and Xavier Perrot at Swarovski Crystal World in Australia. Vu Van Duc, Chairman of the Mu Cang Chai district People’s Committee, said the crystal cloud installation honours handicrafts of the Mong ethnic minority group in the district, while promoting local tourism. Terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai are beautiful all year round. During the harvest in October, the golden rice fields stand out amidst green forests.-VNA

worth of G-bonds raised so far this yearThe State Treasury of Vietnam has mobilised over 56 trillion VND (2.46 billion USD) through Government bond auctions in the Hanoi Stock Exchange since the beginning of this year. At this auction, a total of 3.98 trillion VND (147.9 million USD) was raised. A total of 1.9 trillion VND (83.5 million USD) worth of 10-year bonds was sold at two separate auctions, with an interest rate of 4.23 percent per year. Meanwhile, 1.58 trillion VND (69.4 million USD) was mobilised at two 15-year bond auctions wit an interest rate of 4.58 percent a year. G-bonds worth 159.9 trillion VND (7.03 billion USD) and having an average maturity of 13.52 years, up 4.81 years against 2016, were issued last year.

Project on Bio-technology Institute gets PM’s approvalThe Bio-technology Institute under the Hue University in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue will be developed into one of the three national bio-technology centres on a par with ASEAN level under a project just approved by the Prime Minister. Four laboratories for genetic, enzyme and protein, micro-organism and fermentation, and stem cell technologies will be completed and put into operation. By 2025, the institute is envisioned to become one of the three national bio-technology centres on a par with ASEAN level. The project will also build mechanisms and policies to support the research of genetic modification technologies for application in socio-economic development. A scientific-technological service centre will be established for the transfer of bio-technology in the central region.-VNA

Transport minister: no more delays at Cat Linh-Ha Dong metroThe railway projects' management board, general contractor, and relevant units have to ensure that the Cat Linh-Hadong elevated urban railway—the first project of its kind in Vietnam—will be put into trial operation in October 2018, said Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The. Minister The at the operation control centreOn May 12, the minister made a fact-finding trip to the construction site to check the progress of the operation control centre (OCC), depot, as well as monitoring areas at Thuong Dinh and Cat Linh stations. "The Cat Linh-Hadong elevated urban railway is the symbol of the friendship between Vietnam and China. Vu Hong Phuong, deputy head of the board, said that in April and early May 2018, the project saw huge progress in construction. Regarding equipment purchase and installation, Phuong said that 90 per cent of all equipment and materials are available at the construction site and 76 per cent of the equipment is already installed.

FDI highlighted as key driving force of the economyThe Vietnamese government have re-affirmed the great contributions that foreign direct investment (FDI) has made to the Vietnamese economy in the past three decades, stressing that this type of capital will continue being vital to the country. “FDI has been playing a crucial role in Vietnam’s growth over the past 30 years as a big trailblazer for the economy. FDI can be likened to a bee that has been both sucking honey and pollinating the economy,” the minister stressed. High-quality FDI will be prioritised in attraction.”According to Minister Dung, currently, FDI has been positively changing the economy. Specifically, it has contributed 12-25 per cent of Vietnam’s total development capital in 1991-2017.

Ha Giang Province’s proposal to build administrative centre turned downThe Ministry of Planning and Investment has rejected the northern province of Ha Giang’s proposal to build a new administrative centre. The current headquater of Ha Giang Province People's CommitteeUnder the proposal sent to the government, the province proposes to build a new administrative centre for provincial agencies. According to the province, offices for local agencies, which were built in the 1990-1991 period, were scattered throughout different wards. The centre will have offices for all agencies and departments of the province. According to the ministry, VND8.8 trillion (USD400 million) of the state budget for the 2016-2020 period has been allocated to Ha Giang Province.

HCMC: Bar waitresses dress provocatively to serve foreignersMany waitresses at a bar in Ho Chi Minh City were found to dress in a provocative way while dancing to serve a group of South Korean men. The waitresses were found to dress in a provocative way while dancing to serve group of South Korean men. The bar is located at Tan Quy Ward, District 7. When the police rushed into the room, the women immediately gathered their clothes with them and ran into the restroom. On the same day, the police also inspected another bar named Feeling on Au Co Street, Tan Binh District.

Japanese enterprises pay regular salary increasesThe salaries and bonuses paid at Japanese enterprises in Vietnam are regular and stable, according to the latest report from Navigos entitled “Recruitment and Corporate Culture at Japanese Enterprises”, released on May 16. Annual salary increases are common at Japanese enterprises, with 86 per cent of recruiters revealing their enterprise does so. But few Japanese enterprises offer high increases, with just 2 per cent providing 20 per cent and 23 per cent providing 15 per cent. Seventeen per cent, meanwhile, said two month’s salary is paid, and 4 per cent said three month’s salary is paid. This opinion is held by 70 per cent of Vietnamese recruiters and 50 per cent of Japanese recruiters.

Young fencers vie for national titlesThe National Youth Fencing Championship opened on Wednesday in Bac Ninh Province with the participation of more than 100 athletes from seven cities and provinces. The National Youth Fencing Championships are ongoing in Bac Ninh Province. According to Phung Le Quang, head of the Fencing Department of the National Sports Administration, the annual tournament gives a chance to young athletes to sharpen their skills and showcase their abilities. The department’s scouts will keep a lookout for talented athletes who will be selected for the national teams. Viet Nam are a strong fencing squad in the region.

Convenience stores gear up for network competitionVietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese and foreign convenience stores are rushing to open more shops, use more technologies and provide more services in the retail market. Retailers are rushing to open more convenience storesIn late March, Satra opened its 170th shop into operation in district 2, HCM City. Within the first three months of 2018, Satra opened 13 Satrafood shops and plans to open another 60 shops this year. Vietnamese and foreign convenience stores are rushing to open more shops, use more technologies and provide more services in the retail market. RELATED NEWSRetail stores lose out to convenience storesVietnam’s retail market: convenience stores mushroomMai Thanh

“Street knight” teams keep HCM City neighbourhoods safeVietNamNet Bridge – As a way of respect, many people in HCM City call the men who volunteer to protect them from neighbourhood thieves "knights of the street", an expression that was first used in Binh Duong Province. Although most of the street knights are sincere, some street knights have violated laws and have become criminals. HCM City People’s Court recently tried a case involving a street knight who had gone after a thief and died during the chase. All 91 communes in Thu Dau Mot City in Binh Duong Province have crime-prevention clubs similar to the street knight club in HCM City. Some have suggested that street knights in HCM City could shift to becoming paid members of street guard forces.

Malaysia's Najib Razak has home searched by policeMalaysian police have searched the home of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak, one week after he lost the national election. The new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, previously said he was looking into re-opening corruption investigations against his former ally. Mr Najib denies any wrongdoing. Under the agreement, Mr Mahathir will serve as prime minister for two years, before handing power to Mr Anwar. Mr Najib has consistently denied taking money from 1MDB or any public funds.

Driver shocked to find small child in the middle of the roadA driver was startled when a small child suddenly ran out onto the highway in Nghe An Province. The child had been left unattended while his parents were napping at noon on May 15. According to the driver, Nguyen Trong Hai, it was 1:50 pm and the road was quite empty so many drivers were driving at high speeds. When going through Bong Khe Commune, Con Uong District, he saw a small child crawling on the road and fortunately was able to stop the car in time. It appeared that the parents left the house unsecured and the child crawled out to find his parents.

MSCI adds five Vietnamese stocks to its indexMSCI, a global leading provider of research-based indexes and analytics, has eyes for Vietnamese shares when it added five local shares to its MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Index. MSCI decided to add 18 shares in the MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Index, five of which are Vietnamese shares. — Photo frontiermarketnews.orgIn its semi-annual review released on May 15 (local time), MSCI decided to add 18 shares in the MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Index, five of which are Vietnamese shares. They are Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII), Ho Chi Minh Securities Corp (HCM), The Pan Group (PAN), Van Phu - Invest Investment JSC (VPI) and Vietnam Electrical Equipment JSC (GEX). After this review, the MSCI Frontier Markets Index – the underlying index of the MSCI Frontier Markets Index ETF – will increase to 115, 11 of which are Vietnamese shares, accounting for 14.69 per cent of total weights.

FPT Software floats trial of self-driving carsFPT Software has asked the Ministry of Transport and relevant sectors for permission to operate self-driving autos in hi-tech zones and software parks nationwide on an experimental basis. FPT Software has asked the Ministry of Transport and relevant sectors for permission to operate self-driving autos in hi-tech zones and software parks nationwide on an experimental basis. — Photo chungta.vnFPT said it had studied the self-driving technology from 2016 to October 31, 2017, before announcing the first self-driving vehicle in Viet Nam. The company had been operating trams in central Da Nang City (around F-Complex, FPT Software Da Nang) and self-driving cars around FPT Software HCM City. The self-driving vehicles have a speed of 20-25kmph on an average and can reach up to 40kmph in a straight direction.