Vietnam beat Cambodia 3-0 in the last 10 minutes of their final match in the Mekong – Lancang friendly futsal tournament 2019 in Phnom Penh on March 23. 

 Microsoft Vietnam and SAP – one of the global leaders in enterprise software – announced a strategic partnership on March 22.

 The police of Vietnam and the Philippines have worked together on the trans-national case trafficking 300 kilos of drugs in Vietnam and seized 276 kilos more in the Philippines.

 Over 1,000 candidates from 105 teams nationwide competed at the national qualification round of the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship – Viettel 2019 on March 24.

One of the topics discussed at the first Vietnam Reform and Development Forum (VRDF), a meeting between the government and donors held recently, was the lag of Vietnam’s economy behind other countries.

 Chinese smartphone players have quickly gained market share in Vietnam by offering innovative products at competitive prices.

Many pundits believe that the current crop of Vietnamese U23 footballers have better physical attributes in comparison to previous generations. 

VietNamNet Bridge - The creator of the ‘waste-to-electricity and organic carbon technology specifically designed for Vietnam’ is Nguyen Gia Long, director of the Hydraulic Machines Company (HMC). 

Thailand’s Energy developer Gulf Group (Gulf) is pursuing a scheme on building a gas-fired power cluster in the central province of Ninh Thuan.

Vietnamese consumers are embracing digital payments as a faster and more convenient way to pay, with consumers using their credit and debit cards more often for in store and online purchases.

 Among the ASEAN member economies, the smallest government bond markets were those of Vietnam and the Philippines, with each of their local currency government bonds outstanding still below the US$100 billion mark.

Vietnamese hoteliers are beginning to turn the ­tables in the resort chain world by snapping up properties from international hotel chains.

 Vietnam's e-commerce market recording annual average growth of 35%. 

 Five Vietnamese workers were killed in a bus accident in Thailand on March 23 when a truck crashed into a 16-seat passenger car and both plunged into a canal in Tha Muang district, Kanchanaburi province.

 Vietnam will assume the ASEAN Chair on January 1st, 2020, the 2nd time in the post. With new national status and strength, Vietnam will continue to affirm its position and responsibility in ASEAN and push ASEAN forward in the global political arena.

VietNamNet Bridge - Believing that Vietnam’s e-commerce will be controlled by foreign groups, analysts say Vietnamese firms still can find a viable space in the bustling market.

Real estate credit tightening, oversupply in the high-end market segment, and the policy on restricting  licensing to housing projects are all expected to pose challenges for realtors this year.

Vietnam is economically lagging behind other countries in the region and in the world. There is a big gap in GDP per capita between Vietnam and other countries, which makes it difficult for Vietnam to catch up with them.

 Vietnamese businesses have been urged to embrace digital transformation to remain competitive and enhance their value.

 Vietnamobile Telecommunications JSC (Vietnamobile) has appointed Christina Hui, a representative from Hong Kong’s Hutchison Group, as its new CEO, succeeding Elizabete Fong.