According to statistics from the General Customs Department, as of December 15 Việt Nam had imported a total 13 million tonnes of coal worth US$860 million during the year, more than four times the targeted 3 million tonnes.

Sugar output in the 2015-16 crop was 1.23 million tonnes, a year-on-year drop of 12.7 percent, said Phạm Quốc Doanh, Chairman of the Việt Nam Sugarcane and Sugar Association, at a seminar in HCM City last week of sugar producers, distributors and consumers.

HCM City hopes to incorporate 50,000 new companies this year so that there are 500,000 operational ones by 2020, the chairman of the city People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, has said.

The central city of Đà Nẵng should develop as a unique smart city and a competitive global centre of tourism and services, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said at a meeting to mark the 20^th anniversary of Đà Nẵng’s autonomous status directly under the central government.

Vietnamese shares may advance in 2017, analysts say, cautioning that market conditions can get volatile with international events of 2016 continuing to exert unpredictable impacts on Việt Nam.

Bank stocks are expected to stage a comeback this year after experiencing one of its worst performing years in 2016, driven by cheap valuation as well as positive growth forecast.

The price of several kinds of lumber in Việt Nam had gone up due to scarcity created by unexpected Chinese purchases, creating pressure on the domestic wood business and Việt Nam’s wood industry.

Commercial banks in HCM City saw record credit growth of 18 per cent in 2016, according to the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV).

The Tiên Sa Port in Đà Nẵng welcomed the Panamanian-flagged Bundi Ipasa on Sunday, the first cargo ship to dock in the biggest port in central Viet Nam this year.