Tuoitrenews briefs some of the leading stories published today on Vietnamese media:

Politics:

-- Vietnam and China will celebrate the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2015, according to Pham Thu Hang, Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. High-ranking leaders of the two countries will exchange congratulatory messages, and a series of activities will be organized by both sides to consolidate and further deepen the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, she said at a regular press conference on Thursday.

-- Regarding China’s drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou-981’s movement in international waters into the East Sea,  Pham Thu Hang, Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesperson, said at a regular press conference in Hanoi on Thursday that Vietnam’s authorized agencies are assigned with firmly safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the East Sea.

-- State President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Thursday sent messages of condolences to their French counterparts Francois Hollande and Manuel Valls, respectively, over a terror attack on the weekly Charlie Hebdo’s headquarters in Paris. On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also offered condolences to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Society:

-- Police are expanding investigation into the case of suspended National Assembly deputy Chau Thi Thu Nga who has been detained for alleged fraud over a housing project, after the collection of over VND 377 billion ($17.6 million) from investors for a housing project developed by Land and Housing Construction and Investment JSC (Housing Group) of which she is the chairwoman.

-- Hanoi’s Department of Health has planned to establish 10 additional methadone treatment centers for drug addicts by next month with a hope to help them reduce dependence on drugs. The capital city now has seven clinics providing methadone therapy for around 1,700 addicts, equivalent to only 8 percent of the total. It sets a target of having 8,500 people treated with methadone this year.

Business:

-- Singapore topped the list of eight ASEAN countries investing Vietnam in 2014 with 1,353 projects worth $32.7 billion, accounting for 60 percent of the total ASEAN foreign direct investment (FDI) registered in the country, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). Singapore, which also ranked third among 101 foreign investors in Vietnam, was followed by Malaysia with $10 billion and Thailand with $6.7 billion USD, making up 22 percent and 12 percent of total FDI from ASEAN, respectively.

-- State-owned enterprises (SOEs) must trade in the unlisted public companies market (UPCoM) within 90 days before official listing, according to a circular recently issued by the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance's Circular 01/2015 / TT-BTC, issued on January 5, will become effective on March 1, 2015 to replace the ministry's earlier decision No 108 in 2008.

-- Ho Chi Minh City’s property market is predicted to experience significant growth in 2015 as the number of apartments for sale continues surging, especially within districts 2, 9, Binh Thanh, and Thu Duc, according to a recent report of property consultancy firm CBRE Vietnam.

-- Bilateral trade between Vietnam and South Africa is on an upward trend with an estimated turnover of $962 million in 2014, up 5 percent from a year ago. Of the figure, Vietnam’s exports to South Africa reached $815 million and imports were $147 million, said Vietnam Trade Counselor Nguyen Hong Tien.