Rose Park to open in HanoiVietNamNet Bridge – The capital city’s first ever rose park will open soon in Long Bien District, 10km east of the city centre. The first rose park will soon open in capital. Guests will be able to enjoy popular Vietnamese rose species like the Hue ancient red rose, Sa Pa rose, Van Khoi rose, Hai Phong pink rose and Nam Dinh white rose. The park will also play host to hundreds of international rose species from Bulgaria, the UK and France that have been imported from Thailand. The park, located in Dam Tranh, Thach Ban Ward, Long Bien District, will officially open to the public on September 2.

HCM City loses out on cruise tourism without large portsVietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City tourism sector needs to provide better inputs to the Government and improve marketing and promotion to maximise the city’s tourism potential, experts have said. Tourists in downtown HCM City. HCM City has thus missed the chance to attract high-spending cruise passengers, most of them from Europe, who spend an average of $100 a day, she said. City authorities should quickly resolve this problem since large cruise ships would hugely benefit the city’s tourism industry, she added. Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the city Department of Tourism, said ports in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province prefer container ships purely for economic reasons.

Developing 3D printing in VN: priting machines cheap, but materials lackingVietNamNet Bridge - The biggest problem hindering the development of 3D printing in Vietnam is not technology and equipment, but the lack of materials, according to Dr Hoang Xuan Tung from the HCM City University of Science & Technology. 3D printing is used widely in many business fields, from manufacturing and fine arts to healthcare and industrial production. Complex parts in industry such as wind power turbines and aircraft parts can also be made with 3D printing technology. Complex parts in industry such as wind power turbines and aircraft parts can also be made with 3D printing technology. Other types of materials such as ceramics, organic materials and metals have also been used for 3D printing.

Tokyo Medical University apologises for changing female exam scoresOne of Japan's most prestigious medical universities has apologised for tampering with entrance exam scores to limit its intake of female students. The university has apologised for "betraying" the trust of the public -- Photo: REUTERSAn internal investigation found that Tokyo Medical University (TMU) had been manipulating the scores of female applicants from as early as 2006. It also marked down the scores of male applicants who had taken the entrance test at least four times. The university also admitted to adding extra points to the scores of 19 students who had made donations to the school. The newspaper reported that after the two-round application process earlier this year, only 30 female applicants were accepted to study, versus 141 men.

It won’t be easy to lure foreign capital in H2: expertsVietNamNet Bridge - Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) will no longer be the main driver to attract foreign capital to Vietnam in the second half of 2018 as it was in the first six months of the year. The huge foreign capital flow has led to the VN Index rising by 20 percent within the first quarter of 2018. Analysts believe that FPI was the major driving force of the foreign capital flow. They also affirmed that FPI will no longer be the main driver to attract foreign capital in the second half. In Vietnam, foreign investors continued to be net sellers in May, June and the first half of July.

US initiates anti-dumping investigation into VN’s cold rolled steelThe US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the launch of an investigation into the avoidance of paying anti-dumping and anti-subsidy taxes on cold rolled steel (CRS) imported from Vietnam. Illustrative image (Source: vietnambiz.vn)The decision was made based on petitions filed by US businesses on June 12, alleging that the Vietnamese CRS is the same with the product which is under tax levy and produced by hot rolled steel imported from the Republic of Korea (RoK). The DOC will issue the final decision within 300 days since the initiation of the investigation, said the Trade Defence Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade. The agency recommended Vietnamese exporters fully cooperate with the US investigation agencies while closely coordinating with the department during the process.

Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Visitors come in abundance to Ha Long Bay with many opting for cruise tours where you can sleep on board. On the list, Ha Long Bay (Vietnam) is followed by Mt Batur, Bali (Indonesia), Bagan (Myanmar), Pidurangala Rock (Sri Lanka), andChandrashila Parvat (India). Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. In 2017, Quang Ninh welcomed a total of 9.87 million tourists, including 4.28 million foreigners, according to Quang Ninh provincial Department of Tourism.

Manh, however, also mentioned obstacles hindering the Vietnam-Russia economic and trade cooperation, saying that there are no effective mechanisms to promote the potential and strength of each country. The Vietnamese deputy defence minister affirmed the Defence Ministry will create all favourable conditions for Marc Razafindranaly to fulfil his tasks. According to the diplomat, over the four decades, bilateral trade and investment ties have grown considerably, driven by the favourable economic environment. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also offered his sympathies to Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. The city has also hosted many major events of ASEAN like 4th ASEAN Chief Justices’ Meeting, and ASEAN Law Association’s 38th Governing Council Meeting.

But there was one new yogurt that has been a top choice for customers – yogurt with jelly and pandan leaves, which look like gladiola leaves. With over 12,000 online orders on Foody.vn – a popular community where people can search, rate and comment on places to eat in Vietnam – for ‘Yogurt with pandan jelly and black pearl’, over 1,000 orders for ‘Yogurt with pandan jelly, black pearl and mixed fruits’ and over 2,000 orders for ‘Yogurt with pandan jelly, black pearl, mixed fruits and cheese’, as well as hundreds of visit per day, there was definitely something about this tasty kind of yogurt. Nikkie Garcia, a nutritionist, confirms that pandan leaves can be a good treatment for hypertension, weak nerves, joint pain and rheumatism. Boiling two pandan leaves and drinking them before eating can help you increase your appetite,” said Garcia. And with pandan, people have plenty of cooking methods, from sweet soup to cake, from sticky rice to sticky rice ice cream, and from soya bean curd to the amazing cubes of pandan jelly.

Vietnam encounters barriers exporting rice to ChinaVietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s rice export price has unexpectedly surpassed Thailand’s prices, but the good news has been overshadowed by China’s higher import tariff on sticky rice and tighter control over imports. After a tough year in 2017, Vietnam’s rice exports have bounced back since the beginning of 2018, increasing sharply in both quantity and value. However, rice exporters have been warned of difficulties ahead as China unexpectedly raised the import tariff on non-quota sticky rice from 5 percent to 50 percent. Vietnam’s rice exports also bear stricter control by Chinese agencies which have also raised the plant quarantine standards for Vietnam rice exporters. RELATED NEWSBusinesses indifferent to Vietnam’s national rice brandMinistry promises to reduce business barriers for rice exportersNgoc Nga

What’s status of Vietnam’s software industry after two decades of development? VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s software firms are developing steadily with stable revenue growth rate of 50 percent per annum. Vietnam's software industry is developing rapidlyVietnam’s software firms only began learning ‘how to walk’ two decades ago, when China and India had already become the world’s software export centers. However, they just needed a short time to be added to the list of leading software exporters. However, they just needed a short time to be added to the list of leading software exporters.In 2000, FPT took the first steps to export software.

Vietnam’s publishing industry faces new challenges with Amazon entryVietNamNet Bridge - In the digital and artificial intelligence era, orthodox publishing groups no longer play the key role in the world’s publishing industry. VPA’s deputy chair Le Hoang also said the 4.0 industry revolution will be associated with cutthroat competition. The day when Amazon arrives in Vietnam and competes with Vietnamese publishers is near, which will be a big threat to Vietnamese publishers. In addition, the 4.0 industry revolution will also empower the role of e-books in comparison with printed books. In addition, the 4.0 industry revolution will also empower the role of e-books in comparison with printed books.

Finance Ministry proposes halting exchanging land for infrastructureThe use of land, a type of public property, for payment to investors in the Build – Transfer (BT) format should be stopped until the Vietnamese government issues a new regulation. The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance (MoF) has just sent a dispatch to the other ministries and localities, proposing limiting the use of public property in return for infrastructure investments. Specifically, the ministry emphasized that from January 1, 2018, the use of public property (land) for payment to Build – Transfer (BT) investors should be stopped until the Vietnamese government’s new decree on this aspect takes effect. Up to now, this document has not been issued and the exchange of land for infrastructure will be stopped in the meantime. This request was made after the Hanoi People's Committee gave in-principle approval to five transport infrastructure projects in the form of BT, and would give land in exchange for them.

Pepper prices tumble to 10-year lowPepper prices in the Central Highlands have plunged to VND48,000-49,000 per kilogram, the lowest price point over the last decade, reported news website Vietnamplus. Pepper prices in the Central Highlands tumble to 10-year lowThe prices are VND4,000-5,000 lower than that late last month and represent a decline of VND151,000-152,000 per kilogram against 2015 when prices were sky high at around VND200,000 a kilo. Pepper prices were forecast to continue fluctuating for the rest of the year, causing multiple difficulties for growers. Over the last five years, farmers in the Central Highlands have rushed to grow pepper, doubling the pepper plantation area compared with the planned area. Dak Lak has the largest pepper plantation area, at 42,600 hectares, whereas it had earlier planned to have only 15,000 hectares of pepper by 2020.

Lombok quake: Rescuers search collapsed mosque for survivorsRescue workers are searching the ruins of a mosque in Lombok, Indonesia, where it is feared people were trapped by Sunday's deadly earthquake. The mosque is one of thousands of buildings in North Lombok that were damaged. The impact of Sunday's quake has been far greater than a quake that hit Lombok last week, killing 16 people. Meanwhile search and rescue teams have rescued at least 2,000 people from the Gili Islands, three islands just off the north-west coast of Lombok which are popular with backpackers and divers. Lombok is a roughly 4,500 sq km (1,700 sq miles) island east of the slightly larger island of Bali.