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As the Lunar New Year, or Tet, approaches, major supermarket chains across the country have announced to extend their operating hours to meet the rising shopping demand in the lead up to the national holiday.

The consumer price index (CPI) in January has risen by 3.37% over the same period last year, with core inflation increasing by 2.72%, according to the General Statistics Office.

The Ministry of Transport has announced that the renovation of three national highways in the Mekong Delta will commence within this year.

Vietnam Railway Authority is working with its Chinese counterpart to create a standard gauge rail link between the two nations in Lao Cai Province. The project is scheduled for implementation in 2025.

HCMC received an impressive US$9.5 billion in remittances from abroad last year, beating the estimate by around US$500 million, according to Nguyen Duc Lenh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s HCMC branch.

The construction of a section of the HCMC Beltway No. 2, stretching from Pham Van Dong Avenue to Go Dua intersection, could not be completed as scheduled for last year, so it has been rescheduled to 2026.

The U.S. has expressed interest in cooperating with Vietnam in renewable energy and semiconductor chip production.

The Ministry of  Education and Training has introduced a program for foreigners who are interested in teaching English at foreign language centers in Vietnam.

The HCMC government has released a list of 28 projects which will be introduced at a conference on green growth slated for January 24.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has called on South Korean tech giant Samsung to support Vietnam to improve the capabilities of domestic businesses, especially those in the semiconductor industry.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has reiterated Vietnam’s commitment to facilitating Hungarian goods’ access to the Vietnamese and ASEAN markets.

Hyosung Group, a South Korean conglomerate known for its expertise in electrical transformer manufacturing, is planning to inject an additional investment of US$2 billion into Vietnam this year.

Three State-run banks – BIDV, VietinBank and Agribank – further cut deposit rates by 20 to 40 basis points on January 17.

Total outstanding loans in the economy are expected to rise by 4.4% in the first quarter of this year, signaling a departure from earlier forecasts, according to the State Bank of Vietnam’s Department of Forecasting and Statistics.

HCMC was the frontrunner among all Vietnamese localities in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction last year, with US$5.85 billion registered in the city.

The inventory-to-sales ratio in the processing and manufacturing industry surged to 87.5% in 2023, up from 78.1% in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) has projected that 162,500 new businesses will enter the market this year, up by 2% compared to the previous year.

Vietnam set a new record in rice exports in 2023, with over 8.1 million tons valued at US$4.7 billion, yet the results still undershot the target set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam put its 2023 foreign trade at over US$681 billion, 6.9% lower than in the previous year, according to the General Statistics Office.

The Ministry of Finance in Vietnam has proposed a 5% value-added tax (VAT) for fertilizers, a departure from the current tax-exempt status outlined in the Value-Added Tax Law.

Standard Chartered Bank has projected Vietnam’s GDP growth at 6.7% this year following a 5.05% expansion in 2023.

The Government has urged commercial banks to make things easier for residents and businesses to take out loans.

With a 15% credit growth target set for 2024, an additional VND2 quadrillion will be injected into the economy this year, said a leader of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) at a press conference on January 5.

The Department for Roads of Vietnam has written to the Ministry of Transport proposing revising up the speed limit on nine expressways to 90 kilometers per hour from the current 80, but for certain types of vehicle.

In response to the high travel demand before and after the Tet holiday, the railway sector in Vietnam has made an additional 7,000 tickets available for routes connecting HCMC to central and northern provinces during the time for family reunion.