Vietnamese shares declined on Thursday as the market reversed quickly at the end of the trading session and especially during the ATC session, dragged down by blue chips in the banking and energy sectors.

Vietnamese startups kicked off the new year by mingling at the 2018 Demo Day Investment Festival (Demo Day) on Thursday, aiming to present themselves to a crowd of potential domestic and foreign investors.

In a newly issued decree, the Government has made an effort to boost border trade quotas and the overall trade situation for Vietnamese residents in the border area between Việt Nam, China, Laos and Cambodia.

Many companies have tried their best to keep goods prices down at a time the customers’ purchasing power is rising and the Ministry announced an increase in fuel prices, with the price of a litre of the E5 ron 92 petrol to increase by VNĐ429 to VNĐ18,672 (US$0.823) on 19 January 2018.

GSO attributed the impressive IIP growth to the fact that domestic firms have concentrated on producing goods to meet increasing demands of local people for the Lunar New Year (Tết) holiday, which will be in February this year, unlike last year when it was in January.

The Việt Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) posted an after-tax profit of nearly VNĐ10.3 trillion (US$452.5 million) last year, an increase of 9 per cent year-on-year.

The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) issued a decree allowing special loans at zero per cent interest rates for credit institutions which were placed under the SBV’s special control.

The Nikkei Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the first month of this year rose to the highest level since April 2017, indicating solid conditions in the manufacturing sector.

The number of patented inventions increased sharply in 2017, according to the National Office of Intellectual Property of Việt Nam.

The Việt Nam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA) on Wednesday officially launched the Sao Khuê Awards 2018.

The Super Wind Energy Công Lý Sóc Trăng Joint Stock Company began building the first wind farm in the Mekong Delta province of Sóc Trăng on Tuesday.

The General Department of Taxation (GDT) announced its 2018 plans and last year’s results yesterday, focusing on implementing revenue management solutions, reducing tax collection losses and managing arrears and value-added tax refunds.

Trần Ngọc Mai of HCM City’s Bình Thạnh District bought two Tết hampers at a supermarket in District 2 to gift her relatives for Lunar New Year, which falls on February 16 this year.

Total revenue from retail trade and services reached VNĐ361 trillion (US$15.84 billion) in January, surging 3 per cent over December and 9.5 per cent over the same month last year.

Việt Nam's woodworking industry has registered significant growth in recent years. The industry earned US$8 billion last year, up from $7.3 billion in 2016. Huỳnh Văn Hạnh, standing deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City, and Nguyễn Chánh Phương, director of Danh Mộc Co., Ltd, speaks to Việt Nam News about all this and more.

The number of workers in the electronics industry is on the rise, and e-businesses will be a critical source of employment in the future. However, up to 80 per cent of such firms say they find it difficult to recruit technicians.

PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) on Wednesday raised almost VNĐ7 trillion (US$311 million) for the Government by selling a 20 per cent stake at the initial public offering (IPO) held at the Hà Nội Stock Exchange.