World Bank programme requests research proposals; Slow demand means hard year for rubber; Vietnam invests nearly $20 billion abroad; Economy benefits much from oil price slump; Higher taxes for HCMC restaurants, household businesses

Circle K convenience store chain opens 100th store in VN; Retailers despair as discounts fail to attract more customers; Stalled projects likely to be re-sold; Foreign remittances remain robust in 2014;

 The southern city of Can Tho recently installed free public WiFi on Ninh Kieu Wharf as part of an image-building exercise and to attract more tourists.

 Malaysia is looking to cooperate with Mekong Delta provinces and cities in clean agricultural development and green biotechnology to create environmental protection solutions.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Record Centre (Vietking) has announced top 5 floating markets in the western region of the country that attract a huge number of domestic and foreign visitors.

Saigon Securities divests from confectionery; Vinatex and Itochu embark on ambitious project; Vietnamese manufacturing on the rise; Vietnam to mobilise development capital equal to 30% GDP; Mekong Delta exports 516,000 tonnes of rice in January

VietNamNet Bridge – The first cable car system in the Mekong Delta will be put into service on February 14, making it easier for local and foreign visitors to visit the touristic Bay Nui area in An Giang Province,

Mekong Delta Green Tourism Week 2015; Strong inbound tourism arrivals for January; Quang Binh supports tourist accommodation construction

 VietNamNet Bridge – There are many risks threatening specialities of the Mekong Delta -- the coconut trees of Ben Tre, Nam Roi grapefruit of Vinh Long, Basa catfish of An Giang and linh fish of Dong Thap Muoi.

 People in the Mekong Delta and scientists have opposed construction of Don Sahong Dam in Laos and other dams on the Mekong River, according to the Vietnam Rivers Network (VRN).

PM okays industrial cluster plan; Five-star hotels shine in Hanoi; New record for auto sales in 2014; Hanoi cuts procedural time for enterprise establishment; Excess capacity clouds the outlook for steel sector in 2015

 As many as 323,200 households in the Mekong Delta got rid of poverty in 2014, exceeding the set target by 3.4 percent, according to the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region (SCSR).

VietNamNet Bridge – In recent years, the production of brooms from reed, or bong say in Vietnamese, in Con Nho Village in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang has been growing faster than ever with rising output and export

 VietNamNet Bridge – Southwest Region Steering Committee Deputy Director Nguyen Phong Quang talked to the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper about breakthrough measures for the development of the Mekong Delta region.

 VietNamNet Bridge – As many as 906 foreign-invested projects worth 11.9 billion USD have been operational in the Mekong Delta region so far,

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam ‘s Mekong Delta has been chosen among the 10 best-value destinations for 2015 by Rough Guides, a British publisher of travel and reference guides.

Hanoi Food IPO on January 9; Companies promise to maintain Tet bonus despite economic downturn; Experts: Power tariff hikes to hit firms; Transport firms to lower fares after sharp fuel price cut

 VietNamNet Bridge – Agricultural officials from 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta expressed their deep concern about Laos’ proposed hydroelectric dam on the Mekong River,

 SSC advises against making hasty invesments amidst market turmoil; Japan jumping into Hanoi real estate market; Mekong Delta rice output to reach 25.2 million tonnes; Vietnam business should be careful in Russia trade amid rouble crisis - economist

 VietNamNet Bridge – Seen from afar, a section of Road 867 across Long Dinh Commune the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang resembles a colorful work of art, rather a painting.