Chinese manipulate market in Vietnam’s dragon fruit hub  A dragon fruit trading facility that only ships the produce to China is seen in Binh Thuan Province, located in south-central Vietnam.. The dragon fruit market in the south-central province of Binh Thuan, home to Vietnam’s largest area of the delicious tropical fruit, is now fully controlled by Chinese nationals, who work behind local confidants to manipulate supply and prices. Many of the major wholesaling facilities that collect and trade dragon fruit in Ham Thuan Nam and Ham Thuan Bac Districts are owned and operated by Vietnamese residents, who follow decisions made by Chinese nationals behind the scenes. The facilities are large enough for several trailer trucks to dock for loading at one time, and hang big banners that contain both Vietnamese and Chinese texts. Binh Thuan is home to Vietnam’s biggest crops of dragon fruit, a red-skinned fruit having tasty white flesh, with some 22,000 hectares utilized for its cultivation. According to the provincial police, 12 Chinese nationals have been caught entering the province and conducting illegal activities, particularly trading dragon fruit, in the first half of this year. Police have booked all twelve cases, levied administrative fines on and informed the foreigners of their violations. However, many Chinese nationals are still manipulating the market. A local official from the Ham Thuan Nam administration said it was hard to detect if a Chinese national is behind a facility lawfully registered by a Vietnamese. “Some local traders, lured by profit, have leased their licensed facilities to the Chinese,” he added.  Chinese-only business On June 9, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter visited the Nga Minh dragon fruit trading facility in Ham Thuan Nam, requesting shipment of the fruit to the central city of Da Nang. However, a Vietnamese manager rejected the order, saying that they only ship the produce to China. Two nearby establishments, Tam Huong and Xuan Thinh, also asserted that they do not trade the fruit domestically, but export exclusively to China. The three facilities are run by Vietnamese employees, but the real owners are a Chinese father and son, with local names of Phu and Quy. As requested by the Chinese owners, the Vietnamese employees use tricks to source the dragon fruit from local growers at cheap prices. “They come in the morning and offer to buy at one price, before returning later with a much lower price,” said Nguyen Thi Phuoc, a dragon fruit grower who recently fell victim to the Chinese-employed Vietnamese traders. Phuoc said she was forced to accept the lower price, with the fruit already collected after the traders had made the first bid. The traders will normally say the fruit does not look good in order to force farmers to accept the lower offer. “If we refuse to sell, they simply return the following day with an even lower price, and so on,” she said.  On June 13, one Tuoi Tre correspondent followed a local grower to Kien Kien, a facility actually run by Chinese national Luo Zheng Yun, to experience first-hand how farmers are forced to sell their produce at a loss. After the farmer said he wanted to sell at VND7,000 a kg, the Vietnamese employee of the facility made a counter-offer of VND6,000 per kg, saying that the fruit was “of the lowest quality.” Refusing that would mean the growers had to take the fruit home and see them rot. “You can sell your dragon fruit to no one but the Chinese,” Thanh, a Vietnamese fruit broker, revealed. Thanh used to source the fruit directly from local plantations, but has reluctantly switched to working for the Chinese. “Local brokers could not compete with the Chinese-backed traders,” she said. Like Thanh, many other local traders and wholesalers have had to shut down their own businesses and become employees for the Chinese nationals in their homeland. TUOI TRE NEWS |
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Social News 21/6 UN vows to protect Vietnamese children  The United Nations pledges to work with the Government of Vietnam to take care of and protect local children, particularly those with disabilities. Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children Marta Santos Pais made the statement during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam in Hanoi on June 20 as part of her visit to attend the ASEAN Children Forum 2016. She highly valued the achievements Vietnam has made in protecting and caring children as well as the country’s policy and institutional improvements, particularly the adoption of the revised Law on Child Protection, Care and Education. Marta Santos Pais suggested Vietnam allocate appreciate financial and human resources for the work and soon bring the law into life. For his part, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam thanked the UN for its support for Vietnam in protecting and caring for children. With the assistance of international organisations, Vietnam has fulfilled the millennium development goals, including that on children protection and care, he said. During the meeting, the two sides discussed other issues, such as children-related social affairs, violence to children, and children with disabilities, drug addiction and its impacts on children. Journalist’s press card revoked for serious violation The Ministry of Information and Communications revoked a journalist’s press card yesterday for a serious violation of Government regulations. The ministry required the HCM Law Newspaper to revoke the press card of Mai Phan Lợi and to return it to the Press Department, in line with the laws. Lợi, head of Hà Nội Bureau of the HCM City Law Newspaper, had his press card revoked for violating a circular of the ministry and for seriously offending the honour of the Vietnamese People’s Army. His offenses caused deep psychological wounds to families, relatives and comrades of soldiers and officials who were in distress during their mission and his actions also affected the prestige of the press, according to a decision issued by Minister Trương Minh Tuấn yesterday. Earlier, Lợi posted a status update for voting titled “Why was the CASA rescue plane shattered?” to collect opinions from readers. He also presented some ideas for readers to deduce, such as: the plane was shot; the plane was of poor quality, and due to corruption in the defence sector. His status update immediately caused great public concern. Lang Son required to better investment environment National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has asked the northern mountainous province of Lang Son to improve its investment environment to attract more investors and focus on upgrading infrastructure, particularly transport, to promote its border economic strength. The top legislator had a working session with provincial leaders during her visit to the locality on June 20. Speaking highly of Lang Son’s achievements over the past six months, she urged the province to review its socio-economic development strategy to successfully achieve the targets set in the 16 th provincial Party Congress’s Resolution. For the rural area building, the NA leader appreciated the locality’s set goal of additional 13 communes recognised as new-style rural areas in 2016, asking it to step up the new-style rural construction and agricultural restructuring at the same time. According to the province’s report, in the first half of 2016, the local economic growth was maintained, with GDP up 3.64 percent. Budget collection and spending was controlled, while socio-cultural activities received special attention. Lang Son strives for economic growth of 8-9 percent and average per capita income of 35-36 million VND (1,569-1,614 USD) this year. The same day, the NA chief also had a working session with leaders of Cao Loc district, which shares a 75km border line with China. She requested the district to focus on developing the border economy, preventing goods smuggling, and maintaining border security in order to help ensure national security and defence. Earlier, she visited chili farms of several households in Cao Loc’s Gia Cat commune. Twenty-two Sunda pangolins rescued in Ninh Binh Forest wardens in the northern province of Ninh Binh have handed over 22 Sunda pangolins, also known as the Malayan or Java pangolin, to the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme, according to the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife organisation. On June 19, police in Ninh Binh seized two men and a woman who were illegally transporting the pangolins by train from Hue city, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to northern localities for selling. The pangolins, weighing 91kg in total, were on poor health condition as they had been put in tight reticules without food and water for a long travelling time. Some of them even could not eat after being rescued. Sunda pangolin is listed as an endangered species in Vietnam’s Red Book. The wild population has steadily decreased due to illegal hunting and trading for meat and traditional medicines. The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme is a joint activity by the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, a non-profit organisation focusing on protecting and increasing populations of threatened wildlife in Vietnam, and the Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh. EU provides 2 million EUR aid to assist drought-hit communities The European Commission is making available 2 million EUR (roughly 50 billion VND) in emergency relief to communities affected by the drought and saltwater intrusion in Vietnam since the end of 2015. “The disruption in precipitation patterns has affected the livelihoods, food security and access to safe water of the people of Vietnam. This EU contribution will help provide life-saving assistance to affected families at this critical time, ensuring that their basic needs are met” , said Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management. Channelled through the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), the aid will allow the EU’s humanitarian partners to introduce relief initiatives to alleviate the burden of the most at-risk populations in heavily impacted areas. The funding will focus on addressing the most urgent needs, which include food assistance as well as access to safe water and good hygiene practices. The ongoing El Nino-induced dry spell has affected 39 of the country’s 63 provinces and cities, triggering widespread water shortage and parching vast areas of farmlands in the predominantly agricultural country. As a result, an estimated two million people have been deprived of access to safe drinking water, while one million people are in urgent need of food assistance. All localities in the Mekong Delta, Southern Central and Central Highlands regions have borne the brunt of the irregular climatic patterns, with some 400,000 hectares of cropland impacted with varying degrees of productivity loss. Zoonotic diseases put under control nationwide Vietnam has controlled animal-to-human infectious diseases, with no new outbreaks recorded so far, the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on June 20. However, the department recommended regular implementation of preventative measures across the nation, particularly where these diseases once took place. Concerning bird flu, which is likely to arise in coming months due to changing weather patterns, the agency urged localities to take precautions against a number of virus strains, including H5N1, H5N6 and H7N9. Illegal poultry transport must face strict penalties, it said. The department also warned farm owners to vaccinate their cattle to protect them from foot-and-mouth disease. Localities also need to stand ready to combat the Porcilis Porcine Reproductive Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), which is also known as the “blue ear pig disease”, as the disease may reappear in its former hit areas, it said, stressing the need for tightening the management of pig transport and slaughter. Conference seeks safe water supply for Mekong Delta The Ministry of Construction is calling for support for and experience sharing in management and operation of a World Bank-funded project to secure water supply in the Mekong Delta region amid impacts of drought and saline intrusion, heard a round-table conference held in Hanoi on June 20. According to Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha, the project is billed as a significant solution to water supply security, social welfare and environment protection in Mekong Delta localities by 2030. However, Ha said that the project will face formidable challenges in capital, management capacity and experience. Ousmane Dione, Practice Manager of East Asia and Pacific Programme, Water Global Practice of the WB, noted that the project implementation becomes even more exigent as the region has experienced critical saline intrusion and shortage of potable water. He underscored that the WB commits to providing both financial and knowledge support for Vietnam during the implementation the project. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh highlighted that the ministry has joined hands with localities and the WB to seek additional capital for the project, adding that meticulous review and prompt adjustments have been made to meet the investor’s demands. The ministry will also work with relevant agencies to identify support in finance, technique and mechanism in accordance with the capacity of each donor to deal with the water supply security for the region in short, medium and long terms, she said. Covering an area of 40,000 square kilometres, the Mekong Delta has one city and 12 provinces with a total population of 17.5 million people. The region is confronting disastrous influences from climate change. On the outset of this year, saline intrusion occurred in ten regional localities. About 230,000 households as well as schools, clinics and hotels were short of fresh water in April. Training courses to be held for water treatment operators Training courses for drainage workers will be organised in all 63 cities and provinces nationwide in order to improve their capacities in operation and maintenance of non-concentrated water treatment plants. The first course is being held in Ho Chi Minh City from June 20 to 22. The training courses are operated by the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association (VWSA) in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Drainage Company. They are funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) with total investment worth 3 million EUR (3.36 million USD). From now to 2017, between 20 and 25 training courses with 11 special subjects are planned for 750 drainage workers, helping them effectively operate and maintain water treatment systems. Previously, the GIZ trained 25 source lecturers for the VWSA. USAID helps Vietnam cushion climate change impacts The US would continue working with Vietnam to lessen growingly adverse impacts of climate change, according to Todd Raymond Johnson, who is Forest and Climate Change advisor, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Asia’s Office of Technical Services. In a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of a media training course in the northern province of Nam Dinh, Todd said the US and Vietnam announced their partnership on climate change during President Barrack Obama’s trip to Vietnam in May. The partnership will allow cooperative activities to enable the Mekong River and Red River deltas to boost their adaptation capability and reduce their vulnerability against impacts of climate change. It will support joint efforts to mitigate disaster risks and improve preparedness and response to disasters, with early warning systems being assisted for communities that are vulnerable to climate change. The partnership will lay the groundwork for the two countries to proceed with their connectivity in this field in a wider manner, according to the official. According to Todd, the Vietnamese government and the US will continue to have discussions to determine priority issues in line with new situation for cooperation and effectively actualise these new priorities. The USAID is assisting Vietnam to turn the Strategy for Green Growth in Vietnam into real actions at national, provincial and district levels. Vietnam is one of the countries suffering most severe impacts of climate change such as rising temperature, drought, flood, rising sea level, saltwater intrusion, and the increasing number of storms, which have been threatening food security, livelihoods and lives of millions of its people.- Conference highlights important role of mass media The press plays an important role in influencing public opinion about major public issues, said delegates at a conference held on June 20 on the occasion of National Journalism Day (June 21). But a report published at the conference also highlighted reporters’ difficulties in conveying information to readers. Former deputy of the 12th National Assembly, Nguyen Minh Thuyet, said today’s readers demand hot news but also deeper reflection, requiring media to report news and events in a clearer and more diversified manner. Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Van Hien Vietnam online magazine, Vu Xuan Ban, said the responsibility placed on journalists requires them to always be honest, objective and patient and to always make the interests of the country and the nation a top priority, he said. However, journalists also face many difficulties in reporting news and events, according to a study released on June 20 by the Centre for Research on Development under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations. The independent study on factors affecting journalists’ work during the 2011-15 period found that the working environment of journalists has become more complicated with higher risks. Journalists are prevented from publishing certain information and have been threatened or attacked at a growing rate over the past five years. In March, journalist Do Doan Hoang from the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper was attacked by three suspects while on duty and driving a motorbike near Kim Van-Kim Lu Residential Area in Hoang Mai District. He reported the incident to the district police immediately after it occurred. As an investigative journalist, his articles cast a spotlight on serious social issues, including wildlife trafficking. Last November, two Giao Thong (Transport) newspaper reporters were attacked and their assets snatched while they were researching an investigative report on overloaded trucks carrying sand on roads in District 9 of HCM City. In some cases journalists are unable to get access to information, and their work tools are seized or damaged to prevent them from publishing information. Around 44 percent of 1,134 surveyed journalists said they were prevented from publishing information at least once, according to the study. It revealed that journalists often face obstacles when reporting issues relating to social events, land management, environmental protection, investigations and prosecution. Participants also noted that the National Assembly’s approval of the Law on Information Access was a great success in promoting transparency in Vietnam. Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnam Audio Visual Magazine, Pham Bich San, stressed that many journalists still lack tools to report news and their stories reflect personal views rather than reality. Airport customs honoured for drug, arms smuggling discoveries The customs division at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City was rewarded by the city authorities on June 20 in recognition of its discovery of multiple drug and arms smuggling. The airport customs division has uncovered thirteen cases of drug smuggling and illegal arms transport at airport from April to early June. Seven drug smuggling cases have been detected with 1.1 tonnes of ‘khat’ leaves containing cathinone from Africa, over 2.7 kilograms of heroin, 2.58 kilograms of methamphetamine and two kilograms of cocaine confiscated. The latest case on June 9 involved a South African national, 32, on a flight from the Qatar’s capital city of Doha to Tan Son Nhat Airport. He was hired to illegally transport 1.7 kilograms of cocaine for 3,500 USD. In addition, it has caught six cases of illegal small arms transport, seizing 11 handguns, an air-gun, a crossbow, 23,550 bullets, two vials of tear gas and spare parts of guns. Study: Some reporters muzzled The press plays an important role in influencing public opinion about major public issues, said delegates at a conference held yesterday on the occasion of National Journalism Day (June 21). But a report published at the conference also highlighted reporters’ difficulties in conveying information to readers. Former deputy of the 12th National Assembly, Nguyễn Minh Thuyết, said today’s readers demand hot news but also deeper reflection, requiring media to report news and events in a clearer and more diversified manner. Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Văn Hiến Việt Nam online magazine, Vũ Xuân Bân, said the responsibility placed on journalists requires them to always be honest, objective and patient and to always make the interests of the country and the nation a top priority, he said. However, journalists also face many difficulties in reporting news and events, according to a study released yesterday by the Centre for Research on Development under the Việt Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations. The independent study on factors affecting journalists’ work during the 2011-15 period found that the working environment of journalists has become more complicated with higher risks. Journalists are prevented from publishing certain information and have been threatened or attacked at a growing rate over the past five years. In March, journalist Đỗ Doãn Hoàng from the Lao Động (Labour) newspaper was attacked by three suspects while on duty and driving a motorbike near Kim Văn-Kim Lũ Residential Area in Hoàng Mai District. He reported the incident to the district police immediately after it occurred. As an investigative journalist, his articles cast a spotlight on serious social issues, including wildlife traficking. Last November, two Giao Thông (Transport) newspaper reporters were attacked and their assets snatched while they were researching an investigative report on overloaded trucks carrying sand on roads in District 9 of HCM City. In some cases journalists are unable to get access to information, and their work tools are seized or damaged to prevent them from publishing information. Around 44 per cent of 1,134 surveyed journalists said they were prevented from publishing information at least once, according to the study. It revealed that journalists often face obstacles when reporting issues relating to social events, land management, environmental protection, investigations and prosecution. Participants also noted that the National Assembly’s approval of the Law on Information Access was a great success in promoting transparency in Việt Nam. Editor-in-Chief of the Việt Nam Audio Visual Magazine, Phạm Bích San, stressed that many journalists still lack tools to report news and their stories reflect personal views rather than reality. The Chairman of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyễn Thiện Nhân yesterday visited the Government Portal on the occasion of national journalism day. He congratulated the management board and staff of the Government portal on this occasion and praised their contribution to the dissemination information about Party and State policies and laws that support efforts to promote administrative reform and transparency of the State apparatus and agencies. He noted that the Government portal needed to update its contents in keeping with the country’s deeper integration into the world. Reporters and editors should improve ethics and professionalism to produce work that conveys accurate and speedy information to readers, he said. Residence upgrades to be speeded up Đinh La Thăng, the secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, said the city must formulate a detailed plan this month to speed up the upgrading of old residences. Projects to upgrade old residential quarters in HCM City often encounter obstacles due to lack of agreement between local residents, investors and local authorities. Trần Trọng Tuấn, the director of the HCM City Department of Construction, said some residents demand high compensation to move out of their existing homes to make room for new buildings. Local authorities also need more determination. For example, the District 1 People’s Committee intended to move residents from the Cô Giang Residential Quarter in 2005, but the committee was afraid some residents were not satisfied and the move has not been completed yet, said Tuấn. Red tape is another problem. It takes at least two years to complete administrative procedures, not to mention obstacles in clearing the ground, according to Tuấn. Phạm Ngọc Lâm, the chief executive officer of the Đức Khải Corporation which partnered in the renovation of six old residential quarters, said residents are reluctant to move for fear of losing their housing. Meanwhile, new residential project management boards are afraid local authorities may not support the projects. This results in delays and cost overruns. “Because of the shortage of belief between residents, enterprises and state authorities, enterprises are not interested in upgrading old residential quarters. Profits are low but risks are high,” said Lâm. This month, the city will assign local authorities to approve and inspect projects and will select investors to speed up progress, Tuấn said. He also committed to shorten and simplify administrative procedures for investors. More train services to Nha Trang, Phan Thiet Saigon Railways will add new services to the resort towns of Phan Thiet and Nha Trang, starting July 1, to attract more passengers this summer, Tuoi Tre reported. The daily service SNT3-4 between Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang will cost between VND166,000 (US$7.40) to VND340,000 (US$15) one way. Tickets for the Phan Thiet service SPT3-4 range from VND92,000 (US$4) to VND125,000 ($5.60). Passengers going in groups of 10-20 will get a 10% discount, and groups of 21 and above will get 15% off. Fuel prices adjusted in June The Ministries of Finance, and Industry and Trade decided to adjust the fuel price from 3pm on June 20, wherein price of gasoline was decreased and petroleum was continuously increased. The price of RON 92 was decreased by VND341 per litre and biofuel E5 was reduced by VND336 per litre while diesel 0.05S was increased to VND390 per litre and petroleum was raised by VND370 per litre. This is the fifth time gasoline prices have decreased this year and the sixth with all petroleum products. Accordingly, RON 92 will not be higher than VND16,168 per litre (US$0.72), E5 will not exceed VND15,647 ($0.7), diesel 0.05S will remain below VND12,298 ($0.55), and petroleum will not exceed VND10,667 ($0.48). The average petroleum product price in the world in 15 days before June 20 was $65.496 per RON 92 barrel, a decrease of $1.6 per barrel as compared to the last time, of $58.429 per 0.05S diesel barrel, which was higher than about $1 per barrel. The MOIT and the Ministry of Finance also decided to keep the use of the price stabilisation fund for petroleum unchanged at VND639 per litre. Usage of the fund for E5 remained at VND672 per litre, while diesel was at VND595 per litre. The price adjustment of RON 92, E5, diesel, petroleum and mazut assigned by principal traders in the petroleum business, was no later than 3pm on June 20. Fourth ASEAN Children Forum opens in Hanoi The fourth ASEAN Children Forum kicked off in Hanoi on June 20, participated by 35 children from eight ASEAN member countries, who are hoped to raise their voice about the enforcement of children’s rights. Vietnamese representatives are from Hanoi , the northern province of Bac Kan , the central provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Nam and the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap . Opening the four-day event, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung reiterated the ASEAN Community’s commitments to prioritising the promotion of the observation and protection of children’s rights as well as welfare policies. Besides, one of the grouping’s major objectives is to build a community friendly to children, a place where all children can share and enjoy common values, he said. He stressed the significance of the forum to children, during which participants will discuss the prevention and combat of children trafficking and violence against children, and the protection of children from cyber crimes and climate change. He also expressed hope that a declaration with children’s creative proposals will be built and sent to social welfare chiefs of the ASEAN member countries as well as relevant agencies. As schedule, children delegates will have a dialogue with ministry and sector leaders of Vietnam and ASEAN on June 22. The declaration containing ASEAN children’s proposals is also expected to be issued the same day. At the kick-off session, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam presented awards to winners of a painting contest on ASEAN vision towards 2025, including two Vietnamese children. The contest was launched in Vietnam , Cambodia , Myanmar , Thailand , and Singapore. Mong Ethnic Cultural Day lures foreign visitors Foreign visitors were lured by amusing “ken” dancing, art performances and colorful costumes at the Mong (H’mong) Ethnic Cultural Day 2016 which took place in Dong Van district in the northern province of Ha Giang on June 19. The event, which featured an assertive cultural characteristics and life-style of the indigenous people, drew attention of over 2,500 local and foreign visitors. Various activities related to the ethnic Mong group, such as “ken” dancing, ethnic sport games, local specialties, traditional costume and cuisine and native product display, and folk song performances, were received warm response from visitors at the event. The event is aimed to prepare for the second national Mong (Hmong) Ethnic Cultural Festival to be held in the locality in this October. Seventeen provinces nationwide with a large number of Mong people will participate in the annual festival. Vietnam has about 800,000 Mong people, one of the ethnic minority groups with a large population. Most Mong people live in mountainous areas at a height of 700 metres to 1,500 metres above sea level in the north, north-central and Central Highlands regions. Bai Xep in top Asian unknown but incredible destinations The remote fishing village of Bai Xep in central Vietnam has been named in the list of “16 incredible destinations in Asia that tourist don’t know about yet” by US-based news website Business Insider. Bai Xep is located on a stretch of white sand, 10 kilometres away from Quy Nhon city in the central coast province of Binh Dinh. According to Business Insider, the car-free village is ideal for those looking to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and enjoy a relaxing beach and plenty of fresh seafood. Giving advices on how to spend time in Bai Xep, the website said visitors can rent local traditional circular boats, take cooking classes, and enjoy hiking trails that lead to waterfalls.- Safety checks at old apartment buildings to finish in 2017 The Ministry of Construction has said it will complete safety checks at public structures and old apartment buildings across the country next year. Nguyen Manh Ha, head of the ministry’s State appraisal department for construction structures, said the ministry would carry out preliminary inspections at buildings this year and overall checks next year. Based on final results, the ministry will decide which buildings will be upgraded or rebuilt. Ha said the ministry has set common standards to appraise the quality of public structures and apartment buildings in provinces and cities as required by the Prime Minister. These standards will be used to check the buildings constructed before 1994. Statistics of the ministry showed Hanoi has more than 1,500 apartment buildings constructed in the 1960-1980 period, with many of them deteriorating. Safety checks will be executed at around 474 apartment buildings in HCMC, with 106 of them in bad condition. Vietnam becomes STAG TB member Viet Nam was elected for the first time as a member of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Tuberculosis (STAG-TB) under the World Health Organization (WHO). Accordingly, Dr Nguyen Viet Nhung, Director of the National Lung Hospital and the National Tuberculosis Program in Viet Nam was appointed as one of 23 members of the STAG-TB. The election took place at the 16th session of the STAG TB on June 13-15 in Geneva, Switzerland. The session is of great significance as it opened the End TB Strategy in the 2016-2035 period. Viet Nam was referred as one of the pioneers in TB fight. Earlier, Viet Nam adopted the National TB control strategy in 2014. With the new appointment, Viet Nam’s experience in TB control will be shared with the international community. In Viet Nam, over 100,000 TB patients are annually discovered and treated. Especially, over 90% of people with TB diseases were successfully cured. Ministry warns of seasonal flu The Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health yesterday warned people of seasonal flu prevention. Seasonal flu is an acute contagious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even death. Its symptoms are high fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, sore throat and cough. Viruses causing seasonal flu are also viruses to cause A/H3N2, A/H1N1, B and C flu. Flu viruses are spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Accordingly, the Ministry advised people to prevent the disease, people should stay away from sick people and stay home if sick. It also is important to wash hands often with soap and water; cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, immunization, avoid close contact with sick people. While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them and rush to nearby medical facilities for early treatment. Health experts said that as usual, seasonal flu patients will recover within two or seven days yet the disease will develop seriously with complications on children, elder people and people with chronic disease it even can lead to deaths. To actively supervise virus strains in the country, the Ministry of health has implemented a system to keep track on the flu virus strain and on acute respiratory infections since the early 2016 as well as well as promote testing and diagnosing of factors which cause seasonal flu. The National Flu Center with its office in the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City conducted a study which showed that no new flu virus strain or virus to cause drug-resistance are detected in Vietnam. The study also showed that in 2015 and six first months of 2016, virus A/H3 is the major virus circulating in the Southeast Asian nation, next is A/H1N1 virus and B virus. It additionally showed that around 1 million to 1.8 million flu cases annually caused by viruses A/H3N2, A/H1N1 and B. Heavy rain, cyclone sweep through HCMC A heavy rain accompanied with cyclone appeared in some places of Ho Chi Minh City at 6:30 pm yesterday. In additon, the strong wind uprooted ten trees and the power cut, serious traffic jam happened in Nguyen Thai Binh, Hoang Hoa Tham, Truong Chinh, Truong Cong Dinh Street of Tan Binh district. In the areas of Luy Ban Bich, Thoai Ngoc Hau and Khuon Viet of Tan Phu district, heavy rain and strong wind blew many trees and broke off traffic signal. After receiving information, local authorities and functional forces joined hand in cleaning uprooted trees along roads. Authority takes back drugs Efixime, Tana for low quality The Vietnam Administration of Drug under the Ministry of Health June 19 sent its document to departments of health across the country to announce its decision to suspend two low quality drugs including Efixime 100DT and Tana. Under the decision, the health authority decided to suspend drug Efixime 100DT with its batch No. FNB-07, manufactured by India-based All Serve Healthcare Company on September 26, 2014 and its expiry date on September 25, 2017 and registered No. VN-4941-10. The drug was imported by SOHACO Trading and Pharmaceutical Group Joint Stock Company. Through testing, the drug failed to meet the quality standard. Efixim is used to treat respiratory infections, glue ear, cholecystitis and conchitis. Moreover, the health authority also suspended the circulation of Tana, its batch No. 010815, manufactured by Tan A Company located in Thanh Oai Industrial Park in Bich Hoa Commune in Hanoi on August 6, 2015 and its expiry date on August 6, 2018 and registered No. V1585-H12-10. The drug is found not to meet the quality standard. The health authority asked the departments of health to take back these drugs and issue penalties on these units which disobeyed the decision. Detained Vietnamese fishermen return home from Indonesia Twenty-eight Vietnamese fishermen, who were arrested by Indonesian authorities for accidently fishing in Indonesia’s seas, were flown home on June 19. Most of the fishermen are from the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang. They were captured in Indonesia for two months. They were sent back to Vietnam through Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Indonesia also repatriated two Vietnamese captains on June 16 after two years’ detention. The Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia is working to complete procedures for more than 20 fishermen to return home next week. The Embassy always asked the fishermen and boat owners to be aware of regulations on fishing areas while taking on offshore activities to avoid violations of foreign sea territory, said Tran Minh Cu, First Secretary of Vietnamese Embassy to Indonesia. From the outset of this year, more than 500 Vietnamese fishermen have been captured by Indonesian forces for encroaching upon their sea areas, doubling the figure in the same period last year. Indonesia affirms that it continues strict measures on vessels operating illegal fishing. Two months ago, the country destroyed 23 foreign fishing boats, with some from Vietnam. Tourist boats likely to return to Bach Dang Wharf Tourist and passenger boats may be allowed to operate at Bach Dang Wharf after the HCMC government told relevant agencies to identify sites for such boats in the downtown wharf. In its Document No. 296, the city government assigns the Department of Zoning and Architecture to coordinate withthe departments of transport and tourism to findsites at the wharf for tourist and passenger boats. Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism is told to complete a scheme to develop river tours without having to wait for the city’s master zoning plan for tourism development. After a meeting with relevant departments earlier this month, HCMC chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong requested the authorityof District 1 to take over the management of Bach Dang Wharf Park from Saigontourist Holding Company. It will cooperate with the Department of Planning and Investment to find investors for a project to develop the park. In mid-2013, the city government assigned Saigontourist to manage and develop Bach Dang Wharf Park into a complex which includes piers for tourist boats and recreational services. However, no construction has commenced. The city government has banned hydrofoils and restaurant boats to anchor at Bach Dang since April 2015 to pave the way for the upgrade of the wharf area. The ban made life tough for firms in the sectors for weeks before they were allowed to move their hydrofoils and boats to the nearby Saigon Port area in District 4. Boat owners bemoaned that the ban caused huge losses for them due to sharp reductionsin passenger numbers. Hot weather in north drives up power demand Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) said a protracted heat wave in the northern region has led electricity consumption to spike in recent days, a Vietnam News Agency report said. Data from the National Load Dispatch Center showed power consumption nationwide reached 588.23 million kWh on Tuesday, up 21.5 % compared to the average daily use of the same period last year. In the 27 northern provinces for which Northern Power Corporation (EVN NPC) is responsible, electricity consumption amounted to over 181 million kWh, up 40.89% year-on-year. EVN NPC said that before the hot season came this year it had spent VND7.35 trillion (US$330.75 million) completing 94 power projects and increasing the capacity of 65 110KV-220KV substations to 2,704 MVA. The company also implemented 312 medium-voltage projects at a cost of VND2.53 trillion (US$113.9 million). In Hanoi, 66.23 million kWh was consumed on Tuesday, 41% higher than the average daily use in May and 33% higher than the year-ago period. Hanoi Power Corporation (EVN HANOI) said electricity consumption is forecast to reach 77.319 million kWh a day. By June 15, EVN HANOI had put into operation 16 110kV projects, adding a combined capacity of 515 MVA, and commissioned 280 substations with an additional capacity of 111 MVA. EVN NPC and EVN HANOI have publicized their hotlines to receive feedback and handle power problems timely. EVN said water levels in hydropower reservoirs in the central and southern regions remain low but it pledged to mobilize all resources to ensure sufficient electricity for consumers. The group called for customers to use electricity in an economical way. Nghe An children benefit from school milk programme Up to half of children attending kindergartens and elementary schools in the central province of Nghe An have benefited from a pilot school milk programme launched last December. The programme was carried out at a total cost of 53 billion VND (2.4 million USD), of which 30 billion VND (1.35 million USD) is sourced from TH Group, one of the major producers of dairy products in the country. After the half-year implementation, the programme has come to 17 out of 21 towns and districts in the province, helping reduce the prevalence of underweight children and children with stunted growth in the localities. Nghe An province has urged relevant agencies to join hands for the programme to run until 2020. According to UNICEF, one-third of Vietnamese children under the age of five are stunted as a result of malnutrition. But the country is making progress, currently leading the way in lowering rates of malnutrition. Data from the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG) initiative shows that the rate of child malnutrition in Vietnam is declining by 1.5 percent every year. From 44 percent in 1994, the rate has dropped to under 20 percent at present. Goods smuggling discovered at Moc Bai border gate Customs officers in the southern province of Tay Ninh have recently discovered many cases of contraband goods being transported from Cambodia through the Moc Bai international border gate. On May 12, 2016, customs staff at the gate found three Cambodian citizens carrying 70,700 USD and 13 million VND (585 USD) into Vietnam without producing customs declaration forms for the amounts. Two day later, customs staff and border armed forces working at the gate seized 0.66 kg of heroin and six bullets when checking a motorbike driven by a Cambodian man. The man fled when he was stopped for checking. The competent forces arrested and commenced criminal proceedings against the three Cambodians who were captured carrying the undeclared money. And all exhibits from the two cases were handed over to the province’s police for further investigation. According to Vice Director of the Customs Department at the Moc Bai Border Gate Nguyen Du Duc, smuggling and trade fraud across the province's border has seen an increase, especially at the border gate. He attributed the situation to the activities of casinos and dance halls in Cambodia, which are situated only 500 metres from the border, saying that these create the conditions for drug and weapon trafficking, commercial fraud and illegal money transport. In addition, around 100 trans-border coaches and 400 trucks pass through the border gate every day. Several enterprises have taken advantage of Vietnam’s open policies for exporting and importing goods to smuggled commodities and contraband into Vietnam, and evade taxation.- Two Lao men arrested for carrying drugs en route to Vietnam Border guards in Quang Tri Province in central Vietnam and Laos police on June 18 arrested two Lao men who tried to traffic 12,000 pills of drugs across the border. Both men came from Savanakhet Province which borders Vietnam. They were found carrying the tablets labeled WY, which is the logo for a kind of drug mixed from methamphetamine and caffeine. Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face the death penalty. The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death. Yet drug trafficking activities across the Laos border remains regular. The Saturday bust came just three days after two Lao men were arrested for trafficking 35 kilograms of opium into Vietnam. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri |
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Article 5
FDI to HCMC slows as the city becomes choosier about projects The foreign direct investment (FDI) flow into HCMC has unexpectedly decreased, though capital to other cities and provinces has increased.  According to the HCMC Statistics Office, 276 FDI projects were licensed in the first five months of 2016 with the registered investment capital of $481.2 million. Also, licenses were also granted to 48 expanded projects with additional investment capital of $166.1 million. As such, the total new FDI capital registered by mid-May 2016 had reached $674.3 million, much lower than that of the same period of last year at $1.05 billion. With the figure, HCMC ranks fifth in the country in terms of FDI attraction. Analysts commented that the FDI capital poured into HCMC has decreased considerably, while the capital into other cities and provinces keeps increasing. A report of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) showed that the total FDI registered capital in the country the first five months of the year reached $10.15 billion, up by 136.4 percent over the same period of last year. While Hanoi and Hai Phong Cities lead the country in attracting FDI with multi-billion dollar projects licensed, HCMC, after many years of topping the list of biggest FDI attractors, has fallen. The number of FDI projects in the HCMC High-tech Park (SHTP) has also been modest with only two projects licensed in the first five months of the year, capitalized at $22.34 million.
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue at the recent working session with the HCMC People’s Committee also reminded the city’s leaders of the fall in FDI attraction. Le Thi Huynh Mai, deputy director of the HCMC Planning and Investment Department, said on Nguoi Lao Dong that the city still attracts FDI, saying that the statistics about newly registered projects and capital do not include expanded projects and the cases of foreign investors contributing capital into projects. She also said that the figures in the first months of the year do not truly reflect the panorama of FDI in the city as big projects are often registered in the last months of year. Because of the Investment Law, since July 1, 2015 many investors have shifted to make investment through the capital contribution or stake acquisition. The total capital invested under this mode was about VND8.2 trillion, or $400 million in the first four months of the year, according to Mai. Meanwhile, Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted Tran Du Lich, a renowned economist, as saying that the decrease of FDI capital into HCMC is ‘quite normal’. He said HCMC has sent a clear message that it does not welcome the projects in the labor intensive industries and it prioritizes high technology projects. CV |
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Article 4
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 21/6 The digital industrial revolution Viet Nam should strengthen market-based reforms and invest in education and training in order to take advantage of opportunities arising from the next digitalisation-driven production revolution, experts have said. At the workshop, "The Next Production Revolution and its policy implications" jointly held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), yesterday in Ha Noi, experts said that the world was on the brink of the next production revolution with profound technological breakthroughs, while Viet Nam was embarking on the new stage of development and integration with accelerated industrialisation from 2016 to 2020. Besides opportunities, the next production revolution posed challenges to Viet Nam particularly the challenge of further lagging behind, according to the experts. It is time for policy-makers in Viet Nam to acquire a better understanding of the digital revolution to make the best of the revolution's opportunities in its early stages and to speed up industrialisation and modernisation, experts at the OECD said. They were optimistic that Viet Nam would turn into a high-income country in the next four decades. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said that innovative thinking was critical for Viet Nam to move forward while the country was losing its competitiveness in low-cost labour. Tran Dinh Thien, director of Viet Nam Institute of Economics, said Viet Nam signed free trade agreements with the world's giant economies such as the European Union, South Korea and the US. "Amidst rapid integration coupled with the approaching next production revolution, if Viet Nam went on the right path, the country could take a giant leap," Thien said. Kensuke Tanaka, head of the OECD Development Centre's Asia Desk, said at the conference that strengthening market-based reforms, SOE reforms and reforms to education and training to meet demand for skilled labour were essential. OECD, on its website, says that the spread of global value chains, the increasing importance and mainstreaming of knowledge-based capital, and the rise of the digital economy, are ushering in the "next production revolution". However, a number of policy challenges must be tackled to enable the next production revolution, the website says. The world went through three industrial revolutions, according to the World Economic Forum. The first was in 1784 using water and steam power to mechanise production. The second was in 1870 using electric power to create mass production, and the third took place in 1969 using electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a digital revolution was in the making. Thua Thien-Hue targets over 448 mln USD in investment Central Thua Thien-Hue province plans to lure 15-20 domestic and foreign investment projects, worth 10 trillion VND (448.3 million USD), into its industrial parks this year. According to the provincial People’s Committee, the industrial parks in the locality target to generate a combined industrial production value of 13.2 trillion VND (591.7 million USD) and exported about 550 million USD worth of products. The province has given priority to projects in the fields of tourism, industrial infrastructure, supporting industries, education, healthcare, agriculture, and hi-tech sectors in which it has advantages. It has worked hard to invite more investors from Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), Japan, the United States and those having signed free trade agreements with Vietnam. The local authority has also ramped up direct conversations with investors and involved more private investors in public projects, through investors business links with banks, infrastructure firms and investment consulting agencies. Thue Thien-Hue plans to develop an investment database in five different languages – Vietnamese, English, Korean, Japanese and Thai – for investors to learn about the local business climate, investment procedures and investment opportunities. A multi-lingual website will also be created for investment promotion. For key infrastructure projects, the locality will support investors by making compensation and carrying out site clearance in advance in order to shorten the time to get projects underway. Some 99 projects have landed in Thua Thien-Hue province to date, including 75 domestic and 24 foreign investment projects, with a total registered capital of approximately 23.6 trillion VND (1,057 billion USD). They have offered employment to around 18,000 local workers. SOEs contribute less to State budget in Jan-May Tax collections from State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the first five months of this year slid 16% over the same period last year and met nearly 33% of the full-year target, according to the General Department of Taxation. Pham Thi Tuyet Lan from the department unveiled the figures at a meeting with reporters in Hanoi on June 15. The drop was one of the reasons behind the budget revenue decline in the January-May period. Particularly, tax collections from the Dung Quat Oil Refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai went down by nearly 60%, or nearly VND7.8 trillion (US$349.5 million), year-on-year and those from PetroVietnam Gas Corporation dipped by a hefty VND1.4 trillion (US$62.7 million). In the year to May, tax revenue from crude oil exports neared VND16 trillion (US$719.9 million), 29% of the estimate. The world crude oil price drop also affected revenues of SOEs in the period. The price dipped to the average of US$29 per barrel, US$22 per barrel lower than the estimate and over US$21 per barrel lower than in the same period last year. Total revenue from dividends and profits of the state corporate sector saw a year-a-year decrease of 20% and was equivalent to more than 25% of the full-year target. Lan said budget collections by the tax authority from January to May met 42% of the full-year target. The reason was dissolved and suspended firms in the first five months edged up nearly 20% and 26% year-on-year respectively. Cold spells in northern mountainous provinces, severe drought in the central and Central Highlands regions, saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, mass fish deaths on the central coast placed significant impact on enterprises. Panama to inspect Vietnam fish processors in July The Panamanian Authority for Food Safety (AUPSA) will dispatch a team to Vietnam from July 4 to 7 to check the safety control system for seafood exports and tra fish processing facilities, according to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad). As planned, the inspection team will be divided into one technical and three inspection groups. Each of them will inspect five to seven fish farms and processing facilities in this ASEAN country. Nafiqad director Nguyen Nhu Tiep asked relevant units and seafood processors to review and prepare all food safety and hygiene documents for the inspection team. Nafiqad also required fish processors to improve food safety. Earlier, Vietnam requested Panama to come for inspection after some Vietnamese fish shipments were found to contain pathogenic microorganisms. Shipments of tra fish from Vietnam will be subject to sample checks and only be allowed for sale in Panama if they meet its requirements. The Vietnam Trade Office in Panama said the country needs to inspect Vietnamese tra fish farms and processors to avoid taking samples for testing. Panama plans to inspect 19 tra fish processing facilities in Vietnam. The list can be changed at the request of AUPSA and will be notified in advance, Tiep said. List of tra fish processors planned for AUPSA inspections 1. Minh Dang Co. Ltd. 2. Frozen Factory 8-An Giang Seafood Import & Export JSC 3. Factory 3-Vinh Hoan JSC 4. Workshop 2-Vinh Hoan JSC 5. Phat Tien Seafood Co Ltd 6. Vinh Hoan JSC 7. Cuu Long Seafood Import & Export JSC 8. An Phu Seafood JSC 9. Nam Song Hau Seafood JSC 10. Nha Trang Seafoods-f89 JSC 11. Hoang Phong Seafood Processing Factory-Ut Xi Seafood Processing JSC 12. Hoang Phuong Seafood Processing Factory-Ut Xi Seafood Processing JSC 13. Indian Ocean Co. Ltd.- Indian Ocean Frozen Seafood Factory 14. Quoc Ai Import & Export and Processing Company 15. Bien Dong Seafood Company 16. Hai Sang Seafood Company 17. Dai Thanh Company 18. Hoa Phat Seafood Import & Export and Processing Company 19. Europe JSC Guidelines for customs, tax laws to come out The Ministry of Finance has sent the Government a draft decree guiding the implementation of both laws on customs procedures and export-import tariffs in line with Vietnam’s commitments to the free trade agreements the country has signed. The ministry said it had drafted the decree at the request of the Government. The ministry said the draft decree includes some regulations on administrative procedures provided in the current circulars while revising some customs procedures to make them harmonize with the existing laws and international practices. The draft decree has been posted on the websites of the ministry and the General Department of Customs for comment. As suggested, the ministry’s circulars having regulations on administrative procedures would be converted into Government decrees in accordance with the law on promulgation of legal documents. In addition, the ministry is tasked with preparing the decree guiding the execution of the law on export-import tariffs which has approved by the National Assembly and will come into force this September. Procedures for tax exemptions and reductions as well as tax refunds for exported and imported goods will be added to the decree. The ministry stressed the need to have a comprehensive check of existing documents to ensure the harmony of tax and customs procedures. Experts urge transparency for real estate market Experts have underscored the urgent need to make the property market transparent and fix legal loopholes to minimize risks for homebuyers. Speaking at a conference on how to protect homebuyers and improve transparency on the property market in HCMC on Tuesday, they said a number of homebuyers had fallen victim to apartment projects which developers used as collateral to take out bank loans. Tran Duc Phuong from the HCMC Bar Association said many investors have not publicized their projects on their websites as required. Under the 2014 Law on Real Estate Business, they must provide details about their projects, including detailed development plans and number of apartments for sale, but most of them have not abided by this regulation. There are unclear rules on investors’ equity and capital raising plans. In many cases, investors authorize their partners to sign home sale contracts, leading to fraud. According to Phuong, a number of investors sell their products though they are not yet licensed and apply unclear payment terms which easily trap homebuyers. On top of that, there are no effective regulations preventing developers from selling one apartment to more than one customer. This is a legal loophole in the real estate sector. Phuong said the real estate market has a low level of transparency. It is difficult for customers to buy homes as wished if they decline to come to terms with what is put forth by investors. Bui Quang Tin from the HCMC Banking University said no regulations require enterprises to report what products they sell so they can take advantage of this loophole to sell one apartment to multiple buyers, especially those who settle payments in cash and do not borrow from banks. Tin proposed property investors register their plans to borrow from banks and sell their products with competent agencies to limit risks for homebuyers. Financial and investment expert Dinh The Hien said customers would face all sorts of risks when they buy apartments at half-done projects because they could only get home ownership certificates after they complete payments. In many cases, investors delay handing over apartments to buyers since they are unable to finish their projects as scheduled due to financial constraints. Hien noted a number of banks lack qualified employees to evaluate projects or assist investors in taking out loans at any cost after investors have used their projects as collateral for loans. This puts homebuyers at risk. Le Trong Khuong, deputy general director of Hung Thinh Real Estate Exchange Joint Stock Company, said more collateral and licensing violations were detected at property projects implemented in 2007-2010 when the real estate market boomed. Large numbers of people rushed to buy homes though they had little or no knowledge of the market and regulations. Nguyen Toan Thang, director of the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the city will check all the housing projects which have been used as collateral for bank loans but their buyers have not got home ownership certificates. State Treasury steps up long-term debt issues The State Treasury has in recent weeks put up for sale big volumes of debt with tenors of over five years in addition to three- and five-year debt. Last week, the agency held auctions of five-year, 20-year and 30-year bonds. Investors registered to buy all of the 20-year bonds on offer at VND1 trillion (US$44.7 million). However, the bonds have remained unsold as investors want higher coupons. Meanwhile, buyers acquired VND500 billion in 30-year debt in a VND1.5 trillion issue at a coupon of 8% a year. Early this month, the State Treasury sold out VND2.6 trillion of 15-year bonds. It organized an auction of 10-year bonds worth a combined VND1 trillion yesterday. Notably, VND100 billion of 10-year bonds, VND4.36 trillion of 15-year bonds, VND80 billion of 20-year bonds and VND1.53 trillion of 30-year bonds were sold last month, much higher than in previous months. According to data of the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the State Treasury mobilized more than VND43 trillion from debt sales in May, up 43.1% month-on-month, and VND166.7 trillion in the year to date. Commercial banks have been rushing to buy G-bonds with a tenor of five years but winning bond yields have inched down. Declining coupons are attributable to lower interest rates for Vietnam dong loans on the interbank market and credit loosening by the State Bank of Vietnam. Banks said capital mobilization has been good but major lenders have not boosted lending. In contrast, credit has grown strongly at small banks but this has not left significant impact on the currency market. The G-bond market has performed well thanks to high liquidity in the banking system. In addition, the central bank has issued Circular 06/2016/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing a number of provisions in Circular 36/2014/TT-NHNN to allow local banks and branches of foreign banks to buy more debt issued by the Government. Market watchers now wonder if the Ministry of Finance will adjust its plan for short-term bond issuance as the volume of less-than-five-year bonds exceeded the ceiling of 30% of all the bonds issued in the year to date. However, market demand for these bonds remains huge as banks have scrambled to purchase bonds to restructure their short-term capital. Last week saw investors snapping up all of the five-year bonds worth VND7 trillion at an annual coupon of 6.07%, down 0.03 percentage point against the previous auction. An additional VND2.1 trillion of five-year bond was put up for sale and snapped up at the same coupon. Financial organizations said macro-economic conditions and cash flow will likely remain stable in the medium and long terms. They forecast bond coupons will not fluctuate significantly and stay low. The State Treasury has announced a plan to issue debt totaling VND70-80 trillion in the second quarter, including VND23 trillion in 10-to-30-year debt. In all of 2016, VND220 trillion of G-bonds will be issued, with three- and five-year debt accounting for VND166 trillion and 10-year, 15-year, 20-year and 30-year debt for VND54 trillion. IFC supports Anova Feed JSC's expansion of sustainable livestock production in Vietnam IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping Anova Corporation to build more animal feed facilities in support of the country's growing livestock industry, contributing to food safety and creating hundreds of jobs. IFC has provided VND340 billion (about $15 million equivalent) through a five-year convertible bond to support one of the company's subsidiaries Anova Feed Joint Stock Company to expand animal feed production. The investment will help the feed producer construct two additional mills in Dong Nai and Hung Yen provinces and a warehouse in Long An province over the next two years. Once the new feed mills and warehouse come online, more than 500 new jobs will be created to supply products to nearly 40,000 farmers across Vietnam. Domestic demand for meat has been on the rise given the country's growing population and higher standards of living. Vietnam's agricultural landscape is driven by small farms and its farmers are looking to make sustainable strides in biosecurity and feed quality. "IFC's financing will help Anova Feed triple its production capacity, providing quality and reliable feed to the fast growing animal protein sector in Vietnam," said Nguyen Hieu Liem, Chief Executive Officer at Anova Corporation. "We are also seeking IFC's advice in expanding our reach to other countries and strengthening corporate governance standards in preparation for a listing." In addition to financing, IFC will help Anova Feed pursue sustainable operations by adopting IFC Performance Standards and the World Bank Group Environment, Health and Safety Guidelines. "IFC aims to support the sustainable development of Vietnam's agricultural sector, which is rapidly growing and accounts for more than 20 percent of the country's gross domestic product," said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR. "By supporting companies like Anova Feed, we are promoting the development of efficient and sustainable local private enterprises along the agribusiness supply chain as a driver of competitiveness and improvement in agriproducts in the local market." IFC has significantly scaled up its investments in agribusiness in recent years. In the fiscal year ended in June 2015, IFC invested $3.0 billion across the agribusiness supply chain—from farm to retail—to help boost production, increase liquidity, improve logistics and distribution, and expand access to credit for small farmers. At the end of the fiscal year, IFC's committed agribusiness portfolio stood at $5.2 billion. Farmers expect latex prices to hike Since 2014, the price of rubber has been drastically down resulting in the Vietnam Rubber Group and farmers facing hardship. Yet, this year, the price of the tree is showing a hike bringing new hope for farmers. To overcome the difficulties, many farmers have cut down the tree to grow other trees such as pepper and cassava. In the end of May, 2016 was in the harvesting season to collect raw latex and at that time the prices were stable in the South East region and slightly higher than last year. As per the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Southern province of Binh Phuoc, from the middle of May, raw latex fetched VND8,700 a kilogram in Dong Phu District meanwhile it was sold at VND8,700 per kilogram in Hon Quang District. In the southern province of Binh Duong’s Dau Tieng District, its price was at VND8,800-8,900 a kilogram; at VND8,600-8,700 per kilogram at Bau Bang District. The current prices are 40 percent higher than the fourth quarter in 2015. However, the farmers in the South East region said that the current prices do not assure them. Farmer Tran Van Duc, owning a 3-hectare rubber garden in Tan Hung Commune in the southern province of Binh Phuoc’s Dong Phu District said that rubber prices this time are merely higher than last year. He added that the price of latex is usually high in the early harvesting time yet it will leap in the middle and end. Consequently, the farmers are not really excited though the rubber prices are higher than last year. To earn more profit, Duc's family members themselves take raw latex instead of hiring others. At this time, the rubber companies have had no enough rubber to sell as they signed contracts with customers. According to the Vietnam Rubber Association, the latex prices increase because of drought. Additionally, Thailand, one of leading country to produce rubber, announced rubber productivity reduced half. The announcement resulted in hike in price in the Southeast Asian countries. Another reason is that consumption of rubber tire in the world showed an upward trend. Furthermore, petroleum price leap also pushed the rubber prices. Ascott appoints new Country GM The Ascott Limited (Ascott), CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, has appointed Ms. Lew Yen Ping as its Country General Manager for Vietnam. Ms. Lew, a hospitality industry veteran, will manage Ascott’s operations and ensure the robust growth of its serviced residence business in Vietnam. “Ms. Lew has amassed 25 years of experience in the international hospitality sector,” said Mr. Tony Soh, Ascott’s Chief Corporate Officer overseeing the company’s business and operations. No stranger to Ascott, Ms. Lew has been working in Vietnam since 2011 and has played a pivotal role in expanding the company’s business in the north of the country. She led the team in constantly improving operational efficiency and consistently achieving excellent profits across Ascott’s properties in the north. “Ms. Lew will now step up and take on the leading role in enhancing Ascott’s business performance as well as growing our presence in the country,” Mr. Soh said. Ms. Lew succeeds Mr. Mark Chan, who became Area General Manager, South China, and Vice President, Special Projects, from June 1. “I am honored to lead the Vietnam team and bring Ascott to greater heights under my leadership,” Ms. Lew said. “Ascott pioneered the serviced residence industry in the country 22 years ago and we have successfully established Somerset as a strong, award-winning brand. We are committed to offering the perfect accommodation for business and leisure travelers in Vietnam and we will soon introduce the premium Ascott The Residence brand as well as Citadines’ Apart‘hotel to the country this year.” Before Ascott, Ms. Lew held senior positions with international hotel groups and organizations in Malaysia, Singapore, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, and the US. She studied in the US and earned a Master’s degree in Australia. In Vietnam Ascott currently operates three properties in Hanoi - Somerset Grand Hanoi, Somerset Hoa Binh and Somerset West Lake, one property in Hai Phong - Somerset Central TD Hai Phong City, and five properties in Ho Chi Minh City - Somerset Chancellor Court, Somerset Ho Chi Minh City, Somerset Vista Ho Chi Minh City, Vista Residences, and Diamond Island Luxury Residences. Other new serviced residences to be progressively completed include Ascott Waterfront Saigon, Citadines Bayfront Nha Trang, Citadines Regency Saigon, Citadines Central Binh Duong, Somerset West Point Hanoi, Somerset West Central Hanoi, and Somerset Danang Bay. ADB continues supporting Vietnam’s development projects President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Takehiko Nakeo has stated that the bank will continue providing preferential loans and technical support for Vietnam’s projects in the coming time. In a working session with Vietnamese Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung in Hanoi on June 16, Takehiko Nakeo spoke of Vietnam’s sustained economic growth, poverty and social policies, and infrastructure development. For his part, Minister Dung asked the bank to continue prioritizing preferential loans and extending loan terms for Vietnam, and supporting the Vietnamese Government in selecting investment projects that will bring high efficiency. ADB is one of Vietnam’s important partners and donors, Dung said, affirming that the bank’s assistance helped Vietnam realise its targets, particularly in public financial reform, market development, securities and customs. The official also informed the ADB official about issues related to Vietnam’s public debts and solutions taken by the Government to inflation control and budget deficit reduction, saying that these remarkably contributed to restructuring public debts, ensuring debt safet y and State budget sustainability. The Ministry of Finance has worked and given advices to the Government to perfect laws relating to public debt management, and adjust Vietnam’s Public Debt Strategy to 2020 and a vision to 2030 in accordance with international regulations, Dung noted. He also mentioned measures to improve the efficiency of State-owned enterprises, promote restructuring of the stock market and public-private partnership (PPP), and address bad debts, and policies to develop small- and medium-sized enterprises. As of 2015, loans pledged by ADB for Vietnam totally valued at 11.5 billion USD, including 5.5 billion USD from the Asian Development Fund and 6 billion USD from ADB's Ordinary Capital Resources ( OCR ). Total value of technical supports the bank provided for Vietnam was about 253 million USD. The bank’s fund targeted infrastructure projects for socio-economic development, policy and institution reform, and poverty reduction programmes. Local flower firms could be top exporters With vast areas suitable for growing flowers, Viet Nam has the potential to become one of the world's largest flower exporters, according to experts. Prof Dr Nguyen Quoc Vong of RMIT University said the area for flower growth in Viet Nam is equal to that of Spain, the EU's fifth largest flower producer. Flowers can be grown in every part of the country, and areas like Moc Chau and Da Lat, with an average temperature of 200C, are ideal for growing them for export, he said. Tran Xuan Dinh, deputy head of the Crop Production Department, said flowers would play a key role in restructuring agriculture. Last year ornamental flowers were grown on more than 23,000ha and yielded an income of VND300 million (US$13,452) per hectare, 10 times higher than from rice. High-end flower cultivation models in some places yielded bewteen VND800 million to VND2.5 billion, he said. According to the department, in the past 10 years the area under flowers has increased 2.3-fold and output, 7.2-fold. The value of the output was VND6.5 trillion. But exports remain modest at just $50 million a year, way below the country's potential, Dinh said. A majority of farming households have been slow to revamp their farming techniques and flower plantations mostly remain small-sized, resulting in low value addition. Since farmers and companies are not closely connected, there is no value chain to enhance flower quality and output to boost exports, experts said. Dalat Hasfarm is the country's largest flower producer and exporter. To penetrate the global flower market, the company has invested in modern glasshouses to grow flowers. Thailand is the world's largest orchid exporter, earning $200 million a year. Viet Nam imports a large number of seedlings and cut orchids from Thailand. The agricultural sector has enacted policies to develop technology-based flower farming, but these have not proved effective. Sa Dec in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Dong Thap, a town that has long been famous for its flowers, aspires to become one of the delta's leading tourist cities and a major flower exporter, according to provincial authorities. It is planned that all rice growing areas will switch to flowers by 2020, meaning there will be more than 1,000ha under flowers. To achieve the targets, the province government has chosen a Dutch partner. The Netherlands will build a research zone in the Hi-Tech Agricultural Application Centre in Sa Dec, offer training to local agricultural staff and farmers, transfer technologies for making nets and glasshouses, preliminary processing, packaging and help find outlets for flowers. The centre is expected to supply Sa Dec flower village 300,000 seedlings this year and 1.5-2 million every year by 2020 to grow flowers for exports. The province has signed an agreement with a French company specialising in urban planning to redesign Sa Dec on the lines of the delta's leading tourist cities but with its status as a major flower exporter and the region's characteristics in mind. Kien Giang: Over VND7.66 trillion for power projects The Southern Power Corporation of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN SPC) plans to inject more than VND7.66 trillion (US$344.7 million) into transmission projects across the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang during 2016-2020. The projects aim to bring electricity to the Khmer ethnic group, rural and islands areas, and improve power transmission quality in Ha Tien town and Rach Gia city, according to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade. This year, over VND1.17 trillion (US$52.65 million) will be poured in building 110 kV power lines, transformer stations and electricity grids in the province. Kien Giang province has also started work on eight power projects worth a combined over VND40 billion (US$1.8 million) in An Bien, An Minh, Giong Rieng, Go Quao, Hon Dat and Kien Hai districts, in an effort to increase the rate of electricity access in the localities. Over the past five years, the EVN SPC allocated more than VND3.2 trillion (US$144 million) for various power projects in Kien Giang, helping raise the percentage of households with access to electricity to more than 98%. Thanks to such efforts, the national electricity grid has reached Phu Quoc island, Hon Tre island commune and the administrative centre of Kien Hai island district. Two other island communes, Lai Son and Hon Nghe, are expected to join the national power grid in late July and at the end of this year. Pleiku 2’s 500kV transformers ready to receive power from Laos A project to install two 500/200kV-450MVA transformers as well as 500kV power distribution devices at Pleiku 2 transformer station in Ia Kenh commune, in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai’s Pleiku city, were put into operation on June 10. The Pleiku 2 substation recieves power from Xekaman 1, Xekaman Xansay and Sekong 3 (upper and lower) hydropower plants in Laos to supply to the central, Central Highlands and southern localities through the 220kV Xekaman 1-Peiku 2 transmission line. It is expected to contribute to developing a sustainable power supply amidst the country’s international integration as well as regional cooperation, reducing power loss and optimising the operation of Vietnam’s power system. The 500/200kV-450MVA transformers were moved to the station from the 500kV O Mon transformer substation. Apart from two 500/200kV-450MVA transformers, necessary devices for receiving and reducing 500kV power; 220kV and 35kV transmission lines were also put into operation. The project, invested in by the Electricity of Vietnam’s National Power Transmission Cooperation (EVN NPT), has been handed over to Power Transmission Corporation 3 (PTC3) for management and operation. Vietnam state shipping line seeks to downsize fleet amid losses Vinalines, the state-controlled shipping company which has made losses and piled up debts for many years, is seeking the government's permission to sell off six cargo ships in a new attempt to pull itself out of financial trouble. In its letter to the Ministry of Transport, Vinalines proposed to sell the ships, most of which have been in use for over 20 years and were bought from overseas, at around 10% of their original prices. The company was quoted as saying that with sea freight seeing a sharp decline since 2008, it has been struggling to cover the "huge" costs of operating and maintaining the big and old ships. It said the fact that the ships could not compete with the modern fleet of other companies has too adversely affected revenue. In fact, all the ships have been suffering losses between 2012-2015. For instance, the Vinalines Star is expected to be sold at VND34.4 billion (US$1.51 million), after accumulating around VND186 billion in losses over the years. It was bought in 2009 for around VND378 billion (US$16.69 million). Vinalines said the sale will help it reduce losses and focus resources on developing newer ships. The ships are among 73 used vessels Vinalines bought for a total of more than VND22.85 trillion (US$1 billion) in 2005-2010, mostly from overseas, official data showed. Vinalines began to overhaul its business in 2012 as ordered by the government, after its financial problems came into light. In the years earlier, the company kept posting impressive profits, even as skepticism grew about its real performance. After being audited in 2011, the group reported huge losses. A government report last year showed that Vinalines had accumulated losses of over VND20.68 trillion (US$913.54 million) by the end of 2014. Early this year the government ordered Vinalines to sell its entire stakes in nine seaports around the country after selling a stake of 65% in an initial public offering sometime this year. It was also required to sell part of its shares in another five ports, including three foreign-invested ones at the complex Cai Mep-Thi Vai in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Property market set for growth: experts The Vietnamese real estate market is poised for strong growth in the next 15 years, but the Government should prevent speculation to avoid a bubble and improve human resources and infrastructure to attract foreign developers as the country integrates, a foreign expert has said. Sigrid Zialcita, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield, Asia – Pacific, told the recent Property Report Congress Vietnam 2016 in Ho Chi Minh City that the Asia Pacific real estate market will grow the highest globally at 5.2% this year, and Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines will lead ASEAN’s growth. Foreign investors are looking at Vietnam with interest as its exports [by foreign companies here] increase significantly and are looking for a place to produce to replace China and Singapore, where costs are too high, according to the expert. Recent improvements in infrastructure have taken Vietnam to the next level of development, but the country must work hard to compete once FTAs and the TPP come into effect. In the office segment, Ho Chi Min City and Hanoi have much less space than neighbouring countries, and Vietnam must speed up supply. The 542,000 square metres of space under construction cannot meet the demand and office investment is set to double by 2020. The hospitality industry would need more than 120,000 rooms by 2030 to meet tourist demand. “We have witnessed strong development by the retail industry with the entry of many foreign groups from Japan and Thailand and the country will need another 4.3 million square metres for the industry by 2030.” Marc Townsend, managing director of CBRE Vietnam, said resorts are seeing significant development in Nha Trang, Danang and Phu Quoc. “Two years ago we did not pay attention to that kind of real estate but now everything has changed. International direct flights to these destinations have boosted the real estate market.” He said land prices have increased by 30%-40% recently while apartment prices are steady. "The secondary market is steady and there is no more opporunity for speculators," he warned. The size of the country’s real estate market has grown many times thanks to the entry of huge international capital. "However, the market is still driven by housing demand from locals," he said, pointing out that the number of foreigners who want to buy a house in Vietnam accounts for only 5% of demand. "Industrial parks are another strength of the Vietnamese real estate market," he said. Townsend warned that Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi could face a supply glut because of the massive construction in the last two years. PM asks press to accompany businesses in economic integration Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the press and business circles to continue their companionship and mutual support for the common interest of the community, and for national socio-economic development. At a meeting in Hanoi on June 10 with journalists, who had partook in a programme on the press’s interaction with enterprises and business people, the Government leader described the press as a bridge linking businesses and the State. Via their channels, news agencies and press outlets, journalists have enabled the Government and State agencies to learn about businesses’ opinions on various issues, including the implementation of policies and guidelines, thus helping improve State management work, he said. The PM also emphasised the press’s role in building brand names for enterprises, promoting their products and spurring their operation. Besides this, by covering all socio-economic spheres, the press has significantly contributed to rooting out corruption and wastefulness, the leader added. Participants at the event said the press has helped businesses overcome their limitations and weaknesses during international economic integration, and underlined the need for the two sectors to increase their mutual support and understanding. It is necessary for journalists to respect the law and steer firms towards lawful business practices, they said, calling on them to play a more active role in uncovering violations of the law committed by either State management agencies or businesses in order to create an equal and transparent climate. Petroleum product imports from ASEAN increased Vietnam’s import of petroleum products from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries rose sharply in the past five months, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. From January to May, Vietnam imported 5.41 million tonnes of petrol and oil products, up 27.6 percent against the same period last year, with the major ASEAN markets being Singapore and Malaysia. The rise was attributed to the import tariff on petrol and oil products from ASEAN that went to zero since the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement took effect on January 1, 2016. In 2015, Vietnam bought 3.84 million tonnes of petroleum products from Singapore and 2.28 million tonnes from Thailand, which together accounted for more than half of the country’s petroleum imports of 10 million tonnes. Unbaked brick production encouraged in Vietnam Results and experience from a project on increasing the production and use of non-fired bricks were introduced at a workshop held in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on June 10. The 2.8 million USD project was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and jointly implemented by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Construction. Kicked off in May, 2015, the project included four components: completing policies, enhancing technical capacity for relevant partners, improving financial resources for advanced unbaked brick production technology and multiplying the production technology. The project is expected to reduce the use of fossil fuel and good quality soil for traditional brick making, thus helping to cut greenhouse gas emission by at least 383,000 tonnes after five-year implementation. Speaking at the review workshop, Director of the Department of Science and Technology for Economic-Technical Branches Nguyen Dinh Hau affirmed that the project’s target is in line with the GEF’s strategy and Vietnam’s development goals on food security, effective use of energy and reduction of greenhouse gas emission. He said that the project implementation also satisfies objectives of Vietnamese environment protection strategy, including slashing sources of environmental pollution, improving polluted areas, enhancing local living environment and lessening degradation of natural resources. Under the project, an unbaked-brick production line was set up and has been operated stably in Luu Xa Cement Company, Thai Nguyen province from December, 2015. About six million standardised bricks were produced and consumed in the locality so far. Participants at the conference visited the production line and Thai Nguyen Bus Station, which were built from the non-fired bricks. 140 Vietnamese firms attend Kunming Export and Import Fair Vietnam is the main guest at the 24th Kunming Export and Import Fair which is underway in Yunnan province, China, with around 140 Vietnamese firms attending the event. Addressing the opening ceremony of the Fair and the fourth China-South Asia Fair, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said Vietnam welcomes and pledges to create optimal conditions for enterprises from China and other South Asian and Southeast Asian countries to invest and operate in Vietnam. The Deputy PM said the fairs bear an important significance and serve as a bridge to promote trade and investment cooperation between China’s south western region and South and Southeast Asian nations, including Vietnam. Being one of the six emerging economies with the highest growth rate in 2015 and a market of 92 million people, Vietnam has continuously fostered economic, trade and investment cooperation with China and other regional nations, Dung said. For his part, Chinese Deputy PM Wang Yang said China is willing to connect with regional nations in developing trade, investment, infrastructure, finances, tourism, transport and environment protection. The two fairs, co-organised by the Chinese Ministry of Trade and the Yunnan province, attracted 4,000 enterprises from 80 countries and territories in South Asia and Southeast Asia and more than 8,000 booths. Vietnamese enterprises are running 250 booths at the events. Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung was invited by the Chinese Government and Yunnan province’s authorities to visit Yunnan and attend the opening ceremony of the fairs from June 11-13. Lotte Mart to buy more products from Khanh Hoa-based producers The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s supermarket chain Lotte Mart Vietnam recently met with more than 100 suppliers in Khanh Hoa province to discuss buying their products. The conference on supply-demand connectivity organised by Lotte and the province’s Department of Industry and Trade and Farmers Association sought to support local businesses, cooperatives and production and trading establishments by getting their products into the modern retail channel. The supermarket spelled out its procurement policies and processes and listened to suggestions from the suppliers to come up with policies. Tran Van Chuc, director of the supermarket's fresh food purchasing division, said Lotte Mart gives priority to buying locally made products that meet quality standards and regional and traditional products that meets customers' various needs. Yoon Byung Soo, product strategy director at the supermarket, said with its target of opening 60 stores nationwide by 2020 and vision to become a leading retailer, Lotte Mart would continue to connect with and support Vietnamese companies, especially in provinces. It would also offer preferential treatment to producers who want to cooperate with it in developing its own brands, he said. Lotte Mart also signed memorandums of understanding with many suppliers in Khanh Hoa to bring their products into the Lotte Mart distribution network. Lotte Mart Nha Trang is set to be opened on July 28. Central, Central Highlands eye 8.8% rise in industrial production The industry and trade sectors of the central and Central Highlands provinces are striving to raise their industrial production value to nearly VND420.8 trillion (US$18.8 billion) in 2016, a year-on-year surge of 8.8%. Pham Thai, Director of Dak Lak province’s Department of Industry and Trade made the statement at a review conference held in Buon Ma Thuot city on June 10. He said that the sector has also set the target of achieving VND570.5 trillion (US$25.5 billion) from selling goods and services and over US$8 billion from exports, up 13.5% and 13.7%, respectively, from last year. In a bid to fulfill the objectives, regional industrial and trade sectors will address difficulties, create favourable climates for enterprises to develop their businesses while effectively implementing economic restructuring and promoting exports, he noted. An equal competitive business environment, administrative reforms, high-quality human resources as well as modern infrastructure development will be given top priority. In addition, the sectors will also give support to enterprises in product consumption and reducing inventories and put local businesses up for having advanced technology applied to improve product quality. According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong, the central and Central Highlands regions have seen robust growth in industrial production, with an increase in proportion of industrial processing and manufacturing. The regional industry and trade sectors have also given a good performance in controlling the market and addressing violations in line with regulation, especially tackling smuggling and trade fraud, as well as ensuring food hygiene, he added. Regional industrial production value exceeded VND211.2 trillion (US$9.5 billion) in the first six months of the year, rising 6.9% from the same time last year. Meanwhile, revenue earned from selling goods and services in the period reached VND279.5 trillion (US$12.5 billion), a year-on-year surge of 13.4%. VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR |
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Vietnam shopping center linked to Lotte's slush fund scandal: report  South Korea's Lotte Group has come under suspicion of using a shell company that owns a mega mall in Vietnam to funnel money into a possible slush fund, Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday. Luxembourg-incorporated Coralis SA, the company in question, developed Lotte Center Hanoi at a cost of around US$400 million. The 65-story shopping and leisure complex was opened in September 2014. It recorded a net loss of 55.1 billion won ($47.31 million) last year, raising a suspicion that the conglomerate was exaggerating its losses to hide money, according to the report, citing sources from a Korean prosecutor's office. According to another theory, Lotte Engineering & Construction, the project's contractor, may have overcharged the developer to hide funds, The Korea Herald said. Coralis SA had been used for offshore tax evasion by Kim Seon-yong, the third son of former Daewoo Group chairman Kim Woo-jung, before being acquired by Lotte Asset Development in 2009 at 69.7 billion won ($59.86 million), according to The Korea Herald. Lotte Asset Development later sold a stake of 45 percent in the company each to Lotte Shopping and Hotel Lotte, it said. Lotte has denied the allegations, saying it bought Coralis SA to acquire the right to do business and lease land in Vietnam and that such practice is adopted by most companies when they invest overseas, Yonhap News Agency reported. The report came as South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate was facing an ongoing investigation for alleged corruption, illegal intragroup deals and embezzlement, according to Korean media. In Vietnam, Lotte has invested over $2 billion into more than 20 subsidiaries which operate in a wide range of sectors from retail to real estate. |
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Mission of print media and radioOn a busy “information highway”, the only way for print media and radio need to maintain their position is to adapt. The Voice of Vietnam has revamped its production, re-arranged its radio channels, and piloted HD, DAB+ and DRM broadcast technologies to keep pace with the digital era. To mark Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, June 21, VOV Vice President Vu Hai has written a piece entitled “Mission of print media and radio”.
The print media first appeared in the 1st century BC with King Julius Ceasar posting news bulletins in public places. But the first newspaper of gazette appeared in Venice, Italy, in the 16th century. Radio came into existence in the 1800. In 1920, the first TV appeared in the US, and then in the 1990s, online newspapers came into being. And now social networks are popular. In the digital and internet era, print media and radio face numerous challenges. According to WAN-IFRA, 7 out of 10 young people follow the daily news and Facebook in their primary news source. Information demand and supply has become more diverse. The popularity of social networks is forcing the press to revise their mindset. Nowadays, any person can be reporter, editor, and publisher of an online newspaper. They can write stories, produce audio and video programs, post them and remove them if they change their mind. They can shut down their website and launch another one at any time.
On this “busy information highway”, the public has the ability to select the stories they want and care about rather than passively consuming stories printed in a newspaper or broadcast by a radio station. So print media and radio need to change to survive, but the change should be based on values the two media forms have embraced. Newspapers have been recognized for their highly reliable, accurate, and documentary information and readers can easily read and share them. Radio has been a fast, flexible, and borderless medium that can reach many people at the same time. Listeners can be vision-impaired or illiterate or working in a factory or in a field. Radio provides people with infotainment and education. To adapt to changes, journalists need to learn more, be creative, and be ready to overcome challenges.
In recent years, the Voice of Vietnam has changed to adapt to the digital era. Its radio channels have been re-arranged to reach new audiences and its programs have been steadily improved. Programs broadcast on shortwave and medium wave and FM have been posted to the internet. Radio channels now have their own fan pages to bring the programs closer to listeners and further promote them. Interaction with listeners has been enhanced. Listeners now participate in the program production. The production of VOV radio programs has been digitized. VOV has piloted HD, DAB+ and DRM solutions, which have both advantages and disadvantages. For example, the HD solution is suitable for countries incrementally changing to digital technology because it allows the use of available technology infrastructure. It costs about US$23,000 to upgrade a transmitter to HD. The transmission efficiency of an HD transmitter is 10 times higher than a normal transmitter. But an HD transmitter can broadcast only 4 channels, compared to 20 channels of a DAB+ transmitter. Choosing between HD, DAB+, DRM, or another technology is still an open question for VOV. But VOV is aware that digitization is inevitable. VOV is determined to reform, promote the multi-platform media model, and combine traditional and modern media. Multi-platform helps radio stations restructure in a way that makes the most of their resources and reduces costs. In the current digital and internet era, newspaper and radio remain important sources of information for the public. The most important thing is to give the audience top priority regardless of what platform we use. By doing so, newspapers and radio broadcasts will always be welcomed by the public. VOV5 |
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8 things to do while the Internet is slow in Vietnam  People are seen working on their laptops in Ho Chi Minh City in this 2015 file photo.Tuoi Tre It seems the Internet sharks have been busy again, with the interweb scheduled for repairs between June 22 and June 27. Many continue to blame the breaks on the sharks, after they were reported to have bitten the cables off two years ago. Suffice to say, they must have the best dentists in Vietnam! If you stick around this country long enough you’ll encounter the mysterious phenomenon of the Internet speeds with more variation than orders at a highway Banh Mi stall. Having said that, it’s vastly superior to Australia’s mythical national broadband Internet scheme which is over-budget, behind schedule and possible already out-dated. Maybe cousin Vien should take over the project and build a highway while he’s at it. Somewhere between blackouts, power cuts, cable routing by hand using giant bamboo ladders and neighbors accidently pulling out your Wi-Fi while setting up their wedding, you’ll still need ways to chill out and deal with the voices in your head demanding Facebook responses for that mean comment someone threw at you last night. In the interest of public sanity, safety and tourism, I’ve put together a few ideas. All of these presume that you have candles, oil lamps and some non-perishable food, friends or a bar nearby, a topped up motorbike and some cash (if it’s after the 5th of the month) 1) Get a life Tip-tapping on a keyboard should be left to the professionals like me, who make a meager living providing content. Your goal should be to explore Vietnam and the 3,000 ways to carry something on a motorbike. Take a boat trip, but stay on the upper deck. Go to Ba Na Hills park and take pictures of Da Nang through the cloud cover. Go to a local shopping mall, though be sure to wear ear plugs. Also take the Missus, the kids and the pets too – they’ll all fit on a Honda Cub, no problem! 2) Dare to get on a bus Yeah, this is scary but it will put hair on your chest and your mum will be proud of your bravery. If you survive, you will learn something the Internet can never teach you – the choices you make have consequences – so next time, take the train and a case of beer. 3) Learn a language You came to Vietnam for experiences so this is the penultimate one. Learning to haggle will give you a wonderfully false sense of empowerment that will lead you (and your bank account) into realms of fantasy you simply wouldn’t get back home. Who knows? You might even be able to pronounce the ‘ng’ sound! 4) Try to buy shoes Similar to number 3 because I was struggling for ideas. Shoes are an education in quality control and communication. The notion that shoes, particularly sneakers, need to be stitched, not glued, is a mystery to a nation that mostly wears imitation leather sandals. Should you actually manage to get what you ordered, I recommend you frame the result and never wear them for the rest of your life. 5) Do some repairs There’s something so satisfying and ‘cavemanish’ about repairing things. Suddenly you’ll realize you can make fire by yourself, catch meat in the wild and fashion a spear from bamboo like a local. However it is advisable to take a picture of what you need and a dictionary when you approach the hardware stores. 6) Order takeaways A sign of mastery of the Vietnamese way of life – the simple act of successfully getting your address right on the phone without having to stand outside waving frantically in all directions will thrill your worried parents back home and be living proof that you can learn from experience. 7) Draw something – no really! Even simple doodles sometimes awaken the inner child and create that sense of mystery you paid thousands to travel half way around the world to get. The act of drawing is soothing, clever and a great bar conversation piece for those nights when the Internet is too slow to watch football. 8) Have a REAL conversation No, seriously – the end of the Internet is not the end of life as we know it. There are these things called ‘people’, who use ‘communication’ with their faces. You’ll be surprised how much local news you’ve missed out on because you’ve been obsessed with Donald Trump or saving cats. Who knows? You might start a romance, discover that someone has something in common with you or you could secretly think “I’m glad I don’t have your life”. Try them all – the advantages outweigh the disadvantages – besides it’s a chance to remember why you’re here in Vietnam – to be surprised by life. STIVI COOKE |
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S.Korea's Woori Bank to form Vietnam unit by July  South Korea's Woori Bank expects to establish a Vietnam unit this month or in July, a bank official said on Tuesday, as part of the lender's plans to expand its network in the expanding market of Southeast Asia. Woori Bank, South Korea's largest bank in terms of consolidated assets as of the end of March, is awaiting approval from relevant authorities to established a wholly-owned unit in Vietnam, the official said. A Vietnamese banking source said the State Bank of Vietnam, the country's central bank, was expected to grant a licence for the South Korean lender shortly. South Korea is now the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, with large investments placed to turn it into a Southeast Asian production hub by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and LG Electronics Inc. Other major Korean companies in Vietnam include Kumho Construction, Posco group, Hanjin Logistics and Kumho Tire. A free trade agreement between South Korea and Vietnam that came into effect last December gives more incentives for Korean firms to invest. Woori Bank's Vietnam unit, once licensed, would most likely be a vehicle to expand South Korean investment in a country where it has been limited to operating two branches. Other competitors include HSBC, ANZ, Standard Chartered Bank as well as Shinhan Bank. With the expected approval, Woori Bank would seek to strengthen its localised service to Vietnamese retail customers through channels including its mobile banking platform Wibee Bank and chat app Wibee Talk. |
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Vietnam requests Thailand to investigate firing at fishermen Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi -Representatives from the Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department met with officials of the Thai Embassy in Hanoi on July 11 to protest the use of violence against fishermen in any circumstances and request Thailand’s Foreign Ministry to investigate the firing at Vietnamese fishermen. Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang on July 11 answered reporters’ question about Vietnam’s reaction to reports that the Thai navy fired at a fishing boat of Vietnam’s Ben Tre province, injuring two fishermen, while two other Vietnamese fishing boats sank while being escorted to land, leaving a captain missing. “The Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand is working with local agencies to verify the reports and has taken necessary citizen protection measures for the detained Vietnamese fishermen, while urging the Thai side to urgently search for the missing sailor,” Hang said, adding that the Thai side affirmed they had dispatched helicopters and ships to look for the missing. According to the deputy spokesperson, the Foreign Ministry is also coordinating with relevant domestic agencies to obtain more related information in order to address the incident. She also noted that officials from the Vietnamese embassy on July 11 visited the two wounded sailors who were confirmed being in stable conditions. Thai naval forces have opened fire on three Vietnamese fishing boats from the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre at around 14:00 on July 8. The fishing boats were chased off by Thai naval police after they were allegedly found illegal operating in Thailand’s waters earlier on the same day, said Nguyen Hai Ngoc, first secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy. He said the fishermen are currently kept in custody at Naval Zone 2 of Thailand’s Royal Navy in Songkhla province and expected to stand trial on July 11 for illegally intruding into Thai waters and fishing without permission on the area.-VNA |
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Formosa unit suspected of burying untreated waste in central Vietnam  Authorities in the central province of Ha Tinh said they are looking into allegations that a unit of Taiwanese firm Formosa buried industrial waste in a private farm with the help of the property's owner. The scandal came as Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp. (FHS) is still struggling with a public relations disaster following mass fish deaths in the central region. Vo Ta Dinh, director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said Tuesday that authorities had unearthed around 100 tons of muddy waste allegedly disposed of by FHS in a farm. The farm, which grows mostly banana and cajuput trees, is owned by Le Quang Hoa, the director of state-owned Urban Environment Company in Ky Anh Town. Dinh said samples of the waste were collected for testing. Authorities also confiscated equipment used to bury the waste after inspecting the farm on Monday. According to local police, Hoa’s company signed a contract to transport waste from the construction site of a new FHS steel factory to two licensed waste treatment plants in the province. The questions that investigators will try to answer are why the waste ended up in Hoa’s farm and whether it is toxic. Hoa told Thanh Nien the waste was not toxic and that trees could grow on it. FHS, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Formosa Plastics, has been in hot water over the past two months after an estimated 70 tons of fish were found dead and washed ashore in April in four central Vietnamese provinces Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. It was accused of discharging toxic waste into the sea. FHS accepted responsibility for the environmental disaster and promised to pay US$500 million in compensation late last month. Experts believe it will take years, if not decades, before the regional marine environment can fully recover from the toxic spill. |
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Article 22
To adapt to climate change, Mekong Delta provinces must unite: Deputy PM 
HẬU GIANG – Politburo Member, Chairman of Southwestern Steering Committee and Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ urged local governments to perform better administration reforms to attract more investment to the Mekong Delta. Deputy PM Huệ spoke during the opening speech for the 9th Mekong Delta Economic Develoment Forum, on the theme “Mekong Delta – Active Integration and Sustainable Development” last night in Vị Thanh City, Hậu Giang Province. He praised several policies have been brought to life, stimulating the delta’s development after previous forums where local officials, scientists and entrepreneurs suggested the delta’s sustainable development amid climate change challenges. Connectivity between provinces in the delta and with other localities in the country has been improved. Forum participants should discuss how the Delta can be proactive in global integration and work closely with other countries since Việt Nam has great opportunities and challenges in the integration period, Huệ suggested. “Mekong Delta faces serious losses from climate change and sea level rises and salt water intrusion. People in the delta have deployed various solutions to adapt with climate change and prepare for global economic integration,” he said. Connectivity between localities, sectors and people is key for a sustainable livelihood of inhabitants in Mekong Delta under the threat of climate change, said Huệ, reminding Việt Nam of its membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. At the opening speech, Huệ announced that the World Bank and the State Bank of Việt Nam yesterday signed an agreement in Cần Thơ City on a US$560-million loan package for sustainable development of the Mekong Delta, adapting to climate change. At the forum, major issues related to climate change and sea level rises, such as drought and salinity intrusion, are also being discussed, along with technology applications in agriculture and assistance to local enterprises and farmers. At the end of the week, the forum’s participants plan to issue a joint statement, with suggestions on solutions for the region’s development. It will be sent to the Prime Minister for approval. “Climate change is no longer an abstract warning, but is directly threatening the delta’s sustainable development,” said Sơn Minh Thắng, deputy chairman of the Southwestern Steering Committee, a central group that oversees the Delta’s 13 provinces and city. With recent events like the historic drought, the worst in 90 years, along with saline intrusion, the need to improve linkages among provinces as well as with other regional countries is more important than ever, Thắng said, adding that Mekong Delta has advantage, but it faces much challenge. With 1.5 million hectares of land for paddy cultivation, the Mekong Delta plays a key role in the country’s food security goals. It produces 50 per cent of food, 70 per cent of seafood exports, and 90 per cent of rice exports of the country’s total. It has 700 kilometres of coastline with picturesque beaches and three biosphere reserves recognised as international Ramsar sites, a rich resource for tourism development. As of June 2016, the delta had attracted 1,348 foreign direct investment projects with total registered capital of US$20 billion, contributing seven per cent of the country’s FDI, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. During the first six months of the year, the region received investment from 80 large projects in various sectors, including power, infrastructure, shoes and paper. Before this year, total foreign direct investment in the region accounted for only 5 per cent of the FDI in the country, but the rate is now seven per cent, indicating that new roads and bridges between the Delta and HCM City have shortened travel times and attracted more investors. Though the Delta has a large labour force and abundant raw materials, its economic growth has yet to meet its potential, as regional linkages remain weak. It also lacks quality agricultural raw materials to export, and has inadequate infrastructure. To take advantage of the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, officials, experts and entrepreneurs at the forum will suggest solutions to increase the value of the region’s products. Other events at the forum include seminars on credit, integration and sustainable development, ways to control drought and salinity, and storage of fresh water for business production and residential use. The Mekong Delta, one of the richest deltas in South East Asia also contributes 55 percent of paddy output, 60 percent of seafood, 70 percent of fruits and 90 percent of the exported rice of Việt Nam. The region contributes 20 per cent of the country’s GDP. -VNS |
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Article 21
Social News 12/7 Storm-proof housing programme benefits 11,253 needy families  A Government programme on assisting poor households in central region build flood and storm-proof houses has reached 11,253 needy families as of the end of the second quarter this year, said the housing and real estate market department under the Ministry of Construction. The beneficiaries account for 41 percent of the total number of households targeted by the programme, which was launched under the Government’s Decision 48/2014 issued on August 28, 2014. Under the decision, the housing support programme is carried out in 14 central provinces from Thanh Hoa southward to Binh Thuan from 2014 to 2016, aiming to help 27,196 needy households. Each of the eligible households will receive a cash grant of 12-16 million VND depending on localities, and a 15-million VND preferential loan with a 3-percent annual interest rate for a duration of 10 years and a five-year grace period. The programme will receive 568 billion VND from the central budget, of which 364.3 billion VND will be channelled directly to the beneficiaries while 204 billion VND will be provided via the Social Policy Bank to grant preferential loans. As of the end of June this year, the central budget already allocated 233 billion VND to the programme, with 147 billion VND disbursed. The Social Policy Bank received 204 billion VND and disbursed 88.1 billion VND. The central budget will have to allocate 203 billion VND more in order to complete the programme this year. Tribute paid to World Peace Council Honorary President A ceremony was held on July 11 in Hanoi to pay last tribute to Honorary President of the World Peace Council (WPC) Romesh Chandra, who passed away on July 4 at the age of 97. The event was organised by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), was attended by VUFO President Vu Xuan Hong, representatives from the Embassy of India in Vietnam, and the Vietnam – India Friendship Association, among others. Romesh Chandra, who was born on March 30, 1919 in India, served and contributed significantly to the peace and solidarity movement in India and the world. According to VUFO President Vu Xuan Hong, Romesh Chandra, one of the renowned international peace soldiers in the second half of the 20 th century, was always proactive in movements calling for justice and peace for Vietnam as well as promoting friendship solidarity with the country. Chandra affirmed India’s friendship with Vietnam during his visit to Vietnam in 2000 to attend the 25 th anniversary of the national reunification day and the 90th anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, Hong reminded. Voluntary blood donation festival comes to Hai Phong A voluntary blood donation festival in the northern port city of Hai Phong collected more than 300 units of blood during the opening day on July 11. The festival is part of the fourth “Red Journey 2016” campaign, which kicked off in Hanoi on July 10. Addressing the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Xuan Binh, who is also head of the city’s steering committee for mobilising voluntary blood donations, expressed his thanks to blood donors and called on the public to respond to the event. A total of 130 volunteers will join in the 31-day campaign, which is organised by the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, the Nhan Ai Vong Tay Viet Joint Stock Company and the VTV News Centre. During the journey, the volunteers aim to provide advice on blood donations and thalassemia – a genetic blood disease, for 500,000 people, and collect around 20,000 units of blood, said the organising board. Since its inception in 2013, the campaign has been held in 42 cities and provinces across the country and gathered nearly 57,000 units of blood, helping rescue thousands of patients. Vietnam collected 1.15 million units of blood in 2015, surpassing the year’s target figure by 17.8 percent and up 9.7 percent from 2014. However, blood shortages, particularly blood type A and O, often occurred in summer and prior to the Lunar New Year. The repetition rate of donations was just above 40 percent, compared to between 60 and 70 percent in Japan, Singapore and Australia. In 2016, the national steering committee for voluntary blood donations plans to collect 1.2 million blood units, 98 percent of which will be sourced from volunteers. Young expatriates learn to preserve Vietnam’s culture abroad Young Vietnamese expatriates joining in the Vietnam Summer Camp 2016 took part in a cultural heritage seminar on July 11, an event to help them preserve the country’s cultural identities while living abroad. At the seminar in Hanoi, Prof. Nguyen Chi Ben – an expert on Vietnam’s culture, gave about 100 young expatriates, along with students of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, an insight into Vietnam’s world natural and cultural heritage recognised by UNESCO. The heritage pieces include Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, Hoi An Ancient Town, Nha Nhac (Vietnamese court music), Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs, and Gong culture. The young participants also learned about the role of culture amid globalisation, the significance of the recognised tangible and intangible cultural heritages, and cultural preservation in Vietnam, and overseas Vietnamese communities. Nguyen Thai Yen Huong, Deputy Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, expressed the hope that through the seminar and visits to heritage sites, the expatriates will become young ambassadors promoting the Vietnamese culture around the world. The annual Vietnam Summer Camp, held by the Foreign Ministry’s State Commission on Overseas Vietnamese, has attracted more than 100 overseas young Vietnamese from 26 countries and territories this year. It is taking place from July 10 – 23 with activities in Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces and Da Nang city.- Cultural event promotes Vietnam’s image in RoK Vietnam’s culture has once again become closer to people in the Republic of Korea (RoK) through an event held in Seoul capital on July 10. Hundreds of people came to the Vietnam Culture Day, organised for the second time by the Centre for Vietnam Cultural Bridge in the RoK, to visit booths introducing Vietnam’s culture and traditional cuisine. While a song and dance programme with performances by artists from the two countries attracted some 1,000 people, and a singing competition was organised for Vietnamese expatriates. The cultural event also included a fashion show, a contest on Vietnam’s culture and fundraising for charity. Notably, an exhibition was held to show photos and copies of historical documents that prove Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes. The items on display also reflected China’s changing of the status quo, its illegal construction of artificial islands, and militarisation on Vietnam’s islands it illegally occupies in the East Sea. The culture day, sponsored by the Seoul administration and the Vietnamese Embassy, was among an array of annual cultural activities to help reinforce the solidarity of the Vietnamese community in the RoK and popularise their homeland to local people. More than 134,000 Vietnamese nationals are living in the RoK, forming the third largest foreign community in the country after those from China and the US, according to a report of the RoK’s Ministry of Justice in March. EVN to link more islands to national power grid Electricity of Việt Nam is set to link up more islands with the national power grid this year. It would supply power through undersea cables to Chàm Island in the central province of Quảng Nam possibly from September, EVN said. In the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kiên Giang, Lại Sơn Island is expected to be linked by the end of this month. Work to supply electricity to Hòn Nghệ Island Commune in Kiên Giang is 25 per cent complete and likely to be finished this quarter. In the north, Cái Chiên Island Commune in Quảng Ninh Province, the only island not to have power the province, will be linked soon. From now through 2020 EVN will focus on wrapping up a 2013-20 programme to supply power to all rural and mountainous areas and islands. In May an EVN team did a survey on solar and wind energy generation in the Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelago, and found that 33 had power supply. EVN will seek Government permission to supply electricity to all islands in Trường Sa (Spratly), according to Phạm Minh Thắng, an EVN board member. In the first six months of the year EVN supplied 76.44 billion kWh of electricity, a 11.7 per cent increase year-on-year. During the period demand was up 10.3 per cent in the central region, 11.96 per cent in the north and 12.28 per cent in the south. Despite the rapid rise in demand, EVN has assured it can continue to meet it. Nguyễn Thị Thật maintains lead at cycling tournament Nguyễn Thị Thật maintained her lead in the National Women’s Open Cycling Tournament, An Giang Television Cup, after the second stage yesterday. The cyclist from the Hạt Ngọc Trời crew finished the 122km from Gia Nghĩa of Đắk Nông Province to Đồng Xoài of Bình Phước Province with a time of 3hr 35.41min. She was followed by Phạm Hồng Loan of Biwase Bình Dương) and Kang Hyungkyung from South Korea. As the organisers started counting time for individual and team categories from this stage, Thật was given the yellow jersey to start the next stage. The national team member Thật also kept the green jersey as she strengthened her position at the top with 42 points after two stages, setting a 19-point distance with the closest runner-up, Kim Hyunji of South Korea. “My teammates worked very hard to support me to win this hilly stage. I am now keeping two individual titles and will try my best until the end of the race,” said Thật. In the team events, South Korean who had three members in the first group yesterday were on top of the ranking with a total of 10:47.03. Hạt Ngọc Trời and Biwase Bình Dương were second and third, respectively. Today, cyclists will tour from Đồng Xoài to Củ Chi District of HCM City on 98km. No win for Việt Nam at junior champs Vietnamese athletes failed to secure any win at the SCG Badminton Asia Junior Championships’s team events in Thailand. The team lost to Myanmar 3-2 in the last match of the Group D. Earlier, they were defeated 0-5 by India and Thailand in the first two matches. Losing all matches meaned that Việt Nam were at the bottom of the ranking. While the team events continued with the knock-out round, Việt Nam will train for the individual categories which will begin on July 13. HCM City works to expand methadone treatment Ho Chi Minh City is striving to increase the number of drug addicts accessing methadone treatment to 8,000. Since the methadone programme began in 2008, more than 4,000 local addicts have so far been treated with the drug, with 68 percent of them getting employment. The current number of medical facilities providing the treatment across the southern hub amounts to 19, most of which are State-run clinics. By the end of 2016, three more facilities will be put into operation in District 2, District 3 and Can Gio suburban district, helping increase the number of patients using the therapy to 5,500. District 5 together with Tan Phu and Cu Chi districts are set to join the programme within the first quarter of 2017. However, municipal health officials said the methadone treatment has been facing budget difficulty due to dropping international aid and State financing in recent years. Given the context, HCM City spent more than VND7.6 billion US$342,000) on purchasing the drug in the 2014-2015 period. The city has also decided to add over VND18.3 billion (US$823,000) to the budget for this work this year. In addition, patients had to pay part of the treatment costs, at VND6,000 (US$0.27) for a dose of methadone in 2015. The payment increased to VND8,000 (US$0.36) as from June this year. Trust indexes in electricity supply improve Trust indexes in electricity supply continued to improve in the first half of this year, according to the Electricity of Vietnam. The corporation’s system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) recorded 806 minutes, a drop of 18% compared with the same period last year. The momentary average interruption frequency index (MAIFI) was 0.67 times/client, down 23%, and the System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) was 5.75 times/client, a 12.5% year-on-year decrease. Regarding electricity access, by June this year 2,512 new clients gained access to medium-voltage electricity supply with time taken to complete procedures averaging 7.47 days. As of May 2016, the sector met all criteria of customer services, with more than 97% of customers requests addressed within the time set. According to EVN, in June, the corporation’s five Centres for Customer Services handled 212,683 reports from clients. Currently, EVN has 70 power plants directly participating in the domestic electricity market. They have a combined capacity of 15,549 MW, accounting for 43% of the sector’s total capacity. Stats say int’l guests on the rise in Hanoi The number of international guests visiting the capital city during the first half of 2016 shot up about 33% over the same corresponding six-month period last year to nearly 2.1 million. Generally, things are looking good for the travel industry, according to figures of the Hanoi Department of Tourism (DoT), with the number of domestic guests visiting the city also rising to roughly 9 million, a new record high. Related tourism revenue also shot up for the six-month period from January-June, rising by 24%. The City’s increase in popularity results from a concerted effort to improve the quality of tourism products, create a friendlier and hospitable environment and improve staff training, said Do Dinh Hong, director of the DoT. Chemical producer fined for untreated wastewater release A company has been fined VND860 million for releasing untreated wastewater into Hau River in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Huy Viet-Tay Do Company, which produces industrial alcohol and other industrial chemicals, is also ordered to remove its unqualified wastewater treatment system, according to the People's Committee of Can Tho Town, Hau Giang Province. Environment police of Can Tho caught the company red-handed releasing its untreated wastewater to Hau River in May. Environment police caught the company red-handed releasing its untreated wastewater to Hau River in the lower reaches of the Mekong River, which runs through Hau Giang, in May. This has been the fourth time Huy Viet-Tay Do was caught doing so since 2007. In the most recent incident in 2013, the company was fined VND340 million. The environment ministry early this month launched an inspection at 29 companies in Hau Giang Province, to ensure compliance with environment protection regulations. Among the companies inspected is a US$1.2 billion paper plant owned by Taiwanese Lee & Man Paper. The factory has recently raised public fears that it could have been discharging contaminated effluents that might pollute the river and kill fish. Hau Giang helps local labourers seek jobs overseas The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang is stepping up efforts to help local labourers find jobs in foreign countries, especially the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan. This is considered one of the solutions to reduce poverty and increase income for local people, particular those living in rural areas. Director of Hau Giang Job Service Centre Tran Minh Thien said the centre has been organising job transaction floors in localities to introduce labour markets with stable and high income to local labourers. He said, from now to the end of the year, the centre plans to help 100 labourers to have jobs in the RoK. According to Thien, the cost for a job in the RoK and Japan ranges from 100 to VND120 million (US$4,400-US$5,300) but labourers can earn VND15 million-VND20 million (US$660-US$880) per month when working in the fields of textiles, garment, electronics and food processing. Besides the RoK and Japan, the centre also introduces other markets such as Malaysia, Taiwan and some countries in the Middle East to local workers. In 2015, the centre helped 50 labourers work overseas and the figure for the first six months of this year was 29. Most of them were sent to Japan, the RoK and Taiwan. Vietnam youth feeling the burn to ‘catch ‘em all’ An augmented reality mobile game featuring the famous Japanese cartoon Pokémon is taking the world by storm and Vietnam is definitely no exception. Though Vietnam is not among the short list of countries where the Niantic-developed viral game is available for iOS and Android users, gamers are sharing tips on how to get Pokémon GO installed on Vietnamese devices. Built on Niantic’s Real World Gaming Platform, Pokémon GO uses real locations to encourage players to search the Poké world in order to disocver ‘catch ‘em all.’ “[The game] allows you to find and catch more than a hundred species of Pokémon as you explore your surroundings,” the app creator writes on their website. Pokémon GO was the top free app in Apple Inc's iTunes store as of July 7 afternoon and had been installed on almost 100,000 Android devices, according to media reports. On July 6, a Facebook fan page was founded for the Vietnamese Pokémon GO community shortly after the game launched in Australia and New Zealand. The Pokémon GO Vietnam page quickly gathered more than 91,000 likes in two days, with followers sharing installation tips and screenshots of Pokémon caught in unusual places, thanks to augmented reality technology that can show Pokémon in places like pagodas, kitchens, bedrooms, and restrooms. A page member uploaded a series of photos to showcase his ‘trophy’ after “walking for four hours.” “This game is great for health, especially people with big bellies who don’t exercise,” he wrote. Another member, Pham Minh Trung, posted a photo showing the Pokémon he just caught in the campus of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City. “The game play is great because the developer has real experience in augmented reality technology,” Trung said. “The only drawback is that it drains my battery and the server is down at times.” Some Vietnamese players have complained that they had been frequently kicked out of the game, or the app simply crashed on their mobile devices. It has been reported that the game developer blocked Vietnamese users, as Pokémon GO is not yet officially available in the Southeast Asian country. Though location may be the problem, it is more likely that the app server isn’t able to withstand the enormous traffic it is receiving as it is only meant to test-run in a handful of markets. As of July 8 at noon, it remains unclear when the block will be removed for diehard Vietnamese fans. To some players, Pokémon GO brought not only joy but also trouble. “I was walking around the street hunting for Pokémon, my eyes glued to the screen, when the phone disappeared,” a member wrote. “Highly recommended: you should not play this in the street.” A Pokémon Go player named Nhut Linh also recounted a tragicomic experience he had with the game. “I was taking a nap when somebody rang the doorbell, asking to enter as he found a Pokémon inside my house,” he shared on his Facebook. From a security perspective, Do Vo Thang, director of Athena, an Internet security training center in Ho Chi Minh City, warned against the download of the installation file of the game from unknown sources. As the game is not officially available for download in Vietnam, Android users have to download an APK file to install the game on their own. “There are many of these types of files with malicious software inside, which, once activated can steal personal data, or even secretly record phone calls on the victims’ devices,” Thang said. “It is recommended that Vietnamese fans wait until for the official launch of the game.” First Detective Conan film premieres in Vietnam in August "Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare”, a Japanese animated film released in 2016, will have its big-screen premiere in Vietnam on August 5. It is the 20th feature episode of the animated series based on the manga series “Detective Conan” about a teenage genius detective trapped in a boy’s body written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. The 112-minute-long film will roll out in theatres across the country to thrill Vietnamese fans of the manga series. Directed by Kobun Shizuno, it was first released in Japan on April 16, 2016. According to the Anime News Network, the film was number-one in its first weekend in Japan with 934,000 admissions and US$11.1 million in gross, the highest opening weekend gross in the franchise’s history. After 12 weeks in release, the film has generated US$57.3 million in gross. Art exhibition celebrates Vietnam, Philippines ties The Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism (MoCST) has announced that on July 10-16 it will showcase more than 100 traditional lacquer and brocatelle items at a culture and arts exhibition in Manila. In making the announcement, Deputy Minister Vuong Duy Bien of the MoCST said he highly appreciated all of the hard work and effort put forth by ministry staff in preparing for the event. “The art of lacquer and brocatelle is a strength of Vietnam,” said Deputy Minister Bien, “therefore, the exhibition is a great opportunity to display and introduce Vietnamese handicrafts to the world.” The exhibit will feature traditional lacquer and brocade products, Ao Dai, wedding costumes of Red Dao ethnic minority people, and traditional costumes of Mong, E Do, Lo Lo ethnic minority people. The cultural event celebrates 40 years of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Philippines and is an opportune occasion for the two nations to enhance the traditional friendly relation between two countries, said the Deputy Minister. Cham culture, sports, tourism event to be held in An Giang A large-scale culture, sports and tourism event of Cham people in Vietnam will be organised in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang from July 15-17. The event, held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, carries the theme “Preserve and promote Cham culture in the country’s sustainable development”. It will include many activities featuring the distinctive traditions of Cham people. Eleven provinces and cities – Danang, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc, An Giang and Ho Chi Minh City – have registered to participate in the festival. Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai said the event aims to promote unity and honour the cultural values of Cham people throughout the whole country and to international friends. Among interesting events being held over the three days of the festival are an art festival, demonstrations of Cham festivals, Cham traditional customs; and Cham cuisine and traditional professions. It also includes an exhibition displaying photos, objects, costumes, musical instruments and typical cultural products of the Cham, along with sport competitions. A conference on Cham people’s culture within the country’s sustainable construction and development will be organised as well. Phu Yen tourism flourishes The tourism sector in Phu Yen has begun to flourish in recent time, gradually becoming an economic pillar of the south central coastal province. The number of visitors to Phu Yen increased by an average 20% a year during 2011-2015. More than 580,000 tourists visited the province in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 18.2%. A sudden surge of 200% year-on-year was seen in the number of visitors to the locality in the period from March to July this year, according to Hoang Anh Tung, director of Tuy Hoa tourism company. An upward trend in the number of international arrivals to Phu Yen has also been seen with 28,000 foreign tourists choosing the province as their tourism destination in the first six month of this year, up 11.2% compared to last year. One of the reasons behind the growth was the beautiful scenery of Phu Yen captured in the popular movie “Yellow Flower on Green Grass”, said some executives in the local tourism sector. Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Phan Dinh Phung revealed the province will introduce suitable mechanism and policies to attract more investment in tourism development, towards the goal of seven million tourists including 1 million foreigners during 2016-2020. Phu Yen has more than 30 tourism projects with a total investment capital of nearly VND51 trillion (US$2.3 billion), of which eight projects have been partially put into operation. The province is home to 19 national historical sites and tourism attractions, including six among the best destinations in Vietnam as selected by the Vietnam Records Association and Vietnam Records Organisations. The six best destinations in Phu Yen are Cu Mong Pass, Dai Lanh Lighthouse, Nhan Tower, Xuan Dai Bay, Vung Ro Bay and Da Dia Reef. Lam Dong: 3.8 billion VND in support for coffee replanting The Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has allocated 3.8 billion VND (170,400 USD) to help local coffee farmers to replant 650 hectares of aging coffee trees, including 565 hectares of robusta coffee and 85 hectares of Arabica coffee. Most of the support will be given to localities with large coffee cultivation like Di Linh, Bao Lam and Lam Ha districts. The money will be used to subsidise 60-80 percent of the prices of coffee seedlings. The province is also holding training courses for farmers to improve production capacity, and facilitating their access to preferential loans to carry out the replantation programme. Since 2013, some 25,000 hectares of coffee in the province have been replanted with the government-backed credit of 800 billion VND (36 million USD). The replanted area accounts for 60 percent of total coffee land in the Central Highlands region, which produces 92 percent of the country’s coffee output each year. Annual average yield of replanted coffee areas ranges from 5-8 tonnes per hectare, doubling or even tripling productivity recorded in aging coffee crops. The province is now home to 167 nurseries producing over 12 million qualified seedlings every year. Thanh Hoa takes measures to shelter children from drowning The central province of Thanh Hoa has exerted every effort to provide a safe playground for children during the summer, helping minimise the number of child fatalities caused by accidents, especially drowning. The provincial People’s Committee approved a plan to keep children away from accidents in 2016-2020 with the goal of reducing the rate of accidents among children from 520 per 100,000 to 400 per 100,000. The plan also aims for around 90,000 families’ houses meeting safety criteria for children, as well as 200 schools and 10 communes, wards and towns safe for children. The provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was asked to boost communication campaigns to raise families and communities’ awareness of keeping children away from injuring accidents and drowning, equipping them with preventive skills. The provincial Department of Education and Training will closely work with families to manage and educate children on safe skills. The People’s Committees in districts, communes, towns and cities were asked to review facilities for physical training and swimming, while localities should review areas that are prone to drowning in order to have warnings and timely preventive measures. According to the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, in the first six months of 2016, among 16 child deaths from accidents, 15 died of drowning.- Quang Tri strives to create sustainable livelihood for local fishermen The central province of Quang Tri has allocated 9 billion VND (405,000 USD) and 800 tonnes of rice to local fishermen affected by the recent mass fish deaths. The locality has also injected 3.7 billion VND (166,500 USD) sourced from its budget into branches of the provincial Bank for Social Policy to help coastal residents take out reproduction loans. The provincial People’s Committee has instructed localities to join hands with social organisations to evaluate losses caused by the environmental incident, and with the banks to launch credit packages to help local farmers find new jobs, purchase big fishing boats and expand fishery logistics services. Nguyen Duc Chinh, Chairman of the committee, said the most urgent task is how to create sustainable livelihood for local people. He added that the committee has assigned the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to open employment transaction floors to train young workers for businesses based in the locality. However, locals share the desire for restored maritime environment, he said, calling on competent agencies to set up monitoring stations regularly updating the maritime environment quality. Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Limited Company Chairman Chen Yuan Cheng on June 30 accepted responsibility and offered an apology to Vietnamese people, especially the residents in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces for causing the environmental problem sparking mass fish deaths that has seriously affected the people’s daily lives and production, as well as the local maritime environment. Initial statistics from the four provinces reported some 277 tonnes of dead fish – both washed up on the beaches and farmed fish from the sea, causing estimated economic losses totaling more than 260 billion VND (11.5 million USD). Further, at least 123,000 fishermen and locals who rely on the sea for a living or who work in the tourism industry were severely affected by the incident. This has not taken into account the damages to the local environment. On June 30, Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company, after admitting its link to the fish deaths, offered a total compensation of 11.5 trillion VND (equivalent to 500 million USD), which will be used to support local fishermen to switch to other jobs and recover the polluted maritime environment. In the same vein, Formosa pledged to absolutely deal with shortcomings and limitations in waste and wastewater treatment, improve its production technologies to ensure waste is completely treated before being discharged to the environment as required by Vietnamese State management agencies, and not to repeat such incident. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE |
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Article 20
Foreign partners rush to take over technology product distribution chains New powers have appeared in the home appliance & digital product market after merger and acquisition (M&A) deals, creating new alliances.  Dang Chuong Linh from the Trade Institute commented that M&A activities have been developing rapidly in both the number and scale. A report showed that 525 deals were made in 2015 with the total value of over $4.3 billion, an increase of 40 percent if compared with 2014. According to A.T Kearney, Vietnam ranks 28th among the world’s most attractive retail markets. This could be the answer to the question why there are so many M&A deals in this field. Vietnamese Nguyen Kim home appliance retail chain has joined hands with Thai Central Group after Power Buy, a subsidiary of Central Group, acquired 49 percent of stakes of NKT, which runs Nguyen Kim and set an ambitious plan on opening 50 shops by 2019. Japanese Nojima Group has raised its ownership ratio in Tran Anh, a digital product distributor, to 31 percent after buying Tran Anh’s stakes from a foreign investment fund. Meanwhile, Home Center, Pico, Media Mart and FPT Shop have also been reportedly considering M&A deals to expand their business scale. In 2015, VHC Trading, which possesses Home Center (HC), once stated that it would join hands with others if it can find suitable partners. Media Mart has also implied that it was negotiating with candidates in a plan to cooperate with foreign partners. As for FPT Shop, FPT, the holding company, has called for the investments from powerful investors with good financial capability and experience in traditional and online retail. An analyst commented that both Vietnamese and foreign businesses now look forward for M&A deals.
As for the former, selling stakes to foreigners is the way to seek financial sources to expand their networks. Meanwhile, foreign investors believe buying Vietnamese enterprises’ stakes is the quickest way to attack the Vietnamese market. Regarding capability, the analyst noted that in most cases, foreign businesses are very powerful in capital, experience, staff and management technology. Meanwhile, the only advantage of Vietnamese enterprises is knowledge about the home market and Vietnamese consumers. Lacking capital is the biggest problem for Vietnamese distribution chains. They only have 20 percent of capital needed, while they borrow the remaining capital from banks. Following a difficult period, home appliance distribution chains in Vietnam have entered the boom cycle. According to GfK, the revenue of the home appliance market has doubled in the last six years. Dien May Xanh is a distribution chain with the fastest expansion. It plans to have 200 supermarkets by the end of the year. Bizlive |
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Article 19
Southern province’s vice chairman to take responsible for past’s wrongdoings 
HÀ NỘI – Trịnh Xuân Thanh, vice chairman of the southern Hậu Giang Province and former chairman of PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC), will have to take responsibility for the losses during his time working at PVC, according to an announcement by the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission yesterday. Thanh, who made headlines in national media last month, was criticised by the public for his alleged abuse of an official plate on his luxury Lexus car, which he claimed was not his. Thanh, who was appointed to his position in May last year, explained that because of the province’s difficult financial situation, it was not able to arrange a vehicle for him to commute to work. Therefore, he’d borrowed his friend’s car for the purpose. The car was previously registered as a private car in Hà Nội, where Thanh hails from. After the information went public, the media dug deep into Thanh’s promotion. General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng had ordered an inspection on the promotion process in Thanh’s case. The report by the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission said that Thanh, as the chairman of PVC during 2007 to 2013, had been negligent and was lax in the management over the corporation’s operation, resulting in many violations of the law on business management and a loss of more than VNĐ3.2 trillion (US$142 million). “Such violations are serious and degrade people’s trust in the Party and State. As the leader of PVC, Trịnh Xuân Thanh had to take responsibility for such violations,” the report said. The commission also said in the report that the promotion process with Thanh was incorrect. Those who nominated Thanh to other positions such as the Deputy Chief of Office at the Ministry of Industry and Trade and head of the trade ministry’s Enterprise Innovation Department, as well as the vice chairman of Hậu Giang Province also violated principles on criteria for official promotion. The commission, therefore, suggested the Politburo and other relevant agencies to clarify mistakes and violations by individuals and bodies on Thanh’s case. Thanh’s title as a National Assembly deputy should also be abandoned. Strict punishments should be carried out in Thanh’s case, the report concluded.- VNS |
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Article 18
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 13/7 Binh Dinh mulls constructing MSW power plant  Outgrow Energy Consult Co Ltd (OEC) based out of Bangkok, Thailand has unveiled its proposal to oversee construction of an electricity power plant utilizing municipal solid waste (MSW) technology at the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone. Details of the proposition were discussed in specific detail by Tipanan Sirichana, managing director of OEC at a recent meeting with the Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee. The Managing director said MSW technology is a more cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative to landfilling or composting technologies, which would require the province to purchase fuel to incinerate the waste. In contrast, MSW facilities are paid by the fuel suppliers to take the fuel (known as a ‘tipping fee’). The tipping fee is comparable to the fee charged to dispose of garbage at a landfill and would result in significant cost savings for the province. OEC specializes in project development services related to obtaining approval of power purchase agreements, engineering construction and funding services for power plant projects, said the OEC managing Director. The company has previously been actively involved in the construction of five power plants in Vietnam. Vietnam, Romania strengthen economic ties A Vietnam-Romania business forum took place in Hanoi on July 12, aiming to boost bilateral connection and partnerships. Speaking at the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said the two countries share a long-term cooperation, with Romania helping Vietnam train thousands of engineers in the sectors of gas and oil, construction, mechanics and agriculture, among others. Bilateral trade revenue hit 150 million USD in 2014, approximately two third of which was from Vietnamese exports. The revenue increased to 170 million USD in 2015, with Vietnam exporting goods worth around 102 million USD to Romania. These figures still fell short of cooperative potential between the sides, Dung underscored, adding that both governments should work to stimulate their affiliations as well as connections among the two countries’ agencies and business communities. Participating in the forum, visiting Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said his country holds strengths in oil-refining and agricultural processing and is willing to transfer technologies to and invest in Vietnam. According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Romania has strongly assisted Vietnam in terms of education. Vietnamese expatriates in the country have a population of approximately 600 people, mostly involved in the garment business at the Dragon shopping centre in Bucharest. Flat solar glass group invests 200 mln USD in Hai Phong The Hai Phong Industrial Zone Management Board has granted an investment license to Flat Group from Hong Kong (China) for a solar glass factory worth 200 million USD. The factory will cover 21.8 hectares in the Dinh Vu Industrial Park, reported Dau Tu newspaper. It is expected to put into operation in late 2017 with a capacity of producing about 580,000 tonnes of solar glass each year. Hai Phong holds its position among the country’s top performers in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction with 31 newly-registered and capital adjusted projects valued at more than 1.74 billion USD in the first five months of the year. Large economic groups from Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Belgium chose Hai Phong to land their investments thanks to the northern port city’s favourable geographical location and potential. The city is housing more than 450 valid FDI projects with a total registered capital of over 12 billion USD. Vietnam province to get Japanese support to develop agriculture brand for export The Japan International Cooperation Agency has begun a project to help a Vietnamese province develop an agriculture brand to meet quality requirements to win broad acceptance in Japan and the US. The agency will select one among Ha Giang Province in northern Vietnam, Nghe An in the north-central region, Lam Dong in the Central Highlands and Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta. A survey team has visited all of them. Though no specific produce has been identified, Kenta Harigai, chief engineer at Mitsui Consultants, which will provide technical support in the project, said lychee and mango are the two that can use Japan’s new freezing technology for preservation during the export process. The technology uses ethanol solution, which is 20 times faster than the traditional freezing method and maintains the freshness of the fruits better, Japanese representatives said at a recent meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon Times reported. Minh Tran takes over major Danang real estate project Real estate developer Minh Tran on July 11 unveiled the signing of a contract with the Thien Vuong Group to manage the Time Hoi An project. The Time Hoi An, comprised of street houses and villas, is located in Hoi An at the juncture of Ly Thuong Kiet and Nguyen Hue streets. The architecture of the complex is a combination of cultures of Vietnam, Japan and China, says Minh Tran, with a lot of lush green areas. The highlight of the project will be a five-star Time Hotel situated on an area of 1.8 hectares, with 1,200 luxury rooms, swimming pool, spa and gym sections. A shopping mall spanning 20,000 square metres with 150-200 stores is on the drawing table. The first phase of the project has been completed with the launch of 100 street houses, connected to the main streets of the town. Vietnam motorcycle sales up for first time since 2012 Vietnam’s motorcycle market has seen an increase in its sales for the first time since 2012, reaching 1.4 million vehicles in the first six months of 2016, according to the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM). The figure represented an 8 percent increase from the same period last year. In 2015, the market stabilised after declines in the two previous years, with 2.8 million vehicles sold by the VAMM’s five members including Honda, Piago, Suzuki, SYM and Yamaha. Honda Vietnam (HVN) made up 70 percent of the market with the sale of 1.9 million units. According to Minoru Kato, HVN General Director, Vietnamese customers now prefer automatic bikes to geared ones thanks to their fashionable designs and conveniences. However, geared bikes remain a choice of people living in rural areas. Therefore, the company will continue manufacturing both types of motorbike to meet the demand of all customers, he said. As the local bike market has nearly reached saturation point, it will also boost exports with an aim for a 41 percent increase in export value to 345 million USD in 2016, he added. In 2015, the HVN exported 91,000 motorcycles for 245 million USD, soaring 179 percent from 2014. Hau Giang seeks investments for 33 projects The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang is calling for investment in 33 projects, especially in farm and food products, hi-tech agriculture, and trade and tourism development, said Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Lu Van Hung. Hung revealed this at an investment promotion conference held in the locality on July 11 in the framework of the ongoing Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation (MDEC) Forum. He said the local authorities are giving priority to investment projects related to development of high-quality farm product markets, high-tech industrial parks, and concentrated breeding and fresh-water aquaculture areas, fruit preservation and processing and in eco-tourism. The event offered a good chance for investors to seek cooperation opportunities and partners in all fields, thus promoting sustainable economic development in the locality in the future, he noted. The province has directed its departments and sectors to facilitate businesses’ operation and apply preferential policies in disadvantaged economic areas, he added. According to Tran Huu Hiep from the Steering Committee for the Southwest Region, the province should pay more attention to improving its competitiveness and boosting regional links. At the conference, the province’s officials presented investment decisions to four projects with a total capital of over 4 trillion VND (180 million USD). Hau Giang lured 3,710 enterprises with a total investment of over 43 trillion VND (over 1.9 billion USD) during the last 12 years. It recorded 310 newly established businesses every year, mainly in trade, service and construction. To date, the province is home to nearly 500 domestic projects worth 120 trillion VND (5.4 billion USD), up 7.4 times against 2004. The number of foreign-invested projects in the locality is 27, with a total investment capital of 800 million USD.- Seminar discusses draft law on supporting SMEs A seminar on the draft Law on Supporting Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from the view of the business community took place in Hanoi on July 11. The seminar was organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in partnership with the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI). Addressing the event, MoPI Deputy Minister Dang Huy Dong said despite the government’s effort to create a fair and business-friendly environment for local SMEs, which are regarded as the growth engine of the economy, there is still a gap between policies and their implementation in practice as well as between policies and businesses’ expectations. The number of SMEs that go bankrupt or have to temporarily stop operating has been on the rise, while most of the enterprises spent very little on technology application, Dong noted. He stressed the need to thoroughly study the contents of the bill for the early adoption in order to provide timely support for the development of SMEs. According to Nguyen Hoa Cuong, Deputy Director General of the MoPI’s Enterprise Development Agency, the five-chapter and 33-article bill introduces a number of support incentives for SMEs, particularly in terms of access to funding and technology, securing land for operation, information update and consultancy. VCCI Secretary-General Pham Thi Thu Hang said it is vital to ensure that the support policies are practical and suitable to domestic SMEs who are still struggling to compete with their foreign rivals. The bill needs more feedback and recommendations from experts and businesses and should be reviewed with reference to international experience, she suggested. The law itself is not enough but should go with the change in how authorities and state officials work with enterprises, she added. First Vincom Plaza shopping mall breaks ground in Dong Thap Construction on Vincom Plaza shopping complex, the first of its kind in the southern province of Dong Thap, began in Cao Lanh city, on July 11. The five-story mall, will gather famous brands in fashion, consumer goods, cuisine at home and abroad, a recreational area for children, and a modern cinema across a site of over 12,000 sq.m. Managed by Vingroup’s Vincom Retail, which currently operates 25 shopping malls nationwide, Vincom Plaza Cao Lanh is expected to be operational in April 2017 as the most modern in the Mekong Delta. Le Khac Hiep, Vingroup Vice President, said the complex will contribute to boosting trade and changing the face of Dong Thap and adjacent localities. Founded in Ukraine in 1993 under the name of Technocom, Vingroup has become Vietnam’s leading private sector real estate company. It comprises such subsidiaries as Vincom for high-end shopping centres, Vinhomes for residential properties, Vinpearl for tourism and recreational facilities and Vimec for hospitals. The firm was twice named winner of the “Best Developer Vietnam” category at the annual South East Asia Property Awards in 2013 and 2014. Recently, together with Vinamilk, Vietcombank, FPT Corporation and Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation, the group made it into the Nikkei Asian Review’s Asia 300 list, which names Asia’s most dynamic companies. Last year, Vingroup opened 10 shopping malls across the country and the ambitious company plans to make nearly 50 trading centres operational in 2016, aiming to nudge international-standard products and services ever closer to Vietnamese people. Vietnam suspends peanut imports from Senegal Vietnam is to suspend the import of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) from Senegal due to the product’s contamination with insects subject to Vietnam’s plant quarantine. The decision, made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on July 11, was triggered by 48 containers of peanut from Senegal found to be contaminated with the extremely destructive pests: the Karpa beetle and Groundnut beetle. The containers, weighing over 943 tonnes, were shipped to Vietnam via the northern port of Hai Phong between February 18 and June 14. The suspension will begin after 60 days from the signing of the decision. Pending the enforcement of the decision, the ministry’s Plant Protection Department will closely check peanut imports from Senegal. It will also notify the African country’s relevant agencies about the issue and examine their remedies. PBank wins best mobile banking award Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) has been recognised as the "Best Mobile Banking Vietnam 2016" by Global Banking and Finance Review, due to its continuous efforts to improve its products. The VPBank Mobile application has been considered to be a small bank available on mobile phones, providing many financial services, such as account management, money transfers, bill payments, and access to saving accounts and loans. This is one of the first e-bank applications in the country allowing operation on iOS, Android and Windows Phones. The latest 2016 version has very fast speeds, is more user-friendly and has doubled the number of transactions, accounting for 30 percent of total online transactions. Further, its back-end system has helped protect customers' information. VPBank plans to upgrade and develop its products to meet the increasing demand of customers while maintaining its first position in the digital banking area.- SME law urged to meet business expectations Policy-makers yesterday were called on to build the law on supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a way that helps narrow the gap between policies and expectations of businesses. This opinion was voiced at the conference themed "Draft law on supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises from the enterprise community's perspective" which was jointly held by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong said the role of SMEs had for long been recognised as a backbone of most of the economies around the world. Despite the Government's effort to create a fair and business-friendly environment for local SMEs, there was still a gap between policies and their implementation in practice as well as between policies and businesses' expectations, Dong said. According to Dong, the number of SMEs that go bankrupt or have to temporarily stop operating has been on the rise, while most of the enterprises spent very little on technology applications. He stressed the need to thoroughly study the contents of the bill for the early adoption in order to provide timely support for the development of SMEs. Nguyen Hoa Cuong, deputy director of the MPI's Enterprise Development Department, said the five-chapter and 33-article bill introduced a number of support incentives for SMEs, particularly in terms of access to funding and technology, securing land for operations, information update and consultancy. VCCI Secretary General Pham Thi Thu Hang said it was vital to ensure that the support policies were practical and suitable to domestic SMEs who are still struggling to compete with their foreign rivals. The bill needed more feedback and recommendations from experts and businesses and should be reviewed with reference to international experience, she suggested. The law itself was not enough, but authorities and State officials must change their mind-set and the way they work with enterprises, she added. Agreeing with Hang, director of the Economica Consulting Company, Le Duy Binh suggested that Viet Nam should learn from Japan's experience. He said that since 1963 the country had issued many laws to support SMEs which were regarded as a growth engine of the economy. These policies focussed on encouraging the creativity of enterprises and start-ups, improving the management capacity of SMEs, enhancing productivity and facilitate the companies' adaptability to economic fluctuations. Thanks to timely and properly issued policies, Japan had seen the growth of many giant groups, Binh stressed. Binh said that the Government's target to have one million enterprises by 2020 was feasible, citing that from 2005 to 2013, 600,000 enterprises were registered. However, in reality, only 45 per cent of the companies actually operated during the period. This showed a big gap between business registration and actual operations, and therefore, the law must aim at narrowing the gap, Binh said. VCCI chairman Loc also suggested that the law regulate all banks to have programmes to assist SMEs, not just the few banks that were doing so currently. VN rice exports plunge Viet Nam's rice exports in the first half of the year fell by 32 per cent over the same period last year, mostly due to competition from other countries, the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA) has said. In addition to rice exports from Myanmar, Pakistan and India, Vietnamese exporters had to contend with Thailand selling off a huge stockpile of its rice. In the first quarter, rice exports increased more than 50 per cent compared to the same period last year, mostly because of contracts signed last year. But with domestic rice prices higher than global levels in March and April, many domestic enterprises were unable to sign new contracts, leading to a fall in exports in the second quarter. Asian countries remained the main buyers of Vietnamese rice, accounting for 67 per cent of total rice exports, followed by Africa (16.4 per cent) and the Americas (11.9 per cent), according to a report released at a VFA meeting held last Friday. However, in the first half of the year, total rice exports to Asia fell by 5.4 per cent, dropping by 9 per cent to China and 52 per cent to the Philippines. Unlike the fall of exports to Asia, Vietnamese rice exports to Africa and the Americas rose 10.8 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, compared to the first half of last year. During the period, exports of 5 per cent and 25 per cent broken white rice fell by 29 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively. At the same time, exports of fragrant rice increased by 30 per cent and 15 per cent broken white rice by 18 per cent, while sticky rice rose by 145 per cent. At the VFA meeting, the association adjusted the total export target for the year from 6.5 million to 5.65 million, excluding border trade, a year-on-year fall of 14 per cent. For the first six months, a total of 2.7 million tonnes of rice were exported. Huynh Minh Hue, VFA's general secretary, said that local rice exporters expected to ship three million tonnes in the last half of the year, a drop of 22 per cent over the same period last year. Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the meeting, VFA chairman Huynh The Nang said the target was based on the association's data analytics, and that market conditions could change if the Philippines, Indonesia and others bought more Vietnamese rice. Lam Anh Tuan, director of Thinh Phat Co Ltd, said the target was feasible, as the price of Viet Nam's 5 per cent broken white rice was the most competitive in the region. Besides official exports, enterprises have also exported rice to China via border trade since 2012, with annual export volume reaching 1.5-1.7 million tonnes. VFA said the Ministry of Industry and Trade would organise a meeting later this month to discuss problems faced by the rice production sector. Better performance forecast for banks in H2 Business performance at commercial banks is forecast to continue its upwards trend this quarter after making some improvements in the first half of the year, a State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) survey said. Under the business sentiment survey covering domestic and foreign banks in Viet Nam released last week, banks also expect better results for the whole of 2016. A total of 86.5 per cent of the respondents expected better results in 2016 than last year, of which 29 per cent anticipated ‘significant improvement'. Compared with the previous survey conducted in the first quarter, banks were also more optimistic about credit growth this year. Banks forecast that the banking system's credit growth would increase to 20.4 per cent this year, roughly 3 per cent higher than the Government's target, thanks to stronger credit demand and better business conditions. In the survey in January, credit growth was expected at 20.1 per cent. The country has targeted credit growth of 18 per cent this year, up from 17.3 per cent in 2015, following growth last year that was its strongest since 2007 thanks to the economic growth. The respondents also anticipated capital mobilisation of the entire banking system this year would reach 17.6 per cent, of which the rising rate for deposits in the dong is raised to 19.1 per cent from 18.4 per cent in the previous survey but deposits in the US dollar is lower to minus 0.09 per cent from previous 6.9 per cent. The central bank has gradually cut or scrapped ceiling rates on dollar deposits to combat dollar hoarding and even abolished some dollar lending, but it recently resumed short-term loans in foreign currencies to support economic growth. Liquidity in both dong and dollar is also expected to be good in the second half of the year. With optimism about growth prospects and the exciting return of the finance and banking system in 2016, banks also anticipated the industry's labour market would see positive changes next months. According to the survey, it is expected that 42.4 per cent of the respondents would increase their recruitment in the third quarter while 57 per cent of them are expecting more recruitment in the whole year of 2016. In the second quarter, 28.2 per cent of the respondents reported that they had more employment. Car sales surge in June Vietnamese people bought more than 24,400 cars in June, an increase of 31 per cent compared with the same period last year, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association said. Passenger cars were the market leaders with sales of 12,916 units, following by commercial cars with 10,325 units and special-purpose vehicles with 1,180 units. In the first half of this year, nearly 126,800 cars were sold, a 31 per cent year-on-year increase. On average, about 700 cars were bought each day. Truong Hai Automobile Joint-Stock Company (Thaco) continued to monopolise the market last month, with sales of 9,246 units, claiming 42.3 per cent of the market share. Thaco said it produced 51,000 cars in the first half of this year and developed 11 new models of buses, tour cars and trucks. Thaco plans to design a new bus under the National brand later this year as a Viet Nam brand promotion strategy in the ASEAN Economic Community and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Two truck and bus manufacturing plants will be built later this year, with a capacity of producing 16,000 buses and 100,000 trucks per year, while the production capacity of the Kia Thaco plant will be raised from 28,000 to 30,000 cars, and of Vina Mazda to 30,000 vehicles. Thaco's sales were more than double of Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV), which ranked second with sales of 3,979 units, claiming 18.2 per cent of the market share. These were followed by Ford Viet Nam, Honda, GM Vietnam and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam with sales of 2,369 units, 869 units, 765 units and 655 units, respectively. The top five best-selling cars in the first half of this year were Ford Ranger, Toyota Vios, Toyota Fortuner and Toyota Innova, besides Mazda. Innova is one of five best-selling cars in the first half of this year. The market prices of many models with engine displacement between 1,500cc and 2,500cc were sharply cut. TMV cut the price of Corrola Altis models by VND48 million (US$2,147) to VND59 million each, with the prices now ranging from VND747 million to VND933 million. Other Toyota models the prices of which were cut were Yaris, Vios and Hiace. Meanwhile, the firm raised the prices of Fortuner models by between VND32 million and VND38 million to reach VND1.04 billion and VND1.23 billion. The price of Land Cruiser VX increased by VND870 million to touch VND3.72 billion. A small survey conducted by Vietnamnet.net showed that agents cut the prices of many models in the sedan segment. An auto sales person in Ha Noi, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the prices of models with engine displacement of 1,500cc to 2,500cc had been reduced. The agent did not make any profit, but still accepted the low price to close its revenue account for the first half of this year. Meanwhile, a representative of an FDI auto firm said the price cut was being implemented only by agents. They accepted cut in profits to increase revenue and hoped to receive a cash bonus from the automakers. Agents said they had to reduce the prices of many models because there was fierce competition among companies to claim and maintain market shares. Some businesses have announced price cuts. Meanwhile, some others do not cut the price themselves, but give the ‘green light' to agents to cut prices, while promising to give them cash bonuses in return for increased revenue. Firms busted for tax fraud Multi-level marketing companies have been discovered indulging in tax fraud worth several billion Vietnamese dong and the sale of fake goods, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Competitive Management Department said. After three months of investigations, the department yesterday officially announced the inspection results at four companies including Lien Ket Tri Thuc Company, Thang Long Franchise Company, Lien Minh Tieu Dung Viet Nam Company, and Lien ket Viet Nam Company. The inspection team, managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and police forces, uncovered several tax violations at the companies. The team found that the Thang Long Franchise Company allowed their distribution agencies to receiving benefits which were not stipulated under the promotion campaigns. This violated regulations of multi-level trading. In addition, several distribution agencies which received commissions from the company had not been mentioned in the list submitted to the team. "The company reported turnover lower than data from their agencies at VND34 billion (US$1.5 million). This indicates violation of tax laws," the ministry said. The inspection at Lien Minh Tieu Dung Viet Nam Company in northern Bac Ninh Province revealed that the company also violated tax regulations in calculating personal income tax for their staff. They did not report turnover of some distributors into the company's total incomes. The ministry added that the company had committed violations by not reporting turnover, invoice usage and use of incorrect accounting documents. It also revealed that there were some unclear turnover calculations, resulting in misunderstanding and wrong applications at companies. The inspection team suggested that management agencies should have made suitable adjustments to ensure united applications at multi-level marketing firms. Incorrect labels The ministry also revealed that the Thang Long Franchise Company advertised two functional foods including Thymo-Zin and Thymo Plus which have not been approved by management agencies. In addition, the two products have some incorrect ingredients and functions which do not match the certification granted by the Ministry of Health. Its other eight functional products have labels which differ from their certifications. "These violated regulations on advertisement of functional foods," the ministry said. The same situation has been seen at the Lien Minh Tieu Dung Viet Nam Company. The ministry would provide the inspection results to relevant agencies for further investigations or punishment. The ministry asked the department to quickly resolve the violations relating to multi-level management. However, the team has not released inspection results at three companies including Amway Viet Nam Company, Unicity Marketing Company and Thien Ngoc Minh Uy which are considered big multi-level marketing firms in Viet Nam. The ministry said they have received several complaints from participants at the Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company. They established a team to conduct inspections while resolving each complaint. The ministry would announce the results soon. They also planned to conduct a check-up team at the Amway Viet Nam Company on July 18. It added that the Unicity Marketing Viet Nam Company is no longer under the inspection list as the ministry imposed a fine of VND110 million on the company. Gold market shines in uncertain times Gold prices rallied to a two-year high last week which stirred feverish speculation in the Vietnamese market. The first week of July has seen a historic ascent of gold prices in Vietnam, as buying quotes soared from VND36.9 million per tael (US$1,438 per ounce) on July 4 to VND39.5 million per tael (US$1.540 per ounce) on July 6. This also marked the highest prices for gold in Vietnam since 2014 and thus, prompted thousands of individuals to stock up on the precious metal. The buying mania only cooled down as gold prices dipped during the last few days of the week. On July 7, purchasing rates at Saigon Jewellery Company fell to VND37.5 million per tael (US$1,462 per ounce) and plunged even lower to VND36.95 million per tael (US$1,440 per ounce) on July 8. Despite the slight drop, gold prices still jumped by 13% since the start of 2016. Similar excitement has been experienced throughout the global market, as gold reached its peak since March 2014 at US$1,371 per ounce on July 6. This was even higher than the US$1,358 per ounce on June 24, when the UK voted to depart from the European Union. Later on in the week, investors earned profits and gold prices modestly dipped. Earlier, HDBC analysts predicted a sizeable appeal for gold in the coming months, as uncertainties from the UK “Brexit” vote would increase demand and drive up prices for the precious metal. As gold is independent of any economic policy or central bank, it is considered a safe-haven asset whenever investors become pessimistic about the market’s outlooks. “In the event that capital outflows weaken the British sterling and euro, gold would likely be a destination for much of this flow. This could have a bullish impact on the value of gold. While we expect that prices could rally up to 10%, they may rise even higher if there were to be further concerns regarding the future direction of the EU after [the Brexit]”, noted the analysts. Regarding the gold hysteria in Vietnam last week, experts agreed that global rallies and uncertainties following the Brexit may have been two contributing factors. However, according to the chairman of the Vietnam Gold Trading Association, Nguyen Thanh Long, such as steep rise in Vietnam was mainly due to psychological reasons. “Existing investors have hoarded their gold to anticipate higher prices. And new buyers flocked to purchase this precious metal for the same reason. As a result, there was a shortage of gold in Vietnam, last week, which prompted even more hoarding and sparked speculation”, said Long. He then warned that as gold reaches its peak, profit-taking activities will take place and push down gold prices. Thus, investors must take great caution if they want to bet on the further rise of gold rates. Economic expert Nguyen Tri Hieu agreed with this view, adding that individual investors should not allocate more than 30% of their capital to gold, as the precious metal is an asset prone to extreme price volatility. He advised investors to “keep their head cool” and be wary of rumours that gold may surpass US$2,000 per ounce this year. Meanwhile, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) announced that it would interfere with the gold market if necessary to keep prices under control. Nguyen Ngoc Canh, head of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Department at the SBV, said that recent gold rallies are short-term spurts. “The SBV will keep a close watch on the gold market and get ready for any necessary intervention. Out actions will be in line with Decree 24/2012/ND-CP, which since its launch has significantly reduced gold conjecture in Vietnam”, said Canh. Knauf Vietnam boots brand awareness in Vietnam Knauf Vietnam Co., Ltd. has introduced its new gypsum board – Knauf StandardShield made in Vietnam - at a ceremony in HCM City on July 8. Knauf Vietnam Company starts construction of its first gypsumboard manufacturing plant in the northern region of Vietnam. The product will be manufactured at the new gypsum board manufacturing plant that opened in June in Hai Phong City's Dinh Vu Industrial Park. The factory has a capacity of 20 million square metres of gypsum board yearly. After only 2 years setting up regional offices and local production in Vietnam, Knauf Vietnam has started to supply the Vietnamese market and gradually increase their brand awareness throughout Vietnam. "Now we are able to provide locally-made and high quality products to the market in Vietnam. I believe that Knauf will be able to grow our market share by increasing our brand awareness and product presence," said David Victor Thomas – General Director of Knauf Vietnam. At the ceremony, Knauf Vietnam also introduced two new distributors in the South, including the I.S Joint Stock Company and Dong Do Interior Decoration Joint Stock Company. Knauf Vietnam plans to have a full product offering throughout the country by the end of 2016. The rise of the landed property sector The landed property sector is outperforming other segments to become Vietnam’s most attractive investment channel. In the latest report by Savills Vietnam, the landed property sector had its best performance ever, with 820 sales in Ho Chi Minh City in the second quarter of 2016, showing growth of 81% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 110% year-on-year (YoY). Smaller townhouse sizes have provided affordable housing for a new generation. Townhouses can compete with apartments as they are not that much more expensive yet offer far greater advantages, such as recreational amenities, pools, on site education facilities, convenient shopping, and the security of a gated community. The Sapphire development, with a range of niche residential to large-scale commercial projects, has recently entered the landed property segment, with 29 riverfront villas at HOLM project. David Clarkin, joint managing director of Sapphire, told VIR that there had always been a global desire for individuals to own their own piece of land and home, Vietnam was no different. The population of Ho Chi Minh City has increased from approximately three million to eight million people over the past 30 years, the opportunity to acquire well located residential land is rapidly diminishing. This makes landed property all the more desirable, according to Clarkin. The problem for developers lies in the finite availability of land in the most desirable residential areas for villas and townhouses. Indeed, this asset class has come of age and now has critical supply mass. A city such as Ho Chi Minh has an almost infinite ability to construct high-rise apartment buildings adding a large amount of units to the market. However, the opportunity to build villa projects, within the inner suburban neighbourhoods, is rare. “The limited supply, coupled with greater demand from the increasingly wealthy middle classes will result in above average capital growth in the landed sector, when compared to other segments,” he stated. With the same view, Matthew Koziora, director of Transactions at VinaCapital, said that townhouses and villas offered local buyers a number of features that condos did not, including greater liquidity. With the forward supply of landed property probably one-twentieth of condos, their ability to re-sell prior to handover surpasses that of condominiums. He pointed out that the main difficulty for new landed projects was finding good sites with approval in place. Lower forward supply will therefore create a more sustainable market in terms of liquidity and sale ability. Local buyers are becoming increasingly price sensitive, they want value for their money. They are also looking for quality designs and facilities with close proximity to amenities, according to Koziora. VinaCapital’s recent launches have been quite successful, including its latest project, 9 South Estates in Saigon South, which has recorded robust sales over the past five months due to its impressive list of on-site facilities. Troy Griffiths, deputy managing director of Savills Vietnam is bullish on the prospect of the landed segment. “Historically, a townhouse in Ho Chi Minh City was three times as costly as a high-end apartment. However, this has now reduced to 1.7 times in newly developed areas. This is a low step ratio that shows landed property is well within reach for many,” he said. The local landed property market promotes sustainability because of a healthy purchaser structure. End-users account for the majority of purchasers, with speculators less than 10%. Investors are abundant in the townhouse segment, prompting an expansion of the rental market in the near future. Thus, townhouses have outperformed other residential asset classes in investment returns, thanks to land value appreciation and stable rental returns. Savills Vietnam forecasts that the landed property demand in 2016 would be YoY 103% higher in Ho Chi Minh City and 88% higher in Hanoi, supported by a growing affluent class. Compared to regional peers with similar population densities, such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi’s primary supply of landed housing (less than 10%) is relatively small, leaving ample room for future growth. Southwest grows 6.5 % in first half The southwestern region grew 6.5 % in the first half of 2016, with Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) estimated at US$11.25 billion. Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, head of the Steering Committee for southwestern region addresses the event The figures were released at a conference hosted by the regional Steering Committee in Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, on July 11, to review socio-economic performance in the past six months and set tasks for the later half of the year. As heard at the function, 1.57 million hectares of winter-spring rice paddies yielded 10.4 million tonnes of rice, while more than 1.6 million hectares of summer-autumn paddies planted during the period are expected to produce another 9 million tonnes by the end of the season. The six-month regional industrial index increased by 9 % compared to the same period last year, with the industrial production value estimated at over US$12.7 billion, up 11.1 % year-on-year. The overall import-export revenue is estimated to reach nearly US$9 billion, an annual rise of 3.2 %. According to deputy head of the regional Steering Committee Son Minh Thang, the region has been facing various difficulties, including a shortage in water supply caused by saline intrusion and drought, and in capital for local projects in response to climate change impacts. The slow construction of major projects is also an issue, while the volume of foreign investment attracted in the period was still lower than other regions nationwide. Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, who is also head of the committee, urged the region to focus on boosting agricultural and fishery production to compensate the damage caused by saltwater intrusion and drought in the first and second quarter. He warned that prices of a number of goods might increase by year’s end, which is likely to affect the local consumer price index. Authorities of southwestern provinces and cities should work to boost their regional connection, Hue said. Moving forwards, the steering committee plans to hold conferences on agricultural restructuring, new-style rural development, regional connection and investment attraction, he noted. Hue continued to add that needy people in the Mekong Delta region will receive further support and preferential credit policies will be considered. Hai Duong exports 5,000 tonnes of lychee so far The northern province of Hai Duong shipped 5,000 tonnes of lychee to foreign countries during this year’s crop. China remained the largest importer with over 2,000 tonnes, followed by the Republic of Korea (500 tonnes), France (90 tonnes), Thailand (80 tonnes) and Australia (18 tonnes). To assure the quality of lychee exported to fastidious markets, the province has zoned off an additional 300 hectares of lychee cultivation in Chi Linh town and Thanh Ha district for VietGAP and GlobalGAP standard production. Hai Duong, one of key lychee cultivation localities in the country, has nearly 11,000 hectares of lychee and uses the VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards for about 250 hectares. This year, its lychee output was estimated to reach 50,000 tonnes. VPBank wins best mobile banking award Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) has been recognised as the "Best Mobile Banking Vietnam 2016" by Global Banking and Finance Review, due to its continuous efforts to improve its products. The VPBank Mobile application has been considered to be a small bank available on mobile phones, providing many financial services, such as account management, money transfers, bill payments, and access to saving accounts and loans. This is one of the first e-bank applications in the country allowing operation on iOS, Android and Windows Phones. The latest 2016 version has very fast speeds, is more user-friendly and has doubled the number of transactions, accounting for 30% of total online transactions. Further, its back-end system has helped protect customers' information. VPBank plans to upgrade and develop its products to meet the increasing demand of customers while maintaining its first position in the digital banking area. Calls for MEPS testing overhaul Thousands of local and foreign manufacturers/importers in Vietnam are suffering a major administrative burden regarding energy labeling and minimum energy proficiency standards certification. Do Huu Hau, general director of German lighting manufacturer OSRAM Vietnam, told VIR that over the past few years his company had been “very concerned about the obstruction of energy labeling and minimum energy proficiency standards (MEPS) certification in Vietnam.” “Such procedures are considered sub-licences, making it extremely difficult for enterprises to import goods into Vietnam,” Hau said, adding that “The process of granting an energy label is lengthy and quite costly.” Before being marketed in Vietnam, thousands of product lines must be tested for MEPS and obtain an energy label, such as refrigerators, printers, scanners, light bulbs, steamers, electric cookers, fans, and washing machines. Under the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT) Circular No.07/2012/TT-BCT, enacted in April 2012, in order to certify energy labeling and MEPS, manufacturers/importers must have product samples tested at laboratories appointed by the MoIT. However, in Vietnam there are only four laboratories, with two in the north and two in the south. The tests can take weeks or even months depending on the products and the workload in these labs. According to AmCham Vietnam, in the context of limited quantity and capacity of laboratories, the requirement that samples must be taken from each shipment, with test results used for that shipment alone, has caused a significant delay in customs clearance. “Thousands of products have been in storage for months awaiting test results, this is causing significant losses for related manufacturers and importers,” AmCham Vietnam stated in a document. The burden is far heavier if the products are produced overseas. In this case the products must be examined in the country they are produced in. The MoT has stipulated that its own examiners must physically visit the country for product testing, with the trip’s expenses paid for by the enterprise itself. “This is unfair to the enterprises. For example, if Dutch-backed Philip’s products are made in Thailand, experts must travel to Thailand for testing. However, overseas enterprises often don’t accept such costs, which are considered unofficial expenditure,” Nguyen Thu Ha, managing director of a US-backed investment consultancy firm in Hanoi, told VIR. Echoing this view, Hau said that “OSRAM Group has 46 factories worldwide. So it would be very costly and time consuming for our company to meet these regulations.” “The MoIT is providing energy labels for each product code. If we have new products, we have to go through the energy labeling process, even though the products have already met the high standards set in Europe and the US,” he said. AmCham has recently sent the document to the government, the MoIT, and the Ministry of Justice, explaining this administrative burden. AmCham have suggested that the MEPS testing at in-country accredited test labs should be waived for globally well-known brands or for advanced technologies. Most manufacturers of electronic products such as Apple, Dells, Canon, Sony, HP, and Samsung, already apply international standards of energy efficiency. Their products have been tested by internationally recognised laboratories, before they are circulated on the market. “Therefore, the requirement that these products must be tested again for energy labeling is redundant and unnecessary, especially with the limited capacity and resources of the laboratories in Vietnam,” the document stated. Furthermore, the test results, when required, should be accepted for all the consignments of the same product model. Electronic products are manufactured under well-controlled process and it is an accepted fact that there is no difference in product energy efficiency characteristics with products of the same model. “Therefore, a sample test for every single consignment of the same product and the same model is unnecessary and causes a significant delay in custom clearance, consequently adding significant costs for importers and manufacturers,” the document said. VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR |
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Article 17
Commercial banks raise charter capital as opportunities increase Figures released by the State Bank of Vietnam and financial reports by commercial banks show that total charter capital of 35 Vietnamese commercial banks reached VND331.069 trillion by December 31, 2015.
Of this amount, seven state-owned banks (the banks in which the state holds the controlling stakes) have VND137.093 trillion, while 28 joint stock banks had VND193.976 trillion. Seventeen out of 35 banks have announced plans to raise charter capital this year by VND50 trillion in total. This means they want to increase the equity capital so as to be able to expand their business scope. Banks’ charter capital levels determines the services they can provide. The Circular 36 released in 2014 sets limits on banks’ limit in accordance with their equity capital: the minimum CAR (capital adequacy ratio) is 9 percent, while the credit provided to one client must not be higher than 15 percent of banks’ equity capital and the credit provided to a group of related clients must not be higher than 25 percent.
The circular also stipulates that banks must not use more than 40 percent of their charter capital and their reserve funds to contribute capital to other businesses. As such, raising charter capital is a must for banks which want to expand their business operation. Analysts said the 10 commercial banks chosen by the State Bank (SBV) to apply Basel II standards will have to raise their charter capital because of higher requirements in the calculation of CAR in accordance with Basel II. SBV has decided that the pilot application of the 10 banks would be completed by 2018 and the Basel II application would be applied to other banks in the Vietnamese banking system as well. A report shows that 12 commercial banks still have charter capital of VND3.5 trillion or lower, while six banks have charter capital of VND3 trillion, which is equal to the minimum legal capital required by the laws. With such modest charter capital levels, the banks would find it difficult to expand their networks. Under Decree 57, credit institutions must not use more than 50 percent of their charter capital and their reserve funds to buy fixed assets. This prevents the banks with outdated technologies from spending more money to upgrade information technology systems to improve corporate governance. Under Circular 21, the number of bank branches depends on banks’ charter capital. In Hanoi and HCMC, banks must pay VND300 billion at minimum to open a branch, while the figure is VND50 billion in other cities and provinces. TBKTSG |
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Article 16
Social News 13/7 Drug found hidden in motorbike tyres  Methamphetamine is a very addictive drug that has a strong effect on the central nervous system. Hồ Chí Minh City police and customs officials yesterday seized a batch of ephedrin - used to produce synthetic drugs - hidden in motorbike tyres. The police and customs officials found the drug hidden in a parcel of 20 motorbike tyres of the Yokohama brand, which were being sent from Việt Nam to New Zealand by international fast delivery service on July 4, the police said. The officials found white powder inside the tyres, after noticing a 3cm to 4cm-long cut in each of them, the police said. A police test later showed the powder was 4.5 kg of ephedrin, a substance used to produce methamphetamine - a very addictive stimulant drug that has a strong effect on the central nervous system. The police have detained the two persons who had sent the parcel, a male foreigner and a Vietnamese woman, they said. The case is under further investigation. Four children die in drowning accidents in one day Four children and an adult drowned yesterday while swimming in a dam and a river, adding to the country’s grim statistics of drowning fatalities. Drowning kills 3,500-4,000 children in Viet Nam every year, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. Nguyễn Hữu Đại, chairman of Yên Thành District’s Tiến Thành Commune in the central province of Nghệ An, said local authorities had mobilised nearly 100 people to find the bodies of the three children, including two siblings. The victims were identified as Trương Thi Mai, 14, his sister Trương Thi Thuong, 11 and Nguyễn Thi Loan, 13, who had gone swimming at Choạc dam. In central Hà Tĩnh Province, Nguyễn Thanh Hải, head of Hưong Sơn District’s Sơn Trường commune, said a man and a child were washed away while the man was trying to rescue the child swimming in Ngàn Trươi River. Also yesterday, a 15-year-old child was reported missing after going swimming in Đào River in Thanh Hóa province’s Thọ Xuân District. As of this morning, the body of the missing victim has not yet been found. Illegal football betting ring smashed Police yesterday arrested six men in HCM City and Gia Lai Province for their alleged involvement in a large online football betting ring. About VNĐ1 billion (US$ 44,400) and a K59 pistol with bullets were also seized from them. The police said about $1 million was involved in the ring’s illegal betting activities during Euro 2016 alone. They have issued a ‘wanted’ notice for three other suspects. Initial police investigation showed the ring had been conducting activities of an advanced level for a long time. Nguyễn Văn Minh, 32, the gang leader, told the police after being detained that he used an account on an overseas website to organise the betting activities. He rented a house in HCM City’s Tân Phú District to open a shop selling woodwork as a front, the police said. They said Minh had hundreds of employees in Hồ Chí Minh City, Hải Phòng, Hải Dương and Gia Lai. He and his accomplices organised other illegal activities across the country such as being loan sharks and collecting debt illegally, besides football betting. Minh has two previous convictions and was released from jail in 2014. The police are expanding their investigation. Deputy PM urges inspection over Hung Hiep Formosa’s dumping of waste Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has asked for prompt inspection of the dumping of waste by the Hung Hiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company. The request was made following recent news stories which said that the company was found burying a huge amount of waste at a farm run by the director of an environmental company in Ky Anh town of central Ha Tinh province. Dung urged the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with the provincial People’s Committee to check the information. If it is true, measures should be taken to strictly address the case following legal regulations. The outcomes of the inspection must be reported to the Prime Minister, he added. Improved legal framework needed to prevent corruption Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has urged competent agencies to build a synchronous legal system and impose strict sanctions to prevent corruption effectively. He made the request at a national conference to review the 10-year implementation of the Law on Corruption Prevention and Control in Hanoi on July 12. The Deputy PM asked ministries, sectors and localities to push ahead with fine-tuning mechanisms, policies, and law to promptly address loopholes in socio-economic management. He particularly pointed to corruption prone areas such as natural resources management, mining, equitisation of State-owned businesses, financial market management, banking, investment license granting, construction, education and health. Participants said the system of legal normative documents on counter corruption has been established and increasingly improved over the past 10 years. However, some unfeasible regulations still exist. They agreed on the necessity to revise the Law on Corruption Prevention and Control, which should create an extensive and inclusive anti-corruption mechanism to promote public and transparent State socio-economic management. The law needs to put forth political, administrative, economic and criminal sanctions to strictly punish violators, the panel said. Over the past decade, the Government Inspectorate has conducted a number of administrative and specialised inspections, detecting violations of economic laws amounting to nearly 60 trillion VND (2.7 billion USD) and over 400 hectares of land. More than 4.6 trillion VND (207 million USD) and 219 hectares of land were reclaimed. Ninh Binh facilitates Lao investors Ninh Binh is committed to creating favourable conditions for Lao investors who wish to enter the local market, said Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tong Quang Thin. Thin made the statement at a meeting with the visiting Lao delegation from the Prime Minister’s Office, led by its Chairman Phet Phomphiphack, on July 12. He also informed his guests that his province grew 8.7 percent in 2015 and is among the top ten localities nationwide in building new-style rural areas. Phet Phomphiphack said after the 10 th congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, poverty alleviation has become a priority to help Laos get out of the underdeveloped country list by 2020. Laos wants to learn from Ninh Binh’s experience to develop agriculture and new rural-style areas, he noted, adding that his country highly welcomes Vietnamese investment. Ninh Binh twined with Oudomxay and assisted the Lao province in building a number of medical and social facilities, the Lao official said expressing his hope for future twinning between Ninh Binh and other provinces in Laos. Vietnam, Philippines celebrate 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-Philippines Friendship Association (VPFA) hosted a meeting in Hanoi on July 12 celebrating the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam, who is also VPFA Chairman, said since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties on July 12, 1976, Vietnam and the Philippines have seen encouraging progresses in the political, economic, cultural, education and tourism areas. Last year, the two countries lifted bilateral ties to the strategic partnership level in order to bring benefits to both nations and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region. The Philippines currently invests in 62 projects in Vietnam, mostly in pharmaceuticals and the food industry. Two-way trade soared to 3 billion USD last year from 416 million USD in 2002. Bilateral cooperation has been expanded across the fields of agriculture, national defence-security, education-training, health care and tourism. Filipino Ambassador Noel Servigon said nearly 30 bilateral agreements have so far been signed since July 12, 1976. In agriculture, the Philippines is a major importer of Vietnamese rice. Moreover, more and more Filipino tourists and teachers have arrived in Vietnam, he said. He expressed his hope that the two countries will continue working closely together towards peace, prosperity and neighbourliness. Lao Vice President visits Hai Duong Visiting Lao Vice President Phankham Viphavanh worked with authorities in the northern province of Hai Duong on July 12. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duong Thai informed his guest that Hai Duong grew 7.2 percent in the first half of 2016 despite the nationwide economic slowdown. As heard at the working session, Hai Duong and Vientiane established twin relations in 1984, with cooperation activities focusing on agro-forestry and trade. Lao students have come to study in Hai Duong and received support from the local authority. Hai Duong has sent experts on farming and planning to Laos and helped Vientiane build a centre for livestock artificial insemination and a kindergarten. Speaking at the function, Phankham Viphavanh, who is also Politburo member and standing member of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, lauded the progresses in development that Hai Duong has achieved recently. As former Chairman of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association, Phankham Viphavanh said he will work to boost mutual understanding of the traditional and special relationship between the two countries. He added that he expects Hai Duong will continue to assist Vientiane along its development path. All dioxin victims should gain access to support policies: President President Tran Dai Quang has required ministries and localities to coordinate closely with the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) to ensure all victims enjoy the support policies of the Party and State, as well as support their fight for justice. The State leader made the request in Hanoi on July 12 at his meeting with dioxin victims and delegates who are attending the third national “For AO victims” congress. He urged that communications be intensified to encourage Vietnamese people from all walks of life and international organisations and countries worldwide to respond to movements and campaigns in support of AO victims. The leader called on all individuals and organisations worldwide to take action to prevent chemical warfare and help Vietnamese dioxin victims in their fight for justice. At the meeting, the President also spoke highly of efforts made by the VAVA and its all-level chapters to support the victims. The VAVA has to date collected 1.15 trillion VND (51.5 million USD) from both domestic and foreign donors to build houses for dioxin victims, help them in production and provide scholarships for their children. The third national “For AO victims” congress is taking place in Hanoi on July 12-13 with the participation of 300 delegates, and is one of the activities being held in response to the 55th anniversary of the Day for Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims (August 10, 1961-2016). About 80 million litres of toxic chemicals, mainly Agent Orange containing dioxin, were sprayed over the south of Vietnam during 1961-1971. Nearly 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to the chemicals and about three million people and their descendants suffer from health problems as a consequence of the exposure.- Vietnam Cooperatives Alliance to hold fifth congress The Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) will convene the fifth nationwide congress for the 2016-2020 tenure, in Hanoi from July 17-19, its Chairman Vo Kim Cu told a press conference on July 12. The event is expected to attract 863 delegates, including 546 representing more than 20,000 cooperatives, 43 cooperatives alliances and VCA chapters nationwide. The congress is scheduled to review the VCA’s operations for the 2010-2015 tenure, and lay out orientations and tasks for 2016-2020. All communes are striving to form cooperatives by 2020, including 100-150 cooperative alliances, and nearly 250,000 working groups. By late 2017, all 63 cities and provinces nationwide are targeting to establish cooperatives development funds – each with a registered capital of 20-100 billion VND, and increasing that number to 300 public credit funds. In order to achieve the above goals, the VCA will strengthen ties with its chapters nationwide and implement a project on building new-model cooperatives with product value chains, toward creating stable jobs for about 30 million workers. There will also be a second contest to raise awareness of new-model cooperatives, Cu said the organising board encourages entries which feature cooperatives with product value chains.- Torrential rain cools down Hà Nội Torrential rain has been hitting several parts of Hà Nội since early this morning, after a long heat wave, raising the risk of flooding in many streets. The National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre said the rain was likely to cause flooding of up to 0.1m to 0.3m in many streets in the inner districts. The districts facing a high risk of flooding include Cầu Giấy, Ba Đình, Đống Đa and Hà Đông. Some streets in Hoàn Kiếm District such as Phan Bội Châu and Lý Thường Kiệt have already been hit by flooding. The Hà Nội Water Drainage Company has sent workers to the affected areas and those prone to flooding to check the sewage systems and manholes to clear waste that block the flow of water. Heavy rains also caused traffic chaos. Traffic congestion reportedly affected several streets such as Nguyễn Trãi in Thanh Xuân District and Tố Hữu in Hà Đông District. Traffic police have been mobilised in areas at high risk to guide vehicles. The rain has helped to cool down the capital city, with the temperature dropping to 28 to 31 degrees Celsius from 35 to 38 degrees Celsius over the past few days. Hội An launches Tuồng course for children The Culture and Sports Centre in Hội An City has launched a training course in Hát Bội or Tuồng (classical drama) for 15 children. The move is an attempt to preserve the ancient art form and to entertain tourists. Director of the centre Võ Phùng said the course, funded by Hoàng Châu Ký Foundation, will last three months, with Tuồng artists instructing the children every Saturday night at 39 Nguyễn Thái Học Street. “It’s the first-ever course in Tuồng for children in Hội An after a training course in Bài Chòi (a traditional Vietnamese game combining folk songs and picks from a deck of cards) was launched for children two years ago,” Phùng said. “The trained children will perform for tourists visiting Hội An, while the ancient art form will also be preserved,” he said, adding that Bài Chòi was being staged on the Hoài River bank for tourists every night. The classical drama from Quảng Nam Province was researched and preserved by late professor Hoàng Châu Ký (1921-2008). Last year, the Tuồng Xứ Quảng (Quảng Nam classical drama region) art performance was recognised as national intangible heritage. Hội An, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the most popular destination in the central Quảng Nam Province. A survey showed that 27 per cent of the international tourists visited the city to learn about its culture and history. Hanoi considers Hoang Sa and Truong Sa street names Hanoi considers naming two new streets in Dong Anh District after the Spratly (Truong Sa) and Paracel (Hoang Sa) Islands. The municipal People's Committee has recently made a proposal to the city's People's Council on naming 26 new streets, including two with the name called Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in Dong Anh District. This is expected to be considered by the council at its meeting early next month. The committee has also suggesting naming a street in Dong Anh District after Ly Son Island in the central province of Quang Ngai. EVN to link more islands to national power grid Electricity of Vietnam is set to link up more islands with the national power grid this year. It would supply power through undersea cables to Cham Island in the central province of Quang Nam possibly from September, EVN said. In the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, Lai Son Island is expected to be linked by the end of this month. Work to supply electricity to Hon Nghe Island Commune in Kien Giang is 25 percent complete and likely to be finished this quarter. In the north, Cai Chien Island Commune in Quang Ninh Province, the only island not to have power the province, will be linked soon. From now through 2020 EVN will focus on wrapping up a 2013-20 programme to supply power to all rural and mountainous areas and islands. In May an EVN team did a survey on solar and wind energy generation in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago. EVN will seek Government permission to supply electricity to all islands in Truong Sa, according to Pham Minh Thang, an EVN board member. In the first six months of the year EVN supplied 76.44 billion kWh of electricity, a 11.7 percent increase year-on-year. During the period demand was up 10.3 percent in the central region, 11.96 percent in the north and 12.28 percent in the south. Despite the rapid rise in demand, EVN has assured it can continue to meet it. Workshop discusses ecosystem service assessment and valuation tool An ecosystem service assessment and valuation tool - ValuES - was introduced to national and provincial planners and decision makers at a worskhop on July 12 in Hanoi. In a speech, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen The Chinh, General Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), emphasized the need to ensure that the ES concerns are mainstreamed into planning processes. “It is now the time for policy makers to consider how they may apply global and regional lessons learned on ecosystem valuation at the national level,” he said. Mr Nguyen The Chinh were echoed representatives from the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ). “Ecosystems provide essential services to people’s lives and livelihoods, especially for local communities,” said Mr Dao Xuan Lai, Head of UNDP Sustainable Development Cluster. “There has been limited appreciation and integration of the economic values of ecosystem services into development planning, budgeting, and decision making processes" Mr Lai added. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen The Chinh, General Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) He underscored the importance of valuation of ecosystem services, which help enhance the understanding and trigger local actions on preservation and restoration of ecosystems. "Healthy ecosystems provide high profits in terms of public health and public savings and achievement of broad objectives of overcoming poverty and achieving sustainable development goals," said Mr Lai. “Ecosystems contribute directly to the national economy through the services they provide. Valuing these services and integrating them into planning and investment decisions is essential to ensure long-term economic growth”, Michael Wahl, Chief Technical Advisor of the project Strategic Mainstreaming of Ecosystem-based Adaptation in Vietnam (EbA), noted. Michael Wahl stressed that in the context of the implementation of Vietnam’s Green Growth Strategy, GIZ continues to support ministries to better integrate ecosystem services into policies. Conference promotes coordination in receiving, addressing complaints The National Assembly's Ombudsman Committee hosted a conference in Hanoi on July 11, focusing on coordination among agencies in listening to and addressing citizens’ complaints and petitions. According to deputy head of the Central Committee for Reception of Citizens Duong Van Hue, the committee received 12,583 citizens who filed complaints about 3,522 cases, of which 371 petitions involved a large number of complainants, up 7.2% compared to the same period last year. Almost all complaints and denunciations related to land, land clearance (2,171 cases), judicial affairs (555 cases), policy (224 cases), and corruption (64 cases). The committee also received 7,800 complaints in written form, 7,015 of which have been processed. The committee’s deputy head noted that many petitioners became violent and engaged in extreme behaviours at the offices . Participants at the conference emphasized the necessity to ensure officials’ proper attitude and behaviours when receiving citizens. All complaints must be promptly processed and dealt with, while agencies should enhance coordination and information sharing with the goal of effectively addressing complicated situations, they stressed. They also underlined the need to improve the skill for NA deputies in receiving citizens and dealing with complaints, and provide them with detailed information on complicated cases. Participants proposed to build a national software and database for management of complaints, denunciations and petitions. Detailed information concerning cases and resettlement processes should be publicized, while relevant legal systems should be updated in order to improve the efficiency of the work. Participants also recommended further inspection and supervision of the enforcement of the Law on Reception of Citizens in localities nationwide, as well as measures to ensure security and safety in offices of the Central Committee for Reception of Citizens. HCMC’s leaders commemorates revolutionary scholar Tran Bach Dang A delegation of Ho Chi Minh City’s leaders on July 12 offered flowers and incenses to late Vietnamese revolutionary, scholar, journalist Tran Bach Dang on the 90th anniversary of his birthday ( on July 15, 1926). The delegation included Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Dinh La Thang, former Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Le Thanh Hai. Tran Bach Dang whose real name was Truong Gia Trieu, was born in 1926 in Rach Gia town in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang. He joined the revolutionary forces in 1941. He served as a secretary of the Communist Party Committee in Saigon-Gia Dinh region and was the head of the propaganda and training committee of Central Office for South Vietnam and a member of the National Liberation Front in the Vietnamese War against the US invaders. After 1975, he focused on studying, teaching and writing on the national liberation revolution. Apart from journalism, he wrote many poems, plays, short stories and novels. The famous spy novel, Van Bai Lat Ngua (Put your cards on the table) by revolutionary writer Tran Bach Dang is one of the best novels on the anti-American Resistance War. Vietnam urged to focus more on scientific research Professor Ngo Bao Chau, who won the 2010 Fields Medal, said that Vietnam should focus more on fundamental scientific research which is a key factor in improving the quality of its science sector. Chau made the suggestion at a international fundamental science workshop in Binh Dinh Province on July 7-8, attracting the participation of 300 Vietnamese and international delegates from across different fields, including six Nobel laureates and Vietnamese mathematician Ngo Bao Chau. According to Professor Ngo Bao Chau, except for the National University in Hanoi and HCM City, scientific research at other universities remained quite modest. It can be said that Vietnam currently boasted substantial scientific and technological infrastructure, including hi-tech parks, institutes and research centres; but research capacity remains limited, with many projects having little real-world value. "As the scientific research is not focused on much, universities don’t also pay attention to selecting really qualified lecturers, so, this affects their training quality. Universities in Vietnam need to have competitive and transparent recruitment policies to have good staff. The selection of lecturers must be based on their real capacity, not their relationship with university leaders," he added. Every year, Vietnamese people spend around USD2-3 billion studying overseas. The government also offers local students scholarships to study abroad, but many Vietnamese prefer to work in other countries after graduation. Many students, particularly those studying masters or doctorates, have no interest in returning to Vietnam due to lack of research opportunities and poor pay. PASCOS 2016 opened in Quy Nhon International Symposium on Particles, Strings and Cosmology (PASCOS) was officially opened by the association of Rencontres du Vietnam (Meeting Vietnam) at the International Center of Interdisciplinary Science Education (ICISE) in Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh province on July 11. The symposium is a part of the program of 12th Rencontres du Vietnam 2016 which was co - hosted by Professor Tran Thanh Van- Chairman of Meeting Vietnam Science Association and Professor Pham Quang Hung- lecturer of U.S Virginia University. Around 200 domestic and international scientists gathered in the science event. After the opening ceremony, American theoretical physicist and string theorist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2004 Mr. David Jonathan Gross; Japanese professor and winner of Nobel Prize in Physics 2015 Mr. Takaaki Kajita respectively delivered their speeches at the science symposium. According to Prof. Pham Quang Hung, PASCOS has been held annually since 2005, aiming to summarize and discuss on achievements and results of the particle, string theory and cosmology in the recent years. The goal of this year symposium is to review and discuss recent progress in particle physics, string theory and cosmology. Following important discoveries made within the last few years, including properties of neutrino mixings, the Higgs particle, and most recently gravitational waves, it is urgent to bring together theorists and experimentalists to discuss what has been learned and what might show up in the next few years. ICISE will provide an ideal setting for both established and young physicists to present new theoretical ideas and new experimental projects. Rencontres du Vietnam desired young scientists as well as science lovers have favorable opportunity to show their ideas so behind speeches of well-known scientists, members of the symposium will also listen to young scientists and students, esp. some of them are Vietnamese, added Mr. Pham Quang Hung. PASCOS is scheduled to run by July 16. Finance, Transport Ministries propose 10-20 percent road toll cut The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance have proposed the Prime Minister to reduce road toll rate by 10-20 percent at 29 tollbooths across the country. The toll cut proposal based on project implementation costs lower than estimates, the ministries said. If it is approved, toll reduction will start from August 1, 2016. Previously, the Government assigned the two ministries to review and estimate road toll levels and BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) fees. The move aims to rationalize toll rates and help businesses especially those from transport service field reduce costs in accordance with Resolution 35 on business assistance and development. The Red Journey attracts over 1,000 donors in Ba Ria-Vung Tau The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau received nearly 1,000 units of blood from 1,200 donors on July 11-12 during an activity under The Red Journey, a transnational campaign to raise awareness about donating blood. The Red Journey 2016 blood donation campaign was officially kicked off at a ceremony held in Hanoi on July 11by the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT). The organisation expects to collect 50,000 units of donated blood during the month-long campaign, including 20,000 units in 27 provinces and cities, which will be visited by the volunteer group. The Red Journey is an important milestone in the development of the country’s voluntarily blood donation movement, contributing to reaching the goal that all of its blood will be donated by voluntary donors by 2020, said NIHBT Director Nguyen Anh Tri. Since the first Red Journey in 2013, thousands of patients’ lives have been saved due to the nearly 57,000 blood units collected during the past three years, said the director. Last year, the health sector collected more than 1.1 million units of blood. The sector has set a target to collect 1.2 million units of blood from voluntary donors in 2016. Climate change a threat to Mekong Delta Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue emphasized that climate change is posing serious threats to the Mekong Delta, which produces half of Vietnam’s rice output and 65 percent of aquaculture products. The Deputy PM, who is also Chairman of the Southwestern Steering Committee, spoke on the issues in his opening speech for the 9th Mekong Delta Economic Development Forum (MDEC), which opened on July 11 in Vi Thanh City, Hau Giang province. He noted that the Party, National Assembly and central Government, as well as Party organisations and administrations of Mekong Delta localities, have been looking for integrated solutions and long-term strategies to ensure the region’s sustainable development and local residents’ livelihoods. Deputy PM Hue noted that the previous eight MDEC forums have outlined many mechanisms and policies aiming at enhancing the region’s internal connectivity and cooperation as well as external economic links. He suggested the forum this time will give businesses, donors and other localities a chance to seek opportunities in the Mekong Delta, while local administrations will study how to better respond to investors’ demands. The Deputy PM took the occasion to announce that the World Bank and the State Bank of Vietnam signed an agreement in Can Tho City on a 560 million USD loan package for climate change adaptation and sustainable development of the Mekong Delta on the same day as the opening of the MDEC forum. The 9th MDEC, which has the theme of “Mekong- Delta- Active Integration and Sustainable Development”, will focus on major issues related to climate change and sea level rises, such as drought and salinity intrusion, along with technology applications in agriculture and the marketing of local produce, particularly rice, fruits and aquatic products. At the end of the week, the forum’s participants plan to issue a joint statement, with suggestions on solutions for the region’s development. It will be sent to the Prime Minister for approval. “Climate change is no longer an abstract warning, but is directly threatening the delta’s sustainable development,” Son Minh Thang, deputy chairman of the Southwestern Steering Committee, said. With recent events like the historic drought, the worst in 90 years, along with saline intrusion, the need to improve linkages among provinces as well as with other regional countries is more important than ever, Thang said. With 1.5 million hectares of land for paddy cultivation, the Mekong Delta plays a key role in the country’s food security. It produces 50 percent of rice output and 70 percent of fruit in the country, while contributing 65 percent of seafood exports, and 90 percent of rice exports. It has 700km of coastline with picturesque beaches, three biosphere reserves recognised as international Ramsar sites, a rich resource for tourism development. As of June 2016, the delta attracted 1,348 foreign direct investment projects with total registered capital of 20 billion USD, contributing seven percent of the country’s FDI, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The Mekong Delta comprises Can Tho city and 12 provinces - Long An, Dong Thap, Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, An Giang, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Kien Giang. Official slogan of traffic safety programme announced A slogan penned by a ninth grader from Ngan Son boarding school for ethnic children in the northern province of Bac Kan has been selected to be the official slogan of the “Doraemon with traffic safety in Vietnam” programme. The slogan “Niem vui theo em den truong la su an toan tren tung buoc di” (my joy to school is safety in every step) of Luan Anh Tuyet was chosen among 24,257 entries sent to the slogan contest. It will appear on posters and leaflets popularising road safety nationwide. Tuyet will receive a prize value at 2.2 million VND (200 USD) and a round-trip air ticket from Hanoi-Tokyo from Japan Airlines. A ceremony is scheduled on September 14 to present awards to authors of the 22 most standout slogans. The slogan contest was jointly organised by the Traffic Police Department, the Ministry of Education and Training and Japan’s Mainichi Newspapers Co. Ltd. It is part of the “Doraemon with traffic safety in Vietnam” programme, which uses the image of the cat robot in a popular Japanese cartoon to educate children about traffic safety, thus reducing accidents in the country. Under the programme, traffic safety classes will be opened at three schools in Hanoi and two others in Ho Chi Minh City in September and October this year. Local traffic police officers along with the Doraemon costumed characters will come to popularise the traffic law and guide primary students how to commute safely. Each student at those schools and 20 others in the two cities will also be presented with a road safety handbook and a badge featuring the winning slogan and Doraemon. Japan launched a traffic safety programme featuring Doraemon 30 years ago, when about 15,000 Japanese people were killed by traffic accidents every year. Japan is now one of the countries with the safest traffic network in the world, while its people have very good road sense. The number of traffic-linked deaths has shrunk to around 4,000 a year. TransViet Travel in top 10 leading tour operators The TransViet Travel company was listed in Vietnam’s top 10 leading international tour operators in 2016 voted by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Vietnam Society of Travel Agents. It is the third year in a row the company has been included in the list. Established in 1996, the company has diversified significantly into a number of dynamic subsidiaries in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It offers a wide variety of travel related services from representing international airlines in Vietnam to inbound and outbound tour packages and all fields of MICE. The company has gained several prestigious prizes over two decades of operation such as the “2015 ASEAN Trusted Branch” by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the ASEAN Enterprise Association and ASEAN Consulates; the “Top 10 Leading Tour Operators in Vietnam” since 2011 until now and the “Top 10 Leading Tour Operators in Ho Chi Minh City” since 2010 until now.- Vietnamese man killed in Central Highlands explosion A man died in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum after an artillery shell left over from the Vietnam War exploded on July 10. The incident happened at noon when Nguyen Thanh Duong, 44, tried to cut open the shell he had discovered earlier on a hill in la H'Drai District. The blast reportedly killed him instantly. Since the Vietnam War ended in 1975, unexploded ordnance (UXO) incidents have killed more than 1,500 people and maimed another 2,200 a year, according to official statistics. While some were accidental, many happened when poor people tried to salvage scrap metal from bombs. Festivalgoers immerse in Japanese culture The event ‘Feel Japan 2016’ simulating a traditional Japanese summer festival is expected to draw thousands of guests on July 16-17 to the Gem Centre in Ho Chi Minh City. At the event, guests can partake in eating traditional Japanese food, play games and watch Japanese students' dancing performances as well as meet the cartoon characters Hello Kitty and Ninja fencer. A large number of special guests will also make presentations on the history of Japan and present information about Japanese clothes, housing, food and how summer festivals are celebrated in the Far Eastern nation. They will also teach guest to speak some common phrases in Japanese and demonstrate the techniques of bowing and show how Japanese men and women bow differently. Those who attend the event will have the opportunity to visit some 50 food game and cultural booths in the summer festival booths area and eat Japanese vegetable pancakes, noodles, skewered chicken, candy apples and chocolate-coated bananas as well as partake in traditional refreshments. Other activities will include calligraphy and origami demonstration as well as trial-fitting for traditional Japanese clothes. Dancers will perform two different types of traditional Japanese dances - Soranbushi and Bonodori, which are dramatically different from any dances popular in Vietnam, said the organizing committee members. The popular Japanese music band 365, singer Chi Thien and Bao An are also scheduled to perform their magic at the event, said the organizers, and they encourage anyone with an interest in Japanese or Asian culture to attend. Lastly, a special drawing will find some lucky guest winning an all-expense paid trip to Mombetsu – a paradise in the north of Japan, they noted. Lâm Đồng Province warns drivers about highway danger The Central Highland Lâm Đồng Province’s local authorities have warned drivers to be cautious on National Highway 20 after many people were either injured or killed in several serious accidents. National Highway 20 is a key road linking Đà Lạt tourist city in Lâm Đồng to HCM City and southeastern provinces. It has become an accident hotspot, particularly during festive seasons or in summer when tourism is at its peak. In the latest case on June 19, a head-on collision of two passenger coaches on Prenn mountain pass, which is part of National Highway 20 in Đà Lạt, killed eight people and injured 30. A 50-seater coach en route from Đà Lạt to HCM City hit a road worker on the mountain pass, which was being upgraded. The bus then lost control and struck another 50-seater coach that was going to Đà Lạt from Phan Thiết City in Bình Thuận Province. Earlier in June, a truck hit a motorbike in the highway section going through Di Linh District, killing three people. Vice-Chairwoman of Di Linh District’s People’s Committee Lâm Thị Phước Linh said the district recorded eight road accidents in the first six months of the year, seven cases of which happened on National Highway 20. Meanwhile, 10 out of 13 road accidents recorded in Đạ Huoai District also happened on National Highway 20. Lâm Đồng Province recorded 101 accidents in the first half of the year, in which 74 people were killed and 61 injured. Of the total, 57 cases happened on national highways, with the majority occurring on National Highway 20, according to figures from the provincial Traffic Safety Committee. Director of the provincial Department of Transport Trương Hữu Hiệp said there were many reasons behind the increase in the number of road accidents on this highway. Apart from factors such as speeding and careless driving, the upgrade work in many sections of the highway failed to ensure the safety of drivers, he said. The risk of accidents was high in many sections of the national highway such as on mountain passes or at intersections, he said. In a recent meeting held to discuss measures to ensure road safety in the province, Chairman of the provincial people’s committee Đoàn Văn Việt said there were shortcomings and asked relevant agencies to take measures to help reduce the number of road accidents in the coming time, by inspecting and supervising vehicles travelling on the highway and checking road upgrade works to ensure that they take steps to ensure public safety. Chợ Rẫy Hospital given 85 chairs for IV treatment by J&J A unit for out-patient cancer treatment at Chợ Rẫy Hospital, the largest public hospital in southern Việt Nam, has been given 85 chairs for intravenous procedures related to cancer treatment which should help patients feel more comfortable during the process. Associate Professor Dr Nguyễn Trường Sơn, the hospital’s head, said that the hospital in 2012 set up the special unit to reduce the overcrowding of patients staying at the hospital to receive chemotherapy, because the hospital is often the first choice for patients with serious diseases in the southern region. The unit treats nearly 11,000 people on an out-patient basis at the hospital’s Hematology and Oncology Ward every year. The chairs were presented by Johnson & Johnson Company. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE |
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Article 15
What does the Finance Ministry say about Vietnam’s public debt structure? Vietnam’s public debt rose by about 12.2%, from 50% of GDP in 2011 to 62.2% at the end of 2015. Admitting the rapid increase of public debt, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has confirmed that the structure of Vietnam's public debt is gradually being adjusted towards more sustainability with the ratio of foreign debt declining.  Mr. Vo Huu Hien, Deputy head of the Debt Management and External Finance Department of the MOF, said the structure of public debt of Vietnam by the end of 2015 included: government debt accounting for 80.8%, Government guaranteed debt 17.8%; and local government debt 1.4%. In the government debt structure, the part of domestic debt rose from 39% in 2011 to 57% in 2015 while the proportion of foreign debt decreased from 61% in 2011 to 43% in 2015. Hien affirmed that such development is consistent with the national strategy on public debt and external debt in the 2011-2020 period and the vision to 2030. According to Hien, the average interest rate of government bonds issued in the domestic capital market reduced from 12%/year in 2011 to around 6.5% in 2014 and about 6% in 2015, contributing to promote the development of the domestic bond market. For foreign loans, as ODA and preferential loans accounted for a large proportion, the average interest rate as of the end of 2015 was about 2%/year. Currency structure of the debt portfolio of the Government focuses on a number of major currencies, including: the Vietnam dong with the proportion of 55%; USD 16%; Japanese yen 13%; the euro approximately 7%; and other currencies. Hien said the Ministry of Finance analyzed Vietnam’s public debt sustainability with the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and concluded: "The structure of Vietnam's public debt is gradually being adjusted towards more sustainability." Growth falls but borrowing requirements still strict It should be noted that in 2011-2015, public debt increased by about 12.2%, from 50% of GDP in 2011 to 62.2% at the end of 2015 compared with an increase of 9% in the period of 2006-2010. Thus, the structure of debt is sustainable but the outstanding public debt is rising rapidly. Hien said the reason for the quick increase of public debt is the pressure to mobilize capital for economic - social development. In the period of 2001-2005, social investment averaged 39% of GDP and it rose to 42.9% of GDP in the 2006-2010 period. In the 5 years from 2011 to 2015, although social investment reduced, it was still high – about 32% of GDP. "Investment was at a relatively high level, while the savings rate of the economy for investment was only about 25% of GDP, leading to a shortage of funds for investment, meaning that Vietnam had to borrow," said Hien. Vietnam is a developing country so it is forced to increase borrowing for investment, especially in infrastructure projects, thereby making the scale of debt to increase. The country's economic context in the period of 2011-2015 was unfavorable, especially the reduction of the economic growth target from the average of 7-7.5%/year to 6.5 to 7.0%/year. Growth - the basis for the calculation of fiscal indicators, overspending, and loans – decreased while demand for loans and other targets were maintained in order to increase resources for economic development and ensuring social security. As a result, the ratio of public debt to GDP rose. In addition, the devaluation of the Vietnam dong and the unpredictable fluctuation of other currencies like the US dollar, JPY, and CNY also made the scale of the Government debt increase when they were converted into Vietnam dong. Hien said the public debt cannot be reduced overnight, but under a roadmap, under which new loans and state-invested projects must be carefully monitored. In addition, the Government is determined to cut the state budget deficit under the plan approved by the Party and the National Assembly in the 2016-2020 period. Na Son, VNN |
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Article 14
Villa demolition sparks debate on heritage conservation The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has asked relevant agencies to investigate the case in which a French villa demolition triggers heritage management crisis. A century-old French villa on Ho Chi Minh City’s No Trang Long Street was recently demolished provoking a debate about how to preserve the city’s crumbling architectural heritage.  The villa on No Trang Long Street has been partly demolished Le Thanh Cong bought the villa in 1990. However, due to lack of proper preservation, the villa deteriorated quickly with many parts at risk of collapsing and was put on sale 10 months ago. On June 23, the new owner started dismantling the villa. Ward 11’s People's Committee halted their work on June 26 by the request of the Department of Planning and Architecture and the city’s Conservation Council. A representative from the Department of Planning and Architecture said the villa was part of the city’s cultural heritage so they owner needed to ask for a permit to demolish or replace the building new construction from the city people's committee. Another villa on Ly Tu Trong Street was also demolished after being transferred through four owners. The villas are preserved if they are museums or state-owned houses. Private properties are often not taken care of carefully. The authorities currently do not have management regulations or support policies to help owners preserve their houses. Because of cumbersome administrative procedures and huge costs to renovate the villas, many people just abandon them. The city authorities asked HCM City Institute for Development Studies quickly complete criteria for evaluation and classification of the old villas and the management regulations over constructions on lands of unclassified villas. Vice chairman of HCM City People's Committee Le Van Khoa also asked the Department of Transport and district authorities to tighten management, saying that agency leaders must take responsibilities for illegally demolished villas. dtinews.vn |
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Article 13
Vietnamese bike club drops $2,200 on birthday hotpot  The one-of-a-kind seafood hotpot is seen in this photo viral on Facebook. If you have US$2,000 laying around for a birthday party, why spend it on typical restaurant buffets and boring old feasts when you could blow the whole budget on a single new and original idea? The Flying Tigers superbike club did just that, funneling their money into a one-of-a-kind, two-meter long hotpot complete with VND50 million (US$2,232) worth of lobsters, clams, crabs, mantis shrimp, snails and fish. Of course, no hotpot is too big or too bold to showcase on social media, and the club’s members, motorcycle enthusiasts from Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, made sure that proof of their celebration was uploaded on Facebook for all to envy.  One member of the club living in the southernmost province of Ca Mau revealed that the lobsters weighed 3.5kg each, and the other ingredients included 5kg of giant freshwater prawns, 10kg of famous Ca Mau crabs, 20kg of oysters, and 55kg of other types of seafood. He said 20 club members had contributed towards the seafood in celebration of a senior club member’s birthday and that the total cost of the dish was nearly VND50 million, with each member having donated approximately VND2.5 million ($112).  The giant seafood hotpot caused a stir among local Facebook users, with many posting mixed responses to the unusual birthday celebration. Some hailed the idea as an original use of Ca Mau’s famous seafood, while others raised their eyebrows, believing that it was a waste of money to spend VND50 million on a hotpot that would definitely not be finished. A club member admitted that the hotpot was too big for the 20-member party. “We only ate part of it,” he said, leaving out details regarding the fate of the leftovers. TUOI TRE NEWS |
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