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Foreign visitor arrivals up
HA NOI
(VNS) -
The number of domestic tourists hit 32.4 million during the
same period, an increase of 7.6 per cent, according to the Viet Nam National
Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
Tourism has generated VND179 trillion (US$8.44 billion) so far
this year, a year-on-year rise of 19.24 per cent.
The launch of a brand new hydro-plane service earlier this
month linking Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay, a World Natural Heritage site, is
expected to attract more tourists to the country.
The Hai Au Aviation Joint Stock Company has scheduled one to
three flights between Ha Noi and Ha Long City per day, and five to ten daily
sightseeing flights over Ha Long Bay.
The company is planning to open new routes from
During the nine-month period, Ha Noi received nearly 1.5
million tourists, up 17.1 per cent year-on-year.
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Thứ Ba, 30 tháng 9, 2014
Strategic HR
development – key to business success
Without a
long-term human resource (HR) development strategy, businesses are unable to
stand firm and operate efficiently in a highly competitive environment,
experts warned at a workshop in
Business representatives admitted that HR, especially
quality HR, is the decisive factor behind their companies’ success in
international integration.
The matter is more urgent when
Taking advantage of these FTAs requires businesses to
attract and develop qualified human resources capable of raising the
company’s competitiveness.
The fact is that
It was reported at the workshop that on average,
300,000 students graduate from secondary schools each year and over 70% of
them are unable to find suitable full-time employment between 12 to 24
months.
Today’s multinational employers are looking for job
applicants with core business competencies and exceptional interpersonal
skills but unfortunately too many secondary students are not bothering to
accrue such skills.
In addition, many graduates lack adequate training in
soft skills such as critical thinking and are not sufficiently inquisitive,
which are vitally important in the era of regional and international
integration, speakers said.
The employment situation is certain to tighten up and
become more exacerbated with the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community
(ASEAN) by 2015 and other key FTAs most likely to come into effect next year.
Employers today can choose from candidates from all
over the globe and landing a good paying job is highly dependent on
possession of these core competency skills.
Representatives of large multinational companies shared
the view that global competitiveness starts with human resource advantages.
Finding a job at graduation has always been
challenging, but in today’s competitive environment, entrepreneurial drive
among even entry level job applicants is the order of the day, they said.
It is incumbent upon secondary schools and the business
community to work collectively to approach and deal with the HR dilemma in a
comprehensive and long-term manner, said Pham Phu Ngoc Trai, President of the
HCM City Business Club.
VOV
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Businesses pleased with
Ministry’s new spending ceiling on adverts
The Ministry of Finance (MOF), after many
years of turning a deaf ear to business complaints, has agreed to lift the
spending on ceiling on ads in an effort to help businesses improve their
competitiveness.
“Lifting the ceiling spending on ads is a correct
decision of the state management agencies,” said Dinh Thi My Loan, chair of
the Vietnam Retailers’ Association.
In fact, the ministry has been gradually offering a
compromise to businesses over the many years, when it agreed to raise the
ceiling step by step, from 7 percent of the total expenditure to 10 percent
and then to 15 percent in 2013, when the amended corporate income tax law
took effect.
However, business repeatedly said they had the right to
determine how much to spend on ads and marketing.
The biggest concern of MOF, the ministry in charge of
collecting tax from businesses to the state’s coffer, is that businesses may
evade tax if they do not bear any restrictions.
However, Dr. Nguyen Huu Dung, deputy chair of the
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said the
decision would not lead to the loss of revenue of the state’s coffer, but
would help increase the revenue.
“The spending items of these enterprises would be
revenue from other enterprises on which the State will impose tax. Therefore,
there is no need to fear the loss of revenue,” Dung said.
Nguyen Thanh Ha, deputy secretary general of the
Vietnam Advertisement Association, also noted that it was the old regulation
on restricting expenditures on ads and marketing which led to a loss of state
budget revenue.
According to Ha, 80-90 percent of ad costs are spent on
the production. An ad product may be cost $1 million, but the $1 million is
not taxable income, because the product is made overseas and it only appears
in local mass media. Media agencies can only undertake a small job in the
production chain.
The Vietnam Retailers Association has refuted the claim
that manufacturers would raise selling prices of their products, now that
they can spend more money on ads and marketing.
Loan noted that if manufacturers spent too much on ads,
which pushes production costs up, their products would not sell.
A survey conducted by Ernst & Young, an auditing
firm, also pointed out that the lifting of the cap on marketing expenses
would not only help foster economic growth and help businesses improve their
competitiveness, but will also allow consumers to receive competitive
products at low prices.
The Deputy Chair of the Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and
Beverage Association noted that the higher spending on ads does not mean
higher selling prices. If businesses’ sales can go well, they will adjust the
selling price to make it more reasonable.
Pham Thanh Minh, Secretary General of the Hanoi Ad
Association, said that businesses were relieved that they could now spend as
much money as they want on ads and marketing in order to optimize profits and
build up their brands.
Duy Anh,
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Why does China win bids
so easily in Vietnam?
The recent incident in which two Chinese
contractors suddenly abandoned their contracts related to the
Dr. Tran Dinh Thien.
What do you think about the use of
Chinese technology in
We need to distinguish between technology imports from
How can Chinese contractors easily
win tenders of most big projects in
It’s our fault. We have allowed gaps for Chinese
contractors to do so. The risk here is the turnkey model.
There is nothing to guarantee that after two years of
warranty, the works built by Chinese contractors can run well. I’ve heard
about some factories that could not run after the warranty time.
Objectively, our mechanism is too loose and has many
loopholes, which are exploited by contractors.
What are the long-term economic
consequences of this situation?
In the long run, it makes the process of modernisation
of the country longer. The Ha Noi - Ha Dong urban railway project was delayed
for three years. Assuming that this project is a strategic axis of the
country’s industrialization – modernization policy, our process has been
delayed for a few years.
This is a trick of competition to make the rival lose
in terms of time.
If you are slow, you can be rejected from the game. The
construction of power plants, and of the Hanoi-Haiphong highway, is slow and
it makes the process of industrialization slow. We promote industrialization,
and attract foreign investment, but if we cannot supply sufficient power for
that process and for investors, our image will deteriorate. Delays in
technology bring about terrible consequences for our development.
It is difficult to blame Vietnamese enterprises, but
frankly, the use of technology by Vietnamese enterprises is very poor.
The construction site of
Vietnamese enterprises only choose cheap technology.
This issue is related to policy: firstly, the exchange rate policy only
encourages imports, and it does not encourage production, so it will not
encourage the imports of good technology.
For years, stable exchange rates and high inflation
have led to a negative thing: encouraging imports, discouraging domestic
production and competition, as well as technology imports.
Thus, the role of the state is to change the short-term
approach and to set the orientation of technological change.
In 2012, the Chinese government
published a list of thousands of factories using outdated production lines
which must be eliminated. So, one way to deal with the outdated technology is
sell them to
They do not want to lose all and try to sell backward
technology to other countries.
Vietnamese enterprises must be aware of long-term
benefits. The time to grab quick profits and run has passed.
The State must ensure a good business environment so
businesses can make good choices and compete in a transparent way and
encourage businesses to buy good things.
The Government should give a signal, so that
enterprises can recognize the consequences of imports of outdated technology.
The Government should also have policies to protect the environment by
monitoring outdated technology.
Trung Ngon, VNN
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Bad debt casts shadow
over banking restructure
Some economists have pointed out that the
biggest obstacle in the ongoing banking restructure effort is the problem of
bad debt.
The Vietnamese banking system has been carrying out its
policy of banking restructure for three years, along with the restructure of
public investment and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). According to experts,
the restructuring process has brought the country considerable benefits.
However, some roadblocks remain.
In those three years, nine weak banks have been merged
without intervention by the State Bank of
Some economists have pointed
out that the biggest obstacle in the ongoing banking restructure effort is
the problem of bad debt.
The establishment of the Vietnam Asset Management
Company (VAMC) is also important. The company has helped to speed up the
settlement of bad debt after banking restructure. By the end of July this
year, VAMC will have bought nearly VND54 trillion (USD2.57 billion) worth of
bad debt.
As of June 2014,
Liquidity in the banking system has also improved since
the restructuring process. Both deposit and lending interest rates have been
cut, creating better access to credit.
Despite these improvements, many economists say the
biggest difficulty after banks are restructured is the lingering bad debt.
To add to the problem, there has been contradictory
numbers released about the amount of bad debt within the system. The
most-used statistic is a rate of 10.3%, which is considered manageable and
better than many other foreign countries. However, some economists warn
that there is an urgent need to work out the rate more precisely and create a
more specific plan to settle the bad debt.
According to Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh, director of the Viet
Nam Centre for Economic and Policy Research, during the three-year banking
restructure process, only the role of VAMC has been clearly defined, and both
long and short-term solutions for the bad deb problem remain vague.
Thanh added that the bad debt settlement does not
depend solely on VAMC, which buys bad debt by special bonds with five-year
terms. If VAMC cannot settle the debts, they are returned back to the banking
system.
Moreover, restructuring has not been going as well with
the public investment and SOEs. This has had a great affect the efficiency of
the banking restructure. He explained that up to 60% of bad debt comes from
SOEs, and if their restructuring process does not get better, the bad debt
problem will remain unchanged.
By Nguyen
Tuyen, dtinews.vn
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Art
& Entertainment News 30/9
Photo
contest promotes VN landscapes, daily life
The Ministry of
Culture, Sports and Tourism and the online newspaper Vnexpress will promote
Vietnamese people
living locally or overseas can enter the contest, which ends on October 27.
Participants can submit photo entries in two categories: landscapes or daily
life. Photos capturing precious moments among Vietnamese people anywhere will
be accepted.
"The photo
contest coincides with a Ministry of Culture programme to promote the
country's image to the world. This is the first time the ministry has
coordinated with
A panel of foreign
jurors will judge entries based on creativity and professionalism. They will
award two first-place prizes, two second-places and two third-places for each
category. The prizes together total VND500 million. Vnexpress's readers can
also vote online for the best photos each week during the contest's run.
The ministry and
Vnexpress have received 12,000 photos by 5,700 photographers since the
competition began in August. More than 700 photos selected from the
qualifying round have already been posted online: http://photo.vnexpress.net.
The winners' work
will appear in local and overseas photo exhibitions to promote
Mai Thi Ha
crowned Miss Vietnam in Czech Republic
The 21-year-old Mai
Thi Ha triumphed at the fourth Miss Vietnam Czech Republic beauty pageant
held in capital
The 1m67-tall
winner, studying at
First runner-up
prize went to Le Ha and second runner-up prize was presented to Nguyen Thu
Trang.
On this occasion,
organizers and sponsors also raised funds for victims of Agent Orange/dioxin
in
Exhibition
of paper horses focuses on France-VN ties
An exhibition of
paper horses that convey the relationship between the French and the
Vietnamese people, and the bilateral cultural exchange will open tomorrow in
Ha Noi.
For instance, young
artist Trieu Tuan Long shows a herd of seven horses that are calmly grazing
in a meadow in his latest installation entitled Information Transmitted by
Horse Riding at the French Cultural Centre in Ha Noi.
The exhibits have
been carefully crafted with Boi papers, a traditional Vietnamese material,
and are covered with randomly arranged pictures conveying meaningful life
lessons.
The viewers will be
able to relate to the horses as they depict the ups and downs of the French
sentiment towards the Vietnamese people and vice versa.
To that end, each
paper horse bears a particular subject such as the Long Bien Bridge – Eiffel Tower;
the French colony; Ta Hien old street; French architecture such as the Ha Noi
Opera House, the Ha Noi Cathedral, Hang Dau Post, and others; French
performances in Ha Noi: French and Vietnamese children: and the France-Viet
Nam cultural exchange.
The exhibits will
also enable the visitors to think and learn about the messages that the
horses convey, instead of sitting in front of computers or TVs to understand
what is going on.
The exhibition will
run from September 30 to October 26 at L'Espace,
Ha
Ha Long Bay of
Vietnam has been selected as one of the 12 greatest coastlines in the world
by
According to
WhenOnEarth, Ha Long Bay features many tropical plants and animals, floating
fishing villages, and unique formations of eroded limestone, including a
multitude of small islands and huge caves.
The
UNESCO-recognised world heritage site is considered a popular coastal
destination in northeastern
The 12 greatest
coastlines include Lofoten Archipelago in
Footballers
inspire comic book series
A comic-book
series, inspired by
Titled, Hoc Vien
Bong Da (
The series centres
around a team of footballers training at the
The main characters
are based on key players from the U19 team.
The series also
features the fictional Delia, daughter of French coach Guillaume Graechen and
his Vietnamese wife. Delia helps soften and diversify the largely male cast.
Bach Le, one of the
artists directing the series, said he and his team of writers and artists
spent time at the academy studying players' training times and everyday life
to construct the characters.
According to Nguyen
Minh Nhut, director of Tre Publishing House, the series doesn't simply praise
the U19 players.
Rather, it tells
stories about following one's passion and overcoming difficulties - topics
that go beyond the football field and touch the everyday life of youths.
"When the
players read the series, they will realise how their hard work is watched and
appreciated. They will be motivated to always do their best," he said.
Doan Nguyen Duc,
owner of the academy was happy about the series.
"My players
are good role models and show a promising future for the country's
football," he said. "They do not only play fair, but are also good
men in real life."
"Footballers
at the academy work hard," he said, "but I hope they will work even
harder when they know how much they are loved by fans."
Book
compiles photos by ethnic minority children
Images captured by
ethnic minority children are featured in I Tell You My Stories, a photo book
that will be released today.
The photographs
were selected from thousands taken by children from ethnic Mong, Cham, Raglai
and Mo Nong groups in the central
The children were
provided with cameras and trained in character photography and story
building.
The photos reflect
their awareness of urgent issues such as hygiene and environment, as well as
offering a glimpse into local culture, childhood games, traditional festivals
and daily activities.
The book was
published under a project funded by Oxfam, an international organisation
working to end injustice and poverty, and the Institute for Social Research,
Economics and Environment (iSEE).
An exhibition of
the photos was organised at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology in May.
The event, called
Hat Ve Thoi Hoa Do (Singing on the Youth), will see pop stars Nguyen Vu and
Nguyen Phi Hung, popular young singers like Tanh Linh and Chi Thien, and pop
bands like Lua Viet, Phu Sa, and M-Sky perform regularly at these places.
It will debut this
weekend at the HCM City University of Agriculture and Forestry in Thu Duc
District, before going to six other universities and secondary schools this
year.
Exhibition
showcases history of
As part of the 2014
Hanoi Book Fair, the Vietnam National Library (VNL) has held an exhibition
themed ‘Book’s journey’ with nearly 500 precious documents and artifacts
collected through history.
The valuable
documents made of wood, ‘do’ paper and palm leaf are selected by the VNL from
libraries and museums across the country and displayed to showcase the
history of books and Hanoi’s image through books. Dozens of books about
The exhibition will
last until October 2.
YouTube
sensation wins Vietnamese version of ‘The Winner Is’
A Vietnamese
student who caused quite a stir two years ago with her cover of a foreign hit
on YouTube has won the second season of the local version of American singing
show “The Winner Is.”
Lan Anh, a student
at
The finale, which
took place at Maximart Cong Hoa Stadium, saw the fiery battles between four
finalists, Lan Anh, Nam Huong and two established singers Phuong Trinh and
Truong The Vinh.
Phuong Trinh is the
winner of the 2006 “Ngoi Sao Tieng Hat Truyen Hinh” (Project Superstar)
singing contest, which is organized annually by Ho Chi Minh City Television.
According to expert
opinions, Nam Huong has a more striking singing voice and better techniques
than Lan Anh.
With her cover of
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” posted on YouTube on March 27, 2012 and a
catchy mashup, Lan Anh – who is loved for her clear voice and small build –
won the majority of 101 jurors’ votes, including the main one.
“Stronger (What
Doesn’t Kill You)” is a song in the studio album “Stronger” released in 2011
by American pop recording artist Kelly Clarson.
The song is the
album's most successful release and Clarkson's most successful single
overall, according to Wikipedia.
It topped the
charts in the
The “The Winner Is”
title earned Lan Anh VND300 million (US$14,120) and a recording contract with
Universal Music Group (UMG), one of the largest music corporations in the
world.
Hai Chau, the
winner of last year’s season, which closed in August 2013, is also a
university student.
“The Winner Is” is
not the first or only music competition whose prize is a working agreement
with American music corporation UMG.
Other contests
including “Sao Mai Diem Hen” (a Vietnamese singing competition) and “Vietnam
Idol” – the Vietnamese version of “American Idol” – also gave a similar
contract as the grand prize in the past.
However,
21-year-old Chau is the first contestant and singer to accept the prize, as
the winners of other contests often collaborate with their own team instead
of UMG.
Source: VNS/VNA/SGT/VOV
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Thứ Hai, 29 tháng 9, 2014
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Political
News 30/9
Website on
public service reform launched
The central
steering committee for reforming public service on September 29 launched its
website designed to serve as a bridge between the committee and its
provincial chapters, public and civil servants as well as the public.
Public service
reform is expected to eliminate partisan and exclusive benefits of some
individuals, said Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and the
steering committee’s Deputy Director.
The website at
www.caicachcongvu.gov.vn will provide guidance on how to carry out the tasks
set by the public service reform project, the latest documents issued by the
committee and news on reform activities by ministries, agencies and
localities.
The public service
reform project has been carried out since 2012 under Decision
No.1557/2012/QD-TTG issued by the Prime Minister in 2012 as part of the
government’s effort to promptly build a professional, responsible, energetic
and transparent public service system.-
China’s
National Day marked in Hanoi
The Chinese Embassy
in
Addressing the
event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh congratulated the Chinese people for
the achievements they have gained over the past 65 years and expressed the
belief that they will reap even greater fruits during the country’s reform
and socialist building process.
He affirmed that
Chinese Ambassador
to Vietnam Hong Xiao Yong said China-Vietnam ties have maintained the
developing trend over the past time with joint efforts by both sides.
He affirmed that
Sang was speaking
at a reception for
He hailed the
regular exchange and staff training between the two countries’ procuracy
sectors and said
He briefed his
guest on
He also assured his
guest that
Chief prosecutor
Peter Polt in turn said he had a working session with the Supreme People’s
Procuracy of Vietnam and both sides had reached substantial and specific
agreements beneficial to the two peoples.
Peter Polt affirmed
He also revealed
that the Hungarian President is looking forwards to visiting
Minister to
Presidential Office of Laos visits Vietnam
Deputy Prime
Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc gave a reception for Minister to the Presidential
Office of Laos Phongsavath Boupha in
The Deputy PM
highly valued the outcomes of working sessions between the Minister
Phongsavath Boupha, who is also head of the national steering committee on
human rights, and key officials of Vietnamese ministries and agencies.
He said that
information shared between the two sides will contribute to each country’s
human rights work and pave the way for the two steering committees to build
and promote long-term cooperation in solving issues of common concern on
human rights in particularly as well as strengthening cooperation and mutual
assistance in regional and international arena.
He affirmed the
Vietnamese Party and Government’s consistent policy of bettering citizens’
basic rights of freedom towards the building of a democratic, equal and
civilised society, and a State of the people, by the people and for the
people.
The Vietnamese
official expressed his hope that through working sessions and meetings, the
two sides will discuss and share experience in dealing with issues related to
human rights as they are still facing numerous challenges on ensuring human
rights for vulnerable groups, improving gender equality and narrowing gap
between the rich and the poor.
The guest spoke
highly of
Experience shared
by Vietnamese offices will help
Earlier, the Lao
guest was received by Head of the Vietnamese Presidential Office Dao Viet
Trung.
Vietnamese,
Lao female NA deputies exchange experience
Vietnamese and Lao
female deputies on September 29 discussed how to promote the role of
legislative bodies in issues related to gender and women’s rights.
Head of the
Vietnamese National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs and Chairwoman of
the Female NA Deputies Group, Truong Thi Mai, had a working session in
At the meeting,
both sides shared experience in building the Law on Domestic Violence
Prevention and Control and legal framework on gender equality, and exchanged
views on challenges in integrating gender issues into the parliament’s
activities.
They also focused
on sharing experience in drawing up and inspecting the NA’s resolutions and
laws on social affairs.
Both host and guest
agreed to continue close coordination between the two female NA deputies
groups, as well as regularly hold workshops to deal with violence against
children and better policies related to women, children and gender equality.
VN, Laos
talk human rights
Experience sharing
between the two countries would help improve the effectiveness of human
rights in both countries, he said.
Phuc said there was
a consistent policy by the Party and State to ensure human rights with the
aim of building a democratic, fair and civilised society.
He said
However, he said
the country still faced challenges relating to sustainable development, tghe
rich-poor gap, gender equality and social security.
The Lao minister
spoke highly of
Source: VNA/VOV
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