Social News 10/12 Vietnam attends 32nd conference of Red Cross and Red Crescent Vietnam is attending the ongoing 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Geneva, which opened in Geneva on December 8 to discuss humanitarian issues. The country is among more than 190 state parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. In his opening address, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Peter Maurer said the world has entered an era in which “armed conflicts are greater in complexity and numbers of actors, longer in duration, wider in their regional impacts, broader in tactics and weapons used and, above all, more atrocious in the human suffering they cause”. Maurer called on all state members to scale up their response and make it more relevant to existing needs. He also proposed stronger cooperation and coordination within the Movement, which must be tailored to the realities of each context and each component’s mandate. Earlier, the General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has adopted a new 1-billion-Swiss franc Plan and Budget for the expansion of its support to vulnerable communities around the world. According to IFRC Secretary-General Elhadj As Sy, the budget reflects the increasing scale and complexity of humanitarian needs. The global strengths of the Red Cross and Red Crescent were built up by its communities at the local level. The organisation has 17 million volunteers and has established its presence in more than 165,000 local branches from the largest cities to the most remote villages in 190 countries. The Vietnam Red Cross Society joined the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in November 4, 1957 during the IFRC General Assembly in New Delhi, India. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement includes the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Exchange activities held between Viet Duc, Kurume Shogyo high schools Cultural and sport events were organised during a student exchange between Viet Duc High School and 250 teachers and students from Kurome Shogyo High School in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan held in Hanoi on December 8. The event is part of student exchange programmes between Vietnam and Japan in general and Hanoi and Kukuoka prefecture in particular. Viet Duc High School treasures its relations with Japanese high schools, Viet Duc Deputy Principal Nguyen Boi Quynh said, adding that she hoped the exchange would help Japanese friends gain a deeper understanding about Vietnamese people and culture. For his part, Kurume Shogyo High School Principal Egashira Arika said that this is the first exchange organised between Kurume and Viet Duc. Such exchange events will open new opportunities for students from the two countries to learn from each other, he added. Fukuoka prefecture and Hanoi have a long-lasting friendship. A number of Japanese students have been sent for cultural exchange events with Viet Duc High School. In 2016, Kurume will bring 2,000 students to join an exchange programme with other high schools in Hanoi. In a bid to become a multilingual high school, Viet Duc is continuing to develop Japanese teaching and studying, as well as orient students to pursue further studies in Japan. New constructions denied licences after fire safety violations Ha Noi People's Committee has stopped granting investment licences for new building projects in Ha Noi to Dien Bien Construction Company No1. The company's director is Le Thanh Than, a real estate developer in Viet Nam and chairman of the Muong Thanh Hotel Group, which has a chain of five-star Muong Thanh Hotels throughout the country and many apartment projects in Ha Noi. The move followed an official letter No 8558/UBND-XDGT issued by the city's People's Committee, which ordered the Ha Noi Fire Fighting Police to report the results of the inspections on the fire-fighting systems in buildings projects of Than's company in Ha Noi. The results showed that many of the construction projects funded by Dien Bien Construction Company No 1 had violated fire safety regulations. Some of them in Ha Noi had even reported incidents of fire. The most recent incident reportedly was the fire that erupted in the basement of the 34-storey CT4 buildings in Xa La urban area in Ha Noi's Ha Dong District on October 11, damaging two parking levels in an area of 1,533 square metres. In September, there were two other fires at Building CT5 in Xa La Urban Area and Building HH4 in Linh Dam Urban Area, both high-rise residential buildings financed by Than's company. The causes of these fires were all blamed on negligence and ignorance of fire safety regulations by the investor and residents. After the inspection, Ha Noi Fire Fighting Police and the city's Department of Construction instructed Than's company to implement detailed solutions to improve the fire-fighting systems at its projects. The department and government agencies were ordered to strictly ensure that the company implemented these solutions. Ha Noi Fire Fighting Police also proposed to Ha Noi People's Committee that the city police should impose a criminal penalty on the company if it does not follow the instructions of the government agencies in accordance with Article 240 of the Criminal Code. Vietnam mogul agrees to dismantle illegal palace after 3rd deadline extension   The illegally-constructed villa. The family of a gold mining magnate in central Vietnam has guaranteed to pull down a multimillion-dollar palace he had built without permission by next February, finally enabling local authorities to finish their desperate handling of the illegal estate. Ngo Van Quang, director of a gold company based in Quang Nam Province, had repeatedly asked to extend the deadline to demolish his VND100 billion (US$4.58 million) palace, illegally constructed inside the boundaries of a special-use forest near the Hai Van Mountain in Da Nang City. He even did not show up at a Monday meeting with the administration of Lien Chieu District, where the palace is situated, which was seen as the last meeting to fold the case, as he was not in the locale then. However, his family guaranteed on his behalf at the meeting that the bulky estate will bite the dust no later than February 2016. “The family will tear down the palace of their own accord,” Dam Quang Hung, deputy chairman of Lien Chieu District, confirmed after the meeting. The demolition is to follow a directive the Da Nang administration issued in February 4, which eventually failed to be realized on time due to repeated petitions filed by Quang to retain his palace. The gold mining magnet should have demolished the property within 35 days from February 4, according to the fiat. But he managed to win approval to extend the deadline to August 30, then November 30, through a number of appeals, including one submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung late last month. The Da Nang administration in fact had to delay the demolition pending an order from the premier when it was only days away from the November 30 deadline. While authorities in Da Nang are totally authorized to handle an illegal construction in the locale, the public wondered why the municipal administration failed to settle down the case sooner. In late 2014, when the costly palace of Quang was discovered, the administration of Lien Chieu District also found Major General Phan Nhu Thach, former director of the Quang Nam Police Department, having a 4,000 hectare villa built without permission on the same mountain. Authorities then fined the owners of both properties VND22.5 million ($1,000) each for the illegal construction work, and demanded that they clear their buildings. While Thach obeyed the order, having his villa dismantled in March, Quang has repeatedly called on different agencies to keep his building. Vinafood2’s violations damage over US$9.3 million The Government Inspectorate yesterday announced that Vietnam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood2) and some subsidiaries broke many regulations in management, capital and asset use  in 2012-2013 causing a total damage of VND206 billion (US$9.3 million). The parent company loaned and stood security for some companies to get loans not in accordance with regulations and beyond its competence with a total capital of VND1.78 trillion. In the aftermath of these, Vinafood2 had to pay VND28 billion in debts by Hau Giang Joint Stock Company, faced difficulties in reclaiming VND80.16 billion of loans from To Chau Joint Stock Company and danger of paying VND93.42 billion bank loans for Binh Tay Company Ltd and VND57 billion for To Chau Company. Capital contribution and use of VND47.21 billion in the establishment of Hoa Sen Shipping Company also showed many violations, inefficiency and state capital loss of VND23 billion. The parent company’s purchase of Vietnam Ocean Shipping Joint Stock Company’s stakes worth VND60 billion and Samvi Mineral Water Company’s stocks with a total value of VND14.41 billion did not follow procedure order and proved inefficiency. Besides, it bought Samvi shares worth VND455 million not by nominate value, did not receive annual dividend and must spend VND55.04 billion on provision for stock devaluation. Vinafood2 also failed to abide by Government regulations on rice purchase for stockpiling, neither bought rice directly from farmers nor organized a purchase and sale system to ensure a profit margin of at least 30 percent for farmers. Its dependent accounting companies broke regulations on organization and operation, purchase, sale and supply of goods and services with a total amount of VND62 trillion. They include Vinh Long, An Giang, Dong Thap, Tien Giang, Bac Lieu and Soc Trang food companies. These violations resulted in capital appropriation, bad debts and high risk of capital loss. Some companies did not use capital and assets in accordance with regulations, had no measures to handle unused properties, signed contracts and made payments of projects without approved feasibility study. They bought goods at a volume beyond norms set by the corporation, spent short term capital on shopping, raised fund without permission of the corporation with a total number of over VND3 trillion and US$63 million, reducing production and trading effectiveness. Independent accounting companies also made many violations. Ho Chi Minh City Food One Member Company Ltd bought shares of Tam Phu Khoi with a total value of VND12.4 billion, conducted capital contribution without trading projects causing unprofitable investment and loss of VND6.1 billion. Binh Tay Company Ltd paid VND1.44 billion for shares of Binh Tay Packaging Company without investment project and did not receive dividend in 2013. The process of goods purchase and sale was not close, contract signing and implementation breached regulations of the corporation with a total amount of VND2.22 trillion. These caused doubtful debts, ineffective business, loss-making forcing the parent company to provide for depreciation of long term financial investment and enter in the accounts in 2013 with a total amount of VND227 billion. The Government inspectorate also announced many violations in land management and construction investment at the corporation and some without the Prime Minister’s approval to suit targets, strategies and long term plans. Implementation of these projects breached the law. Warehouse development was behind plan building only 35 out of 40 projects with total value of VND1.76 trillion, construction was slow, warehouse use productivity was low reaching only 30 percent of design, equipment use rate reached only 40 percent, the exploitation of these facilities did not suit designs reducing production and trading efficiency. From inspection results, the inspectorate proposed the Government to instruct ministries and Vinafood2 to implement mechanisms to rectify management. It also suggested the Government to handle violations of nearly VND206 billion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance to make related individuals and companies responsible for breaking regulations. The corporation must carry out disciplinary actions for its violations, handle related teams and individuals and member companies for breaking capital use and management regulations with a total amount of VND9.9 trillion and US$63 million. 364 young-achievers to join 2nd congress of Vietnamese young talents The 2nd congress of Vietnamese young talents will be held in Hanoi from December 11-13, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union announced on December 9. This year’s event themed “Vietnamese young talents join hands to build the country” is expected to attract 364 delegates who are outstanding young people in various fields nationwide. The congress aims to access the work and situation of Vietnamese young talents in the 2010-2015 period, and their direction of the work from 2015-2020. The event will also honor most excellent people who have made great contribution to the country’s development. Eight forums will be set up to participants able to exchange ideas and share experiences on building and developing the country. Second hand bottles used for fake spirits While empty bottles of famous spirits are being sold at good prices in Vietnam as collectibles, some have been used for producing fake products. Empty bottles of famous spirits are being sold at good prices Yen, a bottle seller, said the market for empty bottles started around 15 years ago. The majority of customers are young men who like to collect bottles from famous brands. The bottles of Chivas are especially popular. An empty bottle of 18 years-old Chivas sold at VND50,000 (USD2.27), while a 21 year-old bottle is worth VND120,000. Bottles of Louis XIII, Macallan 1946 or Dewar's are rarer but can be sold at VND5m (USD222) to VND10m (USD444) per bottle. A Martell L’Or bottle can be sold for VND20m. Hung, a bottle seller in HCM City said some collectors wanted to buy one to two bottles for each kind of brand Hung had to decorate their houses. However, parts of these bottles have been sold to fake liquor manufacturers. On January 28, police in Pleiku City busted a large fake alcohol manufacturing facility. The police discovered over 600 empty bottles, 240 faked brand stickers and 1,000 stamps for imported goods. They also seized 108 bottles of fake Chivas, dozens of boxes of vodka and various kinds of spirits. Nguyen Thai Hao, the facility's owner, said they mixed pigments with several kinds of liquor, including Hankey Bannister and vodka, before pouring it into a Chivas bottle which they bought from scrap collectors. On September 3, Hanoi police arrested Quach Ngan Giang for producing and trading fake alcohol. According to Giang, they bought Black, a Laotian liquor sold at VND300,000 for 12 bottles, to produce dozens of Chivas bottles. In three months, they created 60 bottles of 12 year-old Chivas and 80 bottles of Chivas 18 and five bottles of Chivas 21. Dak Lak public hospitals cannot pay their employees Public hospitals in the central highland Dak Lak Province are facing the risk of running out of money and not being able to pay their doctors and health workers. Fourteen hospitals reportedly face financial trouble as of now, the provincial health department said. Among all, Buon Ma Thuot General Hospital tops the list as it owes its 277 employees up to VND3.1 billion ($138,400), with the November salaries amounting to VND1.5 billion ($67,000). An officer, speaking on behalf of the hospital's director, said the lack of money was due to declining revenues. The total revenues of the hospital this year were projected to be VND61 billion ($2.7 million), with VND6.65 billion ($296,000) to be given out as employee salaries. However, the actual turnover of the hospital -- VND54.7 billion ($2.4 million) -- fell short by 11 per cent and the funds were just enough for paying employee salaries till October. A report by the Dak Lak Health Department said all 14 hospitals were in the same boat, with the total money owed till the end of the year being more than VND15 billion ($669,600). Along with Buon Ma Thuoät General Hospital, Buon Ho General Hospital owes its employees VND3.2 billion ($142,800). Other hospitals owe between VND131 million and VND1.6 billion ($5,800-$71,400). Doan Huu Long, general director of the health department, told online newspaper Thanhnien that local hospitals used to estimate the revenue of the coming year to be always higher than the previous year, but the actual revenue did not match the anticipated target due to many reasons. "One reason is that the private health sector is growing strong, and therefore the number of patients coming to public hospitals is falling." Tran Vu Son, deputy head of the accounting-financial office of the provincial health department, said the department would ask the financial department to support the payment of salaries by the hospitals. This week, the financial department will submit a plan to the provincial Ppeople's Committee. If it is accepted, the money will be disbursed early. According to Decree 43/2006/ND-CP, after deducting the costs of medicines and medical supplies for patients, 35 per cent of the remaining money will be sent to the salary reform fund, which is used to support employees in case salaries change. However, the revenue of 2015 was lower than expected, and so the people's committee asked local hospitals to use the salary reform fund to pay the salaries of doctors and staff. — Cross-border drug trafficking ring uncovered A drug trafficking ring extending from Cambodia to Viet Nam was discovered on Wednesday by the police force in HCM City and the border province of Tay Ninh. The police arrested four suspects and seized 21 packs of heroin and VND4 billion (US$178,000) and $5,250 in cash. A heroin pack weighs about 380g to 400g. The arrested persons are Phan Van Quoc, born in 1992 and a resident of Trang Bang District in Tay Ninh Province; Nguyen Van Phu, born in 1964; Tran Thanh Cuong, born in 1981 in HCM City; and Dang Hoang Lam, born in 1985 in Ben Tre Province. The gang bought heroin from Cambodia and sold it in Viet Nam. Quoc was arrested while transporting four heroin packs from the border area to Cu Chi District of HCM City. Following the clues they got, the police seized Cuong in the act of receiving 15 packs of the drug, as also VND50 million and US$5,000 from Phu's house. The police also found two more packs of the drug, VND3 billion and US$250 at Phu's house. Phu said during interrogation that he had bought about 50 drug packs, worth US$9,700 each, from dealers in Cambodia. Then he sold them to Cuong for distribution in the southern provinces. Illegal salbutamol trade uncovered in HCM City The public security ministry's environmental police department (C49) and the agriculture and rural development ministry's inspectorate smashed a salbutamol trafficking ring yesterday in HCM City after two months of investigation. Salbutamol is a substance that is not permitted to be used in animal breeding. The medication helps in the treatment of asthma, exercise-induced bronchospasm, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and high blood potassium levels, but is misused by farmers to stimulate growth in animals and make them lean. Yesterday morning, C49 scouts ambushed 26-year-old Vo Van Thanh, a resident of the southern Tien Giang Province, when he was buying plastic bags containing smooth white powder from E-Birds Aquaculture Ltd. Co, located in Van Kiep Street in Ward 3 of HCM City's Binh Thanh District. A quick test showed that the powder contained 98 per cent pure salbutamol. Thanh said he was told to buy lean-meat agents for farmers while he was being hired to carry cattle food and medicines. Thanh bought salbutamol for VND6 million (US$272) per kilogram from E-bird Company, headed by 39-year-old Tran Van Bui from the southern Soc Trang Province, and sold it to farmers in the southern Dong Nai Province and HCM City for VND7 million ($318) per kilogram. At 3pm yesterday, the police seized 0.5kg of salbutamol being carried by 40-year-old Tran Cong Dai in Cong Lo Street in HCM City's Tan Binh District. Dai also said he had bought the banned substance from Bui. Police raided Bui's company and discovered 17 types of chemicals in liquid and powder forms being placed in oil drums, bottles and packs. Bui said he had bought the chemicals in Kim Bien Market in HCM City's Ward 5 with the aim of making aquaculture medicine. The bottles did not have any trademarks and some of the thousands of packs carried "super weight gain," "fuel shrimp quickly" labels. The functional authorities found a blue oil drum hidden in the kitchen, which contained 17.5kg of smooth white powder. It was labelled "salbutamol sulphate bp2010" and had been imported from India, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported. The banned substance was reportedly purchased by Bui from a pharmacy company in Binh Thanh District for VND2 million ($90). According to an investigator, the prohibited substance is imported by businesses and secretly sold to magnates for VND2.5 million ($114) to VND6 million ($272) per kilogram. Then it is sold to farmers for VND8 million ($363). One kilogram of salbutamol can be mixed with 10 tonnes of food. E-Birds Aquaculture Ltd. Co registered for a licence to sell medicines, and for biological and aquaculture production in 2011. Yesterday evening, two other traffickers, Nguyen The Hau and Le Minh Tuan, were caught while carrying 2.5kg of salbutamol. The case is under further investigation. Local students cruise to Hult Prize finals in Shanghai in 2016 Four members of the Wild team from HCMC Foreign Trade University (FTU2) have defeated four other teams to enter the regional final round of the 7th Hult Prize Challenge, a start-up contest, in Shanghai next March. The annual contest is founded and supported by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative to search for ideas to cope with global warming. Students worldwide will compete for a grand price of US$1 million for their start-up projects. This year, FTU2 was chosen to host the national Hult Prize themed “Crowded Urban Space.” The Wild team consisting of Nguyen Thi Ai Trang, Vo Thi Phuong, Pham Ngoc Thai Hoang and Tran Anh Tung is among 350 teams eligible for the regional final but there will be only one of six spots to the world’s finals in New York. Team leader Nguyen Thi Ai Trang told the Daily that they had little time to prepare for the contest. The team submitted their idea only three hours prior to the deadline and was proud to be the national winner. Trang noted their idea is to both protect the environment and people’s health by creating a building from containers. The container building will be located next to a farm and wastewater from residents will be treated to irrigate herbs grown in the farm through a spraying system. The team is in the process of completing their project for the finals in Shanghai. Toll collection right transfer plan okayed for expy The Ministry of Transport has approved a plan to transfer the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway toll collection right before July next year. The plan was decided at a meeting in Hanoi last week. At the meeting, the ministry called on Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) to request contractors to quickly complete auxiliary components of the 245-km expressway, the longest in Vietnam. According to a report by VEC, 137,000 toll collection tickets of the expressway had been lost in the year to end-August. Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang urged VEC to coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to review priority vehicles using the expressway such as ambulances, and get tough on violators of traffic rules. The minister also requested VEC to change toll collectors to ensure transparency and prevent toll revenue losses.       Currently, VEC is working on plans for transferring toll collection rights to a number of expressways in Vietnam. Mai Tuan Anh, general director of VEC, told the Daily earlier that many domestic and international investors have expressed interest in acquiring expressway operation rights in the country. Potential domestic investors include Bitexco and Sovico. Companies from the U.S., Japan and France have come to explore the possibility of acquiring expressway operation rights, and France’s Vinci Group is interested in three expressway projects. VEC is mulling plans to sell stakes in expressway operation enterprises to investors. Opened to traffic in September 2014, the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway goes through five northern localities, namely Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Cai. The section from Hanoi to Yen Bai has four lanes and two emergency lanes while the Yen Bai-Lao Cai section has four lanes with two for emergencies. The US$1.5-billion expressway helps halve travelling time between Hanoi and the mountainous province of Lao Cai to 3.5 hours and facilitate goods transportation between northwestern and northeastern localities. Growing number of elderly women requires more policy attention Vietnam should pay more policy attention to elderly women given the fact that the number of them is now much higher than that of elderly men, an official has said. Mai Xuan Phuong, Deputy Director of the General Office for Population and Family Planning’s Communication-Education Division, added elderly women are likely to face more risks than their male peers in regard to income and access to medical services as most of old people in Vietnam do not have pension or allowance while bearing disease burdens. He elaborated that there are 200 women aged 80 and above in every 100 men of the same age group in Vietnam at present. The respective ratios for the 70-79 and 60-69 age groups are 149/100 and 131/100. The 2009 general census showed the number of elderly widows were almost 5.5 times higher than that of elderly widowers. Meanwhile, the number of people aged between 60 and 69 increased slowly. A faster speed was seen in the expansion of the age groups of 70-79 and 80 and above, according to four censuses conducted from 1979 to 2009. The General Statistics Office forecast in 2010 that the oldest age group, 80 and over, will surge at the most rapid pace between 2009 and 2049 when Vietnam enters the phase of aging population. Such a speed will also have strong impacts on the family structure. There is now an increasing number of the elderly, including those who live single due to the growing trend towards nuclear family (consisting of only parents and children). A survey on household living standards revealed that the rate of the elderly living with their children sank from nearly 80 percent in 1993 to 62 percent in 2008. Notably, the rate of old singles or families with only elderly couples hiked sharply, from 12 percent to 30 percent during the period. New-style rural building highlighted with infrastructure development Infrastructure development appeared as the most outstanding achievement of the national target programme on new-style rural area building in the 2010-2015 period, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat. Up to 75 percent of local budgets and the majority of financial contributions by the public have been spent on infrastructure, Minister Phat said at a conference in Hanoi on December 8 to review the five-year implementation of the programme. Better infrastructure has facilitated socio-economic development and increase direct benefits to the population, he noted. The official cited that 36.4 percent of communes nationwide have fulfilled the criterion of transport, 61.4 percent have met the irrigation criterion, and 82.4 percent have satisfied that of rural electricity. Most of the localities have devised their own commodity production development plans which are based on their advantages, the minister said, adding that about 22,500 agro-forestry-fishery production models are now active across the country. Such localities as Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa have redesigned their transport and irrigation systems to pave the way for the mechanisation of farming work. Other provinces like Thai Binh, Ha Tinh, An Giang, Hau Giang and Dong Thap have raised the rate of mechanisation in farming from 40-50 percent to 80-90 percent thanks to policies that support farmers in purchasing ploughing, mowing, and drying machines. About 2,500 large-scale field models were set up in 43 provinces, covering about 556,000 hectares. Many production chain models were also formed in husbandry, aquaculture and forestry. Vocational training for rural labourers has also born significant outcomes. Around 56.5 percent of communes have satisfied the criterion of income and 85.5 percent have met that of employment. Nearly 1.300 communes (14.5 percent) and 11 districts nationwide have been recognised as new-style rural areas to date. However, Minister Phat admitted that the programme has failed to achieve the target of having 20 percent of communes recognised as new-style rural areas in 2015 as set in Resolution 7 of the Party Central Committee (10 th tenure). He said production development in combination with agricultural restructuring, building cultural life in residential areas and environmental protection have not yet received due attention. Additionally, a big gap in outcomes remains between localities and regions, he said, citing the 34 percent and 23.5 percent recorded in the Southeastern and Red River Delta regions, compared with the moderate 7 percent in the northern mountainous and the Central Highlands localities. During 2015-2020, half of the communes nationwide are projected to meet all the requirements and each province and centrally-run city is expected to have at least one district recognised as new-style rural area. There will be no communes fulfilling fewer than five criteria. To meet the targets, the minister stressed the need to increase communication work among officials and locals and accelerate production development in combination with agricultural restructuring, along with investment attraction, the application of scientific-technological advances and vocational training. Vietnam health agency to thoroughly inspect Coca-Cola, PepsiCo Four major beverage makers in Vietnam are expected to undergo a comprehensive inspection next year, the health inspectorate said Monday. The health inspection department is seeking approval from the Ministry of Health on the list of firms to be under the radar in 2016, which include Coca-Cola Vietnam, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage, Wonderfarm and URC Vietnam Co. Ltd. URC Vietnam is the Vietnamese business of Universal Robina Corporation, one of the largest branded consumer food and beverage product companies in the Philippines. It is the maker of C2 bottled green tea and Rong Do energy drink. Wonderfarm, known for such products as winter melon tea, passion fruit drink and bird nests, is one of the leading brands of the Interfood JSC, which is 80 percent owned by Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd. Coca-Cola Vietnam is expected to go under another probe over tax issues, with the Ho Chi Minh City tax department recommending last month that the General Department of Taxation put the soft drink giant under scrutiny for alleged transfer pricing. The health inspection department did not disclose details of the proposed inspection, but it is likely meant to check the food safety practices of the companies. If approved, the coming inspection will be the second of its kind the health inspectorate has ever launched. Earlier this year, Ministry of Health inspectors conducted a month-long scrutiny at the plant of Tan Hiep Phat Group in the southern province of Binh Duong, following a fly-in-bottle dispute. The company eventually passed the inspection without any severe violations detected, and appeared to have silently changed its name to Number 1 Group in September. Tan Hiep Phat is the maker of such popular products as Number 1 energy drink and Dr Thanh herbal tea. Vo Van Minh, a consumer from the southern province of Tien Giang, is expected to stand trial on criminal charges of “appropriating assets” on December 17. Minh was indicted for demanding VND500 million ($23,300) from Tan Hiep Phat to buy his silence after he allegedly found a fly inside an unopened bottle of its energy drink earlier this year. Thanh Hoa to develop rural industry The rural industry in the central province of Thanh Hoa has significantly expanded during the past decade thanks to the implementation of Decree No 66/2006/ND-CP by the Prime Minister on developing industrial production in rural areas. In line with the decree, the provincial authorities have issued policies facilitating industrial production, including land allocation and building of infrastructure for small industrial and craft village clusters, investment incentives and support in technological application and marketing. Thanh Hoa’s rural economic activities focus on agro-fishery-forestry processing and preservation with 17,210 labourers, handicraft with 31,727 labourers and material processing with 4,520 labourers. As of 2015, the province has 127 craft villages with 31,800 labourers, 704 enterprises and 20 cooperatives. Total production value and export revenues of rural production facilities in Thanh Hoa have increased continuously over the years, contributing to creating jobs, alleviating poverty and restructuring rural economy towards industrialisation and modernisation. Despite those successes, Thanh Hoa’s rural industrial sector faces problems from small-scale production and out-of-date technologies, which result in low quality of products and limited markets. Nguyen Duc Quyen, Vice Chairman of the Thanh Hoa People’s Committee, said the province will combine the development of rural industrial production with the restructuring of the rural economy. The province considers rural industry as one of driving forces to boost industrialisation and modernisation of rural areas, making use of advantages in each locality, said Quyen. The province will also gradually restore and develop fading craft villages, he added.- Ethnic minority development goals focused Ethnic minority development targets must be included in the 2016-2020 Socio-economic Development Plan, as heard at a forum in Hanoi on December 9. Localities must enhance capacity for ethnic minority people in order to help them grasp job opportunities while the Government plays a core role in providing public services, especially basic social services, for disadvantaged areas and ethnic minority groups, said the participants. Localities should include climate change response and environmental protection in their socio-economic development plans and ethnic minority development policies, they added. Speaking at the event, Son Phuoc Hoan, Deputy Minister – Deputy Head of the Government's Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, said that the Government recently issued Decision No.1557/GD-TTg on implementing ethnic minority-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in line with post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The decision aims at bettering the implementation of national programmes and strategies on supporting ethnic minority groups, thus contributing to fulfilling the nation’s SDGs beyond 2015, implementing the Government’s Resolution No.80/NQ-CP on sustainable poverty reduction orientation during 2012-2020, and the 2011-2020 Strategy on Ethnic Affairs. It once again shows the Government’s strong determination and commitments to fulfilling the MDGs and ensuring no one left behind, affirmed Hoan. Irish Ambassador to Vietnam Cait Moran said that Ireland’s development cooperation programme with Vietnam will focus on poverty alleviation for ethnic minorities. The forum was jointly held by the National Assembly's Council for Ethnic Affairs, the Government's Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, the UN Office in Vietnam and the Irish Embassy in Vietnam. Workshop looks at role of NGOs in economic growth A workshop was held in Hanoi on December 9 to discuss the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the development of Vietnam and Germany. Vice Chairman of the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Association Phan Thanh Tinh said the two nations’ strategic partnership has facilitated cooperation between their mass organisations and NGOs. Currently, 30 German NGOs are operating in Vietnam, while numerous Vietnamese mass organisations and NGO have established ties with German partners. Erwin Schweisshelm, head of the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) office in Vietnam, acknowledged the conference as a bridge connecting Vietnamese NGOs and mass organisations and their German counterparts, including the ties between the VGFA and the FES. Speakers at the event included experts from Viethealth, an NGO under the Union of Scientific and Technological Associations, the Berlin University and the FES in Vietnam. The workshop was co-organised by the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Association and the FES - a private German non-profit organisation.- Vinh Phuc fosters educational ties with US’ Oregon state A workshop was held on December 9 in Vinh Phuc, aiming at foster the sustainable partnership of Vietnamese and US educational institutions and business circles. The event, co-organised by Vinh Phuc provincial People’s Committee and Portland State University in the US state of Oregon, is an activity in the framework of the Vietnam–Oregon Initiative (VOI) in honour of the 20th anniversary of the normalisation of Vietnam-US ties. The Vietnam-Oregon Initiative is a collaborative network founded to foster and deepen partnerships between individuals and organisations of Vietnam and Oregon. Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tri said the workshop presents opportunities for local educational managers, experts, enterprises and training institutions to share information and experience in training human resources of high caliber, as well as to introduce local potential to US investors. The US experts introduced vocational training models in Oregon and shared their experience in building close ties between vocational training facilities and enterprises. They also discussed the challenges the Vietnam’s tertiary education network will face in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and forecast the province’s future demand for high quality human resources. In October, Vietnam and Oregon signed a Letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in politics, education – training, trade- investment, agriculture, urban planning, the environment, tourism and people exchange. Over the past decades, Oregon state has provided active support for Vietnam in search and rescue work and human resource training. There are hundreds of Vietnamese students pursuing their studies in Oregon. Forestry sector on track to meet market demand The forestry sector has been shifting towards a market economy over the recent five years, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said at a conference reviewing the five-year plan on forest protection and development on December 9. According to the Deputy PM, forestry products have gradually met market demand and the wood processing industry for export has seen leaping growth. The forest coverage rose from 39.7 percent in 2011 to 40.43 percent in 2014 and is expected to reach 40.73 percent this year, contributing to socio-economic development, environment protection, climate change response and natural calamity mitigation, Hai said. He noted that while targets on forest planting have not been met, remarkable changes are seen in social awareness about forest protection. The Deputy PM called on enterprises to involve in the development of the sector. The sector has seen an annual average growth of 5.95 percent in production value over the past five years, nearly doubling the rate in 2006-2010 at 3.1 percent. The export of furniture and forest products has also seen a surge of approximate 150 percent over the past five years, estimated at 6.8-7 billion USD in 2015. In the next five years, the sector aims to improve productivity and the value of forest-plantation areas for a 7 percent growth annually in production value and 9.5 billion USD of export earnings by 2020. Forest protection and sustainable development will be strengthened to expand forest coverage to roughly 14.87 million hectares, accounting for 42-43 percent of the nation’s land by 2020. Hoa Binh urges toll decrease following protest Hoa Binh Province authorities have urged the company in charge of operating a road toll on Highway 6 to consider decreasing fees as soon as possible following a two-day protest at the toll station that blocked traffic for hours. At least a hundred residents in Luong Son Town where the toll station is located gathered there on Sunday, blocking the gates with chairs and vehicles they brought, said a Vietnam News Agency reporter based in the province. The protest created a bottleneck for about two hours on Highway 6 that connects northwest provinces and Ha Noi before more than 80 police officers managed to bring the traffic back to normal.   The locals came to protest against the decision of the BOT Highway 6 Hoa Lac-Hoa Binh JSC., Co. to start collecting tolls since October 20, which were even planned to rise higher on January 1 next year. The current tolls for vehicles using the highway, constructed under the Build-Operating-Transfer (BOT) model, ranged from VND25,000 (US$1.1) to a maximum of VND180,000 ($8) depending on vehicle types. The latest protest was not the first time the locals raised their voices against the toll fees. Gatherings in smaller scales have been on-going constantly since late October following the company's toll collecting decision. The locals argued that the tolls were too high and affected the income of those living in Luong Son Town and the neighbouring areas. Hoa Binh People's Committee, in its response, had proposed a solution in November to cut up to 60 per cent of the toll fees for residents living across Luong Son Town and three communes of Lam Son, Truong Son and Tan Vinh. The discounts were to target passenger vehicles under 12 seats and freight trucks weighing less than four tonnes which have monthly and quarterly tickets. The Ministry of Finance, however, failed to approve the solution, saying such a discount was unprecedented and the ministry does not have the authority to issue the decision. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri