Bankers say bad-debt ratio is not that high While economists doubt commercial banks can reduce the bad-debt ratio to below 3 percent by the end of August, bankers said the target was within reach because the current situation is not as bad as once thought.  The bad debt ratio of some commercial banks, including the better ones, has increased again. VietinBank, for example, reported that non-performing loans (NPL) increased to VND8 trillion from VND4.8 trillion earlier this year. The NPL ratio rose to 1.5 percent from 0.9 percent in late 2014. VietinBank’s fifth-group debts (the debts with the highest risk) by the end of March had increased by 2.6 times from VND2 trillion to VND5.5 trillion. By the end of April 2015, while Sacombank’s outstanding loans had increased by 5.6 percent, the bad debt ratio had also increased to 1.19 percent from 1.18 percent at the end of 2014. Sacombank collected VND200 billion worth of principal this year thanks to the sale of debts to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), while it is considering selling more debts to the company. Though the NPL ratio has stayed at 1.42 percent, Nam A Bank’s situation is not good because the fifth-group debt accounts for over 80 percent of NPL. Therefore, economists are worried about the State Bank’s plan to lower the bad debt ratio to below 3 percent prior to August 31. Nevertheless, bankers have said that the bad debt situation is not as serious as reported. An executive of Sacombank noted that the bad debt increase in the first quarter of the year was partly due to the expiration of Decision 780, which allows credit institutions to restructure their debts. Its validity expired in April 2015. Now banks have to classify their debts in accordance with stricter requirements. The executive said that new loans have been put under very strict control. The representative of ACB also was optimistic about the bad debt settlement, saying that the recovery of the markets, especially real estate, should create favorable conditions for bad debt settlement. Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the HCM City Branch of the State Bank of In general, Minh said bad debt settlement had shown satisfactory results. Local banks in “It is quite feasible to lower the NPL ratio to below 3 percent because credit has been growing well,” Minh said. DNSG |
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 3/8 Imported vehicles pose road quality question The sharp increase in imported Chinese long and heavy vehicles has posed questions over the country’s inadequate road infrastructure. Vietnam Register said the country had imported over 25,800 Chinese trucks in the first half of this year, compared with over 35,100 locally made trucks during the period. Vietnam Register’s Deputy Director Dang Viet Ha said the massive imports of Chinese trucks were a result of low prices and good sales as well as the increase in demand for such vehicles. An owner of a truck shop on “The recent tighter control over vehicle tonnage has proved effective. You could previously see trucks running at 300% and 400% over capacity, now they have to carry in appropriate cargos, and this drive demand for more vehicles,” Ha said. “Several types of vehicles also were phased out this year, forcing their owners to buy new ones and this has also driven up demand,” he added. According to the Vietnam Register, most of imported Chinese vehicles were 28 to 20 tonne trucks and lorries. However, the vehicles, especially Howo-branded trucks were blamed for damaging roads. Ha said all imported and locally assembled vehicles have met current quality and technical standards. But newly-available trucks were often unsuitable for rougher roads or terrain. In order to prevent the possible illegal upgrading of vehicles to increase loading capacity, vehicle importers were being required to remove all awaiting links and any upgrading must be conducted at registration centres. More loans disbursed in lender-borrower matching program Loans disbursed in the bank-company matching program have increased sharply in the first half of the year, said the central bank’s HCMC branch at a meeting in HCMC last Friday. To Duy Lam, director of the central bank’s HCMC branch, said at a review meeting on the program in the 2012-2015 period that local banks inked deals to provide businesses with loans worth over VND77.6 trillion (US$3.5 billion) in January-June this year, well above the VND67.5 trillion pledged in 2012-2014. Nearly 6,300 clients have taken out loans totaling over VND145.1 trillion from 22 participating banks over the past three years. Meanwhile, lenders have disbursed over 60% of the total pledged in the first six months of 2015. All the borrowers enjoy short-term lending rates of 6-7% per annum and medium- and long-term rates of around 9% per annum. These short-term interest rates are equivalent to those for five priority sectors: agriculture and rural development, export goods production, SMEs, supporting industries and high-tech enterprises. From now to the year-end, HCMC looks to 100% disbursements of the VND127.73 trillion pledged by 19 commercial banks for 2015. In addition, the city will support the corporate sector to cope with difficulties by offering loans to firms in the five priority sectors and through the lender-borrower matching program, Lam said. In 2016-2020, the program will focus on supporting industries, hi-tech farming and human resource development. Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director the central bank’s HCMC branch, said some problems have emerged in the implementation process of the program over the past three years. He said some enterprises bemoaned that they had found it hard to take out loans under the program and had paid higher interest rates. A number of firms had feasible production plans but failed to meet the requirements for mortgage, so they could not receive loans. Minh said medium- and long-term interest rates should be kept stable in the duration of the loan contracts. The current format is that banks apply a fixed interest rate in the first year but will switch to a new rate based on the average 12-month deposit rate plus two percentage points in the following years, he said, and this is a source of concern for borrowers due to the unpredictability of future rates. As for companies lacking assets for collateral, Minh suggested, banks may consider offering unsecured loans to those clients. Until now, the program has not benefited any hi-tech farming projects in HCMC. Tu Minh Thien, deputy head of the HCMC Agricultural High-Tech Park (AHTP), said at the meeting that 14 investors have set up shop at the park and the city has rolled out a range of policies to support them, especially preferential lending rates. He said businesses in this sector need much capital but they cannot use land use rights as collateral to take out bank loans. Thien added the agriculture sector is prone to risks as it depends on seasons, so farmers may miss opportunities if they do not gain timely access to bank loans. HCMC vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong said she wants banks to cut lending rates further to help businesses expand operations. Nguyen Dong Tien, deputy governor of the central bank, said lending rates are currently low thanks to macro-economic stability and low inflation. Deposit rates stand at around 6% per annum and banks have tried to make lending rates as low as possible. Speaking to the Daily, some businesses said they are satisfied with the short-term rate of 6% per year at the moment but medium- and long-term rates of 9-10% may hinder them from making new investments. Amata to build hi-tech industrial park in Dong Nai Following the success of its first industrial park project in The Dong Nai Industrial Zones Authority (DIZA) last week issued a decision establishing Long Thanh Hi-tech Industrial Park and an investment certificate for Amata Long Thanh Joint Stock Company to build infrastructure for the park. Amata Long Thanh Joint Stock Company was established by Amata Vietnam Joint Stock Company, Amata VN Public Company Limited and Mrs. Somhatai Panichewa from Amata Group. With a total investment of over US$282 million, Amata Long Thanh will develop the hi-tech industrial park on over 410 hectares in Long Thanh District. This is the first hi-tech park in The investor plans to implement the project in two phases from now towards 2020. The hi-tech industrial park is part of Amata’s expansion plan in Dong Nai. The first project of Amata covers around 753 hectares and is invested by Amata VN Public Company Limited while the second occupies122.3 hectares and invested by Amata Vietnam Joint Stock Company and Amata VN Public Company Limited. As reported by Thainews previously, Amata is cooperating with Tuan Chau Group to develop a hi-tech industrial-urban complex in the The project called Amata City Halong is not just a city but also an industrial complex and will go up in an area of 5,789 hectares. Seventy percent of the project’s capital will be contributed by Amata while local partner Tuan Chau Group will fund the remainder. In addition, Amata is planning to construct a large-scale complex in the south-central Major projects expected to give Can Tho a new ambience Can Tho authorities are pinning their hopes on several major infrastructure projects to give the city a new ambience and look, making it a worthy centre of the Mekong Delta region. Among the major projects, the project upgrading urban Can Tho city, sponsored by the World Bank (WB), was completed on schedule, bringing back odourless water and green space to a canal once full of black and smelly water and shanties. The project also upgraded and removed flooding in main streets such as The second project, part of a bigger project to upgrade cities in the Mekong Delta region, has been under implementation for two years with total capital of 90.4 million USD. The project has now completed the bidding of 26 out of 30 construction packages and is scheduled to complete all biddings by the end of this year. All construction initiatives of the project are scheduled to be finished by 2017. The third project on developing Can Tho city and increasing the city’s adaptation capacity has a total investment capital of 312.5 million USD, of which the WB provided 250.3 million USD in loans. The project aims to help Can Tho city develop sustainably and mitigate adverse impacts of climate change while improving transport links in the city and between the city and other localities. The project will improve water drainage in Ninh Kieu and Binh Thuy downtown districts and build and upgrade a number of bridges and roads in the city. Dong Nai attracts 3.42 bln USD from ASEAN countries ASEAN countries have so far poured over 3.42 billion USD into 129 projects in the southern Investments from Meanwhile, the Thai-invested Amata Vietnam JSC, following the success of its first industrial park project in the province, has decided to pour 282 million USD into the Long Thanh Hi-tech Industrial Park, said General Director Somhatai Panichewa. According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, ASEAN investors have flocked to the province in recent years to grab investment opportunities to be created by the ASEAN Economic Community which will be established by the end of this year. They have chosen Dong Nai as the province with the greatest potential to develop industry and service. The KinderWorld Education Group from From the outset of this year, Dong Nai licensed 57 new foreign direct investment projects with registered capital of about 1.1 billion USD. The province is currently home to a total of 1,506 projects worth 27.2 billion USD. Vinh Phuc: Electronic companies reap high revenues Businesses making spare electronic parts and components in the According to the provincial People’s Committee, all satellite companies of Samsung Group from the Since the outset of 2015, Vinh Phuc has carried out a drive to seek investments and develop the local industry. A report from the provincial Department of Planning and Investment showed that Vinh Phuc licensed five foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with total registered capital of over 48.37 million USD in the first three months of 2015. The province has also provided investment certificates for three domestic direct investment (DDI) development projects with combined registered capital of over 1.5 trillion VND (nearly 73 million USD). By March 2015, the province was home to 189 valid FDI projects with total registered investment of over 3.1 billion USD and 578 valid DDI projects worth over 41 trillion VND (1.9 billion USD). Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan made the statement while speaking at a meeting in the city on July 27 to review the local socio-economic situation from January-July. Quan said local leaders will help businesses to overcome difficulties related to capital, premises and technology as well as improve administrative formalities and develop the support industry. Additionally, the city is intensifying inspections on a number of investment projects to weed out and handle violations of the construction law, he added. The official noted that in the first seven months of this year, the city collected over 160 trillion VND (7.33 billion USD) for the local budget, an annual rise of 3.8 percent. The local budget collection is expected to reach 265 trillion VND (11.48 billion USD) in 2015 and 295 trillion VND (12.78 billion USD) in 2016. Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment Thai Van Re reported the city’s total export turnover from January-July was estimated at 17.6 billion USD, down 4.6 percent against the previous year, mainly due to a plunge in crude oil prices. In contrast, the total import turnover rose 13.2 percent to 19.1 billion USD during the period, he cited. Also at the meeting, Chairman Le Hoang Quan requested the implementation of measures to protect urban landscapes and the environment. Agriculture sector’s 7-month exports plunge Export turnover earned by the agro-forestry-fishery sector was estimated at 16.93 billion USD in the first seven months of 2015, an annual drop of 3.6 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Earnings from the export of coffee saw the biggest drop (down 33.7 percent), followed by aquatic products (down 17 percent), rubber (down 9.2 percent) and rice (8.3 percent). In the reviewed period, a total of 792,000 tonnes of coffee products were exported thus, gaining 1.63 billion USD but decreasing 33.9 percent in quantity and 33.7 percent in value compared to the same period last year. The rubber industry sold 519,000 tonnes of commodities overseas and earned 760 million USD, representing an annual increase of 13.9 percent in quantity but a drop of 33.7 percent in value. Rubber prices were reported to climb only in Exported rice has undergone a similar downward trend with the quantity and value reducing annually by 3.1 percent and 8.3, respectively. On the contrary, cashew nut and woodwork products have enjoyed a seven-month value growth of 26.6 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. Pepper exports also followed the positive trend. Gov't debt trader to lift charter capital to US$273m The Debt and Asset Trading Corporation (DATC) will increase its charter capital from current VND2.48 trillion (US$113.8 million) to VND6 trillion (US$273.2 million), as per the draft circular about the regulations governing the company's organisation and operation. This circular is expected to replace Circular No 79/2011/TT-BTC dated June 8, 2011. The draft circular stipulates regulations on asset disposal. According to the draft, asset evaluation to clarify the starting price for selling or for negotiations on share contribution, joint ventures and conversion would be done as per regulations for businesses in which the government holds 100 per cent of charter capital. The draft states that DATC would be able to buy debts and assets which debt owners want to sell, including land-use rights, bonds and debts. It also shows different rules for disposal of debts and assets. Established in 2004 with a charter capital of VND2 trillion ($94 million), funded by the State budget, the DATC was recognised as a special State-run company. It aims to deal with bad debts and unused assets of State-owned groups and corporations to improve their financial condition, promote restructuring and transform them into joint-stock companies. The DATC can settle debts by directly retrieving debts, resuming guaranteed assets, selling debts and changing debts into capital contribution. The corporation would be able to review and settle debts by delineating and extending debts or by adjusting the interest rate of the debt. As for purchased assets, DATC can sell the assets or use them to contribute capital to joint ventures, lend or convert them, or repair or upgrade assets for sale, lease or doing business. Direct asset sales would be implemented after auctions or offers for sale as per the regulations. In the first half of the year, DATC had a total revenue of VND900 billion ($41.2 million) including revenue from debt trading of VND700 billion ($32.1 million), increasing 1.47 times in comparison with the same period last year. The corporation dissolved debt and assets at 33 enterprises with total revenue of VND62.4 billion ($2.86 million), five times higher than the corresponding period last year. Last year, it contributed VND68.3 billion ($3.13 million) to the State budget. Cocoa farmers say things could be better Despite some encouraging results, Nguyen Van Hoa, deputy head of the Crop Production Department, said in the past years annual output had been 5,000-6,000 tonnes of cocoa beans. Farming models intercropping cocoa with coconut or cashew had offered high yields, he said. Companies had done research to come up with cocoa-based products and use cocoa shells to grow mushroom or turn them into fertiliser, he said. But generally the sector's development had not met expectations, he admitted. A Government plan for until 2020 targets having 35,000ha under cocoa by 2015 with an average output of 1 tonne per hectare and 50,000ha by 2020 with 1.19 tonnes. But Nguyen Nhu Hien of the department said the cocoa cultivation area had shrunk dramatically to 11,698ha by the end of last month compared to the peak of 25,700ha in 2012. Productivity remained low at 0.8 tonnes of dry bean per hectare on average because of the high density of plants, improper shade management and lack of investment in fertilisers, pest control and others, he said. Besides, price volatility and the lack of linkage in the cocoa value chain had made farmers feel unsecure about cocoa farming, he said. Gricha Safarian, managing director of Puratos Grand-Place Indochina, said "unfair repartition" [of profits] between stakeholders in the supply chain, lack of training to improve yield and quality, and competition with other crops and pre-financing of fertilisers are among factors affecting cocoa sustainability around the world, including Viet Nam. Farmers only got around 4 per cent of the profit while manufacturers and distributors got 63 per cent, he said. Phan Huy Thong, director of the National Agriculture Extension Centre and head of the Vietnamese Cocoa Committee, said cocoa had been considered a tree that could help eliminate hunger and poverty and introduced to disadvantaged households in difficult areas. This had yielded poor results, and this approach needed to be changed, he said. He concurred with Dinh Hai Lam, cocoa development manager at Mars Incorporated, who said the sector needed the participation of businesses and investors through the establishment of large-scale farming and for them to have closer linkages with farmers. In this model, businesses would play a leading role in technology transfer and provide inputs and ensure sales outlets for small households, the two agreed. Thong said global demand for cocoa was increasing, especially in He called on all stakeholders to join hands to develop the sector and ensure fair distribution of profits among them. The sector should focus on improving quality of the bean by training farmers, investing in infrastructure for purchasing and processing cocoa, and improving irrigation, he said. Dr Truong Hong, deputy director of the Central Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute, said creating new strains, especially those than can adapt to climate change, was very important. Besides, firms should focus on further processing of the beans to serve both the domestic and export markets, he said. Thong said his centre as well as the department would collect feedback from meeting participants and send it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to tweak cocoa zoning plans and adopt appropriate measures to ensure sustainable development of the sector. Ministry continues promoting Buy-Vietnam Goods campaign The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) will continue promoting its campaign, Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese products, so that more and more local people begin using these indigenous products by this year end. The ministry planned to promote locally made industrial, semi-finished and farming products, Ho Thi Kim Thoa, deputy minister of industry and trade, said at a recent conference in In order to achieve the target, the ministry will strengthen business connectivity between northern and southern regions, according to the plan. The ministry will enhance awareness about the campaign in the rural and remote areas and also combine its efforts with those undertaken in cities and provinces so that people are inspired to consume local industrial products. "In the rural areas, there was a huge potential for enhancing consumption of Vietnamese products," Thoa said. "Therefore, apart from the state's policies to develop the trade network in these areas, enterprises should pay attention to price and quality of local products being sold in various regions." She urged the sector to focus on developing the domestic market in tandem with the implementation of the campaign so that domestic enterprises remain competitive and consumption of domestic products can be enhanced. In the foreseeable future, the ministry will focus on cities and provinces, especially large cities such as Ha Noi, It also called for government investment in promoting the campaign while mobilising social resources for the drive. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a project worth VND228.93 billion (US$10.75 million) to increase the consumption of domestic goods in an effort closely linked to the ongoing campaign. These initiatives are aimed at increasing the market share of domestic products in According to the 2014 survey of Vietnamese people using Vietnamese products, some 63 per cent of Vietnamese people were choosing domestic products, twice the percentage recorded before the campaign was launched six years ago, Thoa said. During the conference, she reported that 92 per cent of the interviewees said they were aware of the campaign, 54 per cent of whom were personally involved in it. The deputy minister said the campaign had yielded positive changes, particularly in domestic product quality and design. Le Viet Nga, Deputy Director of the Ministry's Domestic Market Department, highlighted that made-in-Vietnam products accounted for a major market share among products sold by domestic and international distributors. As many as 50 promotion events, including trade fairs, have been organised to introduce domestic products to residents in rural, remote and mountainous areas across the country. This year, the ministry has invested in developing infrastructure facilities and enhancing technology application in enterprises under its management to improve their product quality and competitiveness. Fruit and veggie exports taking root in new markets Vietnamese companies are selling record amounts of fruit and vegetables with shipments to overseas markets having soared by almost 36% in 2014 to an all-time high of US$1.4 billion, according to official statistics. In addition, the General Department of Vietnam Customs reports that they are now transported to 40 countries including many with strong agriculture industries such as Vietnamese fruits and vegetables have become a stable at the dinner table in Eggplant, okra, peppers and corn for use in making fresh and frozen concentrated juices have been among the biggest international sellers to “It’s testament to the can-do attitude of our Vietnamese farmers that they’re selling fruits and vegetables to the likes of In the first half of 2015, the RoK and US were the third and fourth largest markets for Vietnamese fruit and vegetables making up 4.62% and 3.71% of total market share respectively. The demand for Vietnamese fruit and vegetables in the six- month period leading up to July 2015 has soared by almost 28.41% compared to last year's same period, tallying in at roughly US$878,964 million. “This dramatic rise in demand for Dau added that the obtaining of permits to sell red and white flesh dragon fruits, lychee and longan in the The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in turn has reported that it has submitted a list of 11 different varieties of fruits to the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) hoping to get sales permits. “If approved it would be an enormous boon for the nation’s fruit growers and bring in growth to sales,” an MoIT spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that export sales worldwide are becoming increasingly important to Vietnamese agriculture, driven by our signature high-quality dragon fruit, watermelons, longans and bananas. Nguyen Xuan Hong, head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)'s Plant Protection Department, said if Vietnam farmers continue to apply Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) fruit and vegetable sales will continue taking root and flourish globally. Retail sales grow by 8.3% According to General Statistics Office (GSO) expert Vu Manh Ha, the country's total retail sales stabilised in the first quarter this year. The increase was 8 per cent in the first four months and 8.2 per cent in the first five months. Ha said the increase in total retail sales reflected the low increase in the consumer price index (CPI). In the first seven months of this year, the private sector accounted for 85.6 per cent of total retail sales, earning $73.4 billion or a year-on-year increase of 9.5 per cent. Japanese promote Japonica The Seibu Nousan Company visited Ha Nam Province yesterday, seeking investment opport-unities for planting, processing and exporting Japonica, a kind of Japanese rice. During a working session, Ha Nam Party Committee Secretary Mai Tien Dung said agriculture was one of the province's key economic development tasks. In addition to accelerating application of advanced technology in the sector, the province had begun encouraging hi-tech farming investments by Japanese investors, he said. Dung vowed that the province would offer all possible support to agriculture investors, including assistance with electricity and water supply and transport. Director of Seibu Nousan Viet He hoped that authorities could create the necessary conditions for a test run of Japonica rice on a 20ha area, adding that the pilot would use hi-end technology and a quality management system from Currently, potatoes, vegetables, soy beans and pumpkins grown in Ha The locality has already zoned off a 1,000ha riverside plot for more vegetable and fruit cultivation, vietnamplus.vn reports. Herbalife opens new office in HCM City Global nutrition company, Herbalife, on Monday announced that it had opened a new office at At the square of over 2,200 sq.m, the new office is 2.5 times larger than its previous office in the city. It will serve as a multi-functional hub for Herbalife in In addition to providing a more spacious and modernized workplace for the company's employees, it will include a new distribution centre to provide a seamless company experience. It will also be a hub for company members to attend nutrition education and development programmes. The opening marks an important milestone for the company in William M Rahn, senior vice president and managing director of Herbalife Asia Pacific, said the new office reflected the company's commitment to build a lasting presence in the country and long-term relationships with their members and customers. The opening marks an important milestone for the company in Herbalife opened its first office in Experts pick holes in new bank guarantee for apartment buyers A proposed decree to guide the recent amendments to the Law on Real Estate Business that requires housing developers to get guarantees from banks before they can sell or lease out units needs to be more specific to ensure safety, a developer has warned. "Now, with the guarantee, all the risks pile on banks if a project gets into trouble", Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of Dat Lanh Real Estate Company said. Photo dothi.net Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of Dat Lanh Real Estate Company, told a seminar held in HCM City to collect feedback on the draft decree that generally a developer needs bank loans for land clearance and buying land use rights and then for construction. Now, with the guarantee, all the risks pile on banks if a project gets into trouble, he pointed out. In reply, Vu Van Phan, deputy head of the Ministry of Construction's Housing Management and Real Estate Market, said the State Bank of Phan said the guarantee is to safeguard buyers' rights since many people who paid to buy apartments have been unable to get back their money when projects stalled. Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said the government should allow insurance companies to join the business (provide the guarantee) to offer developers a wider choice in sharing the risk. Nguyen Trong Ninh, standing deputy head of the Ministry of Construction's Housing Management and Real Estate Market, said that even foreigners who are in the country for just a day are allowed to buy houses. He also said that foreigners get ownership for 50 years and can apply for a single extension of 50 years at most. They can resell their assets with the buyers getting the title for the remaining duration, he said. Participants said the new owners should enjoy another 50 years. The amendments to the housing and real estate business laws took effect on July 1, but decrees guiding their implementation are yet to be issued. Chau said foreign institutions and individuals are allowed to own 30 per cent of the total number of units in an apartment project but only 10 per cent of houses if a development comprises both apartments and houses. He called for greater flexibility in places like Ha Noi, Da Nang, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and HCM City, especially areas like Phu My Hung and Thao Dien in HCM City that attract a large numbers of foreigners. "Local governments should be empowered to make decisions appropriate for their situation." Yoshida Akio, chief representative of Japanese-owned Kitakei Co, which sells housing materials and equipment and construction work systems, said the Japanese community in Viet Nam wants to buy houses to live in the country for a long term, adding the 30 percent rate should be increased to 40 or 50 per cent. Exchange rate predicted to rise The foreign exchange market is predicted to be stable in the third quarter then fluctuate strongly in the fourth quarter, according to a report from BIDV on the foreign exchange market. The rate will rise from VND21,800 to VND21,890 per US dollar, the report states. The average rate at banks is VND21,687, with most buying and selling at VND21,780 to VND21,840. The role of State regulation is a key factor in stabilizing the market. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) often calls for stable foreign exchange rates and says it is willing to intervene to balance supply and demand, as foreign reserves have improved significantly in recent years. BIDV said that the SBV could sell $5 to $6 billion, equal to the trade deficit, to offset any major fluctuations. The BIDV report also noted some shocks that may influence the foreign exchange rate. In the first scenario, economic recovery will be weaker due to fluctuations in Asia and If the SBV does not extend Decree No. 43 on foreign exchange loans into 2016, it would put pressure on demand for foreign currencies to pay outstanding loans, which would affect exchange rates. The balance of payments, meanwhile, is forecast in the report to be in surplus in the second half of the year, at $3 billion. The trade deficit, however, will be maintained, coming in at between $3 billion and $4 billion. Foreign direct investment, foreign indirect investment, and ODA are all predicted to be healthy. Outstanding credit in HCMC up 7% A report from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee showed that total outstanding credit in the city for the first seven months stood at VND1,140 trillion ($52.24 billion), an increase of 7 per cent compared with the first seven months of 2014. Outstanding credit in Medium and long-term outstanding credit rose 13 per cent since the end of 2014, accounting for 54.5 per cent of the total, while short-term outstanding credit increased 0.79 per cent since the end of 2014, accounting for 45.5 per cent of the total. Total credit growth in the city was some 7 per cent, with an annual target in place of 13-15 per cent. Regarding mobilized capital, at the end of July it is expected to be VND1,420 trillion ($65.07 billion), an increase of 6 per cent since the end of 2014. Remittances in the first seven months are estimated at $2.4 billion. An Cu picks up Hoa Binh International Tower The An Cu Co., a real estate management firm, won the recent public auction to acquire Hoa Binh International Tower, for VND735 billion ($33.68 million), Mr. Nguyen Huu Duong, Chairman of the Hoa Binh Group - the tower’s investor - confirmed with VET. There were five companies in the auction, including the Hai Phat Investment JSC, the An Quy Hung Located on An Cu Co. specializes in distributing and leasing high-end real estate products in projects in Sweet potatoes for export in great abundance Several farmers in the Mekong Delta provinces of Vinh Long, Dong Thap, and Can Tho City have suffered huge losses as export price of sweet potatoes had continuously dropped in the past few months. According to Mr. Son Van Luan, chairman of Tan Thanh Sweet Potato Cooperative in Mr. Luan said that export of sweet potatoes mainly depends on Chinese market. However, the export issue is extremely erratic in both price and volume. The price always drops when sweet potatoes are ready for harvest. Currently, the area of sweet potatoes in provinces in the Mekong Delta is extremely large. Meanwhile, farmers cultivate sweet potatoes for three crops per annum, causing production to be excessive, soil to be exhausted, and more germs to appear. Mr. Luan suggested that farmers should cooperate with cooperatives in cultivation of sweet potatoes for export. They should rotate crops to lessen germs and lower abundance of sweet potatoes so as to ensure their profits from growing sweet potatoes. For instance, they should grow sweet potatoes for only one crop in a year and grow rice or vegetables for the rest. Real estate chaos surrounds While real estate agents are trying to sell land lots around the newly-approved Advertising boards and flyers for real estate project or land lots can be found along Highway 51 in A real estate agent in Loc An Commune said the government will build a new road that will serve as the main road to the airport and his lot was located on this proposed route. Another broker named Sinh said, "Two years ago, the average land lot would cost around VND300m. But the prices have gone up to VND500 million just recently. These prices will no doubt increase next month. You should buy now. If you don't want to live here, you still can sell it later for a profit." Loan, a local at Loc An, however said, "My family and relatives living near this area are miserable. My cousin wanted to sell his land but couldn't find a buyer despite all the claims about hot demand for property. He put his land up as collateral and only received a VND200 million loan from the bank for it." Long Thanh District vice chairman Ngo The An said "Buyers should be careful when it comes to buying land now, as while they could pay 6 billion now, they might only get VND2bn in actual compensation when the project gets started," he said. Nielsen survey: Vietnamese tops world for savings Vietnamese are spending less and saving more due to their worries about the economy. Up to 73% of those interviewed said they would use their spare cash for savings, topping the world, a survey by Nielsen said. According to Nielsen’s the global survey on Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) released on July 27, 86% of Vietnamese interviewed said that they had spent less over the past year to save more, causing the country’s CCI to drop to 104 points in the second quarter of 2015, down 8 points against the first quarter of the year. The fall, the biggest quarterly decline in Asia Pacific, is attributed to local consumer concerns about the economy’s difficulties during the coming five years. The Nielsen survey also reveals Southeast Asian consumers continue to be the most penny pinching in the world, with 70% of interviewed people using their spare cash for savings compared to just 48 percent globally. The ratio in Around 60% of Vietnamese consumers have reduced their spending on new clothes and cooking gas and electricity; while 57% have cut out-of-home entertainment and 48% have delayed upgrading gadgets and consumer goods. However, nearly half of Vietnamese consumers are willing to spend more on holidays and new technology. Disbursed foreign direct investment up 9% in seven months Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first seven months of 2015 rose 9% from the same period last year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency. In July alone, more than US$1.1 billion was disbursed, bringing total FDI disbursement to US$7.4 billion in the first seven months of 2015. However, FDI pledges during the same period dropped 7.6% from a year earlier to US$8.8 billion despite additional commitments of US$3.3 billion in July. Manufacturing and property trading were the most attractive sectors to foreign investors in July, receiving US$1.95 billion and US$1.23 billion respectively, followed by the retail sector which attracted US$18 million. The manufacturing sector saw a strong presence of investors from the In the January-July period, Vinalines still incurs losses A Vinalines report released on July 20 says that in the first half, the holding corporation’s total revenue was estimated at about VND9.3 trillion, representing 51% of the year’s target and falling 1% compared to the same period in 2014. A 7% year-on-year rise (or 14.6 million tons) in cargo transport volume and an 11% year-on-year surge (or 42 million tons) in cargo throughput at the corporation’s ports in the country contributed to attaining such revenue. Its 2014 revenue amounted to over VND19.8 trillion but its losses reached around VND1.63 trillion. Despite its loss-making operations, Vinalines will still proceed with an initial public offering in the third quarter this year. Vinalines said in quarter two this year the holding company settled VND1.43 trillion debt, thus slashing its VND12 trillion debt by VND3.6 trillion since it began restructuring. Vinalines primarily sold its debt to the Debt and Asset Trading Corporation (DATC), a debt trading arm of the Ministry of Finance, and withdrew capital from non-core business operations for debt settlement. Currently, it is in negotiations over the settlement of debts owed to VietinBank, ACB and VPBank, among others. Vietnam Development Bank (VDB), Vinalines’s largest creditor, has proposed the Government allow it to restructure the firm’s debt by freezing or rescheduling it and writing off the accrued interest as decided by the Government in 2013. According to an evaluation approved by the Ministry of Transport in March and submitted to the Government in preparation for the IPO, the actual value of the corporation was VND21.29 trillion (around US$1 billion). The fund will use the amount to own a stake in An Gia Investment and invest in housing projects to be developed in HCMC meeting Japanese quality standards. Nguyen Ba Sang, chairman and general director of An Gia Investment, was cited by Vietnam News Agency as saying that the partnership with Creed Group would provide an additional strong source of financing for the firm to implement property projects. An Gia plans to build around 2,000 mid- and high-end homes for the local market annually and spend US$1 billion constructing some 10,000 high-end apartment units in HCMC towards 2020. An Gia is now carrying out four projects worth nearly VND3 trillion in total with 2,000 apartment units. Besides, the firm is negotiating to buy ten land lots in districts 4, 2, 7 and Tan Binh for its future projects. Toshihiko Muneyoshi, president of Creed Group, said the fund decided to invest US$200 million in An Gia after one year of consideration as the local firm met its business criteria for effective implementation of projects, quick sales, and young and active staff. “This is just the first step of our partnership. If the Vietnamese property market grows well, Creed Group will inject hundreds of millions of dollars more in An Gia,” he said. According to The government of HCMC has told Saigon Industry Corporation (CNS) to reconsider the effectiveness of an integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing project at Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP). The project has not been executed as planned due to concerns over a lack of manpower able to operate the facility and of markets for its products. Therefore, HCMC vice chairman Tat Thanh Cang told representatives of the parties concerned including the HCMC Department of Information and Communications and SHTP to arrange monthly meetings to review the project and the city’s program on IC industry development, and report results to the municipal government. As part of the 2013-2020 chip industry development program launched by the HCMC government in mid-2012, the chip factory is expected to supply around 1.8 billion ICs worth a combined US$90 million a year. CNS said the first phase of the project worth about US$250 million was scheduled for implementation in the 2016-2018 period. Once in place, the factory would be able to produce 5-10 thousand wafers and products a month, including electronic chips, RFID chips and power ICs. The city government has thrown support behind CNS to carry out the project given large demand for ICs on the domestic market, particularly for chips used in SIM cards, bank cards and automobile black boxes. Last May, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung agreed on adding this chip production project to the development plan for hi-tech industries towards 2020. The HCMC Department of Finance is completing procedures for issuing VND3 trillion (US$137.4 million) worth of municipal bonds between August and October to raise funds for development this year. Speaking at a review meeting on July 27 on the city’s socio-economic performance from January to July, Dao Thi Huong Lan, director of the Finance Department, said the August-October period is a favorable time for :municipal bond issuance but she did not go into further details. According to HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan, the city’s budget collections neared VND160.4 trillion in January-July, meeting more than 60% of this year’s target and rising by 3.8% year-on-year. Revenues from domestic sources and from exports and imports went up but shed nearly 23% from oil against the same period last year. In the remaining months of 2015, the city will strive to meet this year’s budget collection target of around VND265 trillion. Quan said budget collection pressure would mount next year as the city targets a staggering VND295 trillion. According to a report of the HCMC government, the city got around US$17.6 billion from exports in the first seven months, down 4.6% year-on-year. The slide was attributable to a 47.4% slump in crude oil price on average. Meanwhile, imports of production materials such as dairy products, footwear and apparel materials and pharmaceuticals remained stable, raising the total imports in the seven-month period by 13.2% to US$19.1 billion. Between January and June, crude oil also dragged the city’s export value down 6.3% to US$14.6 billion. Of the exported goods, the agro-aqua-forestry group, which accounts for nearly 20% of the city’s total export value, experienced a 10% year-on-year drop in export revenue. The main cause was that rice exports decreased 73% in volume and 38% in value. Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR |
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Article 5
Instant coffee demand brings  The mantle of biggest robusta grower isn’t enough for Nestle SA and Olam International Ltd. have already invested in coffee-processing facilities in the country to tap into surging instant-coffee demand as Global instant coffee consumption surged 62 percent in the past decade, beating a 20 percent increase in roasted and ground beans, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Annual demand will rise about 3 percent in the next three to five years, Olam estimates, amid growing appeal in emerging markets for the ease of getting a brew ready by simply adding hot water. “In Consumption climbs World coffee consumption grew 2.3 percent annually between 2011 and 2014, International Coffee Organization data show. While demand in traditional markets grew 1.5 percent, emerging markets rose 4.6 percent. The global soluble coffee market expanded to about $5.5 billion last year from $3.65 billion in 2007, according to Olam. Instant coffee accounts for 14 percent of global consumption, according to the USDA. “We are the second-biggest producer and exporter of coffee in the world, but if we go around Europe, Processing Nestle, which has a manufacturing complex with total investment of $270 million in Dong Nai province, started making instant coffee in Spirit waking Other Asian countries are adding instant coffee capacity, Olam’s Verma said, citing recent investments in Closer to home, Vietnam is promoting local coffee demand, especially among young people, to boost the ratio of domestic consumption to more than 25 percent of output by 2030 from less than 10 percent currently, according to the agriculture ministry. “My parents like tea, but I prefer coffee because coffee tastes better and is more effective in waking up my spirit in the morning,” said 31-year-old office worker Nguyen Phuong Nga in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi. |
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Article 4
Social News 3/8 Traffic accident kills three policemen  A traffic accident killed three policemen as they were driving on the The policemen, Phuong Van Chung, Vi Van Loc and Trinh Van Hieu, from the district's police force, were on a working trip from Ha Noi to Lang Son when their The bus belonged to the Son Duc – Lang Son joint venture company. The incident remains under investigation. Coach, truck collide, injuring nine A coach crashed into a truck in central At about 11:20pm, a 29-seat coach bound for Those wounded on the coach were immediately rushed to the hospital. None suffered critical injuries. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Localities need to clean up food safety standards Cities and provinces should push for clean, safe agricultural products as Ha Noi and Dam, also head of the Inter-ministerial Central Steering Committee for Food Safety, chaired the meeting last week with local authorities and other Government agencies to review food safety standard improvement efforts during the first half of the year. The country recorded 90 known cases of food poisoning with 2,595 affected. Sixteen died, while more than 2,400 were hospitalised. The number of food poisoning cases and fatalities decreased, compared with the same period last year, which recorded 98 cases and 26 fatalities. Health authorities determined that the leading cause of death was the consumption of animals and plants that contained highly toxic substances such as toads, poisonous mushrooms and poisonous fish. During the period, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, environmental police and other Government agencies inspected nearly 350,000 agricultural product suppliers nationwide. Of these, 68,025 violated the country's food safety regulations. The authorities collected VND23 billion (more than US$1 million) in fines and nearly 8,000 food samples were tested in 34 cities' and provinces' testing facilities. The steering committee acknowledged positive steps taken to improve the country's food safety. It also spoke about numerous shortcomings, such as the lack of guidance on safety standards, the lack of co-operation between central and local agencies, and lax enforcement of food safety regulations. Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the public was concerned about food vendors' fraudulent, hazardous practices of food vendors such as abusing agricultural chemicals and expired products. They were also concerned about authorities' competence supervising and reinforcing safety regulations. Dam told the meeting that stricter penalties needed to be imposed on vendors who were found repeatedly in violation of food safety regulations. He also urged ministries, localities and other Government agencies to perform a comprehensive review of their law-enforcement practices. Representatives from Ha Noi and The deputy PM urged ministries and other Government agencies to step up co-operation with Ha Noi and "We need a food safety awareness campaign in the media," he said. "We must understand that only through a combined effort by the authorities and the people can we produce positive results". Residences lack management Ha Noi's resettlement residential housing lacks managerial boards to repair dilapidated infrastructure, causing trouble for residents. An elevator at building N2A in the Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh residential quarter in Thanh Xuan District has been out of service for four months, but no one is responsible for conducting the repairs. The residents themselves would need to call a repairman and pay VND20 million (US$900) themselves. The Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh residential quarter's other buildings have malfunctioning elevators as well, said Le Quy Hong, head of the residential group in Nhan Chinh Ward. They also had sewage system blockages, broken taps and no fire prevention plans. Ha Noi's 173 resettlement buildings are managed and operated by the Ha Noi Housing Management and Development Company, and the Ha Noi Housing Investment and Development. Only 15 of the buildings have managerial boards. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, deputy chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee, said each building must have its own board under the amended Law on Housing, which went into effect in July. In the beginning of July the committee asked the municipal Department of Construction and Ministry of Construction to issue a detailed decree and guidance about founding managerial boards. If the investors and residents could not agree on a plan to set them up, the boards would be founded by local People's Committees. The decree would also regulate building equipment maintenance fees, Tuan said. Northwest province benefits from Japanese-invested agriculture project The northern mountainous The project, which ends this month, offered training in techniques used to cultivate rice, maize and soybeans. It also provided training of local agricultural staff, and instruction in irrigation management to local farmers. Improving agricultural extension services was also a focus of the project. Three districts, Dien Bien, Tuan Giao and Muong Cha, were selected as pilot areas for the project. Based on the results of activities of Vietnamese agricultural staff and Japanese experts, agricultural guidelines have been produced. Guidelines and manuals for agricultural extension covered the topics of rice, maize and soybean farming, while the guidelines and manuals for irrigation management dealt with practical procedures in organising farmers in a water management group. The project also organised workshops for farmers to discuss local challenges and solutions. Water management had improved as a result of the project, organisers said. In addition, the project developed extension tools that suit the local conditions of each pilot district, such as calendars related to crops (rice, maize and soybean) and pest-check boards, with active participation of agricultural officers. The project is expected to promote agricultural and rural development in other northwestern provinces where the climate and geological conditions are similar to Despite huge potential in agriculture and forestry, the northwest region faces numerous challenges, including access to and use of technology. 20 fishing vessels to be built in Quang Binh As many as 20 fishing boats will be built in the final months of 2015 in central The building of the fishing vessels is to be carried out under decree no 67 issued by the Government in 2014 to allow fishermen throughout the country to receive loans with preferential interest rates for ship building. Further, the provincial People's Committee said that eight fishing vessels, worth about VND23.4 billion ($1 million), were built in the first six month of this year. Bomb detection project kicks off in Ha Tinh A project to detect and defuse unexploded bombs left behind after the war in an area spanning over 2,500ha was launched today in central Ha Tinh Province's Dong Loc Junction. The two-year project, valued at VND83 billion (US$3.8 million), was financed through official development assistance from the Japanese government. It is estimated that some 16,500ha of the province contain undetected unexploded bombs. Quang Earlier, on receiving reports from local residents, police and rangers discovered that timber of unclear origin had been hidden in the river in the central province. They went along the river to check and discovered three areas where a large quantity of timber had been collected on either side of the river. A day later, they could salvage just 7cu.m of timber because of the depth of the river, a police official said. Some illegal loggers used motorboats to drag the timber to the middle of the river where they dropped the load and fled, Dang Van Tien, deputy head of district's forest management office, said. The sunken timber was expected to be dozens of cubic metres in volume, about a quarter of which had been retrieved, Tien said. He said the timber was from Phuoc Son District. Taking advantage of the water from the hydroelectric power plant, loggers had illegally transported wood to the river for sale. The incident is under further investigation. Last September, rangers in Nong Son District had discovered a large number of precious timber hidden in streams. Company fined for illegal game release A game company was fined VND200 million (US$9,100) for releasing an online game without approval from the Ministry of Information and Communications, the ministry's inspectorate said yesterday. The Nghe An-based Tri Tue Viet Sofware Development Co. Ltd. was found illegally selling and advertising G1, an online game, without getting its content approved by authorities beforehand. The company also set up an illegal social network with inappropriate content, somovui.com. Repatriation of soldiers’ remains in Dong Nai province The war ended 4 decades ago but the parents, wives, children, and brothers of more than 500,000 martyrs still anguish because their relatives’ remains haven’t returned home. The search for martyrs’ remains began in May, 2012. As time went by, identifying location where soldiers were buried became more and more difficult. Then came reports that approximately 100 soldiers were buried in two mass graves, one bigger than the other. The search area was expanded to dozens of hectares. Despite being hampered by vague information about the location, rudimentary excavation equipment and severe weather, the searchers didn’t get discouraged. After a year in the blazing heat of the dry season and the dampness of the rainy season, Dong Nai province’s search and repatriation team found the mass grave of 20 martyrs. Pham Thi Kim Hue, deputy head of the science and education section of the provincial radio and television station, who accompanied the search team recalled "Work sometimes was interrupted, especially in the rainy season. But the local government’s determination and encouragement helped us to finally find the first mass grave after nearly 2 years. It has been unearthed now.” The search for the remains of soldiers who died in Vuon Dieu ( Colonel Duong Hoa Hiep, political commissar of the provincial military headquarters, said “it was a heartening outcome for the people, the army, Party Committees, and administrations at all levels of Dong Nai province. It could not have been achieved without the support of the provincial authorities, military headquarters, businesses, and local households who have made their land available to the search team.” Finding and repatriating the remains of the soldiers who died in the battle of Vuon Dieu was a tough journey, which sometimes drove everyone to the brink of despair. But the search went on, driven by feelings of profound respect and gratitude for those who sacrificed their lives for the nation. Hau Giang to curb mother-to-child HIV transmission With the goal to completely eradicate HIV transmitted from mothers to children in 2015, the Mekong Delta According to Tran Kim Long, Director of the Hau Giang Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention, the local health sector has set up medical units providing voluntary HIV tests, consultations and treatment for pregnant women in all obstetrics establishments across the province. These facilities assist HIV-infected mothers with prevention treatment as well as advice on child-rearing and the use of antiretroviral drugs (ARV) . As a result, more than 10,000 women have benefited each year and Hau Giang recorded 70% of its female residents receiving prenatal health examinations. Intensive communication campaigns have also been carried out to raise public awareness and support. Since 2012, there have not been any cases of newborns contracting the disease from their mothers in the province. However, the local HIV/AIDS prevention programme is facing financial problems as the budget has been cut by 80% since 2013. As transnational companies discover and choose Through educational programs and much appreciated support of the US, Vietnam’s colleges, universities and students are poised to meet the government’s goal – and then some. A record number of 17,000 Vietnamese students are enrolled at American colleges and universities in 2015— making them the 8th largest foreign group of students and the leading group of ASEAN studying in the In fact, ever since diplomatic relations were normalized two decades ago, US support for general education in Sand Dang and former US Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear The Fulbright Economic Training Program in Through a wide variety of specific training courses, it has provided in country training for thousands of the nation’s students and government officials, advancing people-to-people ties between the two nations. In addition, Fulbright programs have helped more than 600 Vietnamese students and governmental officials pursue studies in the The Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) created by the US Congress in 2000 is another shining example of the fine cooperation between the two countries. The VEF receives an annual budget of US$5 million from the US Congress until 2018. VEF has so far assisted more than 500 Vietnamese students pursue studies in the There has been positive engagement of the private sector in Private Public Partnerships to promote education cooperation. The most notable example of this is the Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program (HEEAP). The HEEAP, which began in 2010, has brought together the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Intel This MoU directly led to the setting up of joint working groups in such areas as Establishing an Most recently a Plans are to raise US$50 million over the next three years and to mobilize US$100 million by 2020 to finance the university to be constructed in FUV is an ambitious extension of Initially FUV will offer a broad range of academic programs in public policy, business administration, finance, law and engineering and later expand to offer extensive liberal arts programs to its curriculum at the undergraduate level. The university, expected to break ground later this year, will be the first private and nonprofit university in These are just a few examples of higher education cooperation among a host of others that could have been mentioned such as American students who come to study in Investing in a trained workforce is vital to bringing more business and industry to Vietnam and – building the domestic economy – and thanks to help from the US, Vietnam is facing up to the challenge. Police in A search warrant has been issued for Murtaza, 27, the alleged leader behind the robbery occurring on July 9, officers said on July 31. P.T.N.P., 27, was putting pillows and blankets for sale on Two foreign women then got off the vehicle and came to look at the items P. was selling. A few minutes later, a foreign man left the car to join the women in choosing the goods, and eventually pointed at a pillowcase, signaling he wanted to buy it. P. received a VND500,000 (US$23) banknote from the foreign man, and took out a wad of money as change. The man attempted to snatch the money, but P. could pull it back. The three foreigners then rushed back to the car and fled. P. thought she had managed to keep her money safe. But checking, she was shocked to learn that VND17 million (US$782) had gone, apparently because the foreign man had managed to steal it without her knowledge. P. then used her motorcycle to chase the foreigners, while shouting for help. The vendor managed to catch foreigners in front of Ba Chieu Market, when some of the foreigners threw a stack of money through a car window to the ground. The vehicle then ran away when P. was picking up the banknotes, with the help of some passers-by. P. only recovered VND3.2 million (US$147.2), with the foreigner allegedly taking away VND13.8 million. When P. was recovering her money, a couple of passers-by, who witnessed the incident, chased after the car, while notifying a patrol police team, according to Phap Luat TP. Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper. The officers immediately ran after the car. When they reached The police team seized the car and handed it over to the District 1 police, who later confirmed that the vehicle is owned by Tan Binh-based Viet Linh Co., which had leased it to a foreign man named Murtaza, according to the newspaper. When looking at a photo of the car’s lessee, P. confirmed that it was the one who stole her money. The case was later transferred to the city police for handling. Murtaza and three other Pakistanis arrived in All the four left the hotel on June 12 without paying room charges, the hotel reported to the police. The largest-ever social housing project in the Mekong Delta, which had its official groundbreaking ceremony in Vinh Long province on August 1, is scheduled to be available in June 2016. During the first stage, the first 620 apartments will be up for sale for needy households in Vinh Long province and neighbouring localities. The HQC Binh Minh project, divided into three stages, will sprawl over 39,100 square metres and accommodate four seven-storey blocks with 1,863 apartments. It is invested by the Hoang Quan Mekong trading and real estate service company at a total cost of 610 billion VND (29 million USD). The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam – Vinh Long branch is offering 20-year loans equivalent to 80 percent of the apartment costs with interest less than 6 percent per year sourced from the government’s 30 trillion VND (1.42 billion USD) housing loan package. Le Quang Trung, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the blocks are also surrounded by kindergartens, schools, a clinic, a shopping mall and community space built by the investor.- President offers incense in tribute to late leader President Truong Tan Sang offered incense in tribute to late lawyer Nguyen Huu Tho (1910-1996), who was Acting State President of Vietnam from 1980-1981, at the latter’s memorial site in southern Long An province on August 1. In the guest book, President Truong Tan Sang wrote that: “Lawyer Nguyen Huu Tho -Acting State President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - will live forever in the nation’s history. As a well-known intellectual, lawyer Nguyen Huu Tho made light of fame and wealth and sacrificed his whole life for the cause of national liberation and reunification as well as for the process of national construction and renewal. The Fatherland always remembers the lawyer’s great contributions.” The memorial site was inaugurated on July 29 in Ben Luc town, Ben Luc district, where lawyer Nguyen Huu Tho was born. It was opened in the hope to help educate the country’s revolutionary history for younger generations. The President and leaders of Long An province took this occasion to plant a tree at the memorial site. Hau Giang to curb mother-to-child HIV transmission With the goal to completely eradicate HIV transmitted from mothers to children in 2015, the Mekong Delta According to Tran Kim Long, Director of the Hau Giang Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention, the local health sector has set up medical units providing voluntary HIV tests, consultations and treatment for pregnant women in all obstetrics establishments across the province. These facilities assist HIV-infected mothers with prevention treatment as well as advice on child-rearing and the use of antiretroviral drugs (ARV) . As a result, more than 10,000 women have benefited each year and Hau Giang recorded 70 percent of its female residents receiving prenatal health examinations. Intensive communication campaigns have also been carried out to raise public awareness and support. Since 2012, there have not been any cases of newborns contracting the disease from their mothers in the province. However, the local HIV/AIDS prevention programme is facing financial problems as the budget has been cut by 80 percent since 2013. Vietnam and Laos will expand collaboration in museum development from 2016-2017 as stipulated in the agreement signed between the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Kaysone Phomvihane Museum in Vientiane on August 1. Accordingly, two sides will work together to organise scientific workshops on Lao revolutionary relic sites in Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh relic sites in Laos, collect documents and items related to Prince Suphanuvong and exchange research materials about President Ho Chi Minh, President Kaysone Phomvihane and President Suphanovong. The collaboration also covers exhibition projects at the commemorative house of Lao students in northern Bac Giang province as well as proposal on the preservation of relic site related to Kaysone Phomvihane in The two sides will focus on scientific research and gathering documents for specific stages of historical events, providing younger generations with a deeper understanding of their leaders’ contributions to the country, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee Office Souvandy Sisavath, who is also responsible for the Under the collaboration framework from 2014-2015, the two museums completed repairs of the Kaysone Phomvihane Museum and construction of a commemorative site for President Ho Chi Minh in Sanavakhet province while conducting studies on revolutionary relic sites in both countries.- Workshop on UN peacekeeping mission closes in Hanoi The first international workshop on sending forces to United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions closed in Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnamese Peacekeeping Centre (VPC), said the workshop is a step towards realising defence cooperation commitments in UN peacekeeping between the Vietnamese Defence Ministry and the US Department of Defence, and the outcomes of talks between the Vietnamese Defence Minister and US Secretary of Defence during the During the workshop, participants discussed the steps to deploy a unit to a UN mission, training curricula, logistics, incentives and field surveys in depth. Vietnamese medical staff, engineers and technicians are capable of fulfilling their UN peacekeeping mission tasks, heard the event. They called for improved training on international law and English speaking skills up to UN standards as well as coordination skills in a multi-national environment. The VPC expressed hope for continued assistance from the UN and the US Department of State’s Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). Speaking at the event, Head of the GPOI programme delegation Richard Maloney said the GPOI wants to continue working closely with The workshop was co-hosted by the VPC and GPOI. First ATM set up in Ly Son Island The Agriculture and Rural Development Bank of The ATM is set up at the centre of the island and will be operated 24/7 in order to serve the rising demand of locals and tourists. Ly Son has a population of around 21,000 people. The majority of residents earn a living from fishing and farming garlic and spring onions. Ly Son is striving to become a maritime economic centre by 2025 with a focus on tourism and aquaculture. The island district hopes to welcome 40,300 visitors in 2015 and earn over 41 billion VND (1.92 million USD). Tourism revenue in the locality is predicted to rise to nearly 99 billion VND (4.65 million USD) in 2020 and 178 billion VND (8.36 million USD) in 2025. Parcel carrier service introduced The Vietnam Railways Company and the Vietnam Post Company officially introduced an exclusive parcel carrier service on its North-South railway route at the Hanoi Railway Station in Accordingly, two 10-tonne parcel carriages will be joined to the TN1/2 train, departing from The service will receive and deliver postal products and interregional exchanged newspapers from and to 21 provinces and cities along the railway route as well as the three Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Dak Lak. Chairman of the member council of the Vietnam Post Do Ngoc Binh said the new carrier service plays an important role in the company’s innovation strategy. Local lives stalled by red mud seeping into river from ore factory Residents living along the They said they notified authorised agencies and received compensation from the factories, but they still had not been able to start farming again. Their fields and ponds are covered with the red mud. Dinh Thi Huong, a resident in My Lung Commune in Phu Tho Province, said she had to pump water from the well and wait until the mud settled before her family could use it. Huong said she had to use her neighbours' filtered water for her 3-year-old child. Filters provide little help because they soon become blocked with mud. Nguyen Van Lien, head of the commune's Village 3B, said mud covered the In In 2013, polluted water covered two hectares of rice fields with a 20 to 60cm layer of red mud. Tens of households protested, and the factory agreed to pay 2 tael of rice for every square metre of contaminated land and VND2,000 (1 US cent) each metre of mud that needed to be removed. "It did not help much," said Tran Van Dan, a resident of Ao Lay Village. Ha Manh Cuong, deputy director of Provincial authorities worked with the factories, forcing them to pay compensation to affected househonds. The department also fined the company VND300 million ($13,800) after an inspection. The water did not contain toxic substances and did not harm the people or their rice fields and fish ponds, Cuong said. The Natural Resources and Environment Department of Tay Ninh Province penalised 116 enterprises that have been discharging waste into the Vam Co Dong River since 2013. Those enterprises were fined more than VND12.5 trillion (US$581 million) total. Nguyen Dinh Xuan, the department's director, said that in order to keep the province's water sources clean, the department asked enterprises to build waste treatment facilities that meet national standards. Students to learn green skills for sustainable development Eight hundred disadvantaged Vietnamese students taking hospitality courses at the Reach vocational training centre will be taught green skills when they return to school in August. The project, titled Green Skills for Urban Youth, has been organised by non-governmental organisation Plan International Viet Nam and the Reach centre to increase job opportunities at green enterprises nation-wide and to contribute to building a sustainable green economy in Green skills, according to experts, are simple tasks that everyone should perform daily to conserve energy and protect the environment. They help students use chemical substances, water and electricity effectively and economically. They include turning off anything running on electricity when it is not in use, arranging items in the refrigerator in a way that makes best use of energy and restricting the air-conditioner to a maximum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. This pilot project will run for two years with a total budget of VND3.5 billion (US$143,000). In the first phase, it aims to train students to use green skills during courses in managing hotel rooms, providing bar services and preparing cocktails. In its second phase, the project is expected to expand to other job sectors after the two-year pilot program is over. Two enterprises will take part in the project, allowing students to apply their new green skills while gaining a stable source of revenue. The courses are also expected to be held online in the long term, so that more students can be trained. Le Quynh Lan, Plan International's project manager of Reach, said the project was created to support the country's target of sustainable development. The country faces severe environmental challenges in its economic development. Often ravaged by natural disasters in the summer, Although "The national plan for green growth indicates that green growth is important for sustainable growth. However, the lack of green skills among employees has slowed down the country's development of a green economy," Lan said. "Labour markets have become more demanding in seeking employees with green skills, so I believe this training is very important," she added. Recent statistics show that one-third of the enterprises in Reach is a local Vietnamese non-governmental organisation specialising in vocational training and employment opportunities for Established in 2008, Reach currently runs vocational training courses in six centres across Vietnam embassy opposes arrest of citizen in Malaysia The Vietnam Embassy in The Vietnamese citizen, only referred to as T. and who is a The arrest of T. is against the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, the Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Cao Phong said in a diplomatic note sent to the The Vienna Convention 1963 is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent countries. The Ambassador Phong said the incident may affect the image of T., who works for the Party Committee Office of District 12, was on an overseas trip to On July 23 night, when the tourists were completing procedures to leave “They said she had a fake stamp on her passport when traveling from The District 12 Party Committee Office was only informed her arrest on July 24 morning, when the other tourists already returned to the Vietnamese city. The office immediately sent an email to notify the Vietnamese embassy in “The tour organizer later told us that it was not until July 27 that the embassy acknowledged the incident and began working with local authorities,” Cuong said. The embassy sent its staff to meet T. at the airport on July 27 afternoon, and the woman was finally able to return to “She could only cry when meeting family members and colleagues upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport,” Cuong recalled. T. was only allowed to phone her family, and lost contact with the Party Committee Office, according to the official. “She received food supplies during the detention but could not eat much as she is unfamiliar with the food,” Cuong said. “The custody room does not meet basic living standards.” The office has given T. some extra days off to calm down. Late embassy's response The detention took place on July 23, but the Vietnam Embassy only knew of it four days later. When asked about the late response, Huong, the Minister Counselor, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) that the embassy was contacted by Saigontourist on July 24, and had told the tour organizer to provide more information via email. “But we received no email from Saigontourist by the end of July 24,” Huong said. The travel firm actually sent an email on July 25, which was Saturday. “It was weekend, and Saigontourist did not tell us that they had sent the email, so we did not check the inbox,” Huong said. On July 27, the embassy finally received the report from Saigontourist, and immediately sent officials to the Malaysian immigration agency as well as But the immigration agency refused to let the Vietnamese embassy staffers meet with T. on July 27, and only arranged a meeting a day later. “The immigration office later confirmed that verification found the stamp on T. passport is authentic, thus freed her but has since released no apology or explanation,” Huong said. Young people do voluntary deeds A group of young people with various nationalities have arrived in The voluntary program of international and Vietnamese young people started from July 12 to August 15. Its activities focused on children, senior people, disabled residents and low-income families in provinces Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, and Ben Tre in the Mekong delta region. Vietnamese young people from Ho Chi Minh City Communist Youth Union joined this program to perform social activities to help locals in the A French volunteer, Saint Amans JB, said that he has come to many Asian countries and European nations but nowhere is as wonderful as in In Tam Nong District of Dong Thap Province, volunteers have built two charity houses for poor households in Tan Cong Sinh Commune and Tram Chim Town as well as planted trees and paving stones for 10 kilometer road while in Tan Thanh Commune in Moc Hoa District of Long An Province, they taught English to children, presented gifts to low-income families as well as popularized information of medicine and social skills. Vietnamese young volunteers are also interested in the program as they can understand more lifestyle and culture of other nations as well as practice English with international friends, said Do Kim Yen , sophomore of Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri |
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 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung attends the events (Photo: VNA) A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung attended the ASEAN+3 Senior Officials Meeting (SOM ASEAN+3) and the East Asia Summit Senior Officials Meeting (SOM EAS) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on August 3. The events were part of the 48th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 48) and related meetings. At the SOM ASEAN+3, the bloc’s senior officials, together with those from three partners – China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan – discussed the agenda for submission to the 16th ASEAN+3 Ministerial Meeting, scheduled to take place on August 6. The participants will present the outcomes of the implementation of the ASEAN+3 Plan of Action from 2007-2017, and a follow-up plan for the coming years, to the ministers. During the SOM EAS between 10 ASEAN member states and partners – China, the RoK, Japan, Australia, India, New Zealand, Russia and the US – panels discussed the development of East Asia’s current co-operation mechanism, especially since Russia and the US joined in 2011. Officials will submit the East Asia Plan of Action to AMM 48 and call for the region to support the establishment of the ASEAN Community at the end of this year, while jointly addressing current challenges in Relevant functions such as the meeting of the Committee for Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Mekong-Japan Senior Officials Meeting, the Lower Mekong Initiative Senior Officials Meeting, and the Mekong-Ganga Co-operation Senior Officials Meeting are taking place on the same day. Nhandanonline |
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Massive imports of Chinese trucks raise concerns The tightening of control over truck loads and the loosening of control over imports have led to the sharp increase in the number of imported Chinese trucks imported.  A report shows that Chinese trucks are available in Hanoi, from the shops on Nguyen Van Cu to Pham Hung and Nguyen Xien Roads at prices 5-15 percent cheaper than domestically assembled products. Thaco’s deputy general director Mai Phuoc Nghe noted that the truck market saw a boom when the Ministry of Transport released Decision No 42 on tightening control over truck loads in circulation. “Enterprises have to buy more trucks to satisfy transportation demand,” he explained. Meanwhile, according to deputy director of the Vietnam Register (VR) Dang Viet Ha, Chinese trucks are the most frequent choice of the majority of Vietnamese enterprises because of their low prices. Chinese trucks destroy roads Analysts noted that the Chinese trucks imports recently include a kind of hybrid vehicle between a semi-trailer and dumper, i.e., a vehicle used to carry building materials as large as a container vehicle. According to VR, in 2014, Meanwhile, 556 products were imported in just the first six months of the year and 595 were assembled domestically during the same time. A high number of imported products bear the Howo brand, which is known in Recently, Howo launched a new model with more axles and larger tanks that carry more goods. A senior executive of Thaco, a Vietnamese truck manufacturer, refused to comment about the quality of Chinese imports, saying that it was difficult to compare the quality of Chinese-made and domestically assembled trucks. However, he thinks that the problem of Chinese motorbikes that occurred 10 years ago may be repeated. At first, Vietnamese imported Chinese motorbikes en masse because they were dirt cheap. But later they hurried to sell the products because of their low quality. “Importers now try to import Chinese trucks for domestic sale but they do not care about post-sale services,” he noted, adding that the business will not survive in Vinamotor’s chair also said the market would return to normal by the end of the year. Tien Phong |
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M&A market signals a new boomAgainst a healthy economic backdrop, including high GDP growth and stable inflation coupled with positive demographic changes, Vietnam has witnessed dynamic merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in 2014 and early 2015 with numerous significant and noteworthy transactions. In 2014, 430 transactions were closed with an overall value of over $4.6 billion. During the first half of 2015, 362 transactions have been completed totalling nearly $3 billion.These numbers signal a booming M&A market in the coming period.  Differing from previous years when investors from In 2014, Thai Berli Jucker Corporation (BJC), which acquired Phu Thai Group and Family Mart in 2013, took a 100 per cent equity interest in Metro Vietnam for $879 million. Central Group has acquired a 49 per cent equity interest in Nguyen Kim and possibly in Pico, a Hanoi-based electronic retail chain. Siam Cement Group (SCG), which acquired 85 per cent of Prime Group, has completed its acquisition of Tin Thanh Flexible Packaging JSC. The international opportunities available have encouraged Thai corporations to expand abroad, particularly in During the year, Vingroup has become a dominant local M&A acquirer with a long list of transactions in real estate, retail and logistics. Its most notable additions include Masteri Thao Dien, Ocean Mart, Vinatex, Vinatexmart, the Giang Vo Trade Show Center, and Hop Nhat Express. It is widely believed that Vingroup will take part in and likely close several transactions in the coming time, giving the accelerated equitisation of several large state-owned enterprises (SOEs). To a lesser extent, It should also be noted that many important transactions have been announced but their values have not yet been disclosed. Such deals include Central Group acquiring 49 per cent in NKT (the holding company of Nguyen Kim), Aeon from Japan successfully gaining 49 per cent in Citimart and 30 per cent in Fivimart, Lotte obtaining 50 per cent in Diamond Plaza, Japan’s Credit Saison taking a 49 per cent share of HD Consumer Finance, and Vingroup purchasing 100 per cent of Vinatexmart and 80 per cent of Hop Nhat Express. Regarding sectors of interest, while food and beverages (F&B), the manufacturing and financial services continued to remain the most attractive M&A sectors in 2014 and the first half of 2015, a large part of noteworthy transactions have also been conducted in the real estate and retail sectors as well.  Prospects of the M&A market in 2015 and 2016 With the positive prospects of the economy, the increase in the supply/availability of quality assets through the removal of foreign ownership limit in listed companies and the accelerated equitisation of several large SOEs, the continued interest of investors from Japan, Thailand, Singapore, the US and local companies, and the participation of Vietnam to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement , experts forecast a booming M&A market in 2015 and 2016.  Decree 60, which was issued on June 20, 2015 and will enter into force on September 1, 2015, will remove the current 49 per cent maximum foreign ownership limit in a public company operating in unrestricted areas. The decree’s objective is to make it much easier for foreign investors to acquire a majority interests in public companies. We expect that many foreign investors will take advantage of this removal to acquire attractive public and private companies, especially listed ones. The only remaining limitation is that the list of restricted areas remains quite long and if a public company has a restricted business line in its enterprise registration certificate, the maximum cap of foreign ownership in that restricted business line will be applicable. It is expected that investors from The accelerated equitisation of SOEs would hand several quality opportunities on a golden plate to participants on the M&A market, offering up these corporations the chance to benefit from prospects with Mobifone, Satra, SaigonTourist, Vietnam Airlines, as well as SBIC and PV Gas, both of whom are strategic investors. However, it is suspected that several SOEs only plan to divest from unattractive or losing subsidiaries in their current equitisation plans while keeping the most attractive ones to themselves. Vietnam’s coming participation in the TPP represents a significant opportunity for a number of industries in Vietnam, such as garments, furniture, seafood and agricultural products, to grow through increasing exports to TPP members, notably the US, Japan, Australia and Canada. Foreign investors have shown increasing interest in acquiring assets in these sectors to benefit from the prospective growth brought by the TPP. By Le Hoang - The author is a senior manager and deal advisory at M&A, KPMG Limited. The views expressed by the author here do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of KPMG Vietnam. VIR |
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Should The National History Museum, the largest museum in Vietnam, has a total investment of up to VND11,277 billion ($520 million), not including the cost of designing the museum contents and display, according to the Ministry of Construction’s report in 2012. This project was approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2006.  The sketch of the The government website has reported that Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai recently assigned the Ministry of Construction to work with the Ministry of Planning - Investment and the Ministry of Finance to make a plan of investment for the construction of the According to the plan, the The work will preserve and promote the historical - cultural value of According to the roadmap, the work will be built from November 2012 to May 2016, at the West Lake new urban area, The work consists of four categories: the main building; the memorial monument of celebrities; the outdoor exhibition area; and the ancillary technical items. Particularly, the main building will be built on an area of over 20,000m2, with a basement and six floors, including the artifact warehouse; the center for preservation and restoration; the hall, seminar rooms, studio rooms in service of research, study ... The Ministry of Construction is assigned as the investor. The Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism will manage and be the investor of the component project (including the content and form of displays). Many people said that the investment in this museum is huge, which is enough to build many other public works. Museums are available in almost all provinces and there are many museums in cities and most of them operate ineffectively. They cited the Many people worry that with a big public debt, if $1 = VND21,500 T. Van, VNN |
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 People are seen at a beach in Nha Trang, A company in the south-central Swimming after 6:00 pm is normally not advisable at beaches across TD JSC, which proposed opening a night swimming beach in front of the 32-34 Tran Phu Hotel, thus said it will set up a lighting system and arrange lifeboats and lifeguard forces to ensure safety. The night swimming zone extends around 50m from the shore and lies within the area where the hotel is allowed to put its beach umbrellas and benches, according to the proposition. The Khanh Hoa administration worked with relevant agencies on the proposal during a meeting on Monday, and eventually decided to give TD Co. the go-ahead. “The night swimming zone will be open on a trial basis this month, after which we will review its effectiveness,” Le Huy Toan, deputy chairman of Nha Trang, said after the meeting. “The company must install the lighting system and assign lifeguards to ensure safety for beachgoers.” The 32-34 Tran Phu Hotel is located on Tran Phu, the main street of the famed resort city, fronting a beach area that is meant for public use. “The [TD] company wants to open the night swimming section only to increase the value added for the hotel, rather than blocking the beach for its own use,” Bui Xuan Luong, an official from the Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said. “The night beach is admission-free and serves both locals and tourists.” The Khanh Hoa administration thus backed the proposal and hailed the firm’s plan to serve the community with the night swimming zone. In December 2014, the management board of The area was suggested to run around 200m along the beach, from Nha Trang’s iconic The “It will be great if there is another night swimming beach in Nha Trang, besides that of TD Co., as tourists and local residents will be better served,” said Luong, the official from the tourism department. TUOI TRE NEWS |
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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 4/8 EVN calls for saving electricity for fear of thermal power difficulties The Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has called for electricity conservation as some of its thermal power plants are facing difficulties due to the drop in coal production because of flooding in Many coal companies in Quang Ninh face big losses after the big flooding. EVN said that, from July 25 to July 30, Landslides and flooding cut access to coal mines in Cam Pha and Hon Gai, which affected supply to Coastal Thermal Power Plant No. 1 and Vinh Tan Thermal Power Plant No. 2. Coal-fired plants of EVN only have enough coal to operate for about five days, although the Uong Bi Thermal Power Plant has a 20-day stockpile. In the next days, the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (VINACOMIN) will focus on opening roads in Hon Gai and Cam Pha, with a focus on Coastal Thermal Power Plant No. 1 and Vinh Tan Thermal Power Plant No. 2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade urged Vinacomin and EVN to boost electricity generation from all hydropower and power plants nationwide to ensure uninterrupted supply. The Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) said on July 29 the torrential rains in Jan-Jul auto, part imports put at US$3.4 billion Imports of completely built-up (CBU) autos and auto parts have amounted to US$3.4 billion in January-July, soaring 88% against the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). The GSO’s data showed 65,000 cars worth US$1.72 billion have been imported into The January-July auto imports are higher than last year’s total of US$1.57 billion and more than doubled 2013’s US$709 million. CBU autos are among the imported products with strong revenue growth in the first seven months. Auto assemblers reported good business results in the first months of the year. As the ratio of local content in automobiles is still small, automakers had to import large volumes of parts for domestic assembly. According to the GSO, in addition to the US$1.72 billion CBU auto imports, The combined turnover of imported autos and auto parts from January to July is equivalent to the period’s estimated trade deficit of US$3.4 billion. Most automakers have not revealed their January-July business results but their sales volumes in the first half were high. Data of the If sales growth is maintained, auto sales in all of 2015 can reach 200,000 units. Demand for autos is traditionally higher in the final months of year. Local leader at Hong Leong Bank The board of directors of Hong Leong Bank Tam, who has over 20 years of experience in the local financial sector, has served as general director of the Malaysian bank since January 1, 2014 and would be replaced by a Malaysian national from September. Speaking to the Daily, Tam confirmed his resignation and pointed out the limited ability of foreign banks in reaching out to more Vietnamese customers as one of the reasons behind his resignation. With chartered capital of VND3 trillion, Hong Leong is one of the five 100% foreign-owned banks in In legal terms, banks with 100% foreign ownership have the same treatment as domestic banks but these foreign-owned banks still face a number of barriers. Nonetheless, Tam said the banking sector still holds great growth potential in terms of customers and products. With a young population and high Internet and telecommunication penetration rates in urban areas, the e-banking service segment will fare better. Tam and HSBC Vietnam CEO Pham Hong Hai are the two Vietnamese employed to lead 100% foreign-owned banks in the nation. The government of HCMC has proposed the Prime Minister cut the price of ethanol and partially support E5 gasoline production and distribution costs to spur sales of this bio-fuel. To boost sales of E5, a type of petrol mixed with 5% ethanol, the city government wrote to the Prime Minister on Monday asking for incentives such as amending the regulations on the assessment, certification, use of additives and standards on gasoline production. Currently, there are nine major fuel wholesalers having six general agents and 514 retail stores in the city. In November last year, 58 local gas stations began selling E5 but the number had risen to 155 by June this year. Average E5 sales from November to June reached 4,500 cubic meters per month, accounting for a mere 3% of total fuel sales in the city. The city is on target to increase the total number of stations selling E5 to 171 by end-September and 514 in late November. However, fuel wholesalers said it is difficult to speed up consumption of E5 as it is new to consumers. Local fuel trading firms are hesitant to sell this bio-fuel as they have to spend much on new filling stations and are concerned that low sales would cut into their profit. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai urged local agencies and fuel wholesalers to accelerate construction of E5 mixing facilities and expand the pumping station network to serve more customers. In early July, the city government drew up a roadmap to force State agencies and enterprises to use E5 gasoline for their automobiles. New tra fish development scheme sought Le Vinh Tan, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission has underscored the need to draw up a scheme to build a strong tra fish industry and diversify its products. The slowdown of the tra fish industry and the country’s deeper international integration require it to be restructured for better performance, Tan said on the sidelines of a seminar in Can Tho City on July 30 on solutions to boost tra fish production and consumption. The value of tra fish is higher than that of many other agro-aqua products as with less than 6,000 hectares of farmland, tra fish could bring annual export turnover of US$1.8 billion, Tan said. According to data of the Vietnam Pangasius Association, Tan said enterprises needed to understand specific demands of each importing market to provide suitable products. Exported tra fish products of Besides, cooperation among tra fish enterprises remains weak and they are often embroiled in price cut races, Tan said. Vo Hung Dung, general secretary and vice chairman of the association, said many agencies have prepared development schemes for key projects of the Mekong Delta region, including tra fish. However, resources would be a big challenge. The new development scheme should focus on building brands instead as issues concerning production and quality improvement were already included in a Government decree on tra fish, Dung said. In addition, it is necessary to survey markets such as the EU, the Enterprises currently buy unprocessed tra fish at VND20,000-21,500 per kilogram, heard the seminar. With such price levels, farmers incur losses of VND1,000-1,500 per kilogram. The government of According to the city’s Decision No. 3415/QD-UBND, the projects include supermarkets and trade centers in These projects will be partially funded by the city’s budget. The city government will also raise funds from joint ventures, and foreign and local investors for the projects. Tran Thi Phuong Lan, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, told reporters recently that The new supermarkets include 23 of Grade A ranking, 100 of Grade B, 865 of Grade C. They will be located at basements and ground floors of buildings in innercity areas while traditional wet markets in the city center will be upgraded to incorporate supermarkets and commercial centers. According to the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, the city now has 135 supermarkets and 28 commercial centers. Therefore, the city will have to build 864 new supermarkets and 36 commercial centers as envisaged in the zoning plan. The zoning plan for trade centers is part of a master zoning plan for socio-economic development until 2020 with a vision towards 2030 in Vietcombank, VNA to collaborate in several fields Vietcombank and national carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) signed a comprehensive co-operation agreement in Ha Noi on July 30. Representatives of Vietcombank and Vietnam Airlines sign a comprehensive co-operation agreement in Ha Noi. Photo VNA Under the agreement, the two parties will establish long-term, comprehensive and effective co-operation in several fields. Vietcombank will provide VNA diversified banking and financial service products with preferential policies, such as monetary and capital source management, commercial support, international payments and issue of letter of credit, guarantees, cards and services related to corporate finance and the stock market. Meanwhile, the carrier will offer preferential policies to passengers, goods, luggage and parcels from Vietcombank. The airline will also allow the bank to finance and invest in its subsidiaries. The two sides said they would implement an overall marketing programme and co-operate to develop trademarks to maximise the results of their co-operation. FPT profits up in H1 thanks to strong overseas branches The country's software giant FPT Corporation (FPT) released the company first-half financial report, citing pre-tax profits of VND1.35 trillion (US$63.3 million), a 10 per cent increase over last year's H1 figure. The holding company's after-tax profit increased by 12 per cent to VND881 billion ($41.3 million) over last year. The company's earnings-per-share also rose by 12 per cent to VND2,224. FPT's combined revenue rose by 27 per cent over last year to VND19.32 trillion ($907 million), 108 per cent of this year's plan. The company said that the growth of sales in the company's technology sector and distribution-retail sector was the major factor that helped FPT achieve such high profits and revenue. The technology sector recorded VND3.46 trillion ($158 million) in revenue and VND395billion ($11.3 million) in pre-tax profit for the first-half, an increase of 27 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. FPT's growing overseas branches is a key factor in its growth. Its overseas business increased 44 per cent to $98 million in revenue in the first half of this year. Ha Noi seeks investment in four commercial centres The municipal People's Committee is seeking investors to facilitate the construction of four new commercial centres in the Quoc Oai, Thanh Tri and Hoai Duc districts. Under the Decision No. 3415/QD-UNND, the projects will not use capital from the State budget. The committee required the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to instruct the districts to develop land-use plans for the construction by 2020. It also asked the Centre for Investment Promotion, Trade and Tourism to meet all legal conditions for investment and land management as well as the relevant regulations for choosing contractors. The City Garden Company has kicked off work for a tower of 478 high-end apartments ranging from 70 to 161 sq.metres in The This tower is designed by the renowned architect Koos de Kiejezer of DKO company. The Element Design Studio of Singapore is responsible for landscape design, which will be carried out by local contractor Cotecons. It is expected to be completed in June next year. Amenities include a children's playground, jogging path, swimming pools, BBQ garden, restaurants and convenience stores. Bank credit outpaces deposits, lending rates Bank credit growth so far this year stands at 7 per cent year-on-year, outstripping deposit growth, which is only 5 per cent, Dau Tu Chung Khoan newspaper reported. Reports from the VPBank Securities Company (VPBS) and BanViet Securities Company predict full-year credit growth to exceed the target of 13-15 per cent. The highest growth has been registered in lending to the property sector — 10.9 per cent – as it accounted for 8.3 per cent of total outstanding loans as of end July. VPBS analysts attributed the rapid credit growth to reasons like the reduction in interest rates. Deposit interest rates declined by 0.2-0.5 percentage points, allowing lending interest rates to fall by 0.3 percentage points, they said. With the prices of commodities and fuel falling in the global market since late last year, companies have been able to cut production costs, leading to a recovery in their business and increased credit demand as a result. The chief of a commercial bank in Analysts considered the strong credit growth as a sign of the country's economic recovery, but expressed concern about banks' liquidity and the increase in bad debts. Nguyen Tri Hieu, a senior economist, told Dau Tu Chung Khoan, " In recent years, because of the high inflation, the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has had to apply a tight money policy, sharply increase interest rates, and reduce lending to non-production sectors. As a result, inflation has declined significantly and the imbalance between deposits and credit has been mitigated, Hieu said. But the higher growth of credit than deposits means banks' liquidity is not as good as it was a few months ago, he said. This is underlined by the fact that banks, the biggest buyers of government bonds, are not too keen on them now. Consequently, the percentage of government bonds bought in the primary market fell dramatically from 68 per cent in the first week of July to 39 per cent in the second. Analysts also expressed fears about a possible increase in non-performing loans. Hieu agreed saying that when credit is loosened bad debts are likely to rise. According to SBV figures, by late March the banking sector's bad debts ratio had risen to 3.81 per cent from 3.24 per cent late last year. Analysts said bad debts are always banks' biggest worry, including big ones. Even Vietcombank, which boasts the best financial management in the banking industry, has a bad-debts problem. Over the first half of this year its bad debts climbed to 2.43 per cent of total loans outstanding, higher than its year-end target of 2.3 per cent. Chairman Nghiem Xuan Thanh said the bank's credit quality is worrying because its provision for bad debts has reached an all-time high level while bad debts recovered have been much lower than planned. Firms to issue their own certificates of origin Vietnamese enterprises have been urged to actively learn about the preparations for self-issuing a certificate of origin before the upcoming free trade agreements (FTAs) go into effect. Tran Thi Thu Huong, director of VCCI's Centre for Trade Paper Attesting, said at a workshop in Ha Noi on Thursday that the mechanism for self-issuing a certificate of origin is new to In the process of negotiating FTAs, the negotiators gave high importance to self-issued certificates of origin for enterprises, calling it a goal that must be achieved, she added. Explaining the mechanism, the director said responsibility for certifying the origin of goods would be transferred from authorities to enterprises. Enterprises will carry out the necessary procedures and satisfy legal conditions to determine and certify that commodities have met standards related to their origin. They must also take responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of this certification. The self-certification of origin aims to facilitate import and export activities and reduce administrative procedures. However, most Vietnamese enterprises lack information on the process of self-certification, Huong said. The director said Swiss and Norwegian experts had noted that the self-certification mechanism has existed in their countries for 40 years, but only about 1,000 enterprises have used it in The small number of participants is attributed to enterprises failing to meet the necessary conditions for self-issuing certificates. Meanwhile, many enterprises that can meet the conditions are not confident and still need agencies to help them complete the attestation. Analysis of the process will play an important role in helping enterprises self-certify the origin of their products, and the role of customs will need to be enhanced to attest to the accuracy of these cexrtificates, Huong said. To avoid problems when applying the mechanism for self-certification of origin, enterprises should have a firm grasp on the production process and should understand the associated regulations, she said. The director also recommended that enterprises maintain document storage systems and build a team to manage verification requirements when needed. British companies can participate in infrastructure projects in which Tat Thanh Cang, deputy chairman of the People's Committee, told the visitors led by Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprises Anna Soubry at a meeting on Thursday that the city is now focusing on four key sectors — electronics - IT, mechanical engineering-transport, chemicals-plastics-rubber, and food processing. Investment priority would also be given to developing public transport, including eight metro routes, ports and logistics, he told them. Some 60-70 per cent of Soubry said She also expressed interest in developing deep-sea ports and the Thu Thiem new urban area, saying British companies hope to participate in those projects. The British visitors — part of a larger delegation to Viet Nam led by PM David Cameron that wrapped up its visit later the same day — included many top business executives from industries like construction, electronics, power, and infrastructure besides investors. Japanese firms flock to invest in HCM City Japanese businesses continue to regard Speaking at the Viet Nam-Japan Investment and Trade Promotion Forum, Mukuta Satoshi, senior managing director of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), said Japanese firms had invested a total of US$37.3 billion in " Mukuta was leading a delegation of executives from 24 large Japanese companies involved in processing and manufacturing, garment and textile, transport, construction, real estate, finance, banking, insurance, retail, and other industries, who came to explore the city's investment and business environment. Nakajima Satoshi, the Japanese envoy in Le Thanh Liem, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee, said the city hoped the Japanese Government and business community would continue to share management experience, transfer technology, provide ODA support, and invest in projects to develop infrastructure, human resources, support industries, and hi-tech agriculture. "The city will always welcome, accompany and create favourable conditions for foreign investors, including Japanese, seeking long-term investment and business opportunities in the city." The forum would provide a chance for businesses from the two countries to understand each other's needs, he said. Pho Nam Phuong, director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City (ITPC), said the city has 17 industrial parks and export processing zones with a total area of 4,000ha. There are plans to establish seven more IPs with a combined area of over 2,000ha, she revealed. Speeding up infrastructure work and attracting investment into new urban areas like Thu Thiem and Besides, the city is soliciting foreign investment in many socio-economic projects, she added. The Department of Investment and Planning introduced key projects in which the city sought Japanese investment like the monorail line No 2 linking National Highway 50 with the Thanh Da - Binh Quoi Urban Area in Binh Thanh District, and construction of an underground mall at the Ben Thanh Central Station. It also highlighted the city's potential, favourable conditions and investment policies. Organised by ITPC, the event also attracted executives from 50 Japanese firms operating in It was followed by a business-to-business meeting to enable a further exchange of information and co-operation opportunities. New property law piles risk on banks A proposed decree to guide the recent amendments to the Law on Real Estate Business that requires housing developers to get guarantees from banks before they can sell or lease out units needs to be more specific to ensure safety, a developer has warned. Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of Dat Lanh Real Estate Company, told a seminar held in HCM City to collect feedback on the draft decree that generally a developer needs bank loans for land clearance and buying land use rights and then for construction. Now, with the guarantee, all the risks pile on banks if a project gets into trouble, he pointed out. In reply, Vu Van Phan, deputy head of the Ministry of Construction's Housing Management and Real Estate Market, said the State Bank of Phan said the guarantee is to safeguard buyers' rights since many people who paid to buy apartments had been unable to get back their money when projects stalled. Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said the government should allow insurance companies to join the business (provide the guarantee) to offer developers a wider choice in sharing the risk. Nguyen Trong Ninh, permanent deputy head of the Ministry of Construction's Housing Management and Real Estate Market, said that even foreigners who are in the country for just a day are allowed to buy houses. He also said that foreigners get ownership for 50 years and can apply for a single extension of 50 years at most. They can resell their assets with the buyers getting the title for the remaining duration, he said. Participants said the new owners should enjoy another 50 years. The amendments to the housing and real estate business laws took effect on July 1, but decrees guiding their implementation are yet to be issued. Chau said foreign institutions and individuals are allowed to own 30 per cent of the total number of units in an apartment project but only 10 per cent of houses if a development comprises both apartments and houses. He called for greater flexibility in places like Ha Noi, Da Nang, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and HCM City, especially areas like Phu My Hung and Thao Dien in HCM City that attract a large numbers of foreigners. "Local governments should be empowered to make decisions appropriate for their situation." Yoshida Akio, chief representative of Japanese-owned Kitakei Co, which sells housing materials and equipment and construction work systems, said the Japanese community in Viet Nam wanted to buy houses to live in the country for a long term, adding the 30 percent rate should be increased to 40 or 50 per cent. Circular 9 opens NPL activity to foreign, local investors State Bank of HSC said that this could be a breakthrough for local organisations since an open market would help the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) and banks reduce NPLs in the economy. HSC said that the circular, which takes effect in September, would control the purchase of NPLs between institutions in the finance-banking sector by defining the responsibilities of seller, buyer and other stakeholders. The VAMC is a leading local entity founded by SBV in 2013 to buy NPLs from local financial institutions and sell them to investors. In total, VAMC has purchased VND158 trillion (US$7.26 billion) of NPLs but sold only five per cent, VND7.8 trillion ($358.8 million), to investors. In order to sell more NPLs, and reduce the rate of NPLs-to-total capital to three per cent by the end of this year, VAMC needs to find investors that are able to buy NPLs in large volumes, according to HSC. However, local organisations will continue to be the main buyers of NPLs because overseas investors are not likely to do so in the near future. Sales will remain low until the value of NPLs are equal to their market price. The circular will also prevent financial institutions from buying and selling NPLs to each other as a way to temporarily reduce their bad debt ratios. Circular 09 states that a company must provide all required legal documents and financial records before it can sell any of its non-performing loans or bad debts. Financial organisations must register, get SBV's approval and have a ratio of NPLs-to-capital under three per cent. Asset management companies that belong to a financial institution are able to buy NPLs from another financial institution only if its parent has a bad-debt ratio below three per cent. A financial institution cannot sell its NPLs to its subsidiaries, except ones whose restructuring plans are approved by the Government and the SBV. A financial institution cannot buy back their NPLs and must issue an internal regulation on buying and selling NPLs that differentiate NPL auditing from NPL buying-selling. NPL sellers are able to negotiate with buyers about contract details if the seller wants to sell a part or the whole NPL to several buyers. NPLs must be recorded, reported to and tracked by the SBV in accordance with regulations. Nearly 1.7 billion USD of FDI pours into real estate market The country's property market attracted 1.69 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) for 15 projects in the first seven months of 2015, according to the Foreign Investment Agency. This figure accounted for 19.3 percent of the total FDI capital of 6.92 billion USD. Figures from the agency showed that the real estate sector took second place in attracting FDI capital during the period. In Experts forecast that FDI pouring into the property sector would see a surge by the year-end month thanks to the amended Law on Housing 2014 and Real Estate Trading, which allows foreign buyers and overseas Vietnamese to own houses in JETRO supports Ha Giang province in investment attraction Representatives of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Japanese businesses worked with leaders of northern mountainous Ha Giang province on July 31 in an effort to help the locality lure more Japanese investors. Speaking at the working session, Atsusuke Kawada, Chief of the JETRO Office in At the end of this year, the JETRO Office in Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Trieu Tai Vinh said the province always open its door to foreign investors and pledged to support them with consistent preferential policies while ensuring political stability and social order. He hoped that the JETRO Office would assist the locality in investment promotion. Mountainous Ha Giang province is home to spectacular Dong Van Karst Plateau, which was recognised as a member of the Global Network of National Geoparks (GGN) in 2010, making it a very potential spot to develop eco-tourism, cultural and adventure tourism. It also has the Thanh Thuy International Border Gate that links Besides, the locality also has 9,000 hectares of valuable medicinal herbs. Conference examines economic aspects of Vietnam-US relations Trade is considered the most successful cooperation field between Speaking at the event, co-organised by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-US Friendship Association in HCM City, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh affirmed that trade and economics have contributed importantly to the sustainable development of the bilateral ties. Once the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is signed, the two countries’ partnership will be lifted to a new level, he said, adding that the increased opportunities brought by the agreement will be coupled with increased challenges which require the Government, businesses and people to take active measures to turn challenges into opportunities. US Consul General in the city Rena Bitter noted that over the past two decades, the two countries have enjoyed numerous achievements in bilateral relations with the value of trade hitting 35 billion USD in 2014 from 500 million USD in 1995. Educational cooperation has also seen positive results, she said, adding that the number of Vietnamese students in the The relationship will be enhanced once the Huynh The Du, a lecturer for the Fulbright Economics Teaching Programme, said that the Public property needs better management The use of public property must be managed transparently to minimise legal loopholes that results in the misuse of the property by individuals and agencies, it was agreed at a recent meeting held by the Ministry of Finance on the matter. Public property includes land, houses, cars and other assets which are worth more than 500 million VND (23,000 USD). According to the National Database, as of December last year, the total value of public property had reached nearly 1,000 trillion VND (45.8 billion USD). Property worth 690.5 trillion VND (31.6 billion USD) was managed by more than 59,000 government agencies, accounting for 69 percent of total assets. Speaking at the meeting, the head of the ministry's State Asset Management Department, Tran Duc Thang, said several agencies allocated with public property had used their capital to increase operational efficiency whilst giving pay rises to employees and making additional contributions to the State Budget. However, the shortcoming remained in the management and use of public property. Many assets managed by certain State-owned enterprises had been misused, said Thang. He said the mechanism to allocate public capital to self-financing enterprises allowed them to use the assets to make a profit. However, the method of defining the value of public property and self-financing enterprises was not up to scratch. The ministry would review and adjust processes and procedures used to define the value of property as well as increase the number of government self-financing agencies that receive public assets, Thang told the meeting. Quang Ninh, Tourism agencies in In addition, many Vietnamese people living abroad have relatives in Domestic tourism would help curb the recent fall in international visitors to the country, Thanh added. More than 60 percent of travel companies and providers of tourism-related services such as hotels, restaurants and resorts have committed to cut prices by 20-40 percent to encourage domestic tourism under the National Tourism Stimulus Programme. Quang Ninh needs to focus its investment to attract more tourists from HCM City to local sites such as Quang Ninh Museum and hydroplane flight services, said Nguyen Thi Khanh, deputy chairwoman of HCM City's Tourism Association Quang Ninh has more than seven million visitors every year, including five million domestic visitors, according to the provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department. However, the number of tourists from In June, The agreement covered five main areas: tourism products, promotion campaigns, training of human resources, investment funds and tourism management. FDI enterprises promote use of Vietnamese goods Foreign direct invested (FDI) enterprises have created a momentum for developing products made in Vo Van Quyen, director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said more than 200 Vietnamese products were exported throughout the world through foreign firms. The figure indicates the increasing contribution of the FDI sector in promoting the programme, "Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese goods," Quyen added. Vietnamese goods, produced by both local enterprises and FDI firms in The survey conducted last May revealed that 92 percent of consumers are aware of the programme, 63 percent of these people give priority to choosing Vietnamese goods, and 54 per cent of them recommend that their relatives and friends buy Vietnamese goods. Yet, three problems could be seen, including bumper harvests and decreasing prices, a lack of an established value chain and pressure from the opening of local markets. He added that the issues could be partly resolved if FDI companies operating in In particular, he said he expected FDI companies to pay attention to connecting domestic firms, while developing support industries for Sharing such ideas, Dang Xuan Quang, deputy head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, reiterated that Vietnamese goods have not only been produced by wholly domestic companies, but also by FDI businesses in Vietnam. He noted that this view should be integrated from policies to special actions to prevent discrimination between the two kinds of goods. Nguyen Mai, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), added that some views should be changed to further promote the programme. Accordingly, Vietnamese goods should include products that have been produced by large international groups, such as Samsung, Intel, Nokia, Canon and LG in Han Myoung Sup, Samsung "We expect to contribute to the country's socio-economic development, as well as improving the quality of life of the Vietnamese people by manufacturing good products", he said. Samsung has carried out programmes to meet their commitment and has sought partners to develop Today, the country has 700 supermarkets and 100 commercial centres, while just in However, modern retail channels have accounted for 20 per cent of total retail activities in the country, and this rate is expected to increase by 30 to 40 per cent from 2020 to 30. Further, Vu Vinh Phu, chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association, said co-operation between production and distribution had not been enhanced, resulting in excess inventories, especially in agricultural products. "The country should further promote connection chains to bring Vietnamese goods into supermarkets. This could help Vietnamese goods become more popular and be sustainably developed," Phu said. Nguyen Thai Dung, deputy general director of Big C Thang Long, said his company had always given priority to Vietnamese goods, as 95 per cent of its products are manufactured in Meanwhile, a representative from Hapro said their retail system distributed some 20,000 products, of which 80 per cent were locally produced. Measures taken to bolster export of agro-forestry-aquatic products Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has ordered the implementation of measures to remove difficulties and promote the export of agro-forestry-aquatic products. Accordingly, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will continue working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to effectively implement monetary policy management measures to increase business access to bank credit programmes to support manufacturing and the export of agro-forestry-aquatic products. The bank said it has specifically designed preferential credit programmes to facilitate the manufacturing and export of agro-forestry-aquatic products. Credit organisations are encouraged to balance capital sources and reduce loan interest rates for prioritised fields – including agriculture, rural development and exports. They are allowed to restructure business debt payment deadlines while improving consumer trust. The maximum interest rate for short-term loans in VND for prioritised sectors is 7 percent annually. The SBV also provides foreign currency loans for agriculture firms at reasonable interest rates and expands Government Decree 55/2015/ND-CP on supporting credit loans for agriculture and rural development, which took effect in July 2015. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, earnings from the export of agro-forestry-aquatic products in June reached 2.6 billion USD, bringing the sectors’ total export revenues in the first half of the year to 14.42 billion USD. Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR |
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Social News 4/8 Water prices will rise to VND5,973 a cubic metre for first 10 cubic metres, and VND15,929 a cubic metre for consumption of more than 30 cubic metres. The prices are before value added tax and environmental protection fees. “Water prices will be increased by an average 20 percent,” a Hanoi Clean Water Company official said. Hanoi Clean Water Company estimates that in 2015 underground water resources will decline between one and three percent, while summer demand this year has risen by between seven percent and 10 percent on the previous year. Water supply is 40,000-60,000 cubic metres below demand. Nguyen Anh Viet, the director of Vietnam Clean Water Investment and Construction Corporation (Viwaco), which supplies more than 100,000 consumers, said the planned price rise is expected to generate more funding to invest in new infrastructure to serve more people. “After the water price increase, Nguyen Huu Thang, the director of Clean Water 2 Company, said, “Clean water is priced at the same rate for both residents in the inner city and in the outskirts despite their income gap. The planned price hike will seriously affect those who live in outer suburbs.” Nguyen Thi Thuy, the head of Hanoi municipal People’s Council’s Office of Social and Cultural Affairs, said the rate of residents in rural areas getting access to clean water is low, so rural areas should be provided with clean water subsidies. “The clean water price hike plan should be carefully considered, as in 2014 only 36.58 percent of residents in rural areas had access to clean water and the rate is expected to increase by five percentage points by the end of this year,” Thuy said. Police list names of those who owe fines Nguyen Huu Cuong, chief of the office of The details will appear on websites owned by the city's traffic department, the Da Nang Police and the The concerned agencies detected the traffic offences via automated camera systems. Quarry explosions damage houses, threaten residents  Tens of houses in the Central Highland They claimed that Tran Phuc Private Enterprise had expanded its mine beyond the safety zone, putting local residents at risk. Le Thi Lan, a resident in Dak R'Moan Commune's However over the past few years, the enterprise has expanded the mine to just 130 metres away from her house. "The noise from the blasting is deafening and dust and rocks fly all over the place. It's really dangerous," she said. A month ago, a rock fell on her house, smashing the roof and damaging some furniture. Residents said that on average, blasting took place twice a day, but the enterprise had not offered any form of compensation. In the document that the enterprise supplied to Vietnam News Agency, its licence had just been extended last August, and permitted blasting across a 7.5 hectare zone. Le Dinh Thang, chairman of Dak R'Moan Commune's People's Committee, said that Tran Phuc Private Enterprise has been licensed to mine at Tan An Quarry for nearly ten years. The mine's expansion across tens of hectares had affected the lives of residents and posed safety risks. Thang said the committee had received a petition from residents. As regulated, the safe distance between a quarry and a residential area must be 200 metres or more. The committee is working with authorised agencies to examine the impacts of mining on local households and plans to claim compensation from the enterprise. It will also ask the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Industry and Trade to revise the firm's licence extension, and withdraw it completely if a threat was posed to people's lives. Illegal motorbike consumption ring razed The According to the District 3 police, Mai Tan Sy of District 3, Le Dinh Nguyen of District 7, Le Truong Bac of Hoc Mon and Huynh Ngoc Thanh of District 4 have been taken in for questioning about "property theft". Sy and Nguyen were arrested on July 20 after they were caught completing the paperwork for selling a stolen vehicle. Using information the duo provided, the police investigated 14 others for stealing and selling motorbikes. They said Sy and Thanh, the kingpins, bought vehicles from motorbike robbery gangs at low prices and made fake licence plates and papers for them before handing them over to Bac and Nguyen to sell or mortgage for VND10-13 million each. Searches of their houses turned up nine motorbikes and many documents believed to be forged by them. The investigation continues. The The facility is expected to cost VND300 billion or US$14 million, with half the funds coming from State budget and the remaining from investment by private sector. The facility in the form of a six-storey building with fully functional rooms for medical operation, will occupy 1,200sq. m area inside the hospital territory. Construction will start in the first quarter of next year and is expected to be completed within two years. Demand for obstetrical services has been emerging strongly to cater to the needs of residents in the region, as there has been high pressure on the existing obstetric ward of the hospital. Overload at the old building had resulted in low quality services and depressed patients for years. State-run coal group works to tackle flood impacts The State-run Vietnam National Coal – Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) is planning a series of measures to address the impacts of the worst rainstorm and flood in four decades in northern coastal Quang Ninh province. The record downpour from July 26-31 in Quang Ninh – with rainfall as high as 800 millimetres in Ha Long and Cam Pha cities on July 26-27 – severely influenced the group’s production and business activities. Vinacomin halted all coal production activities in Quang Ninh, which is known for its great coal reserves, to focus on deluge prevention and post-flood recovery. In the next few days, the firm will focus resources on ensuring the safety of vulnerable dams, mines and tunnels and draining flood water out of the facilities to resume operations as soon as possible. It will go on with repairing roads and railways designed for coal transport to ensure supply for consumption facilities, especially electricity plants. Meanwhile, the company will also work to reinforce retaining walls at coal storage sites, dredge drainage systems and gear up personnel in case of emergencies. Vinacomin is also deploying forces to help Quang Ninh address flood consequences by evacuating residents, accommodating evacuees and donating money. Incessant rains and deluge have claimed at least 17 lives and left eight others injured in Quang Ninh. The National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control said on July 31 that the costs of flood damages exceeded 2.2 trillion VND (109 million USD). The coal sector in Quang Ninh suffered damages of up to 1.2 trillion VND (55.8 million USD).- Student group recycles paper for notebooks Striped Project has attracted hundreds of participants since it was initiated by a group of high school students in Ha Noi in June 2014. The project aims to raise students' awareness about environmental protection and wastefulness prevention through a wide range of activities, including collecting and recycling used paper, which will be used to make notebooks. Simple handmade notebooks will be given to children in mountainous areas, while more high-quality ones will be sold to raise funds. The project held two collecting days in July, in which they received about 1,500kg of paper. "Although we face financial difficulties, we are determined to make this project a success, as it will not only benefit children in disadvantaged areas, but also promote a sense of responsibility regarding environmental protection among Ha Noi students," said Phan Hong Nhung, head of the organising board. Late this month, a handmade notebook fair will be held at EVN determined to ensure sufficient power supply Ensuring sufficient power supply for socio-economic development and daily use is among key targets defined by the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) during the group’s second Party Congress for the 2015-2020 tenure in The group targets an average power growth of up to 11 percent per year, equivalent to 234-240 billion kilowatt hours of commercial electricity in 2020. Meanwhile, total production and import electricity is expected to reach 262-270 kilowatt hours in 2020, 35-40 percent of which will be produced by EVN-run power plants. The EVN plans to put 19 turbines in 11 power projects into operation with total capacity of 5,819 megawatts while ensuring the progress of key and urgent projects, including the Lai Chau hydropower plant and projects under the Vinh Tan, Duyen Hai, O Mon centres and preparing to launch the first nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan. Meanwhile, the group will continue investing in projects approved in the programme to supply electricity to rural, mountainous and island areas from 2013-2020, aiming to ensure that all rural households access electricity. To fulfil the target, the EVN will invest in the development of power resources and networks, accelerate restructuring efforts and enhance technology application to raise productivity and reduce losses. From 2011-2015, the group ensured adequate power supply for the country’s socio-economic demand as well as people’s needs. By the end of 2014, total installation capacity of the whole system was 33,964 megawatts with over 20 percent in reserve. Power infrastructure was significantly upgraded and electricity was supplied in almost all rural, mountainous and island areas. Currently, the EVN has finished submarine power cable projects to Phu Quoc, Co To and Ly Son islands and an air-span power cable to Kien Hai, ensuring power in eight out of 12 island districts nationwide. By the end of last year, as many as 99.59 percent of total communes and 98.22 percent of rural households had access to electricity.- Independence Order conferred on General Taxation Department National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung conferred the Independence Order, first class, on the General Department of Taxation during a ceremony marking its 70 th founding anniversary in Hanoi on August 3. It was the second time the department had been awarded with the accolade. Reviewing its 2010-2014 performance, the department collected and added in excess of 3.6 trillion VND (171.4 million USD) to the State budget, including 3.3 trillion VND (157.1 million USD) worth of taxes and fees, doubling the 2005-2009 figure. It has also fine-tuned regulations, simplified procedures by embracing technological innovations and improved management by launching an electronic tax filing service. Speaking to the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh asked the department staff to continue their excellent work and achieve additional successes over the long-term. He also presented a Prime Minister emulation flag to nine of its units on the occasion. All Lai Chau communes link with national power grid All communes in the northern mountainous The rural electrification project in Lai Chau, built at a total cost of over 415 billion VND (19.3 million USD), included the construction of 35-kilovolt line and 0.4-kilovolt lines and 115 three-phase electricity stations with a combined capacity of 5,273 KVA as well as power meter installations for nearly 7,750 households. To date, the province has 610 power transformer stations, 1,589 kilometres of medium-voltage line, 1,290 kilometres of high-voltage line and more than 77,000 electricity consumers. Power supply for rural localities will pave the way for ethnic minority people to improve their livelihoods and develop the economy while narrowing down development gap between rural and urban areas. The move also helps foster new style rural areas, contributing to maintaining defence-security of the province. Goods supply ensured during storm season Departments of Industry and Trade in localities prone to flood and storms must take stock to ensure a stable supply of essential goods and services for affected areas in the rainy and stormy season, a conference heard on August 3. Addressing an online conference organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to review agriculture production and trade in July, Minister Vu Huy Hoang urged relevant agencies to stockpile sufficient food, kerosene and other essential goods to provide for isolated areas during the rainy and stormy season in a bid to prevent speculation and rising prices. Director of the Ministry’s Department of the Domestic Market Vo Van Quyen cited locality reports, saying that coastal localities across the country have devised plans for emergency, including involving suppliers to ensure adequate goods and services, conducting price stabilisation programmes and providing goods funded by the State budget for affected residents. The approaches have been well implemented in recently storm-affected areas such as Quang Ninh, Soc Trang eyes poverty reduction from raising dairy cows The Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, where the Khmer ethnic minority accounts for over 30 percent of the population, is focusing on intensifying livestock raising, particularly dairy cows, to help locals, especially ethnic minorities, rise out of poverty. Soc Trang is currently home to nearly 29,000 cows, 7,500 of which are being raised for milk. According to its dairy cattle project, the locality is striving to increase the number of dairy cows to around 17,800 by 2020, or 5-6 heads per household, which will create jobs for more than 6,000 labourers. The project’s total investment is estimated at 300 billion VND (13.75 million USD), with 40 billion VND (1.8 million USD) sourced from the state budget. Soc Trang has carried out measures to zone appropriate grass fields in order to ensure enough food for the cattle and tighten connectivity with enterprises to find markets for the milk. The province plans to shift part of rice fields and other cultivated crop areas with low productivity into grass planting areas. On July 29, the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development handed over heifers to 14 poor and near-poor households in Gia Hoa 2 commune of My Xuyen district. Vietnam to compete in WorldSkills Competition Vietnamese candidates will compete in 13 skills that are welding, IT software solutions, carpentry, plumbing, electro-mechanics, web designing, automobile technology, CNC (computer numerically controlled) machine operating, moulding, plastics moulding techniques, mechanical engineering design CAD, and brick-laying. The competition is held every two years and competitors from all over the world will vie for medals in 50 skills. The MMT clinics were opened to help the city’s 8,500 drug addicts improve their mental and physical health and reintegrate into the community. Once permitted to one of the city’s seven clinics, patients are provided with free health check-ups and testing as well as free methadone doses that suit their needs. According to La Thi Lan, Deputy Director of the Hanoi HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Centre, only 8 percent of local drug addicts had access to MMT due to the stressful application procedure that requires them to be registered with their local commune police. The city has remedied this by removing police involvement and enabling users to directly apply for the MMT. Other barriers include the fear of drug rehabilitation and the lack of awareness of the new method. To raise the number of patients using MTT, the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control has expanded the network of methadone dispensers at the commune level, provided MMT at prisons, accelerated medical staff training and ensured sufficient dose supply. Vietnamese workforce optimistic about ASEAN common market Up to 92% of Vietnamese professionals see the establishment of the regional ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as a good opportunity to develop their career, according to a recent survey conducted by recruitment firm VietnamWorks. As many as 52 percent of the respondents believe they will have more opportunities to work with and learn from foreign experts from other Southeast Asian countries, and 46 percent of them say international work culture will transform Vietnam's work culture for the better. As many as 70 percent of those who are fond of AEC integration think Vietnamese professionals have enough skills to compete with foreign talent, according to the survey on 2,500 professionals from companies of all sizes across Vietnam. Among those who are not in favor of AEC integration, 84 percent say the biggest setback will be that there will be more English-speaking competitors in Vietnamese labor market. They have also been concerned that employers may have leverage to decrease salary and benefits standard because there are more and more job-seekers. These perspectives reflect the fact that a small group of Vietnamese professionals are less confident about their English skills as well as their negotiation skills in terms of salary and benefits. The AEC will be launched at the end of this year, to facilitate a free flow of skilled workers, services, investment and goods among ASEAN members. Nguyen Thi Van Anh, managing director of recruitment firm Navigos Search, said that among the eight industries that will see a free labor movement, For senior engineer positions, especially in the IT industry, it still falls short of demand, she said. Hospitals given modern tools for waste disposal Six district hospitals and 17 commune health centres in the Nguyen Thanh Long, Deputy Minister of Health, said that many district hospitals and commune health centres across the country buried and burned medical waste, causing environmental pollution and affecting local residents' lives. The district hospitals and medical centres will pass on their knowledge about the equipment to another 108 commune health centres. This is part of a project Supporting Health Care Policy for the Poor in Cao Bang and The steam cleaning equipment has been set up in hospitals in Ngan Son, Ba Be and Until May, the six hospitals used incinerators to burn their waste. This technology has been banned in developed countries banned because of harmful emissions. Before training staff in the two provinces, selected staff were taught how to treat waste by experts at Raja Chowdhry, a senior consultant at Lux Development, said health depatments should join hands with concerned agencies to set up policies for medical waste management. The project helped medical workers in the two provinces access environmental friendly technology to treat medical waste and protect environment, he said. Quang Binh resident hands over macaque The The mammal, with the scientific name Macaca arctoides, is listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. According to the park authority, a resident in the province's Tuyen Hoa District, Pham Thi Chau, handed over the primate last Friday following requests by the park's staff. Earlier this year, Chau had bought the macaque while on a working trip to Watch out for scam bus services from Hanoi to Sa Pa If you are invited to book a seat on a bus traveling from Hanoi to the famous tourist town of Sa Pa, do not hesitate to say no, as there is no such service. Local transportation firms are running attractive ads for bus routes bringing tourists from the Vietnamese capital to the town, located in the northern mountainous But Tran Dang Hai, head of the inspectorate of the Hanoi Department of Transport, asserted that the capital has yet to launch any bus service to Lao Cai. “It’s not easy to open a new route, as you have to consider a number of issues such as the travel path and time and parking places,” he toldTuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Most of the buses in “We will verify and strictly sanction those companies that disguise themselves as bus operators to cheat passengers,” he promised. Transport firms have taken advantage of a new expressway linking IoneTour, a Hanoi-based tour organizer, said in an announcement on its website on July 10 that the company was offering bus services to Sa Pa at VND250,000 (US$11.48) a passenger. The bus departs from The trip is insured and includes free Wi-Fi access, a bottle of water, plus “an English-speaking tour guide,” the post says. The departure point in A Tuoi Tre correspondent booked a trip to The bus, operated by Good Morning Co., dropped passengers off in Bao Thang District, some 70km from Sa Pa, even though they had paid VND250,000 for the full service. The manager of the bus operator said passengers “had received information about the trip from a different company, which sold seats without notifying Good Morning Co.” Many long-haul coaches and for-hire cars are also disguised as On a website focusing on promoting tourism in Sa Pa, there is a list of nine bus operators claiming to offer services to the tourist town at VND250,000 per passenger, and one at VND350,000 ($16) a ticket. But none of these are licensed to operate buses. Another Sa Pa tourism website, meanwhile, offers services on the Hanoi – Lao Cai – Sa Pa route at only VND150,000 ($6.89) per passenger. When contacted by phone, a representative of the service refused to answer questions regarding the pick-up locations and license plates of the buses. “You don’t have to ask so much about these things,” the man said. “Just come to My Dinh Bus Station and call me, someone will come and pick you up.” But drivers of the licensed long-haul coaches between “A ticket to The 245km The expressway helps shorten the time to travel from Tourists can also take trains from the capital city to Lao Cao, which takes much longer, around nine hours per journey. Popular charity act in Saigon dealt a blow in Hanoi While iced tea tanks put along the streets to help people quench their thirst for free can easily be spotted across A gratis iced tea tank put under a tree on the sidewalk of The tank, capable of storing around 20 liters of water, was intended to help passers-by, mostly needy people, slake their thirst amid the scorching heat that enveloped Nearby dwellers used money from their own pocket to buy the tank, a couple of glasses, and tea to serve people free of charge between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm every day before it was taken away by police officers on July 27. It is not difficult to find such a gratis iced tea water tank or bottle in The free iced tea – along with many free services such as complimentary medicine cabinets for first aid, bike repair for nothing, and meals on the house – is seen as a cultural value typical of the southern city. A heated debate was thus sparked off when the good deed does not seem to be accepted by officials in Nguyen Huu Tuong, head of the police bureau of the ward where the iced tea tank was put, said authorities had “repeatedly told locals not to let the tank occupy the sidewalk” before they decided to seize it. “They just did not follow our order,” he told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday last week. Asked if locals are allowed to place another iced tea tank on the sidewalk, Tuong replied he “has no idea.” There are many establishments selling iced tea and other beverages along Many readers, writing not only from “The free iced tea tank was meant to help everybody, and it stemmed from kindness,” Huyen Tran, a resident of the southern city of Can Tho, said. “So when police seized the tank, it was like taking away people’s kindness.” Tran said it is unreasonable to say the water tank occupied too much space on the sidewalk. “Good deeds must be encouraged so that they can be multiplied,” she said. “Otherwise, no one would want to do good things anymore.” The debate was fueled by an op-ed published on the online version of a Ho Chi Minh City-based daily, which supports the seizure of the iced tea tank and suggests those who offer free water on the sidewalk “be strictly penalized.” The writer, introduced as a Hanoi-based person who works in the media industry, argues that such public iced tea tanks can cause “traffic disorder.” “What if four or five people park their motorbikes in the street and jostle to drink free water at rush hour?” he writes, adding this will lead to “inevitable heartbreaking traffic accidents.” The writer also says the free-of-charge iced tea supply is “a potential source of respiratory-related diseases or diarrhea” because “1,000 mouths drink from the same water tank.” From a legal viewpoint, lawyers Huynh Phuoc Hiep and Bui Quang Nghiem, both from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, said police have the legitimate right to confiscate the tank but they should not have done so, as it did not really occupy the sidewalk. “Officers should have shown the residents the appropriate place to put the tank,” Hiep said. Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri |
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Art & Entertainment News 4/8 Contest launched to promote world heritage in Hoi An A contest themed “Join hands for the World Heritage site of Hoi An” has been launched to promote the ancient city of Held by the city authorities, Quang Nam Province’s Tourism Association and Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in association with the UNESCO office in Hanoi and the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Vietnam, the contest aims to honor organizations and individuals in the tourism sector for innovations to attract tourists and preserve Hoi An, said Nguyen Van Son, vice chairman of Hoi An City People’s Committee. It is also intended to raise public awareness of the importance of preserving and developing the World Heritage site. According to the organizers, products or ideas submitted to the contest should make visitors aware that purchasing tickets to visit Hoi An is to contribute to preserving the city. Submissions to the contest can be images, posters, panels, brochures or essays that can help contribute ideas to promoting tourism in the ancient town. They should show creativity, aesthetic values, applicability and environmentally friendliness. The organizers will wrap up the contest by the end of September. Son La to install Ho Chi Minh statue  A tall statue depicting late President Ho Chi Minh's attachment for the northwestern mountains' ethnic groups, will be built in Son La City in Son La Province from October. The statue is expected to be 5m to 8m tall, and will be installed in The project also includes the construction of a war memorial for the Vietnamese soldiers who died for the country's reunification, a park of trees, a museum featuring the history and culture of the province and The estimated area required for the project is 10ha to 15 ha. The VND1,400-billion (US$64 million) project, to be funded by the state budget, will be ready by 2019. The construction of the project will start on October 11 this year, to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the foundation of the province. The project aims to express the gratitude that the country's northwestern ethnic groups in general and the ethnic groups of Son La Province have towards the beloved President. It also aims to improve the infrastructure of the province. Thousands flock to Bodhisattva festival in Thua Thien-Hue Thousands of Buddhist monks, followers and tourists flocked to the Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) festival that opened in the central The festival includes a ceremony to pray for peace of the nation with balloon and pigeon release and other activities featuring Buddhist culture, including incense offerings. The annual event was held at the Quan The Am Buddhist Spiritual Tourism Centre in the town of On the occasion, the chapter organised a ceremony to commence the construction of 32 six-metre-high Bodhisattva statues made of natural granite./- Vietnam film week launched in Paraguay A Vietnam Film Week opened on August 2 in the Paraguayan capital city of Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina and Paraguay Nguyen Dinh Thao said Vietnam values the importance of its friendly relationship and multifaceted cooperation with Paraguay, of which, culture plays an important role, serving as a bridge to increase understanding and connection between the peoples of the two countries. Seven Vietnamese films are being screened, including the famous “Con Chim Vanh Khuyen” (Passerine bird), “Mua Gio Chuong” (The season of the whirlwind), and “Dung Dot” (Don’t burn), said Delia Evangelista Ocampos, Chief of the Department of Culture under the Paraguay Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An exhibition featuring Vietnamese photos and handicraft products will also be organised on the occasion, she added.- Phu Tho moves to preserve Xoan singing The northeast The province is working with the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association on a document to submit to UNESCO by the end of this year proposing Xoan singing be removed from the organisation’s list of heritages in need of urgent protection, San told Vietnam News Agency correspondents. Xoan singing, one of the oldest forms of Vietnamese performing arts, was listed by UNESCO among the world's Intangible Cultural Heritages in need of urgent protection in 2011. An upcoming conference will review Xoan singing preservation efforts from 2011-2015 and gather information and feedback for reports to be submitted to UNESCO this August. The locality is also expected to receive comments from international experts during the 11th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritages set to take place from November 30 to December 4 in The province has been backing the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the study and collection of Xoan lyrics to accelerate the publishing of a 1,200-page book titled Hat Xoan Phu Tho (Phu Tho Xoan Singing) as a crucial part of the documentation being submitted to UNESCO. More than 4,000 CDs and 3,000 books about Xoan singing have also been published to promote the traditional singing. These have also been used as aids for teachers and students to introduce Xoan singing at schools. A number of projects have also been carried out to preserve and maintain Xoan singing-related relic sites in the locality. Other efforts have focused on promoting Xoan singing values with worship rituals for Hung King, closely linked with tourism and service development. Xoan singing performances and promotion and publicity events have been organised at home and abroad and training classes and activities have been conducted to ensure the continuity of the traditional rituals, practices and festivals. As many as 23 clubs have since been established across the province with 1,148 regular members and hundreds of others interested. A number of studies have also been funded to preserve the diversity of “xoan” singing while developing it in a more audience-friendly way to incorporate it into modern life. Between 2012 and 2015, 51 individuals were honoured as Phu Tho Xoan Distinguished Artisans. The province is working on presenting the title to additional individuals this year. Xoan singing is believed to have been developed during the reign of the Hung Kings (2890 BC to 250 BC). Traditionally, singers from Xoan guilds performed songs in sacred spaces, such as temples, shrines and communal houses during spring festivals. There are three kinds of Xoan singing, including songs of worship for Hung Kings and village guardian spirits; ritual songs for abundant crops, health and good luck; and festival songs, with villagers alternating male and female verses in a form of courtship. The singing is accompanied by dance and musical instruments, such as clappers and drums. Phu Tho is home to over 1,370 relic sites and 260 festivals, many of which have become unique spiritual symbols, such as the festival of Hung Kings and Dao Xa elephant festival. Numerous intangible heritages, such as Moi and Chuong dance, originate here.- SC VivoCity hosts Days of Singapore To mark the 50th National Day of Singapore (August 9, 1965-2015), the newly launched shopping mall SC VivoCity in HCMC’s District 7 is hosting numerous activities to promote People can find some popular brands in the program, including 5th Element, BreadTalk, F&N, Pokka, Tiger, FarmPack, Yeo, Super, FairPrice, Hanh Phuc, Resorts World Sentosa, Vietravel and Singapore Airlines. During the event, there are typical dancing performances of Participants to the event will enjoy up to 25% discounts on several products and receive free vouchers and gifts from the organizers. New flea market debuted in town Shoppers are seen at the first flea market of New District, a newly launched venue for shopping and entertainment activities at Cargo Event Space in HCMC’s District 4. The “Head in the Clouds” themed event which was held during the weekend attracted thousands of shoppers to browse for hundreds of fashion items, accessories, food and beverages at 80 popular brands known on Instagram and Facebook. Participants also had a chance to enjoy live DJ performances, Henna drawing, nail decorating and Tarot fortunetelling. People can get updates on the next events on New District’s Facebook page or Instagram. Cargo Event Space is located at Source: SGT/VNA/VNS/ND |
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Alleged parental abduction betrays hole in Vietnamese dragnet  Ela Herawati shows a copy with an image of her daughter who went missing with her divorced husband more than 20 days ago. Photo credit: VnExpress/Q.T Ela Herawati, 35, arrived in “I was shocked to see his condition,” she said. Once stout and sprightly Karl Werner, 37, moved slowly and favored a cane. The pair climbed into a taxi with their chubby-cheeked five-year old daughter and rode to the Oscar hotel on Herawati, a slender, raven-haired Indonesian in Don't trust these people, she recalled him saying. Don't play with your phone on the street, don't leave it on the table. The next morning, the estranged family visited Werner's sparsely furnished apartment in District 1. Herawati recalls Werner saying he'd put most of his things into storage and would head to For the next few days, Herawati says she brought her daughter to visit her estranged father every morning and picked her up every night. Occasionally, she would tidy the apartment for her sickly ex-husband, whom she hadn't since their messy divorce in 2014. On July 22 of that year, an Indonesian court issued a decision awarding Herawati full-custody of their child and ordered Werner to pay $500 a month in child support. Herawati claims she received the favorable ruling after producing evidence that Werner had cheated on her. Herawati and her attorney say he never paid a cent of child support. Werner never responded to text messages and a list of emailed questions. An official at the US Consulate likewise said they've been unable to get a hold of him. “Creative, enthusiastic, dedicated” Karl Werner began playing the piano at age five and took up the trumpet and violin in middle school, according to a cover letter he posted online in which he described himself as a “creative, enthusiastic and dedicated instrumental music teacher.” As a student, Werner played violin in several regional orchestras. He first studied abroad in He and Herawati married in 2008 and had their daughter in In July of 2014, long after his divorce ruling, Werner called the FBI and claimed that his wife had abducted their daughter two months prior. “If possible, I would like [Herawati] and my daughter stopped at any border crossing while attempting to use my daughter's passport,” he wrote in an email. “I will then travel to collect my daughter […] My family and I are very distraught.”  A file photo shows Karl Werner and the daughter. Photo credit: VietNamNet Werner's parents didn't respond to several messages left at their home in By the time Werner was petitioning the FBI for help, he had already moved to (The school did not respond to a phone call seeking comment, but has since taken Werner's profile down from its website). The FBI declined to open an investigation and requested a custody order, according to correspondence provided by Herawati's lawyer. Herawati says she met with US Embassy officials in Moving on After her divorce, Herawati moved to In the Soon she began to imagine a future where they would raise their daughter as friends. “Like a team,” she said. Then things got rather dramatic. When a Vietnamese woman contacted Herawati offering $9,000 for her daughter’s participation in a photo shoot, Herawati says she contacted Werner who denied knowing anything about it. Soon after the incident, Werner announced he'd been diagnosed with bone cancer and feared for the worst. “I want to make it right before I meet God,” he wrote in a screen-captured chat Herawati sent to a friend. Eventually, Herawati agreed to bring their daughter to visit him in “If he dies and doesn't get to see her,” she remembers thinking. “I'll hate myself forever.” On their first day together, Herawati and Werner went to the At one point, she says, Werner tried to get her to sign some sort of will, but she refused. The mother's future looked bright. Soon, she and the girl would spend Ramadan with her family back in On July 15, Werner hired a car to take them all to Vung Tau where he'd rented them rooms at the Lan Rung Resort. They arrived at around 1PM. That afternoon, Herawati says Werner handed her a spa voucher and tip money. When she tried to return to her room, she found it locked. When she finally had the hotel staff open it, she found it empty with the exception of her husband's cane. At that point, she began to suspect everything she had been told was a lie. An abduction Herawati says it took some time for her to realize and explain to the resort's staff that she had been robbed and her daughter had been taken without her consent. CCTV cameras showed Werner leaving the resort with his ex-wife's luggage in the company of a Vietnamese woman. Phuong's attorney later discovered that the woman who assisted Werner had checked in on a false passport. Werner accompanied her, paid for Herawati's room in cash and left a note. The driver that brought them to the hotel would return to pick up Herawati up at around 5AM and take her to the airport.  A still image from CCTV cameras shows Karl Werner leaving the Lan Rung Resort in Vung Tau with the daughter. Photo credit: CongAn Online Speaking no Vietnamese and having been robbed of everything but VND200,000 and her passport, Herawati called the police and engaged in a series of frantic translated telephone exchanges with the driver who finally arrived at 3AM with her luggage. Herawati claims someone had taken her telephone, cash and jewelry. Werner would later tell her attorney that no one took anything from his ex-wife. Herawati claims the driver spent the next five hours circling Instead, she grabbed his cell phone and wrote down the last three numbers he'd dialed. Eventually airport security detained her and told her to leave the airport. The numbers she'd written down would prove her only link back to Werner and the mysterious Vietnamese woman assisting him. A turtle's pace The response in Herawati claims she used her last bank not to take a taxi to the Indonesian Consulate. A local attorney named Nguyen Thi Diem Phuong who heard about Herawati's predicament while staying at the Lan Rung Resort found Herawati through an Indonesian client and offered to represent her pro bono. Seeking to settle the matter without involving the police, Phuong dialed the numbers Herawati had copied out of the driver's phone. Eventually she got in touch with a woman who identified as Nguyen Phuc Quynh and claimed to be the wife of Werner's best friend. Phuong says a review of police mugshots never matched her purported names. Friends who contacted Phuong through Facebook say the woman's actual name is An. After some negotiation the woman summoned Werner to the coffee shop. When he arrived, Phuong says she offered to draft a custody-sharing agreement on the condition that he call his ex-wife and let her know their daughter is safe. Werner allegedly left the meeting saying he'd consider the offer. Instead he called the attorney the following day and broke down sobbing. According to a recording of their conversation, Werner said Herawati and her boyfriend had left him unable to return his daughter. “I'll never see her again,” he said. Werner further claimed his daughter had drawn “terrible” pictures of Herawati's boyfriend with “fangs and things.” “Honestly, I don't really have anything in my life except [my daughter],” he said . “If I lose my job, if I go to jail if I lose my reputation, it's OK. Because, honestly, I don't really have anything.” At the conclusion of the call, he promised to call Herawati and never did, according to Phuong. 21 days later The Indonesian consulate has thrice petitioned the US Consulate to take action on behalf of Herawati's daughter, an American citizen. A source speaking on background at the “I believe the Vietnamese authorities are doing so,” she said. The They have no record of having left, though portions of In the meantime, Werner's cancer narrative appears to be unraveling. Werner had only rented his District 1 apartment a few days before Herawati's arrival. When she finally discovered Werner had been sharing an apartment in District 7 with a Vietnamese woman, she enlisted her father and the district police to accompany her to knock on the door. No one answered, but Phuong instantly received a texted photograph taken from outside the building and a message in broken English.  A supplied photo shows Ela Herawati and her daughter in a trip few months ago. “I know you guys are trying to find my place but believe me you are pushing [the child] in dangerous[sic],” the message read. “But you will see hows[sic] things will go.” The landlord said Werner and the woman hadn't paid their July rent. Phuong claims that Werner has threatened to release prurient pictures of Herawati if she doesn't back off--a crime punishable in Displeased by local newspaper coverage, the driver (identified only as Nhut) has insisted that Herawati and Phuong come to Vung Tau to clear up his role in the abduction. They declined, fearing for their safety. Meanwhile, police there have told Phuong they're only now elevating the case to the municipal department. Several concerned citizens have suggested Herawati and her attorney take a trip to Bac Lieu Province to speak to the parents of the woman variously identified as Quynh and An. All of this seems like the sort of thing one might do to recover a beloved bicycle, not a five year-old American citizen. Herawati hasn't seen her daughter in three weeks and purports not to know whether she is dead or alive. When asked what everyone should know about this case, she answered simply: “They should be embarrassed.” |
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Government News 5/8 Bangladeshi President to visit Viet Nam President of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid and the First Lady will begin a five-day visit to Lao PM extends sympathy to Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong has sent a message of condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung over great losses of lives and property caused by rain-triggered floods in northern In the message, the Prime Minister, on behalf of Lao Party, State and people, extended his deepest sympathy to flooding victims and expressed his hope that Vietnamese people would soon overcome the difficulties and return to normal daily life. Torrential rains over the last week has claimed a total of 28 lives and caused economic losses amounting to trillions of Vietnamese dong in northern mountainous provinces. Quang Ninh is the hardest hit province with 17 persons killed. HCM City ceremony marks Singapore’s 50th National Day Ho Chi Minh City hopes to continue fostering its friendship and people-to-people contacts with Singapore, said Chairman of the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association in the city Nguyen Thanh Rum at a ceremony on August 4 to mark the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s National Day (August 9). Rum noted that over the past years, Vietnam-Singapore relations have flourished, especially since After 40 years of diplomatic ties, the two countries have become one of each other’s major trade and investment markets in the region, he said, adding that the bilateral strategic partnership has also expanded with stronger political relations and trust. Meanwhile, In-depth political partnerships between the two countries have laid a firm foundation for their economic collaboration, she said, adding that Government-level projects and investments as well as Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks have become symbols of strong economic affiliation. She also believed that the people-to-people relationship between Thus far, A friendly meeting with Chilean journalists was held in Chile by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Chile-Vietnam Cultural Institute to honour the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese diplomacy (August 28). The event drew the participation of executive officials of the Chilean press and local radio station Radio Cooperativa as well as journalists of the Socialism Party of Chile. Addressing the event, Chairwoman of the institute Patricia Abarzua briefed the current ASEAN situation, relations of ASEAN country members with For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Ngo Duc Thang highlighted the Vietnamese diplomacy’s achievements and asserted the Party and State’s firm determination that Stellar achievements from mountainous poverty reduction project Over 800 social infrastructure projects covering rural roads, irrigation systems and fresh water facilities have become operational under the Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction Project, which aims to improve the livelihoods of mountainous residents. This was just part of the outcomes of the project as reported by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Hieu at a conference to review the project’s second implementation phase (2010-2015) in Efforts to develop production chains with the involvement of farmers have paid off in raising the local farming techniques, expanding commercial-scale farming and diversifying local products. At the same time, management capacity of local officials has been improved remarkably through training courses and participation in specific poverty reduction projects. At the event, Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank’s (WB) Country Director for The Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction Project was funded with 150 million USD in capital from the WB and corresponding funds from the Vietnamese Government. It has operated in 2,366 villages in six The poverty reduction project aims to increase resident living standards in targeted areas, improve the productivity and institutional capacity of local authorities and boost market links and business innovations. Accordingly, it targets to reduce 3 percent of impoverished households and raise local income by 10 percent annually. Based on the achievements from 2010-2015, the Ministry is determined to scale up the project’s implementation in 259 communes of the six beneficiary provinces with a focus on impoverished and ethnic families. Communist Review honoured during 85th anniversary ceremony The Communist Review newspaper was honoured with the Ho Chi Minh Order for the second time during a ceremony marking its 85th founding anniversary (August 5) in On behalf of Party and State leaders, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong presented the accolade to its staff. Founded by Nguyen Ai Quoc who was also Editor-in-chief, the Communist Review has successfully fulfilled its function as a political and theoretical body of the Party Central Committee. Throughout its history, the paper has grown in stature, contributing to disseminating and defending Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought as well as political education and Party theory development, Editor-in-chief Vu Van Phuc said at the ceremony Looking back at the past 30 years, it has been at the forefront of spreading Party policies, State laws, core issues regarding Party building and socio-economic-cultural affairs and national defence-security and diplomacy. Its collection of theoretical studies has provided evidence and reference for policymaking, he added. In his speech, Politburo member Dinh The Huynh, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education, called on the review’s staff to recommend ideas for policymaking based on theory and realities at home and abroad. For the foreseeable future, it was asked to prepare documents for submission to the 12th National Party Congress and improve the quality of each article. The review should take initiative in countering wrongful opinions and hostile allegations as part of Party safeguard efforts, he said. Huynh expressed his confidence that the Communist Review staff, with their firm political stance and professional skills, will continue their excellent work and do deserve the trust of the Party, State, people and readers nationwide.- VNA/VNS |
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Social News 5/8 he flyover has been repaired twice, and yet shows serious damage with many deep potholes on its surface. "Accidents can occur any time and the situation has dragging for months," a truck driver, who regularly uses the road, said. The Thăng Long Construction Corporation, which constructed the bridge, told VNExpress that The surface of the flyover started to sink just two months after it was opened to traffic in March 2013, creating potholes on it. In 2014, the problem recurred due to the heavy traffic and overloaded trucks that use the flyover. The 570m Thu Duc flyover has four lanes, linking Water supplies resume to Ha Long, The Quang Ninh Fresh Water Company resumed water supply to 85,000 households in Ha Long and Cam Pha. Water supply to the two cities had been interrupted for a week after the record torrential rain and floods destroyed the Dien Vong water plant's D800 water pipeline last Tuesday. The construction of a temporary 950m pipeline was completed late yesterday, a day ahead of the deadline set by the provincial People's Committee. However, the temporary pipeline can transport only up to 70 per cent of the Dien Vong water plant's capacity. Therefore, water will be supplied only during certain hours of the day in order to cover all locations in the two cities. Another pipeline is being constructed to replace the D800 pipeline, while water tankers are being employed to deliver water to residents. Aviation management agency to monitor airline passenger services The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) requested airlines carry out all duties and responsibilities to passengers in light of the growing number of delayed or cancelled flights. The CAAV also asked airlines to adjust their schedules in line with their capacity and airports’ real capability and perform duties and responsibilities diligently if flights are delayed or cancelled. The CAAV said it would improve flight management capacity and increase examinations and supervision of airline behaviour with passengers of delayed or cancelled flights. According to the CAAV, 3,817 out of 17,856 flights were delayed and 76 were cancelled from July 1-28. Vietnam Airlines’ number of delayed flights increased 5.9 percent in July, while that of VietJet Air went up 3.3 percent and Jetstar Pacific, 0.5 percent. According to the agency, there are a number of factors contributing to the increase of delayed and cancelled flights. One of them is that July is the peak of the local tourism season and most major destination airports such as Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Compounding the crowding is the closure of the 25R/07L runway at The CAAV said in the first six months of this year, airlines operated about 101,000 flights with 15,176 delayed and 535 cancelled. Social housing projects cater to growing demand in Thai Nguyen Authorities in northern Thai Nguyen province have given the green light to a number of social housing projects in Pho Yen town in a bid to boost the living conditions of low-income labours. At the end of July, the Thai Nguyen People’s Committee approved a project from the Housing and Urban Development Company (HUD) with total investment exceeding 640 billion VND (29.5 million USD). Covering 17 hectares, the construction is set to include 38 five-storey apartment blocks accommodating approximately 7,600 people. It will also entail inner transportation infrastructure, parks, a communal house and a kindergarten, among others. The building complex is scheduled to be operational within the third quarter of 2018. In May, the province authorised a 4-trillion-VND (184.3 million USD) social housing construction, also in Pho Yen town, which covers 35 hectares and will accommodate about 30,000 people. According to Duong Ngoc Long, Chairman of the Thai Nguyen People’s Committee, Samsung and other businesses are expected to invest more than six billion USD in the province and create jobs for approximately 80,000 labourers. As such, huge demand for low-cost accommodation has emerged. Building social housing projects caters to demand, offers additional employment in the construction sector and utilises available land, Long said.- Tay Ninh cares for victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin The southern Besides providing monthly allowances to 1,600 victims who were exposed to the chemical substance while fighting in the war and their children and grandchildren who suffered from the substance, the province has also cared for other victims. Vo Thi Dep, Chairman of the Tay Ninh Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, said from 2011-15, philanthropists contributed 17 billion VND (780,000 USD) to repair and build 165 houses and helped households improve their means of support. In addition, the province also opened a rehabilitation and nursery centre for nearly 100 disadvantaged victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin and helped 500 households gain stable incomes. 2 million women to be vaccinated gratis Two million women in the child-bearing ages from 16 to 35 years old in distant areas, border gate districts and industrial zones will receive free-of-charge vaccination against measles and rubella, said Dr. Duong Thi Hong, deputy chief of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) on August 3. Dr. Hong said that 3 million vaccines are left from the vaccination campaign to provide free immunizations against measles and rubella to 20 million children in the country. The vaccine will be used for women in disadvantaged districts and industrial parks. It is scheduled that the gratis vaccination for women will be carried out from the fourth quarter in 2015 to the first quarter in 2016. Nation gears toward Quang Ninh in flood recovery effort Over 55 billion VND (2.52 million USD) has been handed over to the Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan, accompanied by the Vietnam Fund for Child Protection representatives and business players, presented 200 million VND to the families of victims. The fund and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) chipped in 200 million VND and 100 million VND, respectively. It is the second time PetroVietnam has donated to victims with a previous 500 million VND aid. The provincial authorities were asked to rally all possible resources for recovery, assured visiting Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to affected families. Secretary of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Doc announced on August 1 that Quang Ninh would provide as much as 50 million VND for each collapsed house, 25 million VND for each damaged house and 2 million VND per month to tenants for a duration of about three months. He expressed his determination that the local Party Committee, administration and people would stand united to recover from the calamity and resume normalcy as soon as possible. Earlier, provincial authorities announced the provision of aid worth 5 billion VND to 30,000 workers at the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) who are unable to return to work due to the disaster. Philanthropists from Dien Bien, Thai Binh, Hai Phong and In Ban Sen commune of Van Don District, all 27 households have access to essential items thanks to relief operations by volunteers. Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang has also decided to withdraw 5 billion VND from the fund raised by police officers to the cause. On August 3, Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung visited flood-affected areas in Quang Ninh and a family who lost eight members in the flooding. During a working session with provincial authorities, Dung said resettlement is now the top concern, adding that specialists will be dispatched to the provincial Department of Construction to assist with building proper resettlement areas. The ministry will provide 2,000 tonnes of cement for Quang Ninh, he assured. Also on the same day, about 200 households in the four isolated mountainous communes of Dap Thanh, Luong Mong, Minh Cam and Thanh Lam in Ba Che district were evacuated to safety. The worst rainstorm and floods in 40 years have left 17 people dead, 339 damaged houses and 8,952 others submerged under water. Hau Giang: Khmer language taught to children Some 300 Khmer children in the Mekong Delta Monk Lam Ut Hien from Po Tum Vong Say Pagoda in Cai Tac town, Chau Thanh A district said the local three-month Khmer language course drew 30 children from the locality and its vicinity at his pagoda this year. Nguyen Thi Nghi from the Him Lam boarding secondary school in Rach Goi town said she has attended the classes for four summers and her Khmer language has improved substantially. Monk Ly Ve, Head of the Hau Giang Patriotic United Buddhist Association, said as many as 15 local Khmer pagodas have participated in the annual Khmer language training activities in an effort to preserve and promote the cultural identity. Hau Giang is home to 5,550 Khmer households with more than 26,250 people, making up of 3.5 percent of the province’s population. The group spans 23 communes in seven districts, towns and cities in the province. Construction of the main roads and bridges in the districts' communes has been completed, after six years of implementation under the National Programme of Building New Rural Areas. All commune-level roads in Cu Chi, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Nha Be and Can Gio districts have been either asphalted or cemented. The remaining roads to be built are in hamlets. They will connect to the larger main roads in the communes. The road system has greatly benefited local residents and businesses. At least 100 households, for example, in an area in Hamlet 1 in Binh Chanh District's Phong Phu Commune no longer depend on boats to travel. They can now use the Xom Go Bridge, which was built in 2013. Prior to the construction, the Xom Lo area in Hamlet 1 had been isolated when there were heavy rains, according to a local resident. The time to travel from Xom Lo to Phong Phu Commune's central area has fallen from an hour to 20 minutes. Nguyen Van Truong, deputy chairman of the Binh Chanh District People's Committee, said the rural road network would eventually have connections to roads in the central city as well as other outlying districts. In Can Gio District's Ly Nhon Commune, which is Duong Minh Hoang, whose family produces salt in Ly Nhon's Ly Thai Buu Hamlet, said: "Thanks to the construction of roads that link to fields, vehicles can travel to the fields to transport salt. My family no longer has to carry salt on a shoulder pole." Under the national programme to build new rural areas, the city has built and upgraded more than 1,500 rural roads with a total length of more than 1,100km. It has also built 18 new large bridges and upgraded 512 bridges on district-level roads. The cost of building roads and bridges came from various sources, including the state budget, investors and local residents. Le Thanh Liem, deputy chairman of municipal People's Committee, said that HCM City was one of the few localities in the country that had fulfilled all the transportation criteria required under the national new rural area programme. The city has received warm support from local residents in implementing the programme, he said. Local residents donated more than 124 ha of land and labour days to help build roads in the five outlying districts. Saigontourist golf tourney raises VND800 million for charity At an award ceremony for a golf tournament held last Saturday at the Caravelle Saigon Hotel in HCMC’s District 1, Saigontourist raised VND800 million for charity. Tran Ngoc Co, Saigontourist deputy general director, presented a symbolic check worth VND600 million to Tran Thanh Long, chairman of the HCMC Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients that manages a scholarship foundation for the future. Co also granted a symbolic check valued at VND200 million to Nguyen Tuan Quang, a representative of Saigontourist’s community program to care for the poor in mountainous and Central Highlands regions. Of the 150 local and foreign contestants in this year’s golf tournament, 17 entered the finale at the East golf course, also known as Thu Duc golf course, in HCMC’s Thu Duc District. This was the 10th year Saigontourist had held this annual golf tournament. From 2006 to 2014, the company raised more than VND4 billion for charity activities, including 2,500 scholarships for the HCMC Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients. This year’s event was sponsored by Vietcombank, Imex Pan Pacific Group (IPP), Rita Vo, Thu Duc golf course, and Parkson, among others. Gov’t orders halt to close tollgates The Ministry of Transport and local authorities have been told to suspend building two new tollgates that are less than 70 kilometers apart on the same road until a master zoning plan for toll stations of build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects is approved. The suspension was decided in Document 1237 signed by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai last week. The ministries of transport and planning-investment and local governments are urged to review all road projects implemented under the BOT format and report to the Government this September. The review should focus on investment procedures and efficiency, selection of investors and their capability, costs and project quality. The Government requests the transport ministry to urgently complete the zoning plan for toll stations of BOT projects on national highways. Before this plan is approved, the construction of two tollgates less than 70 kilometers apart on the same road must be put on hold, except for those projects already approved. The ministry and provincial authorities must seek approval from the Government for special cases. The document was issued after experts and people expressed concern over the State’s management role in BOT projects and too many tollgates established to recover investment capital of these projects were not in line with the Ministry of Finance’s Circular 159 and relevant regulations. The decree regulates that two toll stations must be located 70 kilometers apart but many tollgates do not follow this rule. For instance, the distance between a tollgate on Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang said in May that toll stations were allowed to go up in a distance of less than 70 kilometers if this was agreed on by the finance ministry and local authorities. Work begins on major motorway connecting Highway 1A with Phu Yen Construction of a motorway connecting National Highway 1A with Hoa Tam Industrial Zone in Dong Hoa district, Phu Yen province commenced on the morning of August 4 with a total investment of VND974 billion (US$44.8 million). The 8.4 km motorway is being invested in by the Phu Yen provincial Department of Transport with VND877 billion (US$40.3 million) funded by the government. The route begins at Km 1348+950 in Phu Khe village, Hoa Xuan Dong commune, Dong Hoa district and ends at Km 8+00 in Phuoc Tan village, Hoa Tam commune, Dong Hoa district. The motorway is 42m wide which includes a railway overpass and two bridges spanning the Dua and Van rivers. The route is considered a major project with strategic meaning to socio-economic development in the south of Phu Yen. Upon its completion in 2017, the project will help facilitate transportation to Hoa Tam Industrial Zone, Vung Ro petrochemical refinery and ease the daily life of thousands of local households in Hoa Tam commune, Dong Hoa district. Family-doctor model brings mixed results The family doctor model has been implemented for two years around the country with uneven results, particularly at grassroots medical stations, healthcare officials have said. Under the programme, a total of 240 family doctor clinics have been opened at public general hospitals, private clinics and community medical stations, according to Luong Ngoc Khue, director of the health ministry's Medical Examination and Treatment Management Department. Most of the family doctor clinics are located at hospitals, general clinics and medical stations, Khue said at a conference held in Although patient care has improved via the family doctor clinics, only four private clinics have taken part in the programme due to strict regulations on granting family-doctor licences to private clinics. Six cities and provinces participate in the programme, including Ha Noi, The family doctor clinics have provided healthcare services for more than 353,000 patients and emergency services for 2,800 patients. Nearly 2,400 patients have received home visits from family doctors. Family doctor clinics have also referred more than 11,500 patients to central hospitals for specialist treatment. However, the success of the family doctor model has varied, particularly at community medical stations. Nguyen Tan Binh, director of Community medical stations also lack medical equipment and have a limited supply of medicine. Only one private clinic in A severe shortage of professionals trained to be family doctor specialists has hindered the development of the model, especially at community medical stations, he said. Although the family doctor model exists in many countries, it is still on a trial basis in "The family-doctor model will enhance the quality of primary healthcare services," Tien said. "There will no longer be overcrowding at central-level hospitals, and people will have better health care." The Health Ministry plans to scale up the family-doctor model across the country and promote the training of family-doctor physicians. Hospitals seek to improve workers' behaviour Five more southern hospitals – Cho Ray, Thong Nhat, Nhan Dan 115 and Paediatrics 1, besides Can Tho General – –have committed to improve health workers' behaviour towards patients. The five southern medical facilities signed a commitment on Monday, following a move by the health ministry in April to improve the satisfaction of patients and the reputation of the Vietnamese health worker. MoH Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the move was a vital task of the Vietnamese health sector to ensure ethics in the sector, which had deteriorated due to the misbehavior of several doctors and health workers with their patients. Tien said all health workers, ranging from security guards, motor and car keepers, cashiers and pharmacists, as well as doctors and nurses needed to be trained on medical ethics, particularly their task to ensure the comfort of patients. The MoH on Monday held training courses for 400 representatives from southern hospitals and units, on communication, contact and reception skills. Plans to set up and operate health hotlines were also one of the key targets of the courses. Nguyen Xuan Truong, chief of the MoH's office, said in the first six months of this year, the ministry's hotline received about 8,000 calls via 1900- 9095, about 12 per cent of which were complaints about health workers' attitudes. Truong said the complaints had reduced by 7 per cent compared with the same period last year. He said almost all the complaints had been examined and several health workers were penalised. Earlier this month, the four central hospitals in the North – Bach Mai, Viet Duc, Cancer and Paediatrics hospitals – signed a commitment to improve health workers' attitudes towards patients at a conference held in Ha Noi. They were the country's first medical facilities to sign such a commitment. "A section of healthcare workers still do not follow professional processes and have inappropriate or negative attitudes towards patients in hospitals," Tien said at the conference. Tien said this would badly impact the image of the country's healthcare workers and destroy people's belief in more than 400,000 health workers nationwide. The health minister asked all health workers and staff to overcome their difficulties and be determined to improve their image. Binh Dinh to build large abattoirs The People's Committee of the coastal The new slaughterhouses will be built on a 30sq.m area in Tran Quang Dieu and Nhon Binh wards. Investment amounts to VND28 billion (US$1.3 million). Combined capacity is projected to be 1,200 slaughters per day, 800 of which will be cattle and 400 of the poultry family. Operations are scheduled to begin in early 2016. Thousands of illegal gas extraction canisters The Ha Noi Market Management Department, in co-ordination with the Ha Noi Police's Department of Economic Security, seized thousands of canisters of illegal gas extract from Thang Long Gas Limited Company at the Quat Dong industrial zone in Ha Noi's Thuong Tin District. During an inspection, competent agencies caught red handed the company's workers while they were illegally extracting gas into canisters with 10 different brands including Venus, Total, Dai Hai and Hoang Long. The competent agencies also discovered that the company manufactured such canisters illegally without having obtained a licence to undertake such activity. The company used to produce a large number of canisters of different brands every day without undergoing any government inspection regarding the quality. An investigation into the issue is underway. Tra Vinh supports production models adaptive to climate change The Climate Change Adaption in the Mekong Delta (AMD) project in Tra Vinh will finance the multiplication of 28 production models deemed adaptive to climate change from now until end of 2015. Director of the project’s coordinating board Huynh Nghia Tho said at a meeting on August 4 that the assistance is line with the project’s goal of improving local capacity to adapt to climate change and developing sustainable livelihoods for rural agricultural communities. Among the selected production models, 13 are in farming, 7 in animal livestock and eight in aquaculture. Organisations and individuals who wish to adopt the verified production models will be assisted with non-refundable aid worth up to 50% of the total production or business costs under the conditions of the Climate Change Adaption (CCA) fund. Households will be provided with maximum assistance of VND30 million (US$1,375) each while maximum aid for groups or teams reaches up to VND750 million (US$34,387). The AMD Tra Vinh project is being implemented from 2014-2020 in 30 communes in seven districts, benefitting 15,000 households living under or just above the poverty line. The total investment capital of the project is VND521 billion (US$23.88 million), a blend of a VND233.5 billion (US$10.8 million) loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a non-refundable aid package of VND126.5 billion (US$5.86 million) and VND79.5 billion (US$3.68 million) in corresponding capital from the Vietnamese Government, while beneficiaries are to contribute VND81.5 billion (US$3.77 million). Stellar achievements from mountainous poverty reduction project Over 800 social infrastructure projects covering rural roads, irrigation systems and fresh water facilities have become operational under the Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction Project, which aims to improve the livelihoods of mountainous residents. This was just part of the outcomes of the project as reported by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Hieu at a conference to review the project’s second implementation phase (2010-2015) in Efforts to develop production chains with the involvement of farmers have paid off in raising the local farming techniques, expanding commercial-scale farming and diversifying local products. At the same time, management capacity of local officials has been improved remarkably through training courses and participation in specific poverty reduction projects. At the event, Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank’s (WB) Country Director for The Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction Project was funded with US$150 million in capital from the WB and corresponding funds from the Vietnamese Government. It has operated in 2,366 villages in six The poverty reduction project aims to increase resident living standards in targeted areas, improve the productivity and institutional capacity of local authorities and boost market links and business innovations. Accordingly, it targets to reduce 3% of impoverished households and raise local income by 10% annually. Based on the achievements from 2010-2015, the Ministry is determined to scale up the project’s implementation in 259 communes of the six beneficiary provinces with a focus on impoverished and ethnic families. Fighting violence against women and girls through social media More than 30 members of the Vietnam Volunteer Centre (VVC) are participating in a training course on how to mobilise young men to prevent violence against women and girls through social media. The event, taking place from August 3 to 5 in At the training course, participants who are leaders of volunteer groups under the VVC, are provided with basic knowledge about gender equality and the forms and consequences of violence against women and girls. Trainers will also teach participants necessary skills to engage with and mobilise other young men to prevent violence against women through social media. The training course is part of a project supported by an initiative fund from Workshop looks into water, land environmental situation Environmentalists discussed the environmental situation of and challenges to the nation’s land and water during a workshop held in The event was held by the Vietnam Environmental Administration under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Deputy Head of the administration Hoang Duong Tung said the quality of the land and water environment is being considerably degraded and contaminated due to socio-economic development activities. Water pollution in particular is becoming prominent in not only urban and manufacturing areas but also in rural ones, he said. In addition, the risk of water contamination from cross-border water resources should be promptly followed and controlled, he suggested. Meanwhile, land pollution and degradation as well as the conversion of land uses have caused substantial consequences for local livelihoods and socio-economic growth, Tung said. A report from Thua Thien-Hue province said Nhu Y and An Cuu Rivers in Thua Thien-Hue, for example, are being seriously polluted. The level of iron in the The extreme and unreasonable exploitation of aquatic resources is degrading the local biological diversity, while mining activities are affecting underground water sources. During the workshop, participants highlighted directions for policies and laws on environmental protection, including controlling water and land pollution. According to the Vietnam Environmental Administration, the information shared during the event is useful for generating a draft report on the national environment in 2015, which is compiled once every five years. VNS/VNA/VOV/SGT/ND/TT |
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Article 6
Why are the rich pouring money into seaside villas? Not all resort real estate projects along the coastline are attractive to investors, but beachfront villas have been a magnet to investors for the last six months.  BCG, a US-based consultancy group, said that about 3 million Vietnamese in the middle and upper income groups have demand and financial capability to buy seaside villas worth $250,000 to $1 million. The figure is expected to reach 3.3 million Vietnamese by 2020. A survey by Wealth-X magazine, super-rich people, in Asia, Europe and North America, are all eyeing high-end real estate in According to Viet An Hoa’s CEO Tran Khanh Quang, there are seven reasons behind the new investment wave in seaside villas. First, the villas belong to the ‘second home’ category of products. A report shows that 600,000 households in the Meanwhile, Many different types of resort real estate exist, from villas in large cities and the countryside to houses on plateaus or mountains. However, villas with views to the sea are the most attractive, particularly for relaxation, holidays and winter vacations. A report showed that going to beaches is the top priority choice of 70 percent of travelers. Third, seaside villas all have high value, from $500,000 to several million dollars, which only the rich can afford. The villas are status symbols for many. Fourth, investors will not build beachfront villas everywhere, but only build high-end products in a limited quantity in most advantageous positions with beautiful views to the sea. Fifth, beachfront villas bring the highest profitability compared with other types of real estate. The profit the investors can expect from street-front houses and apartments is 3-6 percent, while it is 8-10 percent for offices for lease and 10-16 percent for beachfront villas. Sixth, the vacation ownership model is becoming more and more popular in Seventh, the new law allowing foreigners to own houses in VNE |
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Article 5
Poultry, livestock industry face disaster from TPP The  Farms in Nguyen Duc Thanh, head of the VEPR, said animal feed and medicines are imported, and farms in Chicken meat and pork prices in Thanh said that even with a 20 percent tax on imported meats, competition against domestic producers was still at an advantage, and the local poultry and livestock industry might disappear if import taxes were removed. Statistics from the Department of Livestock, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, showed that in the first five months of 2015, Tong Xuan Chinh, deputy head of the Department of Livestock, said, "Some industries will enjoy opportunities while others will face challenges during the integration process. The ministry is prepared to face the challenges with suitable policies." dtinews.vn |
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Article 4
Art & Entertainment News 5/8 Film week celebrates August Revolution, National Day A film week marking the 70th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2) will be held across the country from August 19 to September 5. Films on screen include Nha Tien tri (Prophet) by the Vietnam Film Joint-Stock Company, Mo gio (fake tombs) by the Nha Phuong Scenario Joint-Stock Company, the documentary film 70 years for light and belief by the Viet Nam National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio and the animation Kim Dong by the Vietnam Cartoon Film Company. The event is organized by the National Cinema Department and the Vietnam Film Joint-Stock Company. DJ Skrillex to bring his beats to Vietnam this September Los Angeles-based DJ Skrillex has announced on his Instagram that he will bring his Asian tour to Skrillex said he will have a live show at the popular club Lush in His Asian tour, which will start on September 19, includes major cities such as The 27-year-old producer, DJ, singer and songwriter has won a six Grammy awards. Billboard called him one of the pioneers of electronic dance music. Skrillex released his breakthrough EP "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" in late 2010, followed by "More Monsters and Sprites" in mid-2011. In 2011, he was also named MTV's Electronic Dance Music Artist of the Year. Children's nature book ‘inspirational'  Reporter Le Huu The 300-page book tells the story of four friends and their fathers who team up as two different groups to protect wildlife and green forests. "I imagined that when my child sees wildlife such as rhinoceros, elephants and tigers, he would ask me where these friends are and if I could take him to visit them," "I would not know how to answer the question because, possibly, these animals would be killed by mankind. That realisation urged me to write a fictional story about little friends saving wild animals from this threat," he said at the book launch on Sunday in Growing up in the highlands helped The knowledge about the environment and short stories about forests and animals that he received and was told when he was small were useful for "The book describes a fierce battle, but has a happy ending," writer and translator Tran Tien Cao Dang said. "Just as many other fairytales, the book's ending is better than reality. Our children need such books." He had to go to hospital three times during the writing of the book. Born in 1986 in Da Lat City in the Central Highland Province of Lam Dong, Nam moved to "The book will make a good impact on little readers. The author's passionate style of telling the story will make them love wildlife," Hoang Thi Minh Hong, an environment activist, said. "I see hope for our natural environment protection programmes." It is the third book by VNS/VNA/SGT |
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Article 3
Vietnam to fine dishonest eatery denounced on Facebook  The dishonest eatery is seen at 62B A group of tourists who were ripped off by a seafood restaurant in the southern Vietnamese city of Vung Tau have taken to Facebook to denounce the dishonest eatery, eventually prompting local authorities to take action. The eatery had its business license temporarily seized and is now facing a VND5 million (US$230) civil fine, officers from the administration of Vung Tau, the coastal city of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, said after they inspected the restaurant on Tuesday. The penalty came more than a fortnight after a denouncement of the restaurant surfaced online. A tourist, only referred to as NTT, posted a status update on his Facebook page in mid-July, saying his family was charged more than VND5 million for a meal, too expensive compared to normal prices, at an eatery on The man also attached photos showing his family members quarreling with the eatery attendants, and a picture of the hefty bill. After the row, the restaurant owner agreed to reduce the bill by 10 percent, while tipping the driver who took the tourists to her establishment VND800,000 ($36.75), according to the Facebook post. The tourist also complained that he was charged separately for the soup and the prawn in the canh chua tom (sour soup with prawn) dish. The menu says the soup costs VND130,000 - VND150,000 ($6-7) a bowl, which should include prawn in the broth, as commonly understood, but the prawn was separately charged at VND800,000 a kg, according to the tourist. The eatery has been identified as “Quan An Gia Dinh” (Family Eatery), located at 62B The owner, Nguyen Thi Dung, 42, admitted that the meal bill posted online by NTT was hers.  Nguyen Thi Dung (R, 2nd) works with officials. Photo: Tuoi Tre The bill shows that NTT was charged VND400,000 ($18.37) for 15 cans of beer, priced at VND25,000 each, even though his family only consumed five cans. Dung said after the customers complained, she refunded VND300,000 ($13.78) to NTT. But as the refund was not shown in the bill, officers determined that Dung had made “vague bills that mislead customers.” The inspection team thus booked the case and seized the business license of the eatery. Vo Quy Khanh, head of the team, said they would consult the Vung Tau administration to impose a VND5 million fine on the eatery. “The 62B Vo Thi Sau eatery will be blacklisted,” Truong Thi Huong, deputy chairwoman of the city’s administration, said, while suggesting that the local press “publicize its name and address to warn tourists” against the dishonest restaurant. Vung Tau is a popular beach destination for tourists as it is not very far from It takes only 90 minutes to travel from the metropolis to Vung Tau via the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay expressway, instead of two hours and thirty minutes as before. The city is known for fresh seafood, but is also infamous for ubiquitous scammers and dishonest eateries. TUOI TRE NEWS |
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Article 2
 Photo: Diep Duc Minh The Vietnamese government is likely to be hard-pressed to keep its promise of preventing the dong from sliding more than 2 percent against the dollar in the rest of this year, the National Financial Supervisory Commission has warned in its latest report. The exchange rate will see "certain influences" from the increased demand for importing equipment and raw materials due to the rise in production activities at the year-end, especially since the economy is recovering, according to the commission. Moreover, the fact that the US Federal Reserve is likely to increase interest rates anytime from now, thus strengthening the dollar, would also affect the exchange rate in So far this year the State Bank of The bank's reference rate was VND21,820 a dollar Tuesday. The commission said in its report that It attributed the stability to the central bank's management and the country's improved trade balance -- deficit of $140 million in June against an earlier estimate of $700 million. The situation was also thanks to a rise in foreign direct investment -- up 9.6 percent year-on-year in H1 to $6.3 billion -- while remittances were expected to rise from $12 billion last year to $13-14 billion this year, it said. Credit grows, bond lags As of July 20 bank credit growth was 7.32 percent, twice the rate a year earlier, the commission reported. It also forecast the banking system to achieve its goal of bringing the bad debt ratio to below 3 percent by October 1. The ratio reduced from 3.81 percent in March to 3.15 percent in May, it said. Meanwhile, government bond sales have been underperforming with only VND86.1 trillion ($3.88 billion) worth of bonds, or 34.4 percent of the year’s target, being issued in the first seven months, it said. The government’s revenues were lower than estimated in H1 due to the steep decline in crude oil prices since last year, it said. Crude oil revenues were down 32.5 percent year on year. However, the commission expressed its belief that the government would achieve its revenue targets, mostly from taxes and fees. It also forecast the gross domestic product to grow at 6.4 percent over the first nine months and 6.5 percent over the whole year. Thanh Nien News |
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