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Former transport minister
withdraws from DCIC
Former Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung
is no longer a board member of Deo Ca Investment Joint Stock Company (DCIC),
the firm has announced.
DCIC said in a statement that after some newspapers
reported the former minister’s participation in its board of directors was
against the Government’s Decree 102/2007/ND-CP, leaders of the company
discussed and agreed to let Dung stop his position as an independent board
member at the enterprise.
“Leaders of DCIC had not carefully considered all
relevant legal documents before inviting Dung to join the board and this has
caused negative public comments on our implementation of the Ca Pass tunnel
project. We hereby acknowledge the mistake and apologize for that,” the
statement said.
The Ministry of Transport approved the drawing up of a
feasibility study for the tunnel project in March 2001. However, the project
was not turned into reality due to the large scale, complicated techniques
and huge investments of the project.
After the withdrawal of previous investors, the
consortium of new investors at DCIC proposed carrying out the project and got
approval from Dung in Decision 2860/QD-BGTVT dated October 5, 2010 when he
was Minister of Transport.
Based on the documents prepared by French consultant
Egis Bceom International in October 2011, current Minister of Transport Dinh
La Thang signed Decision 47/QD-BGTVT on January 6, 2012 agreeing on the
deployment of the tunnel project under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and
build-transfer (BT) formats.
According to DCIC, many difficulties arose during the
implementation of the project as a French lender required the Government’s
loan guarantee and
Therefore, Thang demanded a stop to the EPC contract
and that the project would be carried out by Vietnamese capable firms, and
all documents related to finance and implementation were prepared again. This
meant former Minister of Transport Dung did not involve in these documents.
DCIC said Dung joined the project as an independent
board member and an advisor, and did not make capital contribution.
The Ca Pass tunnel lies on the
SGT
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Thứ Ba, 30 tháng 9, 2014
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Social
News 1/10
The Market
Management Unit No 1 under Ha Noi's Market Management Department yesterday
seized 20 iPhone 6 smartphones from a man living in Dai Kim commune of Hoang
Mai district.
The man, named
Hoang Ba Thuc, did not have any papers to prove legal possession of the 20
smartphones, which are worth a total of VND 500 million.
Thuc admitted that
he had bought the phones from
Captain of the Market
Management Unit No 1 Nguyen Dang Khoa said that his unit was making further
investigations in the case.
More trees
to be cut down in HCMC
Many trees along
Nguyen Khac Dung,
head of the Greenery and Public Park Office under the Department of
Transport, told the Daily that the city will chop down 84 big trees and
relocate 37 others but will keep 151 out of a total 272 trees in the
construction site.
Most of the trees
that need to be cut down would lie along the bridge and near the piers, each
measuring over 80 centimeters in diameter. Therefore, the relocation of those
trees is quite unlikely due to the huge costs, Dung said.
However, more trees
will be re-planted along Thu Thiem 2 Bridge when its construction is
complete, Dung added.
In addition, Urban
Traffic Management Unit No. 2 under the transport department proposed
chopping down as many as 215 trees to expand
Furthermore, 57
trees in September 23 Park will be also uprooted to facilitate the
construction of Ben Thanh underground central station as part of Metro Line
No.1 connecting Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in
District 9.
Earlier in July, 41
trees in front of the City Opera House were felled to make room for the metro
line.
The Transport
Department has mulled a number of measures and solutions in an effort to
minimize the number of trees being cut down or relocated, Dung noted.
The department is
now preparing a plan for developing the city’s greenery and parks by 2020
with a vision toward 2025. The zoning plan is expected to be ready at the end
of this year.
Vietnam Airlines
will start selling air tickets for its services during the Lunar New Year
holiday, or Tet, from early October.
The national flag
carrier said in a statement that it would offer tickets for Tet flights five
months ahead of the holiday to enable passengers to plan their travels and
bookings beforehand.
Tet tickets will be
available for booking at its website on www.vietnamairlines.com, and
ticketing offices and authorized agents of the airline nationwide.
The carrier calls
for passengers to make bookings as soon as possible to find an appropriate
flight as tickets could hardly be found in the lead up to the biggest and
longest public holiday. As usual, demand for air travels always runs high
before and during the holiday.
In the middle of
this month, no-frills carrier VietJetAir began selling 360,000 tickets for
Tet flights. The carrier sells air tickets for Tet flights on
www.vietjetair.com, via its call center at 19001886, and at its ticketing
offices and authorized agents nationwide.
Another low-cost
carrier, Jetstar Pacific, has launched the sale of tickets for its flights
during Tet, which will fall early next year.
Over 12,500 kids face HIV risk in Son La
Around 12,500
children in the northwestern mountainous
Most of the
children come from families with one or both parents or other relatives
having HIV or using drug.
The province
authorities currently monitor and provide free treatment for 156 children
infected with HIV. However, many children of high risk are living in remote
mountain areas and experience great difficulties in accessing health care
services.
Dam Van Huong,
Director of Son La Prevention HIV/AIDS Centre, said around 400 new
HIV-infected cases are reported in the province each year, posing serious
challenges for the provincial medical management and health care services.
According to the
centre, in December 2013, the province had 8,782 HIV carriers, of whom 3,000
had developed full-blown AIDS. It ranks second in the country in terms of HIV
infection rate, just after
Son La also has
over 15,000 heroin addicts, who are at high risk of contracting HIV.
Flood-proof
housing plan benefits 50,000 families
More than 50,000
families in the province have already been relocated into flood-proof
residential clusters over the last 13 years.
With their new
houses, residents have been protected during the Cuu Long (
This year, the
flood season began in July, one month earlier than normal.
Dang Van Tuan, who
lives in a flood-proof residential area in Tan Hong District, said in the
past he had to stay up many nights to check rising water levels to move his family
out in time.
Tuan and his
family, who once lived in a makeshift house in Tan Hong's Binh Phu Commune,
moved to the cluster in 2012.
"Now it is
fine. My house is solid and the roads are good. I can now focus on work to
provide for my family," he said.
Tuan said he had
finished harvesting his rice and was now catching fish and shrimp brought by
rising water levels in his rice fields.
Located upstream
and in a low-lying area in the Mekong Delta, Dong Thap has the largest number
of flood-proof residential clusters of any site in the country.
The state-run
programme completed its first phase in 2007 and is now in its second phase.
Dinh Xuan Hoang,
deputy director of the province's Department of Construction, said the
province had built 53 flood-proof residential clusters in the second phase.
Fifty of those have
been completed and the remaining three are expected to be completed this
month.
The province has
approved new flood-proof housing for 12,444 families, or 87 per cent of
families targeted under the second phase. Of those families, more than 7,800
families have already moved to the residential clusters.
In the provinces'
Thap Muoi District, local authorities have relocated more than 96 per cent of
families into flood-proof residential clusters.
Dinh Minh Dung,
deputy chairman of the Thap Muoi People's Committee, said the district had
built flood-proof residential clusters in areas near markets and urban areas
with suitable locations.
Le Minh Hoan,
secretary of the province's Party Committee, said the housing situation had
been solved but jobs must be created in the areas where residents have
relocated.
Over the past
years, Dong Thap's districts have begun several programmes to create jobs in
and near flood-proof residential clusters. These included agricultural
cooperatives and classes in handicraft-making.
Families in
flood-proof residential clusters have also been provided soft loans to do
business.
Illegal
loggers fight forest guards
Once wary of local
authorities and forest guards, loggers in the southern provinces of Lam Dong
and Binh Thuan are growing increasingly defiant.
Driving in groups,
they bring large trucks to the forests near Di Linh and Bac Binh communes,
where they illegally chop down trees and drive away with the valuable wood.
Many bring weapons in order to protect their hauls.
Nguyen Van Tap, an
official at the Di Linh forest guard station, recalled an incident in which
the forest guards caught illegal loggers red-handed and confiscated the wood.
"On the way
out of the forest, about a hundred men, among them local thugs, caught up
with us and reclaimed the wood. Some even attempted to disarm us," he
said.
Tam Hiep Forestry
One Member Company Limited, a company charged with taking care of parts of
the forest in Di Linh commune, also experienced hostility, including
blackmail and threats, while dealing with illegal loggers.
Director Tran Anh
Tuan said the police couldn't be of much help due to the lack of evidence.
Some loggers were charged with minor offenses, but this failed to deter them
from future provocations.
The area is
under-populated, which further complicates the fight against loggers, as
their operations usually go unnoticed. Using terrain to their advantage,
loggers exploit tricky mountain paths to enter protected forest areas. Once
discovered, they quickly move to alternative paths.
Local authorities
have seen some results by setting up checkpoints, forcing loggers to relocate
their rendezvous points. Two more checkpoints are to be set up along key
routes by the two provinces' authorities.
One dead,
one injured in barbershop fire
One person died and
another was injured after a barbershop caught fire in Binh Duong province's
Thuan An town yesterday.
Tran Van Co was
found dead upstairs whilst the female owner, Tran Thi Hai, was found
unconscious and injured near the door.
Officials and
residens heard calls from inside but could not break into the house because
of heavy smoke and fire.
The local authority
is investigating the situation.
Tay Ninh's People's
Committee yesterday issued a fine of VND300 million (US$14,000) to Tay Ninh
Industrial Park Infrastructure Development Joint Company (JSC PTHT Tay Ninh
Industrial Zones) for a problem in the wastewater treatment system of
The wastewater
sample collected from the Industrial Park showed an amount of suspended
solids and true color units that was 4.6 times higher than the standard.
JSC PTHT Tay Ninh
explained that wastewater produced by Tran Hiep Thanh Textile Company was the
major reason for the incident.
The company
overloaded the system by producing around 1,000 cubic metres of wastewater
per day, leading to the discharge of untreated wastewater.
JSC PTHT Tay Ninh
Industrial Zones has fixed the problem and the wastewater now meets
standards.
Vietnamese
labor quality not improved much
Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan
Huong from the
According to her
study, more than 22,000 unskilled laborers without degree or qualification
nationwide are assuming jobs which require training and skills. On the
opposite side, around one million university degree and post-graduate diploma
candidates are assuming non-skilled jobs.
Accordingly, there
has been a drastic disparity in Vietnamese laborers’ monthly average salary.
By statistics, in the second quarter of 2014, month average income of workers
in agriculture-forestry and fisheries sector is lowest with VND3 million (US$
141.509); of workers in industry and construction is VND4.3 million (US$
202.830) and those working in service sector is VND5.2 million (US$ 245.283).
A lift slided down
last week from the 63rd floor in the newly-opened Lotte Center Hanoi before
coming to a stop at the 29th floor, terrifying seven passengers inside.
At 65 storeys, the
Lotte Center Hanoi is the capital city’s second tallest building after
Keangnam Landmark 72.
A group of people
entered the elevator on the 65th floor, the highest floor of the building,
and after moving down to the 63rd floor, the lift suddenly halted for a short
moment and then began to freely slided down at a high speed.
The lift stopped at
the 29th floor and would not open its door to let the occupants out.
Some of them phoned
the building’s management staffs and other concerned agencies for help. It
was not until 40 minutes later that the passengers were able to get out of
the lift with the assistance of the building’s staff.
The investor, Lotte
Coralis
The owner expressed
regret for the problem and apologised the passengers.
New section
of major road opened to traffic
A 1.4-km section
near Hoa Ca Crocodile Farm of Pham Van Dong Street in HCMC’s Thu Duc District
was opened to traffic on September 28 by the HCMC Department of Transport,
helping ease congestion on nearby
Traffic congestion
had been severe over the past years at this section, forcing local people to
arrange small wooden or iron bridges over the median strip to help
motorcyclists get out of jams at a fee of VND2,000.
As this road
section has come into use,
At present, six
kilometers of
Another
five-kilometer section from
Meanwhile, a
500-meter road section near Go Dua Bridge in the same district will be opened
to traffic before National Day next year (April 30), which enables travelers
to move on
This road starts
from
Soc Trang:
Work starts on breakwater and roads for rescue work
Construction
commenced on a breakwater and roads serving rescue work and national security
in Tran De district, in the Mekong Delta
The 20.5km project,
including 10 bridges, is invested by the provincial Transport Department at a
total of over VND979 billion (US$46 million). It is expected to be put into
operation by 2018.
According to Tran
Anh Viet, head of the Soc Trang provincial Transport Department, the project,
running through Soc Trang city, Long Phu district, and Tran De was of
importance to local socio-economic development. It was also connected with
arterial roads such as Southern Hau River National Highway,
Once completed, the
project not only served to prevent salinity, protect production and enhance
national security and disaster mitigation in Tran De, but also played an
important role in the transport of passengers and goods and was a driving
force for maritime economic development in Soc Trang, said Nguyen Trung Hieu,
Chairman of Soc Trang provincial People’s Committee.
At the ceremony,
construction units granted VND90 million for construction of three charity
houses in three localities within the project area.
Jetstar
Pacific Airlines offers ‘zero fare’ tickets
Budget airline
Jetstar Pacific announced on September 27 a special promotion, offering
direct 250 ‘zero fare’ return tickets (excluding tax and other additional
fees) for local peoples in
Passengers will
enter a raffle for promotion tickets at the airline's ticket offices in Hai
Phong on September 27,
Earlier, the same
programme was also organised in
The promotion gives
priority to passengers who are disadvantaged people.
Additionally, the
airline will launch a promotion programme from 12a.m on September 26 to
12:59pm on September 28, with a one-way ticket selling for VND199,000 on
international routes and VND 230,000 on domestic routes.
The tickets
(excluding tax and other additional fees) are available on the airline’s
website at www.jetstar.com or www.mobile.jetstar.com, as well as through
hotline 1900 1550 and the airline's ticket offices.
The Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) co-hosted a seminar in
Speaking at the
seminar, MARD Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh underscored the point that
agriculture, and in particular rice production, not only contributes to
global warming, but is detrimentally affected by it.
“Agriculture
accounts for 43.1% of total national greenhouse gas emissions, of which rice
production makes up 57.3%,” Doanh said.
Doan also announced
that a project to enhance Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA)
will be implemented in
John Habe, FAO
representative, in turn said success in reducing greenhouse gas emission
requires close coordination and joint efforts of ministries and leaders at
all levels and they must be reduced if the country is to achieve sustainable
agriculture.
A NAMA working
group on agriculture has been established and tasked with identifying
priorities to food production and integrated energy, social and environmental
sustainability, and potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction.
Internet
project connects Long An’s remote localities
The project
“Bringing the Internet to villages” by the Vietnam Internet Fund (VNIF) was
launched in Moc Hoa district, the Mekong Delta province of Long An on
September 29.
Accordingly, 40
computers, worth nearly VND400 million (US$18,900), were handed over to Tan
Thanh Primary School in the district, the district People’s Committee and 12
border guard posts in the province.
Moc Hoa is a
remote, disadvantaged district located in the Plain of Reed, bordering
The Moc Hoa project
is the fourth of its kind undertaken by VNIF, which is managed by VNG Joint
Stock Company. It will allow easier Internet access and greater networking
benefit for underprivileged people, particularly children living in remote
areas.
The programme has
previously launched in Huu Lung district in the northern mountainous province
of Lang Son, Dak Song district in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong
and Yen Thanh district in the northern central province of Nghe An, with a
total investment of VND800 million (over US$37,700).
Life-long
learning week launched nationwide
A life-long
learning week was launched in localities across the country on September 29
launched to raise public awareness of building a learning society.
A wide range of
activities such as seminars, workshops and book-reading festivals are being
held in response to the event.
Many young learners
are keen on upholding book-reading culture
The Departments of
Education and Training have opened vocational training courses for rural
workers and helped learners sharpen their social skills and get updated on
modern technology, in a joint effort to reduce poverty.
All sectors have
also worked hard to promote life-long learning activities at libraries,
museums and cultural houses.
In 2005, the
Government adopted the life-long learning society strategy until 2010, which
aims to create equal opportunities for people from all walks of life to
pursue studying.
Joint media programme supports HIV/AIDS prevention
The National
Committee for HIV/AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention and Control
(NCHDPPC) and major national media agencies on September 29 signed an
agreement to carry out a national public-service campaign aimed at stemming
the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The joint
communication programme, which lasts through to 2020, will be joined by the
Under the
agreement, the press agencies will serve as a conduit for scores of HIV/AIDS
prevention messages and actively popularise key concepts pertaining to
HIV/AIDS and prevention methods.
They will, in
addition, regularly disseminate the NCHDPPC’s activities and publicise to the
general populace the importance of society in assisting HIV/AIDS patients,
drug users and prostitutes in reintegrating into the community.
Thirty candidates
will be selected in 2015 for master’s degree courses in English in
Subjects vary from
market economy management (public economy, public administration), urban and
rural development, and environmental protection (climate change and disaster
prevention), to legislation and public administration capacity enhancement.
For further
information, candidates can access the website http://jds-scholarship.org.
JDS office has
introduced the scholarship programme in
She said
US President Barack
Obama and Director General of the World Health Organisation Margaret Chan, in
their speeches, underscored the challenges of global epidemic outbreaks,
including Ebola in western African countries.
Attendees urged
more accelerated efforts towards the goal of effective prevention, early
detection and rapid response.
The conference will
become an annual event with the next to be held in the
During their stay
in the
The hosts and other
international organisations pledged help to
The
Tighter
control over foreign language education
The Ministry of
Education and Training has just issued instructions to tighten control over
the training and issuing of certificates to foreign language learners.
The tighter control
would be applied to the printing, issuance and use of foreign language
certificates throughout the education system.
As a result, the
ministry is asking for collaboration with a prestigious foreign accreditation
organisation to apply advanced solutions in testing and competence assessment
for both learners and teachers.
The design of
management systems, inspections and independent supervision over operations
of educational organisations would be also allowed.
In recent years,
foreign language education has been somewhat of a lightening rod, drawing
strong but varying opinions, especially after the ministry decided to make
learning a foreign language compulsory in high schools beginning 2015.
According to the
regulation, students who already have standard foreign language certification
would be exempt from the subject on the graduation exam.
The ministry is
scrutinising the foreign language certification process nationwide.
The o utstanding
achievement award was granted to the Vietnam Agricultural Genetics Institute,
which has worked with IAEA and domestic research institutions to create a
number of flood-proof and high-yield rice varieties since the 80s.
T he
Meanwhile, Ho Cong
Cua and Tran Tan Phuong from the Soc Trang Department of Science and
Technology also received the same accolade.
The one-off awards
were to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Joint Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO)/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and
Agriculture.
They were announced
d uring the 58th regular session of the IAEA General Conference, which
concluded in
Young
teacher finishes Hanoi-HCMC walk
Vo Manh Tuan, who
is a young teacher with a Master’s degree at
Palace in HCMC last
week after walking 2,000 kilometers from
The people
welcoming Tuan at the finish line included his family members, friends and
members of
“This trans-Vietnam
walk is aimed to raise funds to support poor children in coastal regions and
help them go to school”, Tuan said.
Tuan said he will
be back to work and continue efforts for new fund-raising projects to support
community programs after the journey.
Scholarships
benefit 200 poor school children in central VN
The HCMC Party
Committee’s Information and Education Commission last week awarded 200
scholarships worth VND500,000 to poor yet hard-working school children in
central
The commission last
Saturday presented 100 of the 200 scholarships to school children in Dien Ban
District of Quang Nam Province during a central coast tour the commission
arranged for HCMC-based news organizations, particularly those with
journalists winning the 2014 journalism awards.
A day earlier the
commission granted another 100 scholarships plus 100 radio receivers to
school children on Ly Son Island off mainland
Phu My Hung
Corporation and The Lawrence S. Ting Memorial Fund have offered scholarships
and charitable aid with a total value of over VND9.1 billion as part of their
2015 program.
The Lawrence S.
Ting Memorial Fund awards 473 scholarships, worth a combined VND4.12 billion,
to excellent students from 34 high and tertiary schools nationwide. Each
selected high school student will get a VND4.5 million scholarship in every
school academic year while college and university students will receive a
VND10 million scholarship each. Moreover, the Lawrence S. Ting Memorial Fund
also sponsors local charitable funds and associations with a total value of
VND5.06 billion this year.
Besides, the
Lawrence S. Ting Memorial Fund donates educational equipment for IT teaching
and learning in
After nine years of
operations, the Lawrence S. Ting Memorial Fund has given more than VND192
billion to social and charitable activities, especially in health and
education.
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 1/10
VN,
Textile industry
representatives from
About 160
businesses from the two countries took part in the seminar-workshop which the
Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) organised in collaboration
with the Indian Embassy in
Do Huu Huy, an
official of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said diversification in the
supply of textile materials and the sustainable development of the Vietnamese
garments industry was not dependent on a particular market.
According to Pham
Quang Thinh, VCCI deputy head of International Relations,
Some
textile-importing countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement (TPP) require the exporter to identify the origin of their products
as well as the progress in the production of fabrics made in
Meanwhile,
Mohit, a
representative of the Indian Business Chamber in Ha Noi, said that
He added that
According to
In the first eight
months, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $3.78 billion.
Major exports to
Major imports from
As of August 2014,
Leverage
for development of support industries
The Vietnamese
Government has developed a range of policies to support industrial businesses
in anticipation of a huge wave of foreign investment. This is considered an
important boost for enterprises operating in support industries.
According to Deputy
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Hieu, the government is
drafting a decree to encourage and develop support industries and build a
favourable business environment to attract foreign investors to the field.
It is necessary to
acknowledge that the support industries play a central role in the entire
industrial sector, Truong Thanh Hoai, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry
and Trade’s Heavy Industry Department, said.
Attempts to develop
support industries must target key sectors and those that attract foreign
direct investment (FDI), including garment, mechanics, electronics and
assembling, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Shim
Wonhwan, General Director of the Samsung Complex, said that if
Therefore,
industrial businesses need to try their best to gain a competitive edge, he
noted.
Since investment in
technology requires a large amount of capital, the Ministry of Finance and
the State Bank of
Deputy Minister
Hieu admitted that ineffective Government mechanisms and policies, combined
with businesses’ limited technology, capital, production capacities,
management experience and human resources, made FDI enterprises hesitant to
join
Mai added that the
support industries are not developing at a pace in line with the country’s
full economic potential and that their products have low added value.
Locally-made spare parts only account for 27.8 percent of those needed, while
Statistics from the
Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that
In recent years,
FDI in the electronics industry increased remarkably, especially from the
Republic of
Foreign-invested
businesses have made
Can Tho
city devises plans for aquaculture sector
The Mekong Delta
city of
To this end, Can
Tho plans to implement 12 aquaculture projects in two main farming areas,
Director of the department Pham Van Quynh said.
About 16,000ha in
Thot Not district, Vinh Thanh district, and islets on the
The city aims to
increase its aquatic output to 270,000 tonnes by 2020, up by 90,000 tonnes
compared to 2013, Quynh added.
He said in order to
meet the local demand for juvenile fish for breeding, Can Tho will build a
large-scale juvenile fish farm in Vinh Thanh and 100 smaller farms by 2016,
increasing the number of farms for juvenile fish to 130 by 2020.
Additionally, the
city will develop and apply advanced technology and expand the application of
VietGAP, GlobalGAP, and SQF 1000CM standards in aquaculture.
An additional 16
processing factories that meet ISO and HACCP standards are also going to be
built in an effort to increase the city’s aquatic exports to 120,000 tonnes
by the end of 2015 and 180,000 tonnes by 2020, the official said.
Quynh noted that
the city will cooperate closely with other Mekong Delta localities to source
seafood products for export.
So far this year,
Can Tho has generated 320 million USD from aquatic exports,fullfing 65
percent of its yearly target.-
Ninh Binh
forum discusses economic restructuring
The biannual Autumn
Economic Forum that opened in the
Former Minister of
Commerce Truong Dinh Tuyen commented that the restructuring process is slow
due to a lack of capital regulations, cumbersome formalities and unfavorable
business climate.
He warned that
foreign investors are dominating the distribution sector, citing that 67.3
percent of exports are sourced from these players who also record a massive
70 percent industrial production value.
Vo Tri Thanh,
deputy head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said
state-owned enterprises should properly address the issues of transparency,
supervision, governance and equitisation if they wish a change.
Tran Du Lich,
deputy head of
In his opinion, the
Vietnam Asset Management Company should be made more financially capable,
suggesting an inflow outside the banking sector to deal with this issue.
Attendees also
called for more changes to the Law on amendments and supplements to some
articles of the Laws on Housing, Civil Affairs, Real Estate Business and
Corporate Law.
The two-day forum
is co-hosted by the National Assembly Economic Committee, the Vietnam Academy
of Social Sciences, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI ).
Singapore-Vietnam
two-way trade totaled 13.538 billion SGD (equivalent to 10.83 billion USD)
for the first eight months of 2014, a 22.2- percent year-on-year increase,
according to the Singapore Department of Statistics.
During the period,
The country’s
leading export products were cellphones, electronic devices and components
(839 million SGD); machinery and spare parts (over 256 million SGD); and
crude oil (over 246 million SGD).
However, the
trading value of items made from iron and steel, paper and paper products as
well as beverages saw a decline.
Meanwhile,
A number of those
exports, including food and processed products; cigarettes and tobacco; oil
and petrol; and optical and measurement devices and equipment, grew rapidly.-
Farm export
profits rise 11.4 percent
According to the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the profits represented
an 11.4-percent year-on-year increase, with farming products bringing in 12.7
billion USD or a 9.8 percent increase; forestry products, 4.41 billion USD or
13.2 percent; and seafood products, 5.65 billion USD or 21.6 percent.
The ministry said
the farming, forestry and seafood sector achieved a 6-billion USD trade
surplus for the first three quarters of the year even as the sector spent
16.11 billion USD on imports, an 18-percent year-on-year increase.
It added that in
the first nine months, coffee exports experienced a 31.9-percent year-on-year
surge in volume to 1.35 million tonnes and a 27.9-percent year-on-year surge
in value to 2.81 billion USD.
The coffee crop for
the calendar year 2013 to 2014 is expected to post a 15-percent year-on-year
increase in volume to 1.6 million tonnes and a nine-percent year-on-year
increase in value to 3.27 billion USD.
Pepper exports
achieved a 24.5-percent year-on-year surge in volume to 140,000 tonnes and a
41.9-percent year-on-year surge in value to 1.06 billion USD. The price of
pepper exports posted a 12.3-percent year-on-year increase to 7,459 USD per
tonne.
Cashew exports
posted a 19.6-percent year-on-year surge in volume to 225,000 tonnes and a
21.8-percent year-on-year surge in value to 1.46 billion USD.
The price of rice
exports posted a 3.3-percent year-on-year surge to 453.7 USD per tonne, but
posted a 5.2-percent year-on-year decline in volume to 5.02 million tonnes
and a 1.6-percent year-on-year decline in value to 2.29 billion USD.
Since
mid-September, the domestic rice industry entered into new export contracts
with the
According to the
Plantation Department,
Rubber exports
likewise posted a 2.4-percent year-on-year decline in volume to 705,000
tonnes and a 21.9-percent year-on-year decline in value to 1.25 billion USD,
as well as a 24-percent year-on-year decline in price to 1,800 USD per tonne.
Wood and wooden
products exports posted a13.5-percent year-on-year increase in value to 4.41
billion USD. The value of forestry products exports to the
The key export
markets of the
Asus Expo 2014 set to kick off in Hanoi
Asus Expo 2014 gets
underway in
Spanning 3,000
square metres, the three-day exposition is attracting 400 pavilions
showcasing a wide range of modern computers and components, tablets, and
smart phones.
Asus is also
introducing a new series of tablets to Vietnamese consumers including the –
ASUS FonePad FE375CG and FE380CG – the best selling tablet cum phone last
summer in
Additionally, two
fashion-forward designs the MeMO Pad 7 ME572CL and MeMO Pad 8 ME581CL are set
to display, bringing more options for Vietnamese users in the peak shopping
season.
Within the
framework of the exhibition, the final rounds of two major technological
talent search contests with total cash prizes of VND200 million are planned.
ASUS, a
technology-oriented company with a global staff of more than 10,000 and
blessed with one of the world’s top R&D teams, is renowned for its
high-quality products and cutting-edge innovation.
Based on
consumption data, the Mekong Delta region plans to gradually reduce the scale
of its Tra fish production and apply a series of measures to enhance fish
quality in 2015–2016, according to the Vietnam Tra Fish Association (VTFA).
The plan foresees a
reduction of the Tra fish farming area by 500ha each year from the current
6,400ha.
A new
environmentally friendly breeding technique will be implemented, helping
increase the average productivity of Tra fish farming in the region to
180–200 tons per ha, compared to 160 tons per ha today.
Estimates reckon
that in 2016, Tra fish output will total 1.2 million tonnes and the value of
exports will reach at least 2 billion USD.
The region plans to
change the production lines in all its Tra fish processing factories to cut
production costs, improve quality and add value. Some 320 breeding facilities
in nine provinces will be upgraded to produce high-quality breeding fish for
farmers.
Vo Hung Dung, VTFA
Vice Chairman, said attempts to boost Tra fish sales in international markets
requires appropriate commercial protective measures and more promotional
efforts in potential new markets, such as Russia, China and India.
During the first
nine months of 2014, the region’s total volume of Tra fish production was
776,000 tonnes, of which 490,000 tonnes were exported, generating 1.27
billion USD. This year Tra fish export is expected to hit 1.8 billion USD.
Can Tho
plans new air routes to boost tourism
The Mekong Delta
city of
The city hopes that
the new routes will bring more foreign as well as domestic visitors from
these places.
Also next year the
city plans to develop tourism services and products and organise events to
attract foreign tourists.
This year the city
hopes to welcome 1.3 million visitors, an increase of four percent over last
year.
Hisao Tanaka,
Toshiba’s president and CEO last week announced the group’s comprehensive
strategy for expanding its business in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and
doubling its current sales to $7 billion by 2019.
“Southeast Asia
currently enjoys positive benefits
For
MoU signed
between Kinh Bac and LG for latter’s
The memorandum of
understanding (MoU) was signed last week during an investment promotion
conference held by the Haiphong Municipal People’s Committee in
LG Electronics
previously leased 40 hectares of land in the
The investment
promotion conference last week also attracted 50 South Korean companies,
which are looking for opportunities to act as suppliers for LG Electronics in
Koreans
drive industrialisation
Increasing
investment from South Korean companies in the areas of energy, electronics
and manufacturing are helping facilitate
South Korean giants
including Samsung Electronics, Doosan Heavy Industries, Kumho Asiana, Lotte
and Posco have all heavily invested into
Samsung
Electronics, the world’s largest electronics firm, has already committed $8
billion to
Since Samsung
Electronics built its first mobile phone factory in Bac Ninh in 2007, the
company has helped
Export revenue from
electronics products is expected to further increase next year, when Samsung
puts its manufacturing complex in Thai Nguyen province into full operation
and LG Electronics starts production on its $1.5 billion complex in
The focus of Korean
transnational companies on
“In the past we
could only attract Korean investment into light industries, but there is a
growing trend towards more advanced industries,” said Do Nhat Hoang, director
of the FIA.
“
Hong Sun, general
secretary of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said
Posco Group, for
example, has said it considers
Kumho Asiana, which
built a $100 million tyre factory in southern Binh Duong province in 2008, is
planning to expand its investment in
Another Korean
firm, Doosan, is preparing to expand the second phase of its production base
in
Lotte Consortium –
a joint venture between
Early this month,
Lotte opened the Lotte Centre Hanoi - a major apartment, office, shopping and
entertainment tower.
US$130-million
integrated business park to go up in city
The joint venture
was revealed on September 25 when HCMC Chairman Le Hoang Quan presented the
investment certificate to William Tay, CEO for Ascendas Southeast Asia, and
Vo Sy Nhan, Managing Director of Saigon Bund Capital Partners under the
witness of Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister and former Prime Minister
of Singapore at the City Hall.
Ascendas said in a
statement that the issuance of the investment certificate is the approval by
the authorities of
The 60:40 joint
venture will develop a 12-hectare land plot at the main entrance of Saigon Hi-Tech
Park in District 9. The OneHub Saigon development costs S$163 million (some
US$130 million) and will be directly connected to a future station of Metro
Line No.1 under construction at the moment.
Ascendas executives
said OneHub Saigon will be implemented in different phases in over seven
years depending on market requirements. The first phase will commence with
quality business spaces for companies in hi-tech manufacturing industries,
information technology, media and outsourcing industries.
Components of Phase
1 will also consist of a mixed-use development with retail components to
cater to existing demand in the vicinity. The business spaces and amenities
within the park will be developed to meet international green standards to
promote environmental and community sustainability.
Tay of Ascendas
said the company has already established a presence in
Nhan of Saigon Bund
Capital Partners believed that the joint venture will build a successful
integrated development that will set “a new benchmark for a dynamic and
creative working environment in Saigon Hi-Tech Park.”
OneHub Saigon will
be another project in the OneHub series of developments by Ascendas in
Located 15
kilometers away from HCMC’s downtown area, Saigon Hi-Tech Park is one of
important economic projects aimed to drive the city’s development till 2025.
As of last month, the park had attracted a total investment capital of US$2.5
billion from over 60 multinational companies, including Intel, Nidec, Sanofi
Aventis and Air Liquide as well as major Vietnamese technology companies such
as FPT.
Singapore-based
Ascendas has built a strong regional presence and serves a global clientele
of more than 2,700 customers in 26 cities across 10 countries and
territories, including
Saigon Bund Capital
Partners is an investment company with offices in
Formosa
incident impacts budget revenue of Ha Tinh
Ha
The central
province had posted budget revenue of VND2.645 trillion as of September 19,
equivalent to 68% of the year’s target assigned by the Ministry of Finance
and 43% of the target approved by the provincial People’s Council.
If the taxes and
fees paid by
The shrinking
budget revenue of Ha Tinh was attributable to contracting tax and fee
collections from foreign contractors and enterprises after new regulations on
value-added, corporate and personal income taxes took effect on January 1
this year and the incident at Vung Ang Economic Zone on May 14.
Formosa paid
VND1.083 trillion in tax and environmental protection fee in the
January-August period last year but only VND462 billion in the same period
this year.
As reported by
agencies,
An executive of
Formosa told the Daily earlier this year that the company had disbursed over
US$4.2 billion for the steel project in Vietnam as of the end of June but had
not earned any revenue from the project.
Government
bonds to be transacted online
The Internet site
for online transactions of Government bonds will be put into use soon,
marking a big change on the Vietnamese bond market.
Nguyen Thi Hoang
Lan, vice chairperson and deputy CEO of the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), said
the northern bourse will operate the site with many products and information
for investors. This online transaction channel is being test-run.
More products and
new transaction tools on both primary and secondary markets will be developed
and offered in the coming time, she said, adding HNX will also launch the
Bond Index this month.
Together with the
yield curve, the bond index is a market indicator assisting investors in
calculating bond prices and forecasting investment trends, which is expected
to help boost participation of members and investors in Government bond
transactions.
Derivatives like
zero-coupon bond, when-issued, sell/buy repo, borrowing/lending repo and
cross-currency repo have been studied, which have attracted much attention
from members and investors.
The Government bond
transaction system on HNX will be connected with the information system of
Bloomberg, making it easier for investors to search for information and make
transactions on only one screen, and facilitating access of foreign investors
to the Vietnamese bond market.
Compared to bond
markets in the region,
To make
In addition,
favorable conditions for insurance and financial companies and pension funds
to join the market will be created. HNX encourages the participation of
foreign investors by adjusting tax policies and bond transaction fees as well
as offering hedging mechanisms for those investors.
Much higher
tax sums collected from Chinese goods
The tax sum imposed
on each container of Chinese goods has been revised up by four to five times
as relevant agencies bolstered their fight against smuggling, the General
Department of Customs said in an anti-smuggling report just issued.
Accordingly, each
container is taxed at VND125 million on average, or VND100 million higher
than before, the report said.
Smuggled goods from
The report did not
mention how many containers of Chinese goods have been taxed by HCMC Customs
Department. However, the general department will continue to warn customs
departments nationwide against the illicit trade of Chinese consumer goods.
According to
Vietnam News Agency, the HCMC Customs Department has uncovered various
illegal, counterfeit and substandard products packaged in containers shipped
from
Customs authorities
in
There have been as
many as 13,700 smuggling cases worth an estimated VND240 billion reported in
the country in the January-September period, dropping 36% in the number of
cases but rising 15% in value year-on-year.
The International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
recently honoured a number of countries, including
Mutation breeding,
which uses radiation to mimic natural plant mutation events, is a
well-established method that enables plant breeders to work with farmers to
develop variations of rice, barley, sesame and other crops that are
higher-yielding and more resistant to diseases.
The awards were
initiated by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and
Agriculture to celebrate successes achieved so far, promote the development
of further sustainable crop varieties, and ensure national food security.
"Through the
use of plant mutation breeding, nuclear techniques help to create new strains
of plants with characteristics that allow them to resist disease and thrive
under harsh conditions, such as high altitudes and saline soils," IAEA
Director General Amano said at the awards ceremony on September 24.
The Agriculture
Genetics Institute under the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS)
won three out of 23 awards, including an Achievement Award.
Since the IAEA
provided support since the 1980s, Vietnamese agricultural research institutes
have obtained many outstanding achievements in breeding better crop varieties
which are higher-yielding and more resistant to diseases.
The awards
presentation was held in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Joint
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)/Division of Nuclear Techniques in
Food and Agriculture (IAEA).
SeABank
recognised by Global Banking & Finance Review
Southeast Asia
Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) has been honoured by Global Banking and
Finance Review (GBAF) for its innovative investment and financial solutions
in three categories of its banking awards.
GBAF named SeABank
as ‘Best Bank for Project Financing 2014’, ‘Best Co-Branded Credit Card 2014’
and ‘Best Young Banking Leader Vietnam 2014’.
Ms. Le Thu Thuy,
Standing Deputy Chairman of the SeABank Board of Directors, was also selected
as the best young banking leader in 2014 for her extraordinary contributions
to the development of SeABank.
Ms Thuy said the
awards prove the strong innovativeness of SeABank, particularly in the fields
of financing and developing card services. In the future, SeABank will strive
to make even greater efforts to provide the best quality products and
services to customers.
GBAF is the
Eximbank
cited ‘Best Bank in
Vietnam Export
Import Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Eximbank) last week was named the “Best
Bank in Vietnam 2014” by the world’s leading financial magazine Euromoney.
This is the second
consecutive year in a row Euromoney has chosen Eximbank for the prestigious
award.
Key selection
criteria included total revenues, total assets and pretax profits.
At present,
Eximbank’s market capitalization is estimated at US$747 million and it is one
of the few joint-stock commercial banks in
Euromoney, a
London-based financial communications company, is one of the world’s leading
publications for the global banking and capital markets.
Supporting
industries are playing an important role in the long-term sustainable
economic growth and foreign investment attraction, said the Vietnam Economic
News on September 29.
According to Dang
Van Chi, Deputy General Director of N&G Investment and Development JSC,
an investor in the Hanoi Southern Supporting Industrial Park (Hanssip),
despite successfully attracting large corporations such as Samsung, Nokia,
Toshiba, Honda, Panasonic, and Canon, Vietnam has to spend billions of
dollars on importing components or raw materials for these corporations.
Many firms admit
that their production depends too much on import of inputs, he said.
Supporting
industries also help improving competitiveness of industrial products,
promoting new technologies, and developing domestic small and medium
enterprises develop, added Chi.
According to
Director of Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade Le Hong Thang, along
with specific solutions for capital and infrastructure, the government and
local authorities need to issue policies to further promote the development
of supporting industries. For example,
According to Deputy
Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong, global economic
integration requires close links between national and international
companies.
“The most important
issue is how to find outlets for support industrial products to promote
sales. Once you have a market, you will need financial sources for
sustainable business development,” Chairman of Hanoi Supporting Industries
Business Association Nguyen Hoang was cited as saying.-
Rice output
forecast at 45 million tonnes for 2014
By mid-September,
farmers in southern and Mekong Delta’s provinces harvested summer-autumn rice
on 1.81 million hectares, with average yields up 120 kg per hectare compared
to the previous crop.
The Mekong Delta
also has harvested about half of the 625,000 ha planted with summer-autumn
rice.
At the same time,
farmers across the country have planted rice on more than 1,659 million ha
for the winter crop, almost the same as the cultivation area in comparison
with 2013.
The winter rice is
growing well thanks to favourable weather and good irrigation, according to
MARD.-
Fisheries
development policy implemented in central region
A meeting was
recently held in Quang Ngai province to realise a Government decree on
fisheries development in the central region.
The event was
attended by representatives from the central provinces of Quang Ngai, Quang
Nam, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Da Nang city, fishing businesses,
local fishermen, and a number of commercial banks, including BIDV, Agribank,
Viettinbank, Vietcombank and MHB.
Speaking at the
conference, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh stressed
that
He said that Decree
67/2014/ND-CP provides a full, systematic and synchronous set of basic
policies to boost fisheries development, including supporting fishermen in
building high-capacity, iron-covered ships designed for offshore fishing, a
practice that could earn fishermen higher incomes.
It is considered a
leverage for localities to improve fishing efficiency, thus contributing to
protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands, he added.
Participants
suggested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development promptly approve
and publicise a list of preferred ship models so that individuals and
businesses could take out loans for the construction of new ships. Meanwhile,
the Ministry of Finance should guide and organise the implementation of
insurance policies.
The provincial
People’s Committees were asked to select ship-owners based on their previous
business experience and support them in applying for loans from banks.
According to the
decree, commercial banks are responsible for guiding fishermen to complete
loan procedures.
For those who borrow
money to build ships, especially iron-covered ones, the decree regulates a
preferential interest rate of 1-3 percent per year, the lowest level at
present, for 11-year loans. Loan limit also stands high, about 70-95 percent
of the newly-built ship value.
Thua
Thien-Hue greenlights more FDI projects
The central
The newly
registered projects include a 25 million USD shrimp breeding facility and a 5
million USD project to build infrastructure for Tu Ha industrial park.
Authorities plan to
pour over 22 billion VND (1.03 million USD) to build infrastructure at local
industrial parks and support construction firms in ground clearance, mine
removal, and building waste treatment plants.
As of September,
local FDI businesses grossed 495 million USD in revenue, contributing 1.3
trillion VND (around 68 million USD) to the State budget, up 7.5 percent over
the previous year.
Thua Thien-Hue is
now home to 79 FDI projects with a total registered capital of 2.2 billion
USD.
Austrian
enterpries eye growing
Thirteen Austrian
energy and environmental companies attended the meeting to learn more about
the market and seek potential partners.
Economic and trade
co-operation between the two countries have grown considerably in recent
years. Two-way trade rose from US$175 million in 2007 to US$1.3 billion in
2012 - and US$$2.1 billion in 2013.
However, the
results were considered low compared with the potential, said Doan Duy
Khuong, vice-chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
He said
Therefore, the
market could grow from
He said the Vietnam
Government was trying to complete the country's legal regulatory framework
and develop better market mechanisms to create favorable condition for
companies to come to
The business
meeting is held by the VCCI, the Austrian Embassy and Advantage
Khuong said that
the VCCI was willing to co-operate with trade promotion agencies in other
countries to organise similar events.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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