Vietnam has completed negotiations on bilateral agreements on automobile manufacturing and assembling with Russia and Belarus, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Party and State will do their best to ensure a sufficient Tet for every Vietnamese person, especially poor people and those who have rendered great service to the nation, said Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen.

The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) divested State capital from 120 businesses in 2015, earning VND94.49 trillion (US$200.17 million) from a book value of VND1.68 trillion (US$74.9 million).

The State Bank of Vietnam will issue instructions about loans for property when seeking mortgages, in a bid to clear misunderstandings, a representative said.

Of more than 200 countries and territories that Vietnam had trade relations with last year, there were 29 countries that the country had export turnover of more than US$1 billion.

Commercial banks cut the exchange rate of the United States (US) dollar against the dong by VND30 to VND40, bringing it to its lowest level in the past three months.

In his address at the 12th National Party Congress, Bui Quang Vinh, Minister of Planning and Investment, stressed the need for Vietnam to speed up its institutional reform toward a prosperous, creative, equal and democratic nation. Below are some excerpts from his speech.

Vietnamese firms involved in fishery and agricultural products were urged to study the sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) of the European Union (EU) markets to optimise opportunities for both sides.

The HCM City industrial development index last year saw higher growth than in previous years, especially by four key industries, with the ratio of processing and manufacturing sectors increasing and labour-intensive and polluting industries decreasing.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has been nominated for being re-elected to the country's top post, Central Committee member Vu Trong Kim confirmed in an interview with local media on January 24.