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2008-06-10T02:19:00.001-07:00

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State Bank ensures sufficient supplies of foreign currency for imports

2008-06-07T07:44:00.003-07:00

The State Bank of Vietnam pledges to ensure sufficient supplies of foreign currency for imports of necessities, the bank announced on its website today.

The bank is currently managing the exchange rates in a flexible manner depending on market supplies and demands within the margin of + 2% instructed by the Prime Minister.

The fluctuations of the exchange rate on the black market over the recent days were mostly due to psychological and speculative elements, the bank stressed.

Some foreign currency exchange agents of credit organisations have purposely marked up the prices of the US dollar for profiteering, causing losses to the people, especially in the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

This is an illegal act. The State Bank of Vietnam will co-ordinate with relevant agencies to inspect and seriously treat those violations in order to regulate foreign exchange activities in conformity with the legal regulations.

Ha Tay attracts over $1b in foreign investment

2008-06-07T07:44:00.001-07:00

In the first five months of the year, the province attracted 17 foreign-invested projects, leading to a 33 per cent increase in the number of projects over last year, according to Nguyen Huy Tuong, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee. He said that the provincial level of FDI marked a 15.6 fold increase over the same period last year.

Tuong noted that all foreign-invested projects were related to construction. Many foreign investors such as the Republic of Korea (RoK), Malaysia and Japan chose Ha Tay to expand their businesses. RoK took the lead with six new projects in the last five months worth $827 million.

The latest additions have brought the number of foreign-invested projects to 119 to date, capitalised at over $3.27 billion.

Tuong affirmed that foreign investment should continue to grow in the province throughout the year.

From January to May this year, the province also saw nearly VND9.4 trillion ($586 million) in domestic investment capital, an increase of 31 per cent over last year. The capital was mainly invested into industrial production, construction, tourism, services and agro-forestry-fishery sectors.

Ha Tay expects to attract VND14 trillion ($875 million) in domestic investment in the first six months of this year, more than double of what they saw last year during the same period, Tuong said. He noted that the investment would include the VND4 trillion Ha Dong International Hospital financed by Ha Long Investment and Development Co.

Vietnam not to adjust PIT rate despite inflation

2008-06-02T07:24:00.001-07:00

The proposal to adjust the tax rate stipulated in the currently applied Income Ordinance on High Income Earners Taxation and adjust the exemption amounts in the Personal Income Tax Law before January 1, 2009 has not been approved.
The latest announcement by the General Statistics Office says that the inflation rate reached 15.96% in the first five months of the year over December 2007. The high inflation has led people to propose that the tax rates and exemption levels be adjusted.
Nguyen Thi Cuc, former Deputy General Director of the General Taxation Department, now Chairwoman of the Tax Consultancy Council: There is no need to adjust tax rates
What is your viewpoint about the proposal to adjust personal income tax (PIT) in the context of sharp price increases?
Under the Ordinance on High Income Earners Taxation, when market prices go up and down by more than 20%, the government submits to the National Assembly proposals to adjust personal income tax rates. The adjustments are listed in the National Assembly’s programme to build up laws and ordinances. However, as far as I know, the National Assembly’s programme this year does not include the issue. Meanwhile, the ordinance will only be valid until the end of this year, when we begin applying the Personal Income Tax Law.
Do you think that we need to adjust the Personal Income Tax Law before the law comes into effect?
I think that we need to consider adjusting the tax rates if we apply the Ordinance on High Income Earners Taxation, while we don’t need to do that for the Personal Income Tax Law.

Eight circumstances keeping cash away from banks

2008-04-27T08:35:00.001-07:00

Since mid February, mobilised capital growth has been slowing down though commercial banks have offered high interest rates and launched big promotion programmes. Why?

Statistics show that by the end of the first quarter of 2008, the total mobilised capital of the whole banking system had increased by 5.48%, and total outstanding loans had increased by 10.8% over the end of 2007. The figures were 11.76% and 6.4% at the same period of last year.

At the Saigon Joint Stock Bank (SCB), the total mobilised capital saw a decrease of VND300bil in the last two weeks of March, and a further decrease of VND450bil in the first two weeks of April.

State owned banks, which have the biggest advantages in capital mobilisation thanks to their wide operation networks, prestige, are also facing the same situation.

In Hanoi, the total capital mobilised by state owned banks by early April had decreased by nearly 4% compared to December 31, 2007.

The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) and Vietnam Bank for Foreign Trade (Vietcombank), which always lead in capital mobilisation, have reported the decreases of 13% and 6%, respectively, in mobilised capital.

State owned banks, which were once the biggest lenders on the interbank market, now have become borrowers. By the end of March 2008, state owned banks in Hanoi had borrowed 55% more money through the interbank market over the end of February.

In HCM City, by April 16, 2008, the banks’ mobilised capital had dropped by VND9,225bil over the end of March, of which the deposits of state owned banks had decreased by 1.74%, and of joint stock banks, by 0.28%.

Eight reasons have been cited to explain the problems.

First, the tightened monetary policies have been making it difficult for businesses to access bank loans. As a result, many businesses which have deposits at banks have drawn money out to lend to other businesses to get higher interest rates. People who have idle capital are not making deposits at banks anymore, but lending to their relatives and friends to serve those people’s investment projects.

Second, banks may face a capital shortage as the State Treasury is planning to withdraw VND52,000bil worth of government money from state owned banks.

Third, many institutions that are founding shareholders of other institutions to be organised have drawn money from banks to transfer to accounts to prove their financial capability.

Fourth, as the stock market keeps falling, OTC share prices are descending, which has made a lot of investors incur losses. Therefore, they have no money left to deposit at banks. Moreover, the deposits of securities companies at banks have been decreasing due to 1/ the losses incurred by the companies and 2/ lower balances in investors’ accounts at securities companies.

Fifth, as the gold price keeps increasing and the CPI remains high, people tend to inject money in gold instead of bank deposits. It is estimated that some 40 tonnes of gold have been imported to Vietnam so far this year, worth $1.2bil. 60% has been sold on the market.

Sixth, as the real estate market has cooled down, investors cannot sell properties to take back capital; therefore, they do not have money to make bank deposits.

Seventh, people, hearing about the car import tax increase, have drawn money from banks to buy cars before the tax increase decisions become effective.

Eighth, the idle money among the public is nearly exhausted. People deposited at banks when the interest rates were high, at 13% per annum, and now they do not have more money to deposit.

(Source: TBKTVN)

Choosing strategic partners: Vietcombank at disadvantage

2008-04-23T08:29:00.001-07:00

Vietcombank is thought to be at a disadvantage in negotiating with foreign investors to choose strategic partners, especially in relation to share prices.

One of the most important topics to be raised at the shareholders’ meeting of Vietcombank, slated for April 26, will be the selection of foreign partners.
In fact, there is one special thing in Vietcombank’s equitisation process: the government decided to make IPO first and then look for strategic partners. The change ‘at the last minute’ originated from difficulties in negotiating about stake sale prices with candidates.
As Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung instructed, the stake prices for strategic partners must not be lower than the average IPO price. And the instruction has been putting big difficulties on Vietcombank.
Vietcombank’s shares are selling at VND53-55,000/share only on the OTC market, much lower than the average IPO price at VND107,572/share, and even lower than the preferential price level at which stakes were sold to Vietcombank’s staffs.
A question has been raised for Nguyen Hoa Binh, Chairman of Vietcombank: if the low price of Vietcombank’s shares on the market puts Vietcombank at a disadvantage when negotiating with candidates, could candidates take advantage of this to force the price down?
Binh said that Vietcombank has anticipated this, but declined to give an answer, reasoning that the issue was not listed among the issues he was authorised to provide information about.

However, Binh said that the low price of Vietcombank’s shares on the OTC market would be an advantage to the sellers. He said that share price decreases are undeniable, and that the price is decided by the market’s supply and demand.
Binh declined to give information about the prices candidates offered.
Besides sale prices, the time to sell stakes is also a problem for Vietcombank, indirectly creating advantages for candidates. It is clear that in the first shareholders’ meeting, Vietcombank will still not have foreign strategic partners, and it is highly possible that it will not have them when it lists on the bourse.
The prolonged process of selecting foreign strategic partners will affect shareholders’ thoughts, as shareholders want to inject money in a company where everything is ready. Therefore, the presence of strategic partners at the listing moment has significance.
However, Binh said that Vietcombank will settle the problems step by step, with the priority to be given to urgent matters.
Binh said that Vietcombank will not get strategic partners at any cost. He said that the selection of strategic partners must serve the benefit of Vietcombank’s shareholders and the country, while the bank will not aim to seek short-term financial sources.
No exact date has been set about when Vietcombank must finish selecting strategic partners; therefore, the time to sell stakes is not an issue at the negotiating table. However, Binh has revealed that the bank wants to complete the work in 2008.

In fact, many foreign investors have expressed interest in buying Vietcombank stakes. Besides the negotiations with existing candidates, Vietcombank is also working with new names.
Binh has confirmed that despite the difficulties, Vietcombank will not ease the requirements on strategic partners.

(Source: TBKTVN)

Americans mark 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination

2008-04-06T06:35:00.001-07:00

Hundreds of thousands of people, including presidential candidates and civil rights leaders, were rallied on Friday by an unrealized dream for a country of racial equality to mark the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination.

His calls for justice, equality and democracy were heard through the day in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was shot dead at a balcony in a motel on April 4, 1968 at 39 years old.

Thousands of people, black and white, including members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, marched miles in the rain to the Lorraine Motel with a wreath hanging on the balcony where King was last seen alive.

During a speech in front of the balcony, Republican presidential candidate John McCain apologized to the public for his vote against the Martin Luther King's Day in Congress, saying the slain civil right leader should "be honored for as long as the creed of America is honored."

Later the day, his Democratic counterpart, Hillary Rodham Clinton, appeared in a Memphis church where King delivered his final sermon on April 3, 1968. Hillary shared with audience her feeling at hearing King's death, and said the struggle for the racial equality is far from being achieved.

In Atlanta, Georgia, King's birthplace, his children Bernice and Martin Luther King laid a wreath at their parents' grave in the national historic site, where there was a special exhibition of pictures taken in the last days and hours of King's life.

The first African-American presidential candidate who has serious shot at the White House, Barack Obama, started his campaign rally in Indiana with a moment's silence for King.

"Through his faith and courage and wisdom, Dr. Martin Luther King moved an entire nation," he said.

In District of Columbia where he delivered the famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963, the Congress held a tribute on Thursday in the Capitol's Saturday Hall.

Nowadays, King's dream words were lingering across the states and in people's mind as an unfulfilled legacy.

President George W. Bush admitted in a Friday statement "we have made progress on Dr. King's dream, yet the struggle is not over."

Despite the facts that African-Americans, who account for nearly 14 percent of the total population, have seen their social economic status improved, education and employment expanded as well as political officials increased, it is hard to say that the United States has become a nation where people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

According to official statistics, about a quarter of black families are still struggling under the poverty line, and unemployment rate of the black nearly doubles that of the white. Due to lower living standard and inadequate health care, the black people’s longevity is about five to seven years shorter than the white on average.

A Gallup poll released last year showed that only 30 percent of the black felt satisfied with the way they were treated in America.

Another poll by MSNBC and Zogby released recently found that 90 percent of African-Americans say they have experienced racial discrimination.

"We have among blacks, more unemployment, 2.5 million African-Americans in jail," civil rights leader Jesse Jackson told CNN. "We have an unfounded moral imperative to invest in healing the structural inequality."

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 6/4

2008-04-06T06:30:00.001-07:00

Sa Pa expands areas under vegetables and flowers for exports

Authorities in Sa Pa district in the northern mountainous border province of Lao Cai, in taking advantage of its temperate climate, have allocated 128 hectares of exhausted forest land to enterprises and local farmers to plant high-grade vegetables and flowers for exports, bringing in higher economic value.

Currently, there are ten foreign and domestic enterprises and hundreds of local households belonging to different ethnic minority groups of Mong, Dao, Giay in remote communes of Sa Pa, Lao Chai, Ta Phin and Ta Van which have focused on planting cauliflowers, cabbages, green peas, French roses, lilies for both exports and domestic market consumption.

Farmers can earn up to VND 50-60 million from one hectare of vegetables and flowers for exports.

Of the total 2,000 households in Sa Pa that have been recognised to escape poverty in 2007, 40% have planted high-grade vegetables and flowers.

Sa Pa targets to expand the total areas under high-grade vegetables and flowers to 600 hectares. The current figure is 400 hectares with total earnings hitting VND 10 billion annually.

IFC helps small and medium-sized enterprises

The International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, on April 3 announced it has provided a loan of VND 320 billion (around US $20 million) to the Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In addition, IFC said that it will provide Techcombank with credits worth US $10 million to sponsor import-export activities and other banking service consultations to the SMEs.

Phu Yen to construct titanium cinder plant

The Vietnam Kenee Mineral Co. broke ground in the construction of a titanium cinder plant with a total investment capital of 65 billion VND (4 million USD).

Located in Dong Bac Song Cau, in the central province of Phu Yen , the factory hopes to be operational by year end.

The factory plans to produce 5,500 tonnes of titanium cinder and 2,700 tonnes of pig-iron in the first phase.

It will expand this to 20,000 tonnes of titanium cinder and 10,000 tonnes of pig-iron in the second phase.

Long An readies to build solar panel factory

Ho Chi Minh City’s Red Sun Energy JSC and Energy Conservation Centre will build a solar panel factory worth 10 million USD.

The factory, located in Duc Hoa district in the southern province of Long An, will be built in two phases with a view to being completed this September.

In line with international standards, the company’s solar panels have an estimated life-span of 20 years and come with a five-year warranty.

Can Tho cement firm to dig for ore in Cambodia

Can Tho Cement Sadico has signed a cooperation agreement with Cambodia’s Omsaura Co. to exploit Latorite ore in Cambodia’s Compongthom province, capitalised at 900,000 USD.

Under the deal, the project will begin in July and expire 40 years later.

The mining operation has an estimated output of 50,000 tonnes of ore per month.

Ha Noi Milk post-tax profit gains of 165 percent

Ha Noi Milk produced 20 million litres of milk last year, achieving total revenue of 350 billion VND (21.8 million USD), a 104.6 percent rise year-on-year.

The company, which turned five years old recently, earned about 11.9 billion VND (744,000 USD) in post-tax profit last year, up 165 percent from 2006.

VINAPCO requested to give explanations on refusal of fuel supply to PA
The Vietnam Competition Administration Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade on April 3 requested that the Vietnam Air Petrol Company (VINAPCO) to supply information on its refusal of pumping fuel for Pacific Airlines (PA) on April 1, making the carrier delay many flights.

The explanations must be made before April 10, theVCAD document stated.

Accordingly, VINAPCO must supply to the VCAD information on the contracts on supplying petrol that it has signed with Pacific Airlines and other airlines; documents and minutes of working sessions between VINAPCO vith PA relating to the supply of plane petrol from June 2007 to date and VINAPCO explanations for the stop of supplying petrol for PA on April 1.

On April 1, many Pacific Airlines flights were delayed for hours because VINAPCO refused to fuel the planes due to a dispute over pumping fees. The issue could only be settled following the intervention from the Minister of Transport.

PA General Director Luong Hoai Nam on April 4 said PA would not suit VINAPCO and affirmed that the two sides would continue to negotiate to reach a suitable agreement.

U.S. death toll in Iraq hits 4,000

2008-03-25T17:05:00.001-07:00

Four U.S. soldiers died Sunday night in a roadside bombing in Iraq, bringing the American toll in the five-year war to 4,000.

The four were killed when a homemade bomb hit their vehicle as they patrolled a southern Baghdad neighborhood, the U.S. military said Monday.

A fifth soldier was wounded.

The grim milestone comes less than a week after the fifth anniversary of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq.

Of the 4,000 U.S. military personnel killed in the conflict, 3,263 have died in combat and attacks, and 737 in non-hostile incidents, such as traffic accidents and suicides.

Eight of the killed were civilians working for the Pentagon.

Also Sunday, at least 35 Iraqis died in suicide bombings, mortar fire and when gunmen in cars opened fire in a crowded outdoor market.

Nearly 100 were wounded in the violence.

Estimates of the Iraqi death toll since the war began range from about 80,000 to hundreds of thousands.

Another 2 million Iraqis have been forced to leave the country, and 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes within Iraq, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Nearly 160,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, continuing to wage a war that has cost U.S. taxpayers about 500 billion U.S. dollars.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Vietnamese people using more banking services: survey

2008-03-25T17:04:00.001-07:00

The management consulting firm McKinsey has released a report about the attitude and standpoints of Vietnamese people, especially youth, to banking services.

The report is part of the firm’s survey about retail markets conducted in 11 countries and territories in Asia, including China, India, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Though witnessing rapid development in recent years, the retail banking scale of Vietnam remains small. The total assets of banks by the end of 2006 were estimated at $75bil, or 123% of GDP. Meanwhile, the figures were $226bil (110%) in Thailand and 302bil (195%) in Malaysia. Less than 10% of the Vietnamese population uses banking services.

However, according to McKinsey, the retail banking turnover may grow by over 25% in the next 5-10 years, turning Vietnam into one of the markets with the highest growth rate in Asia. This is a result of strong economic growth, higher incomes of households and the low penetration of banking services in the lives of people.

The report shows that over 70% of households in cities have the annual average income of VND57mil ($3,562).

Young Vietnamese people are more open than their previous generations to banking services in general, and modern banking services in particular.

McKinsey said that Vietnamese people from 21-29 will play a very important role in shaping the retail banking market.

Regarding the attitudes of Vietnamese people to banking services, McKinsey has discovered five interesting characteristics.

First, young people use banking services more than elderly people.

Every person between the ages of 21-29 uses two or three banking services, while elderly people only use 1.9 services. 91% of people at these ages have savings accounts, while only 55% of people of more than 30 years old have savings accounts. 89% of young clients have debit cards, higher than the ratio of 40% of elderly clients.

Second, more Vietnamese young people use distance banking services than old people.

Third, young people are also more interested in borrowing money from banks than old people.

45% of polled young people say that loans may help them improve their living standards, while only 31% of old people say so. Young people don’t think that it is unwise and risky to borrow money as old people do.

Fourth, young people have become more open to foreign banks.

60% of Vietnamese people say that the presence of foreign banks in Vietnam will benefit them, while 73% of young people say so.

The opportunities for foreign banks in Vietnam are bigger than in other countries. Only 22% of Taiwanese people say that it is a good thing to have foreign banks, while the figure is 54% in the Philippines.

However, the polled Vietnamese people still think highly about the role of domestic banks. Vietnamese people will use the services of any bank, domestic or foreign, provided that the bank provides good services.

Fifth, people in the south have a more open attitude than people in the north. 42% of people in the south say that they will give telephone banking services a try, while only 24% of people in Hanoi say so.

(Source: TBKTVN)

Coffee price decrease catches industry off guard

2008-03-12T17:23:00.001-07:00

On March 11, the coffee price in Dak Lak Province, Vietnam’s coffee capital, unexpectedly dropped to VND35,500/kg, down by VND5,000/kg from the highest peak of VND40,500/kg reached on March 5.

Le Ba, a farmer in Buon Ho town, Krong Buk district in Dak Lak, related that his family harvested 10 tons from their cultivated 5 ha.

Before Tet, Ba sold half of his 10 tons of coffee for VND30,000/kg to pay debts and buy goods for Tet; he kept the other 5 tons to sell later. Ba waited, even when the price hit VND40,000/kg, the highest in 12 years, hoping that the price would hit VND45,000/kg, a high last seen in 1994.

However, Ba’s plan failed after the price unexpectedly dropped to VND35,000/kg. He and many farmers in Krong Buk district have no idea what to do; whether to sell before the price drops further, or wait and sell later when the price bounces back.

One coffee trading enterprise in Dak Lak said they have bought several hundred tons a day over the last three days, because prices have been low. Meanwhile, it bought 1,700 tons a day on March 5 for VND70bil, when the price was at its highest - VND40,000/kg. Many farmers are holding on to their coffee reserves, hoping the price will go back up.

Even coffee experts and experienced exporters can’t explain the sudden price drop. They thought coffee prices would keep rising because of the supply shortage. The forecast prompted traders to buy more coffee for speculating. As a result, many are incurring losses, as bought when coffee prices were high.

Many trading companies have had to borrow money at high interest rates to buy coffee from farmers due to the serious VND capital shortage.

According to Le Duc Thong, Director of Dak Lak-based September 2 Coffee Export Company, the activities of the world’s biggest speculation funds have been affecting the coffee market. As the dollar’s value falls, speculators decided to buy farm produce to cover the losses caused by the US real estate market fall, which has been pushing the coffee price up. After that, the funds sold out the coffee, forcing the prices down.

Besides, the fact that farmers rushed to sell coffee when the prices were high was also cited asa reason behind the price decreases.

Thong said that it is not likely that the coffee price will get back up to previous levels. He said that the countries in the southern hemisphere, including Brazil and Indonesia will harvest coffee crops in April, which will make the supply more profuse.

The domestic price unexpectedly dropped after the world price plunged to $2,628/ton recently, down by $146/tonne over the previous level. Vietnam’s coffee export price has also fallen to $2,445/ton FOB Saigon port, down by $190/ton.

New York governor on verge of resigning amid prostitute scandal

2008-03-12T17:22:00.001-07:00

Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York State is reportedly resigning in the aftermath of disclosure that he was a repeated client of a high-priced prostitution ring.

Aides to Spitzer and his deputy, Lt. Gov. David Paterson, are discussing a transfer of power Tuesday, CNN reported Tuesday, quoting a top legislative staffer.

Spitzer, who has not been seen since his brief press conference Monday afternoon, is said to be considering his legal options. NY1television station, citing a spokesman, said Spitzer has hired a big law firm to defend him,

Investigators say Spitzer is the man identified only as "Client9" in a series of wiretaps involving a high-end firm called Emperors Club VIP, which arranged a tryst in Washington between him and a prostitute in Washington last month.

An affidavit prepared by an FBI agent says "Client 9" paid the woman 4,300 dollars in cash to meet him at a hotel room in Washington and that there are several indications that the client was a regular customer.

In Monday's news conference Spitzer apologized without offering any explanations or specifics.

"I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better," Spitzer said, with his wife Silda at his side.

Spitzer made his reputation as attorney general as a hard-charging, relentless reformer. The so-called "Sheriff of Wall Street" took down some of the street's biggest players. Wall Street bankers said all of the reforms made their jobs harder.

If Spitzer resigns, Lt. Gov. David Paterson would take over and finish out Spitzer's term, which ends in 2010.

Paterson would be New York's first black governor. Paterson, who lost most of his sight after an infection at the age of three months, would also be the first legally-blind governor.

The Brooklyn-born Paterson was first elected to represent Harlem in the State Senate in 1985 and became Senate minority leader in 2002.

Domestic investors flee, foreign investors optimistic

2008-03-12T17:21:00.001-07:00

While domestic investors are trying to escape from the market as the falling share prices cannot bring them the desired profit, foreign investors remain optimistic about the future of Vietnam’s stock market.

On March 10, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) released a report on Vietnam’s stock market with optimistic figures. HSBC, after considering the business results of listing companies in 2007, stated that the average EPS of the HCM City Stock Exchange rose to 41% in the year, much higher than the previously expected level of 30%.

With the EPS of 41%, the P/E index would be 18. Suggesting that the EPS in 2008 is 20, the expected P/E will be 14.5 in 12 months, which means that Vietnam’s stock market now has the lowest P/E level since 2006, which is only a little higher than the average level in Asian markets, except Japan, at 13.5.

14.5 proves to be a good figure, especially as the P/E index was very high in early 2007, at 35.

HSBC believes that though the uncertainties caused by the monetary policy will exist for some more months, it is still the right time for investors to buy shares at this moment.

Vietnam’s economy has bright prospects in the long term, and Vietnamese listing companies have high profitability, HSBC’s report said.

HSBC’s experts believe that a big volume of capital is still being kept at domestic investment funds, and with the view of long-term investment, the funds are thoroughly considering the possibility of buying shares when the share prices become reasonable.

HSBC’s experts have said that the recent selling-out of shares was carried out mostly by domestic investors. Foreign investors sold more than they bought in the 15 trading sessions of February 2008, but their purchase turnover was $177mil higher than their selling total.

Meanwhile, Asia Pacific Director of ANZ Alex Thursby in an interview with Lao dong newspaper also expressed his optimism about Vietnam’s economy and the stock market.

When asked to comment about measures to rescue the stock market, he said that the stock market was on the right track, i.e. it goes up and down. Vietnam is not the only country in the world in which the government has had to intervene to rescue the stock market.

The leaders of Hong Kong administration also had to use many economic measures to stabilise the stock market in 1997 when the Asian financial crisis took place, and a lot of investors withdrew from the market and the securities indices plunged. He believes that Vietnam’s stock market will recover thanks to suitable policies and regain investors’ confidence.

ANZ is going to buy 10% of stakes of the Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI).

Regarding the high inflation rate in Vietnam, he said that what is happening in Vietnam is not far different from what is happening in other Asian countries. All countries in the world are suffering from the oil price increases.

He also said that the monetary policies being pursued by the State Bank of Vietnam prove to be the suitable policies. The policies may cause some side effects, but Vietnam will get long-term benefit from the policies: they will drive the national economy out of the current bad situation and strongly recover.

Bio-technology industry to be expanded

2008-03-10T20:19:00.001-07:00

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has recently approved a master plan to develop Vietnam's fledgling bio-technology sector.

The aim is to produce high-quality products and reach the level of the rest of the ASEAN community by 2020.

Under the plan, the Government will focus on developing, and applying bio-technology in the areas of agro-forestry, fisheries, food processing, food safety and sanitation, and healthcare and drugs.

The plan also aims to set up an open market to help bio-tech businesses promote production and services in the next two years.

From 2011 to 2015, the Government will build a number of scientific research centres for bio-tech development at the ASEAN level.

The educational leader has stressed the need to train qualified human resources for the bio-tech industry and build international standard bio-tech development centres by 2020.

To meet staff demand, Nhan urged the industry to train 20,000 university graduates and 2,500 post-graduates and to send 400 scientific workers abroad.

Master plan

Nhan also asked the industry to speed up the application of bio-tech research in many industries, including agro-forestry, fisheries, food and beverages, plant and animal hybrids, bio-fertilisers, and vaccines and other drugs.

The master plan encourages private enterprises to invest in development of the bio-technology industry by offering incentives.

Incentives include preferential rates on taxes, land rentals and bank loans to help the industry promote, transfer and import modern technology, and establish a favourable market for bio-technical services as well as training bio-tech scientists.

Car imports cheaper thanks to VND revaluation

2008-03-10T20:17:00.001-07:00

Buyers are now switching to imported models, instead of locally produced, as the former has become cheaper because of the dollar’s devaluation.

February saw the sales of locally made cars decrease sharply; imports increased considerably.

The 18 members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) sold 8,920 units in February, far behind the 12,084 units reported in January.

VAMA members attributed this fall to lower demand during and after Tet versus an extremely high demand immediately before the holiday.

Local automobile joint ventures also said the figures only account for autos delivered to clients, while the real demand remained very high; clients, who ordered a car in February, might not get delivery until March or early April, manufacturers still owe 10,000 units.

But analysts don’t think the aforementioned factors were the most significant behind the slowdown. They assert that the demand is falling because of the gloomy stock market and slowing real estate market. Most importantly, the demand for imports is quickly increasing.

According to the General Statistics Office, some 10,000 cars were imported to Vietnam in the first two months of the year, worth $187mil, an increase of 328% over the same period of 2007. In January 2008 alone, some 6,000 units were imported, valued at $110mil. The figures were 4,000 units and $77mil for February.

Pham Huu Tam, Director of HCM City-based Tradoco, said that because the VND has been increasingly valuable against the dollar, auto import prices have been falling. It is estimated that clients can save up to VND20mil if they buy an import car priced at $50,000.

According to Nguyen Thi Vinh, Director of Hai Phong-based Vinh Hoang Company, her company sold nearly 200 imported cars in the last 20 days.

While buyers are enjoying the devaluation, importers complain that they are at a disadvantage because commercial banks are setting the VND/US$ exchange rate at levels higher than the black market. Commercial banks are offering VND/15,900/US$1, and on the black market it is VND15,500/US$1, meaning importers incur a loss when making payment through banks.

According to Vinh, the regulation requiring importers to pay tax in VND also hurts importers. For example, importers incur a loss of $150 for every Hyundai Click they import to Vietnam.

Importers from Euro countries are also suffering losses. Huynh Du An, General Director of Euro Auto Vietnam, the distributor of BMW, said the company has to make payments in Euros, which is revaluating against the dollar. Moreover, banks’ VND/Euro exchange rates are always higher than the black market.

An says Euro Auto should have raised sale prices to cover the losses, but has decided to give up some of its profits in order to attract more clients.

Other car importers and distributors are facing the same problem, and some of them have to reduce or replace car parts or accessories to reduce losses. For example, xenon lamps may be replaced with normal headlights.

Analysts say that the lackluster real estate and stock markets have been influencing the car market. As securities investors are losing money, there are fewer car buyers.

According to the Tan Son Nhat Airport Customs sub-agency, 80 cars came to Vietnam by air in the first two months of the year, these were primarily Lexus, BMW or Mercedes.

As such, 519 customs declarations on importing cars have been opened at the Tan Son Nhat airport customs agency since the beginning of 2007, under which some 600 cars were imported worth $25mil, including the super-luxurious Rolls Royce Phantom 2008 worth $1.3mil, the owner of which is a real estate businesswoman in HCM City.

Is market set to close up shop?

2008-03-09T00:10:00.001-08:00

The gloomy atmosphere in some Ho Chi Minh City real estate brokers and slight declines in prices are the first signs that the property market is about to slow down again.

The city’s property market is ready for a dose of reality
This follows a series of tightening financial moves and the proposed introduction of progressive taxes.

“A large number of property traders in districts 2, 7, 9, Nha Be and Binh Thanh have recently sold out to pay off their bank loans, due to the fear of more direct and tougher government regulations. Nearly 90 per cent of speculators have loans from private banks,” said Nguyen Xuan Loc, head of Vinaland Company’s transaction centre in District 2.

According to a source from the State Bank in Ho Chi Minh City, the credit for property in 57 commercial banks reached 38 per cent of the banks’ total credit in 2007, while the advisable rate was just 10 per cent.

“Most investors are not buying any more properties and are cautiously observing the market movements, after the government proposed progressive taxes that will be levied on property owners, making prices slide down slightly,” he said.

The property prices in official transaction centres have fallen by about VND500,000 ($31.25) per square metre in Ho Chi Minh City and by about VND2 million ($125) in neighbouring provinces such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Vung Tau.

“The recent increase in the cost of financing across new mortgages, refinancing facilities and holding costs and inflation are starting to impact on buyer behaviour patterns, particularly at the lower end of the market, which is the main cause of further downslides as the Vietnam’s realty market is sensitive and vulnerable,” said CBRE associate director Matthew Koziora.

“The government does not want this market to stop completely, as it is the sector that is creating new wealth among Vietnamese population. The realty sector will not freeze in the near future as there is a structural imbalance in the marketplace, whereby there is a very low supply base and proven high levels of demand,” Koziora said.

He said the decline in property prices would only affect the outlying areas that attract the low to medium-end market, and the high-end market would be unscathed

Giant local investors such as FPT, Viglacera, Lilama and Bitexco, as well as certain foreign investors, had not been intimidated or deterred and were pushing ahead full-throttle with their development plans, so high-end properties will continue to soar, Koziora said.

(Source: VIR)

State bank widens foreign currency trade band

2008-03-09T00:09:00.001-08:00

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) will widen the foreign currency trade band to one percent on either side of the average rate in the inter-banking market instead of the current 0.75 percent as of March 10.

SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Dong Tien said at a press briefing on controlling inflation and price hike on March 7 that the move is aimed at easing a shortage of Viet Nam dong.

SBV will maintain stable primary interest rates and use monetary policy tools to stabilise savings and lending interest rates in accordance with the market’s capital demand and supply, Tien said.

He affirmed that the SBV will also continue to provide capital support to commercial banks to ensure their liquidity through open-market transactions and other re-loaning instruments. The ceiling for interest rate in open-market transactions will be fixed at 9-10 percent.

Also on March 7, all northern members of the Viet Nam Banking Association (VNBA) pledged to keep to a ceiling interest rate of 12 percent in line with SBV’s requirements.

Regarding commercial banks’ suggestion of rescheduling time for credit note purchase, Tien affirmed that there will be no overall change for the March 17 plan but the SBV will consider delaying the purchase depending on each case.

(Source: VNA)

Study: Couples who fight live longer!

2008-01-25T06:52:00.001-08:00

All couples fight, some more often than others, but many of them may be surprised to learn that the more they fight, the longer they may live, a new study in U.S. suggests as quoted by media reports Friday.

Couples who suppressed their anger have a mortality rate twice as high as those in which at least one partner stands up for themselves, according to the study which tracked 192 U.S. couples for 17 years.

"The key matter is, when the conflict happens, how do you resolve it?" said the lead researcher Ernest Harburg, an emeritus professor with the University of Michigan. "When you don't, if you bury your anger, and you brood on it and you resent the other person or the attacker, and you don't try to resolve the problem, then you're in trouble."

The findings add to past research showing that the release of anger can be healthy. Individuals who express anger might also have a sense of control and optimism over a situation.

Bottled anger adds to stress, which tends to shorten lives, many past studies show.

In the current study, the authors suggest a combination of factors to explain the higher mortality for couples who don't express their anger. These include "mutual anger suppression, poor communication (of feelings and issues) and poor problem-solving with medical consequences," they write in the January issue of the Journal of Family Communication.

Over a 17-year period, Harburg and his colleagues studied 192 married couples in which spouses ranged in age from 35 to 69, focusing on aggressive behavior considered unfair or undeserved by the person being "attacked." Harburg said that if an attack is viewed as fair, the victim doesn't tend to get angry.

The researchers found that 26 couples, meaning 52 individuals, were suppressors in which both partners held in their anger. Twenty-five percent of the suppressors died during the study period compared with about 12 percent for the other remaining couples.

In 27 percent of the suppressor couples, one member of the couple died during the study period, and in 23 percent of those couples, both died during the study period. That's compared to only 6 percent of couples where both spouses died in the remaining three groups combined. Only 19 percent in the remaining three groups combined saw one partner die during the study period.

Harburg says the results are preliminary, and his team is now collecting 30-year follow-up data. He expects the follow-up to show almost double the death rate compared with the preliminary findings.

When foreign bankers are eyeing Vietnam’s market

2008-01-25T06:51:00.001-08:00

Sources said that investors are striving for big business deals: setting up banks now to re-sell later to foreign bankers.

There are two noteworthy factors in Vietnam’s financial market: first, more and more investors want to set up banks, and second, more and more foreign bankers are eyeing the domestic market and want to hold stakes in Vietnamese banks. And the two factors have a close link with each other.

Sources said that the State Bank of Vietnam has received more than 40 applications for setting up joint stock banks so far. The founding shareholders of the banks are operating in different fields of the national economy, from oil and gas to breweries, real estate to insurance.

The sources said that most of the plans to set up joint stock banks just come from the idea that foreign bankers are eyeing Vietnam’s financial market, and that the bankers want to hold stakes in Vietnamese banks. In order words, the investors are striving for big business deals: setting up banks now to re-sell later to foreign bankers.

The State Bank of Vietnam has agreed in principle to the establishment of nine banks so far, all of them have the minimum chartered capital of VND1tril. Meanwhile, 12 other applications for setting up banks are still on the table of the top leaders of the State Bank of Vietnam for consideration.

Foreign newspapers recently quoted officials as saying that several big banks in the world, including Australian Raiffeisen International, Dutch ING, British Barclays and US Bank of America, are eyeing Vietnamese banks.

It is clear that Vietnam’s financial market is now worth making investments in. The GDP growth rate in 2007 was 8.44%, the credit growth rate was three-digit, and the foreign direct investment (FDI) was very high at $15mil.

Though Vietnam’s inflation rate was high in 2007 at 12.63%, and the budget deficit was high at 6.9% of GDP, the World Bank’s Country Director Ajay Chhibber still believes that Vietnam will not suffer as much from the global economic recession as it did five years ago, because Vietnam has been successfully diversifying export markets and export items. Crude oil exports now account for 18% of total export turnover, while farm produce is at 18%, industrial products count for 52% and services are at 11%.

Meanwhile, the competition among banks has become fiercer, but there is always room for new comers. Four State-owned banks now hold 60% of the market share, and 20 out of 36 of operational joint stock banks have small business scale. There are 39 foreign banks operational in Vietnam, but most of them just serve the companies of their home countries, which have investments in Vietnam’s economy.

Several foreign banks, including ANZ, HSBC and Standard Chartered, hope to have the right to provide more services in Vietnam in 2008, when the restriction on the number of foreign bank branches is removed, and they are allowed to mobilize VND capital from the public.

HSBC is now holding 15% stakes in Techcombank, and is trying to raise the percentage of stakes to 20%. Under the current regulations, the Prime Minister decides whether one foreign bank can hold 20% of a local bank.

Meanwhile, ANZ, the bank which set up the first foreign bank branch in Vietnam in 1993, is now holding 10% of Sacombank’s shares and 10% of shares in other securities companies.

Hard come, easy go! Spears briefly shows up for hearing

2008-01-15T07:40:00.001-08:00

She came. She saw. She left. Britney Spears showed up late Monday to a hearing that could determine whether she gets visitation rights restored to see her two boys. And then she left.

Spears arrived four hours late for the hearing in her bitter child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline and was mobbed by photographers as she stepped from a sport utility vehicle outside the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

But instead of heading into the building where the hearing was under way with Federline in the courtroom, the troubled pop star climbed quickly back in the car several minutes later and drove off again.

"Move back, I'm scared. Stop it. Stop it. I want to get back in the car. Just stop it. Let me get in the car, please!" Spears shouted at photographers, according to a celebrity Web site.

It was the latest in a series of strange episodes involving Spears since she divorced Federline in late 2006. She lost custody of their two sons, 1-year-old Jayden James and 2-year-old Sean Preston, last year.

Earlier this month, police were summoned to Spears' home when she refused to give the two boys to Federline's representatives after a visit and became distraught. The 26-year-old singer was taken away on a stretcher to be hospitalized for two days.

That incident prompted Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon to suspend her visitation rights with the children until Monday's hearing -- which experts considered critical for Spears to attend.

She did not show up for a morning session, and made her brief appearance outside the courthouse after a noon break.

The hearing was closed to the press and public, but Federline, his hair styled into a Mohawk, was seen coming and going.

Spears became a teen pop phenomenon nine years ago, and enjoyed a brief comeback in October with her new single, "Gimme More" and an album, "Blackout," which briefly hit No. 2 on U.S. pop album charts before falling off.

Absorption apparatus: how to stem inflation

2008-01-15T07:39:00.001-08:00

It seems that the solution to curbing inflation and absorbing the huge volume of foreign currencies has been found: experts have suggested the Government allow big corporations to issue bonds in foreign currencies.

Problems

According to Nguyen Dai Lai, Deputy Director of the Banking Development Strategy Department under the State Bank of Vietnam, the total money supply (M2), which includes total cash in circulation and bank deposits, increased by 92% from 2005-2007 (23.34% in 2005, 33.59% in 2006 and 35% in 2007). In this period, GDP increased by 24.84% (8% in 2005, 8.4% in 2006 and 8.44% in 2007).

Also according to Mr Lai, the M2 growth rate over the last thee years, which was 3.7 times higher than the GDP growth rate during the same period, proves to be too high if considering that the figure is 2.5 times that of other regional countries.

In principle, when the national economy grows, the M2 supply needs to commensurately increase. However, in Vietnam in 2007, the GDP growth rate was just 1/3 of the total money supply growth rate, and that was the main reason behind high inflation.

Banking experts say a main reason behind the sharp increase of money supply was that the State Bank of Vietnam pumped a lot of VND into circulation to buy dollars. In the first six months of the year, the central bank spent VND112tril to purchase $7bil.

After that, the central bank, fearing high inflation, decided to slow down their purchasing dollars from commercial banks, the result of which was superfluous dollars and a serious shortage of VND.

The oversupply of dollars has led to the devaluation of the currency. In the latest report about Vietnam’s financial market, released on January 8, HSBC forecast that the VND/US$ exchange rate would reduce by 1% in 2008 after it reduced by 0.3% in 2007.

Clearly, the devaluation of the greenback is something the State Bank of Vietnam does not want to see, because this does not encourage exports.

Solutions

Mr Lai has suggested a new solution, which he believes will help solve the current problems.

He said that the Government should allow big and prestigious corporations to issue bonds in foreign currencies to attract foreign currencies adrift in the market and consume the excessive foreign currencies at commercial banks (currently, only the Government has the right to issue bonds in foreign currencies).

If so, the central bank will be able to withdraw dollars from circulation, while not putting more VND into circulation, thus helping stabilize the VND/US$ exchange rate and increasing foreign currency reserves.

Commenting on the suggestion, Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Van Giau said that the solution had before been applied in China, but added that it will need more research before it is applied in Vietnam.

Prakriti Sofat, an HSBC expert on Asian economics, also said that if the solution can be implemented, this would be an effective tool for the central bank to manage the monetary policy.

Mrs Sofar, while agreeing that this could be a suitable solution, said that he sees problems with technical issues which decide how much foreign currency the central bank can attract.

For example, experts will have to discuss suitable interest rates for the bonds. If the central bank offers attractive interest rates, it will have to think about how to use foreign currencies most effectively.

Tai Hui, Head of the South East Asia Economies Analysis Division under Standard Chartered Bank, said the central bank needs a flexible management scheme that allows the central bank to pump dollars back into the market when necessary.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Sofat said the central bank needs to apply other measures concurrent with this to help control inflation. For example, it can require a higher compulsory ratio for bank deposits.

Vietnam strives to build borderline of peace, friendship, development with China

2008-01-01T01:24:00.001-08:00

The completion of land border demarcation and landmark planting in Lao Cai Province is a step forward in the process to promote peace, friendship and development along the Vietnam-China border.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong made the statement at a ceremony to celebrate the accomplishment held in Lao Cai Province on December 30.

Lao Cai is the first among seven northern provinces bordering China to finish the planting of landmarks on the boundary between it and Yunnan Province.

Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Dung, who is a member of the National Steering Committee on land border demarcation and marker planting and head of the National Border Committee of Vietnam, said Vietnam and China have completed 85 percent of the work. However, the remaining markers are located in hard-to-access areas, which requires the localities to work harder to meet the schedule, he said.

On the occasion, Chinese Embassy’s charge d’affaires Zhai Liming and Head of Yunnan province’s External Affair Committee Chu Hong expressed their belief that the event would open up more chances for boosting understanding, friendship and cooperation between the two countries, particularly cross-border economic activities.

Lao Cai was assigned to plant landmarks on 203 km of borderline crossing Phong Tho, Bat Xat, Muong Khuong and Si Ma Cai districts and Lao Cai City. The province completed planting the last landmark, No. 144, in Muong Khuong District, on December 27.

Of the total 124 main landmarks and four sub land marks, the province was responsible for 65 landmarks, while the Chinese province planted 63 landmarks.

Angelina Jolie tops celebrity do-gooder poll, Hilton worst

2008-01-01T01:17:00.001-08:00

Strong holiday box office performance gave Hollywood a year-end gift among stockings full of coal caused by the lingering writers' strike, with ticket sales up nearly 18 percent in the last weekend of 2007 over a year earlier.

The top-selling 12 films are estimated to take in 169 million U.S. dollars this weekend at movie theaters in the United States and Canada, according to preliminary figures released by box office tracking firm Media By Numbers Sunday.

Hollywood has seen three "up" weekends in a row this month after five weeks of declining business in the sluggish fall season.

Number one at the North American box office this weekend is "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," a Disney release selling 35.6million dollars this weekend. That Nicolas Cage film has taken in 124 million dollars over two weeks.

The computer-animated "Alvin and the Chipmunks" jumped on spot to number two, with an estimated 30 million dollars in ticket sales this weekend. It was in third place last weekend, and has sold an estimated 142.3 million dollars over three weeks.

Meanwhile, "I Am Legend," the Will Smith sci-fi movie slipped to third place with 27.5 million dollars this weekend and 194.6 million dollars million taken in during its three weeks of release.

Political comedy "Charlie Wilson's War," starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, held steady at number 4 with 11.8 million dollars over its second weekend of release, followed by Oscar favorite "Juno" with 10.3 million dollars, as the comedy about a pregnant teenager schoolgirl expanded its release.

Hollywood will likely finish the year of 2007 with record domestic box office revenues of about 9.7 billion dollars, surpassing the previous high of 9.45 billion dollars in 2004, mainly thanks to the rising ticket prices, according to Media By Numbers.

Coffee export in 2007 surge, earning $1.8 billion

2008-01-01T01:13:00.001-08:00

Vietnam exported 1.2 million tonnes of coffee in 2007, bringing in a total revenue of over 1.8 billion USD, a 22.3 percent increase in terms of volume and a 50 percent rise in value.

2007 is also the first year coffee export value has surpassed earnings from rice, at 13 percent.

With this growth, coffee is leading agro-forestry products in export value and accounts for 13 percent of the country’s total agricultural product export value.

The country is now the world second largest coffee producer, behind only Brazil, holding 43 percent of the global coffee market.

According to the Vietnam Association of Coffee and Cacoa, ten key buyers of Vietnam’s coffee are Germany, the US, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Poland, France, the Republic of Korea, the UK and Japan, accounting for 75 percent of the country’s total sale. Germany alone represents the largest market share of 14 percent. The coffee industry has also expanded its market to the Near Middle East, Africa, Central America and several ASEAN countries.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, next year, the industry will focus on improving coffee quality.

The country currently has 500,000 ha under coffee trees, mostly in the Central Highlands and the southeast region

9 new EU member states join Schengen Area

2007-12-21T07:32:00.001-08:00

Nine European Union (EU) new member states on Friday joined the passport-free Schengen Area.

The nine countries are Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. They all joined the EU on May 1, 2004 in the "big bang" of the EU enlargement.

Their entry marked the biggest ever enlargement of the Schengen zone, expanding the Schengen zone from 15 countries to 24.

Starting from 0:00 a.m. Friday (2300 GMT, Thursday), the nine states officially open their land and sea border to the Schengen Area, and people do not have to show their passports when going through the border crossings.

At around 9:00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT), a symbolic opening-border ceremony was held at a border crossing near the German town of Zittau, which borders Poland and the Czech Republic.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek attended the ceremony at the border crossing "Zittau peace road-Porajow."

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country is holding the EU presidency, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering also witnessed the opening of the border.

After 9:00 a.m. local time, a German police officer and a Polish police officer lifted the border bar that divided the two countries, symbolizing the opening of the border.

The Schengen Agreement, signed on June 14, 1985, is an agreement which allows for the abolition of systematic border controls between the participating countries.

However, it was not until March 26, 1995 that the agreement was put into practice.

By far, all EU states except Britain and Ireland and three non-EU members (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) have signed the agreement. Among them, only 24 countries have so far put the pact into implementation.

Greenback recovers its strength

2007-12-21T07:31:00.001-08:00

The dollar has been increasing in value since the State Bank of Vietnam has resumed buying dollars in, while the demand for dollars is increasing on the domestic market.

Analysts said that the current dollar profuse supply will end in several months.

The dollar value has moved up slightly in the last few days. Vietcombank’s VND/US$ exchange rate was VND16,032/US$1 on December 17, then went up to VND16,038/US$1 on December 20. Meanwhile, Eximbank’s rates were VND16,035/US$1 on December 17 and VND16,045/US$1 on December 20.

Ly Xuan Hai, Director General of ACB said that the dollar excess has been eased thanks to the higher demand for dollar. Import companies now need dollars to make payment for imported goods for selling on Tet. Meanwhile, sources said that the volume of dollars brought to Vietnam for investments has decreased in the last few months.

According to Vietcombank HCM City branch, petrol importers are the biggest dollar buyers at this moment. The importers plan to import petrol in large quantity now, when the oil price decreases.

Meanwhile, it is now the high construction season, and construction firms need to buy dollars to import steel and construction materials.

Gold trading companies also need dollars to import gold when the world’s price decreases.

Analysts said that the market may see the dollar shortage in several months instead of the excess as seen currently. In the world’s market, the greenback has also recovered its strength. Therefore, local enterprises now begin hoarding dollars.

The analysts don’t think that the volume of dollars to inflow to Vietnam in 2008 under the portfolio investment will be as high as in 2007.

Cell phone ideas awarded in Hanoi

2007-12-10T06:59:00.001-08:00

NextGen Award 2007, Vietnam’s first international mobile phone design contest that was launched eight months ago, held its awards ceremony in Hanoi on December 8.

Different from other technology contests, NextGen, held by VietNamNet and the US’ Cyber Century Forum Foundation, was a contest of ideas to serve the community, with three fields: improving health, developing education and maintaining a sustainable environment.

The organizing board received over 2,000 original cell phone ideas that aimed to improve their consumer utility. A hand phone may become an information portal, a mobile perfume bottle or even a study assistance tool.

The organising board presented Superstar, the most noble title, to the ideas of Le Thanh Trang and Trieu Quang Thanh from Hanoi, Doan Uyen Phuong from Da Nang and Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh from Nghe An. Twelve other ideas received the NextGen Star title.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Pham Anh Tuan, Secretary General of the VietNamNet Bridge Online Newspaper, said many countries registered to host NextGen Award 2007, including Mexico, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, India and Portugal.

“This is a contest of ideas and there is a wide gap between ideas and reality but the contest reveals humanitarian sentiments and how young Vietnamese are thinking about technology,” said Lorrie Volkin, representative of the Cyber Century Forum foundation.

Hung Hai

Less tax, more cars

2007-12-10T06:58:00.001-08:00

Foreign-made cars have been imported in large quantities after the Government lowered the import tax rate, which is considered a ‘killjoy’ for locally made cars; but a welcome killjoy.

According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA), local auto manufacturers will only be able to deliver the 10,000 cars they have promised by the end of the first quarter of 2008. A lot of sales agents have refused security money from clients because manufacturers cannot provide timely deliveries.

Locally made shortage, imports sought

Mr Thanh Hung, who lives in HCM City’s district 10, wants a 3.5L Camry. A Toyota sales agent told him he would have to wait until early 2008. Instead, he decided to buy an imported car.

He has found out that a Camry 2.4L is being offered for $50,000 and if he pays the deposit now, he can expect delivery in four to five weeks.

Huy Thong, a car buyer, said he is still waiting for the Captiva he booked in mid 2007. He has sold the right to buy the car to another customer and bought an imported car.

Analysts say a lot of customers are now buying imported cars. In the past, imported cars were out of many people’s reach, but are now much cheaper thanks to tax cuts.

Wise buyers should purchase imported cars now instead of waiting so long to get locally made products, they said, adding that locally made products will fall further behind due to increasingly high year end demands. In fact, import prices are just a bit higher than locally made products.

Less luxury, more wheels

Director of a car import company said that the domestic market has been stimulated by tax decreases and the number of car buyers is increasing as many profit from securities investments and want to own cars.

Analysts say the market will remain hot in the near future as importers still can not meet rapidly increasing demand.

They say more imports will intensify the pressure on local automobile manufacturers, forcing them to lower the sale prices.

Car importers have all announced they will lower sale prices. All models, from the low cost Kia Morning to the medium-class Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Veracruz, Toyota Camry 2.4L and 3.5L, to luxury models like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Audi, Porsche and Ferrari, all have ‘softer’ prices.

The tax decreases have resulted in considerable car price decreases: $2-4,000/unit for BMW models, $1,500/unit for the Hyundai Santa Fe (now selling at $43,400), $5,000 for the Veracruz ($63,500) and $2,000 for a 2007 Toyota Camry. Currently, medium-class cars are hovering at $50,000/unit, down by $1-4,000.

(Source: Tuoi tre)

Spokesman: protest against China’s San Sha city spontaneous

2007-12-10T06:56:00.001-08:00

Groups of people gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy in Ha Noi and Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City on December 9 to oppose China ’s recent moves related to Viet Nam ’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos were spontaneous actions.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said so on December 9 while responding to correspondents’ queries on the gatherings against China ’s establishment of San Sha city in Hainan island, which includes Viet Nam ’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

“The deed is spontaneous and not allowed by the Vietnamese authorities,” the spokesman affirmed, adding that learning about the gathering, Vietnamese security forces came to those places immediately to give explanations and disperse the crowds.

Regarding the East Sea , spokesman Le Dung said “We have times and again reiterated our policy of using negotiations to solve all disputes in a peaceful manner on the basis of international laws and practices, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2002 Declaration of the Conduct of Parties. This aims to maintain peace and stability while also seeking a long-term and basic solution that is accepted by all concerned parties.”

With this spirit, the two chiefs of the Vietnamese and Chinese government negotiation teams on border and territories met in Ha Noi recently, exchanging opinions on border and territory-related issues in a comprehensive, frank and broad manner, spokesman Le Dung said.

On sea-related issues, they agreed on increasing the speed of negotiations and coordinating in addressing these issues based on the spirit of friendly neighbourliness, fraternity and comradeship, so that not to further complicate the situation, the spokesman stressed.

He went on to affirm that he on December 3 already made a statement about Viet Nam ’s stance on China ’s State Council approval to set up San Sha city, which includes Viet Nam ’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

(Source: VNA)

Rising inflation forces banks into a corner

2007-12-10T06:55:00.001-08:00

Commercial banks are saying it is difficult to develop effective business plans after being asked to limit capital mobilization and loans.

The Vietnam Banking Association (VNBA) has sent a dispatch to commercial banks, requesting they tighten credit in order to help curb inflation which has increased by 9.45% in the last 11 months.

Duong Thu Huong, Secretary General of VNBA, said the credit growth rate has been very high so far this year, which has hampered inflation control attempts.

In mid November, several banks increased deposit interest rates, though they agreed in April 2006 that they would apply ceilings set by VNBA for deposits and loans.

According to Mrs Huong, by the end of 2007, total mobilized capital is expected to increase by 36.5% over 2006, while outstanding loans increase by 34%.

VNBA has asked members to not increase deposit interest rates at this time, which may heat up the market and worsen the already high inflation rate.

Several banks have broken promises and increased the deposit interest rates, as they lack usable capital. Meanwhile, the overnight interest rate on the inter-bank market once hit the 15% per annum threshold. VNBA fears that if the situation cannot be improved, the monetary market will become unstable.

VNBA has its reasons to ask for banks’ help to curb inflation. However, experts have warned that the credit tightening policies may result in adverse side effects.

Director of a joint stock bank, who asked to remain anonymous, said the State should not rely on monetary policies to curb inflation.

“Up to now, policy makers always blame monetary policies for high inflation, while they do not pay appropriate attention to other problems, including commodity supply and demand,” he said.

The director said that once commercial banks reduce interest rates, they will not reflect the real capital demand and supply, which means that the market will be distorted and without suitable intervention.

He said that once commercial banks have to limit mobilized capital, they will not have much to lend. If so, enterprises will be the victims. Meanwhile, depositors will also suffer because they will lose money due to high inflation and low interest rates. In the long term, the losses will discourage people from making deposits in banks and the banking system will not have enough capital to support the national economy.

(Source: TBKTVN)

State Bank announces foreign investment standards

2007-12-04T06:47:00.001-08:00

The State Bank of Vietnam has announced that non-listed commercial banks wanting to sell shares to foreign investors must have capital of VND1 billion and non-performing debt less than three per cent.

The announcement also said banks must be in the green for five consecutive years before selling
shares to foreign investors and not have been fined over five million VND by the State Bank for management violations.

Foreign financial institutions wanting to invest in a local bank must have a recent global credit rating. If they want to buy over 15 percent stake, they have to have their request approved by the Bank Governor.

Banking experts said the announcement provides foreign investors more benefits; those with stakes in local banks below 15 per cent of total capital still have the right to increase their ownership.

According to the announcement, within thirty days of the State Bank Governor’s purchase approval, foreign investors must transfer all necessary funds in VND into an indirect investment account at a State Bank designated Payment Bank.

Hanoians scramble for land

2007-12-04T06:31:00.001-08:00

“Hanoi’s land has nearly run out,” repeatedly announced Ministers of Construction and Natural Resource and the Environment at last week’s working session with Hanoi authorities.

According to Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan, the inner city’s surface area has increased 4.5 times in the last 15 years, from 40 sq m to 178 sq km. Land allocated for housing, offices and health care increased by 165-235%, while land used for transportation, cemeteries and rubbish dumps remains unchanged.

Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment confirmed that at the current development rate, Hanoi will run out of land by 2010.

In fact, Hanoians and real estate firms have been well informed of the land shortage even before the ministers’ warning.

Hanoi authorities are planning to increase land availability by removing old factories and facilities from centrally located ‘beautiful areas’ to the suburbs. These factories have taken up space on the most central and beautiful streets, which experts consider to be an enormous waste.

It is expected that some 1,000 establishments will be moved to the city’s suburbs.

In 2003, Hanoi People’s Committee released a document saying the removed factories would create space for public works, including schools, parks and business centres. Removed facilities will receive Government compensation of up to VND5bil, maximum.

Speaking at the meeting, Hanoi Mayor Nguyen The Thao said that VND5bil ($312,500) does not come close to the actual land value.

Hearing of the soon to be cleared ‘golden land plots,’ many investors are lobbying for the right to invest in the valuable areas. An investor revealed he has spent tens of billions of VND on a plot near Hoan Kiem lake.

It remains unclear when the factories will be removed, but investors are clambering for the land rights, registering business centres and office complexes. 94 Lo Duc street, currently the site of an alcohol and liquor factory and 74 Nguyen Trai street, where Hanoi Mechanics Factory is located, are two typical examples of valuable plots about to be vacated.

No beautification or entertainment projects have yet been registered.

Minister Nguyen said that Hanoi now has the right to choose investors, and only pollution-free high-tech projects will be accepted. He also said Hanoi will not accept too many high-rise buildings and/or apartment blocs in the centre.

Banks rushing to increase chartered capital

2007-11-29T05:35:00.001-08:00

A lot of commercial banks are issuing shares to increase their capital at this moment. Investors are complaining that the large number of share issuances will make it difficult for them to arrange money to purchase bank shares.

There are many reasons for banks to increase chartered capital. They have to meet the State Bank’s requirement on having VND1tril ($62.5mil) worth of chartered capital as of early 2008. Some banks want to increase capital so as to have more capital when selling shares to strategic partners. Moreover, they want more capital to expand their operation scale.

An Binh bank is leading the share issuance move. It plans to issue VND1,800bil worth of shares. Other banks have the share values of between VND200bil and VND1tril. With the selling price of shares at 3-6 times higher than the face value, banks expect to collect VND1-3tril worth of capital.

The director of a bank said that its share issuance to increase chartered capital was decided by the shareholders’ meeting at the beginning of the year, and now is the time to fulfill the plans.

The director said that higher chartered capital allows banks to expand network, which can bring opportunities to access more clients, especially big ones. The banks with small scale seem to never have the opportunity to shake hands with big clients, since under the current regulations, banks cannot lend one client a sum of money bigger than 15% of their capital.

Big pressure on market

In the last week, some ten banks have gotten permission from the State Securities Commission to sell shares to the public worth VND4,500bil (face value).
If counting the banks that got permission before the total value of shares to be issued this year would reach VND7tril.

Some analysts say that banks are all trying to issue shares at this moment because they want to avoid ‘involvement in misfortune’ from the upcoming Vietcombank IPO.

There is no clear information about Vietcombank’s IPO, but Vietcombank’s share prices will surely affect bank share prices, negative or positive, the analysts said.

It is expected that banks will successfully attract a huge volume of capital worth several tens of billions VND, which would put heavy pressure on the market.

Bank shares wanted by everyone

Considered the ‘king of shares’, bank shares are still attractive in the eyes of investors, though they have fallen by 50% from their peak.

‘The wide-scale share issuance at this moment will make it hard for investors to arrange enough money for investments,” said Nguyen Duc Phong, an investor, who holds shares of three banks, worth more than VND800mil.

According to Mr Phong, investors all have at least one bank share item in their investment portfolio as injecting money in bank shares is considered the safest investment channel. Investors try to purchase bank shares even if they are short of money.
However, analysts believe that the profuse supply of bank shares will have impacts on the prices of listed securities.

(Source: Tien phong)

VNR500: seeking Vietnamese brand names

2007-11-29T05:31:00.001-08:00

It is a pity that no Vietnamese name is among the biggest regional and world brand names. Some say it is because of weak Vietnamese brand names, some others say it is because Vietnamese enterprises remain too young.

‘Cu Chi’… brand name

Returning to the list of 1,000 Asian brand names, Vietnam luckily had one representative on the list, ranked 714th. However, this was not a 100% Vietnamese owned company, because it was Vedan, a joint venture.

Saigon Tiep Thi, a Vietnamese version newspaper, conducted a quick survey by raising a question to 23 foreigners: “Do you know any Vietnamese brand name?” It saw only heads shaking in response.

Pearly Tan, Director General of Asia Insight, an independent market research firm, also said that he could not remember any Vietnamese brand name, an answer that might disappoint many Vietnamese businesses.

However, Vietnamese businesses would be more discouraged if they knew that Mohan Menon, a foreigner, who has been living and working in Vietnam for a long time, said that he knew a Vietnamese brand name – Cu Chi. However, Cu Chi is the name of a location which has the Cu Chi tunnels, an immense network of connecting underground tunnels, famous during the war against the US.

At a workshop on building brand names held in HCM City recently, Anthony Martin Pangilinan, Deputy President of the biggest investment fund in the Philippines, PLDT-Smart, said that he knew a lot about Vietnam’s history and beautiful landscapes, but no Vietnamese brand name had gone beyond the nation’s border to access the global brand name system.

Mr Pangilinan added it was partially because Vietnam’s economy had just been developing for a short time, and its brand names had not had enough time to go far.

Not paying attention to building brand names?

Explaining why Vietnamese brand names are not well known in the world, Dang Le Nguyen Vu, a young businessman, said that the quality of products was not the problem, since the world has accepted many Vietnamese products.

The problem lies in the fact that Vietnam does not pay appropriate attention to building brand names.

In fact, a lot of Vietnam-made products, especially farm produce, have been exported under other countries’ names.

Japanese distributors can import goods from Vietnam and then sell the goods under their names at prices much higher than the import prices. This shows that Vietnamese companies are still weak in marketing, and they have to acknowledge bad luck.

Businessman Nguyen Tran Quang said that if Vietnamese companies continued ignoring marketing activities, their brand names would never be known in the world.

Prof Nguyen Lan Dung, a National Assembly deputy, shared the same view, saying that if Vietnamese companies did not push up the building of brand names, they would only work for foreign companies for ever, in their home country.

Government support needed

In fact, Vietnamese companies and state management agencies have been talking much about the need to build Vietnamese brand names. Nevertheless, no master plan on building brand names at the national level has been set so far.

In order to bring Vietnamese brand names to the world, Vietnam needs to have a national programme on building brand names first, which will allow it to set up policies on supporting business. The government needs to join forces with enterprises to build and develop brand names, said Pham Chi Lan, an economist.

“It is necessary to have policies and strategies on assisting enterprises to export products under their names,” said Mr Quang.

Prof Julio Aramberri from US Drexel University said that the building of Vietnam’s national brand names would require cooperation between the government and enterprises. First of all, the Ministry of Finance needs to realise the importance of building national brand names so as to allocate a suitable budget for this work.

The professor said that in other countries, governments always give support to private enterprises’ activities which also can benefit the nation.

“Building brand names is not only the responsibility of enterprises, but of the whole nation and the government,” said Mrs Lan.

Nature of the Industry

2007-11-28T06:00:00.001-08:00

Banks safeguard money and valuables and provide loans, credit, and payment services, such as checking accounts, money orders, and cashier’s checks. Banks also may offer investment and insurance products, which they were once prohibited from selling. As a variety of models for cooperation and integration among finance industries have emerged, some of the traditional distinctions between banks, insurance companies, and securities firms have diminished. In spite of these changes, banks continue to maintain and perform their primary role—accepting deposits and lending funds from these deposits.

There are several types of banks, which differ in the number of services they provide and the clientele they serve. Although some of the differences between these types of banks have lessened as they begin to expand the range of products and services they offer, there are still key distinguishing traits. Commercial banks, which dominate this industry, offer a full range of services for individuals, businesses, and governments. These banks come in a wide range of sizes, from large global banks to regional and community banks. Global banks are involved in international lending and foreign currency trading, in addition to the more typical banking services. Regional banks have numerous branches and automated teller machine (ATM) locations throughout a multi-state area that provide banking services to individuals. Banks have become more oriented toward marketing and sales. As a result, employees need to know about all types of products and services offered by banks. Community banks are based locally and offer more personal attention, which many individuals and small businesses prefer. In recent years, online banks—which provide all services entirely over the Internet—have entered the market, with some success. However, many traditional banks have also expanded to offer online banking, and some formerly Internet-only banks are opting to open branches.

Savings banks and savings and loan associations, sometimes called thrift institutions, are the second largest group of depository institutions. They were first established as community-based institutions to finance mortgages for people to buy homes and still cater mostly to the savings and lending needs of individuals.

Credit unions are another kind of depository institution. Most credit unions are formed by people with a common bond, such as those who work for the same company or belong to the same labor union or church. Members pool their savings and, when they need money, they may borrow from the credit union, often at a lower interest rate than that demanded by other financial institutions.

Federal Reserve banks are Government agencies that perform many financial services for the Government. Their chief responsibilities are to regulate the banking industry and to help implement our Nation’s monetary policy so our economy can run more efficiently by controlling the Nation’s money supply—the total quantity of money in the country, including cash and bank deposits. For example, during slower periods of economic activity, the Federal Reserve may purchase government securities from commercial banks, giving them more money to lend, thus expanding the economy. Federal Reserve banks also perform a variety of services for other banks. For example, they may make emergency loans to banks that are short of cash, and clear checks that are drawn and paid out by different banks.

Interest on loans is the principal source of revenue for most banks, making their various lending departments critical to their success. The commercial lending department loans money to companies to start or expand a business or to purchase inventory and capital equipment. The consumer lending department handles student loans, credit cards, and loans for home improvements, debt consolidation, and automobile purchases. Finally, the mortgage lending department loans money to individuals and businesses to purchase real estate.

The money to lend comes primarily from deposits in checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and other deposit accounts that consumers and businesses set up with the bank. These deposits often earn interest for the owner, and accounts that offer checking provide an easy method for making payments safely without using cash. Deposits in many banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which ensures that depositors will get their money back, up to a stated limit, if a bank should fail.

Technology is having a major impact on the banking industry. For example, many routine bank services that once required a teller, such as making a withdrawal or deposit, are now available through ATMs that allow people to access their accounts 24 hours a day. Also, direct deposit allows companies and governments to electronically transfer payments into various accounts. Further, debit cards, which may also used as ATM cards, instantaneously deduct money from an account when the card is swiped across a machine at a store’s cash register. Electronic banking by phone or computer allows customers to pay bills and transfer money from one account to another. Through these channels, bank customers can also access information such as account balances and statement history. Some banks have begun offering online account aggregation, which makes available in one place detailed and up-to date information on a customer’s accounts held at various institutions.

Advancements in technology have also led to improvements in the ways in which banks process information. Use of check imaging, which allows banks to store photographed checks on the computer, is one such example that has been implemented by some banks. Other types of technology have greatly impacted the lending side of banking. For example, the availability and growing use of credit scoring software allows loans to be approved in minutes, rather than days, making lending departments more efficient.

Other fundamental changes are occurring in the industry as banks diversify their services to become more competitive. Many banks now offer their customers financial planning and asset management services, as well as brokerage and insurance services, often through a subsidiary or third party. Others are beginning to provide investment banking services that help companies and governments raise money through the issuance of stocks and bonds, also usually through a subsidiary. As banks respond to deregulation and as competition in this sector grows, the nature of the banking industry will continue to undergo significant change.

China Needs Iron

2007-11-26T18:23:00.001-08:00

Another battle may be shaping up between China and Japan. This time, it's over iron ore.

Both nations have an acute need for the product. Indeed, it is China's enormous appetite for iron ore (about 500 million tons a year or more) that has been the major factor behind the recent enormous price increases and profits in the iron-ore industry around the world. Over the last three years alone, members of the iron-ore cartel--Brazil's CVRD (nyse: RIO - news - people ), Australian-based BHP Billiton (nyse: BBL - news - people ) and British-based Rio Tinto Group (nyse: RTP - news - people )--have raised iron-ore prices by, successively, 70%, 19%, 9.5% and for 2008, an estimated 50%.

Without China's voracious need for iron ore, such huge price increases would have been impossible. Although China has some iron-ore reserves, the quality and quantity of those reserves is lacking. Japan, like China, is also a net importer of iron ore for its steel industry, as Japan has no domestic reserves.

Enter British-based Rio Tinto, one of the world's major producers of this very much in-demand product. Against the backdrop of the company's board rejecting the recent unsolicited offer by Australian-based producer BHP, Rio's stock price has shot up to never-before-seen levels, as shareholders clearly anticipate either a higher offer by BHP or a white knight entering the fray.

While all eyes are fixed on Brazil's CVRD as the most likely contender, market forces might be ripe for a demand-driven scenario involving steel players from China or Japan or an industry outsider--like oil giant Exxon Mobil (nyse: XOM - news - people ).

While CVRD is, of course, a distinct possibility and may even be the favorite, the Brazilian producer does not need Rio's iron ore (they have plenty themselves), and the pricing of the deal is now extremely high, at about $150 billion. Moreover, anyone buying Rio Tinto would either have to have a very valuable stock to pay for it, or even better, be able to pay all-cash since, in a takeover battle, all-cash always beats stock. But not too many parties can come up with $150 billion in cash.

In terms of the prospects of a China takeover, just do the math. Rio currently produces about 150 million tons of iron ore a year (aside from aluminum and other metals). If China bought Rio, it would take care of about 30% of China's entire annual iron-ore needs. Moreover, at a worldwide price of about $200 per ton today, even without considering another price increase next year, it would cost China $30 billion annually to acquire the equivalent of all Rio Tinto's iron-ore output. So a $150 billion all-cash offer would amount to only about five times China's annual cost.

Additionally, Rio is planning to increase its production up to about 250 million tons a year. At this level of production, the purchase price would be only about three times the cost. Since Rio's iron-ore assets constitute only about one-third of its total assets, there would be plenty of other (desirable) assets to sell off if China wanted to reduce the overall purchase price. These numbers make the existing $150 billion price tag for Rio Tinto look a lot more reasonable.

For China (or Japan, for that matter) the idea of coming up with $150 billion in cash is daunting but doable. So too for one of the major oil companies like Exxon Mobil, which has a market cap of nearly $500 billion. Why would Exxon Mobil be interested? Well, it's already in the commodity business, and buying one of the top three iron-ore companies would be a simple way to diversify its affairs.

This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. No one thought that a company like Rio Tinto would come on the market, but that is effectively what BHP has done--put this commodity giant into play. Without a white knight, it is probably inevitable that BHP wins, since the Rio stock is now trading at levels that could not be sustained should BHP lose and no other deal be completed. BHP has cleverly backed Rio into a corner. The only question is whether some unexpected player might have the insight and resources

Darling to face business leaders

2007-11-26T18:19:00.001-08:00

Alistair Darling will face the latest tricky engagement of what has been a tough few months when he addresses business leaders.

On Monday, Gordon Brown told the CBI conference that he would continue to "listen and discuss" the thorny issue of capital gains tax reform.

Mr Darling plans reforms to the tax that will lead to some people's bills rising from 10% of gains to 18%.

The CBI says that will penalise small businesses and entrepreneurs.

The simplification of the capital gains tax system was supposed to allow the Treasury to raise more money from the very wealthy people who run private equity firms.

Conservative leader David Cameron will raise the heat on Mr Darling when he addresses the same conference.

He is expected to call on the chancellor to admit he has made a mistake and abandon or radically alter his plans.

He will say that confusion about the government's intentions has left entrepreneurs and investors in the dark.

But Mr Cameron also needs to go on a charm offensive with CBI members, many of whom were offended this time last year when he cancelled his engagement to speak at their conference to visit troops in Iraq.

Mr Darling's speech comes as the Labour Party investigates who knew that David Abrahams, a property developer from the North East of England, had donated almost £600,000 to the party through associates.

Mr Brown is sure to face questions about that at his monthly news conference, as well as the news revealed by Mr Darling last week that HM Revenue and Customs had lost the records of millions of Child Benefit claimants.

In addition, despite the naming of Virgin as the preferred bidder for Northern Rock, there is no sign that the government's loans to the troubled bank will be paid back in full soon.

Poland’s new PM says to pull troops from Iraq in 2008

2007-11-24T23:19:00.001-08:00

Poland's new Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday that his government will withdraw all 900 Polish troops from Iraq next year, but will continue its peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan

"In a year's time, I will tell you here in parliament that our military mission in Iraq is over," Tusk told lawmakers in his first policy speech to parliament.

"We have taken the decision -- as far as the government powers go -- to make 2008 the year when the pullout of Poland's military mission is started and completed," said the liberal Tusk, who won Poland's snap elections last month.

The exact dates for the withdrawal and other details would be consulted with allies, especially the United States, he added.

By next year, Poland will have done more than what its allies, especially the United States, had expected from the country, he said.

Poland backed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and leads the international contingent in the south-central region.

Referring to the country's mission in Afghanistan, Tusk said Poland would keep its 1,200 troops in Afghanistan next year.

"The Polish mission in Afghanistan testifies to our credibility in NATO, which is the main pillar and a guarantee of Poland's safety," the prime minister said.

Tusk also said his government respected Poland's earlier announcement to send 350 soldiers with the European Union mission to Chad.

In the parliamentary elections on Oct. 21, the largest opposition party Civic Platform (PO) beat the ruling Law and Justice party, obtaining 209 seats in the parliament's lower house.

A new cabinet headed by Tusk, leader of Civic Platform, was sworn in last Friday.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

PIT to make waves for FDI voyages

2007-11-24T23:16:00.001-08:00

One may query why a tax assessing an individual’s income, for example the employees, would have anything to do with foreign direct investment and foreign investors’ decisions in investing for a country.

It is not a direct tax imposed on foreign investors and FDI enterprises’ income like the corporate income tax. However, there are still some important links as demonstrated below.

Among many other factors which foreign investors often consider when deciding to invest in a country is the cost of doing business there. Labour costs are definitely high on this list and it is currently considered as one of the main competitive advantages of Vietnam compared to other countries in the region.

When reviewing labour costs, personal income tax and other related payroll costs (eg: social security and health insurance contributions) have to be factored into the equation.

The view that PIT is a tax on individual income and should be paid and borne by individual employees is not always correct. Many FDI enterprises in Vietnam still pay staff on a net of all tax and contribution basis due to market practices. For example, they may agree to pay a staff a $1,000 net salary per month so this amount should be transferred to the individual bank account free of any tax and deductions. Under the current tax, social security and health insurance regulations, net salary employers are required to pay extra $240 per month. The total labour cost to them is therefore $1, 240.

Alternatively, if they pay $2,000 gross per month for a manager, it is again the employer’s concern to make sure that what they pay is competitive and local staff are happy. If too much tax, social security and health insurance contribution deductions are made on this $2,000 then the net take home for the employee may be less and not competitive.

As quoted in the previous article, currently there are only approximately 400,000 individuals (foreigners and Vietnamese) who are subject to paying income tax applicable to high income earners.

The total tax amount collected in 2006 was approximately VND5,100 billion accounting for approximately 2 per cent of total national tax revenue. Almost all of this tax is collected via employer withholding mechanisms with foreigners working in Vietnam and Vietnamese working in foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises being the significant contributors to this revenue. Accordingly, the group being affected the most by any change in PIT regulations should be the foreign individual tax payers and FDI enterprises.

Foreign investors’ representatives in Vietnam (typically the chief representatives of foreign representative offices or chairmen/general directors of existing FDI enterprises) may often have strong influence on the foreign investors’ decision to invest in a country. These people are also the most significant PIT payers in Vietnam. When these people consider themselves heavily taxed either when they are paid on a gross basis and have to pay and bear Vietnam PIT burden themselves or even when they are paid on a net basis with their company picking up the tax bill but their total employment costs may still not reflect favourably on their Vietnam operational budget, they may not be happy with paying too much tax and this may reflect unfavourably in their assessment of the country’s tax system and the investment environment.

Due to the above, it can be said that the proposed new PIT law will have to some extent direct impacts on foreign investors and FDI enterprises in Vietnam.

Now, let’s turn our attention to how the Vietnam PIT regime assuming the proposed draft law with the corresponding personal/family allowances and tax bands/rates are adopted and become effective from January 1, 2009 is compared with other tax regimes around the world. For the purpose of this comparison, the UK income tax regime is picked for the reason that it is generally considered as a high tax country even it did not make it to the list of the top 10 most heavily taxed countries in the world - (source: http://internationaltrade.suite101.com/article.cfm/highest_taxed_countries) and the fact that the author of this article is familiar with it so the comparison can be done relatively easy.

A recent salary survey showed that UK’s average salary for 2006 was estimated at GBP30,000 equivalent to approximately $60,000 per year (or approximately VND1 billion at the current exchange rate) (source: http://internationaltrade.suite101.com/article.cfm/highest_taxed_countries). Looking at this figure, we can assess how an expatriate earning this income level may be taxed in the UK and Vietnam.

If we double the UK’s average salary level and move to a more senior position with income level of GBP60,00 which is equivalent to $120,000 (or approximately VND2 billion), the tax impacts are as follows:

From the perspective of expatriates, the above figures clearly shown that Vietnam currently as well as in the future (assuming the current proposed tax threshold, tax bands and tax rates will be approved by the National Assembly), is taxing foreign individuals heavier compared to UK.

Now let’s turn our attention to local Vietnamese working in foreign-invested enterprises to assess the labour cost impacts and how they are taxed from the view of foreign investors. After many downward adjustments in the tax rates and tax bands and the removal of the additional surtax applicable to local Vietnamese, the current tax threshold of VND5 million per month is relatively generous taking into account of the status of the country’s current economic development.

This is due to the fact that the vast majority of manufacturing employees even working for FDI enterprises do not command this VND5 million per month and above pay scale. The majority of staff still only command a salary level of between VND1 million to VND2 million and therefore suffer no tax impact under the current as well as future PIT law.

For higher pay professional and management staff in FDI, who may earn in the region of $1,000 to $3,000 per month, the effective tax rates are still reasonable under both the current and proposed PIT law (see table).

The additional social security and health insurance contributions at the combined rate (for both employer and employee) of 23 per cent (this rate is set to increase in the future years) may be considered high affecting the overall labour cost.

Previously this 23 per cent rate applied to all income levels without limitation. Fortunately, the income level subject to this has now been capped at 20 times the minimum salary level (i.e. currently set at VND9,000,000).

From a foreign investor and FDI enterprises’ perspective, the main concern may perhaps be on the taxation of expatriate high income earners. It may be well received if some tax relief for expatriate high income earners can be provided to bring Vietnam’s taxation to a level comparable to their countries.

This maybe achieved by widening the proposed tax bands and perhaps setting a lower top marginal tax rate.

(Source: VIR)

Disabled Japanese teacher

2007-11-24T23:14:00.001-08:00

Michiko’s day begins at 5am. After eating a bowl of instant noodles in a hurry and preparing some food for lunch, she catches a bus to the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Michiko arrives at the university very early, when just several students were at the campus. “I have to go early to get a seat for teaching. If I come late, I have to go to the café and it is costly,” she said.

Holding on

Michiko has lived in Vietnam for over ten years. Each time remembering her “fate” with Vietnam, she just smiles. “I came to Vietnam for the first time in 1995 as a tourist. At that time I travelled to Vietnam with my friends. Truthfully, I had a bad impression about Vietnam the first time. We bargained with the cyclo driver that one hour was charged at $5 but when the tour finished, he claimed up to $40/hour.”

Michiko decided to return to Vietnam to prove that she couldn’t be cheated a second time. During her time in My Tho, she hobnobbed with a local family.

“Living with rustic people in the countryside, my thinking about Vietnam changed. After that, any time I remembered Vietnam, I had a strange feeling. I missed Vietnam deeply after two months of returning to Japan,” Michiko said.

When her love for Vietnam was great, Michiko couldn’t resist the desire to return to and live in this country. In 2001, she was back in Vietnam. “I feel Vietnam is the easiest place to live for a disabled person like me,” she said.

With an impaired leg and a small amount of money, Michiko had to spend parsimoniously to be able to live in Vietnam for a long time. She hired a 10sq.m room at VND500,000 ($30) per month in District 7, HCM City. Thanks to her friends’ recommendations, Michiko had some Vietnamese students and she became a “travelling” Japanese teacher.

“I and my students often met at café but it was costly so we chose the corridor of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities as our class. Now I have many students. I teach each student for one hour, three days a week, including weekends. Tuition fees are dependent on their financial ability and it is between several tens of thousands to VND150,000 per month.”

An old pocket cassette player, several Japanese grammar books, a Vietnamese dictionary and several slices of bread for lunch, these are daily luggage of Michiko. “I earn VND2-3 million from this job and it is enough for my life. Though I’m not rich, I feel really happy with my job and my life in Vietnam.”

Every so often, Michiko returns to Japan. To save money, she often goes from HCM City to Hanoi by coach, from Hanoi to China by train and from China to Japan by boat. “Such a trip takes me a whole week but it is very cheap. If I go by air, I have to pay VND15 million; but by road, the expenditure is around VND4 million only. The extra VND10 million is enough to live in Vietnam for three months,” she calculated.

The fate with Vietnam

In the story about her life, Michiko always mentions Japan with sad memories. “I don’t have a fate with Japan. Just when I came to Vietnam, I found my happiness,” she said.

“When I was born, my family was so poor. My parents did not have enough food for me. So hungry, I nibbled my fingers and gradually my fingers are curled up like this,” she said and showed her hands.

Michiko’s father was an architect. His own company was growing well when he was betrayed by some friends. After the firm failed completely, Michiko’s parents became unemployed. “My mother died when I was a third-grade schoolgirl. My father sank into debt.

“To afford my schooling, I had to wake up early in the morning to deliver newspapers in my region in bitter cold and then went to school.”

To pursue secondary education, Michiko had to declare a false age to be admitted as a part-time worker in a glass factory. She worked as porter, bricklayer assistant, etc. As her father’s debts grew, Michiko couldn’t enter university but had to work to pay the debts. An accident suddenly occurred, injuring one of her legs. Her father died when she was 29. And she came to Vietnam and has stayed here till now.

“I travelled to many countries from Europe and the US to seek a job but Vietnam is the place I stopped, though I never thought of it previously. That’s a fate, perhaps! Vietnam is poor but it is peaceful and full of a sense of mercy, where a disabled person like me can find meals and happiness,” Michiko said.

(Source: Tuoi Tre)

Vietnamese students leading good life in South Korea

2007-11-23T05:23:00.001-08:00

There are 2,500 Vietnamese students studying in the Republic of Korea, mainly in technological sciences and economics. Most of them study for five consecutive years so that they can get both master’s and PhD degrees after graduation

Many of the Vietnamese students have scholarships or enjoy school fee exemptions, and get $500-700/month as a stipend. The sum of money is enough for a good life for Vietnamese students in the country, which has the highest subsistence level in the region. In return for the support, Vietnamese students assist their professors in research projects.

D., a student at Konkuk University, said that he had spent most of his time on works serving research projects. He is entitled to one leave every year. During winter and summer holidays, D. cannot relax as other students, but still continue his works, because researches cannot be delayed due to winter or summer holidays.

However, scholarships are not given to everyone – only excellent students can get them. Therefore, a lot of Vietnamese students in South Korea have to work after study hours to get money to cover expenses.

The most important condition to be eligible to get a job in South Korea is to speak South Korean. Vietnamese students now can teach Vietnamese language to South Korean people. The demand for learning Vietnamese is high as a lot of South Korean companies plan to invest in Vietnam, and they need staffs who know a lot about Vietnam.

In fact, foreign students are not allowed to work in South Korea. However, due to loose management, there are no big hindrances for students who want to get jobs.

In South Korea, Vietnamese students always share flats in groups of 3 or 4. They have to pay $500-600 a month for a small flat. It takes $3-5 on average for every meal; however, Vietnamese students can save money by buying food and cooking themselves.

(Source: Tuoi tre)

Tyson chows down, reads novel in 24-hour jail stay

2007-11-23T04:59:00.001-08:00

Mike Tyson gulped down sloppy Joe sandwiches and read the mobster epic "American Gangster" during his latest stint in jail -- 24 hours for a DUI conviction.

The former heavyweight champion was released Wednesday morning, sheriff’s officials said. Tyson was held apart from the 1,500 other inmates and in a secluded part of Tent City, an open-air jail.

The 41-year-old boxer had faced four years, three months in prison after pleading guilty Sept. 24 to one count of felony cocaine possession and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. The charges stem from his arrest last year after leaving a Scottsdale club.

Police said they saw Tyson brush a white powder off his dashboard, and they found baggies of cocaine in his pockets and in his car.

Tyson also must serve three years’probation, perform 360 hours of community service and undergo drug testing.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Overseas remittance hits high season

2007-11-23T04:53:00.001-08:00

Vietnam expects to receive $5bil worth of overseas remittance this year, according to Nguyen Ngoc Lan, Deputy Director of the Forex Management Department under the State Bank of Vietnam.

In 2006, the total volume of overseas remittance to Vietnam through official channels (banks, overseas remittance service companies) was $4.7bil, over 5% of GDP. Most recently, the US New York Times reported that the total sum of money overseas Vietnamese send their relatives in Vietnam was $6.82bil. With such a high volume, Vietnam ranks second in Southeast Asia in terms of overseas remittance received.

The HCM City Branch of the State Bank of Vietnam has estimated that the city will see $3.6bil worth of overseas remittance this year, an increase of $600mil compared to last year.

Last months of years always are the high season of overseas remittance. Tran Phuong Binh, Director General of East Asia Bank (EAB), said that its overseas remittance service company got the turnover of $770mil in the first 10 months of the year, up by 20% over the same period of last year. Some 70mil has been remitted through EAB’s system so far this month, and Mr Binh said that the figure may reach $850mil this year, an increase of 40% over 2006.

Head of the Overseas Remittance Division under Incombank Ngo Xuan Hai also said that the bank expected to see a 50% increase in overseas remittance this year over last year. In 2006, the bank held 10% of the market share, and the figure is hoped to rise to 15-16% this year.

Mr Hai said that besides familiar markets including the US, Australia, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan, the Middle East has become an important overseas remittance source since the number of Vietnamese labourers is increasing there

Sacomrex, the overseas remittance service company under Sacombank, is leading the market with $840mil worth of overseas remittance turnover over the last 11 months. It is expected that Sacomrex will see $930mil worth of remittance going through the bank, up by 41% over 2006.

Meanwhile, ACB has also reported the increase of 20% of overseas remittance compared to the same period of last year. The US remains the biggest market with 50% of remitted money.

Eximbank said $320mil worth of overseas remittance had arrived so far this year, and the figure will be $400mil this year.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Lan, Deputy Director General of the Forex Management Department under the State Bank of Vietnam, overseas remittance is increasingly high thanks to easier and more remittance channels and larger numbers of overseas Vietnamese, including overseas workers.

Mr Lan said that the central bank still could not reckon how much remitted money had been put into investment, and which investment channels were suitable for these sources of money. However, he said that the domestic environment proved to be very attractive.

Analysts believe that the rapid development of the stock market is one of the things attracting overseas remittance. Moreover, the high profitability of the real estate market has also encouraged overseas Vietnamese to send money home for investments.

Unlike previous years, when overseas remittance was used mainly to cover life expenses, remitted money now is being put into different investment channels.

(Source: VNE)

President calls for more Japanese assistance to Vietnam

2007-11-23T04:47:00.001-08:00

“I wish to call on Japanese investors to take part in solving the urban transport problem in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as the traffic congestion in these two cities not only causes social impacts but also hinders the country’s development,” stated President Nguyen Minh Triet.

In an interview given to Japanese correspondents in Hanoi on November 22, he highlighted the three large scale infrastructure projects, including the North-South Railway, the North-South Expressway and the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, fuelled by the Japanese ODA, adding that the Japanese government’s ODA capital which accounts for 30 percent of the total ODA coming to Vietnam plays an important role in the country’s socio-economic development, he said. Over the past 15 years, Japan has always been the largest ODA provider for Vietnam, he noted.

Talking about the prospect of a bilateral economic partnership agreement (EPA), President Triet affirmed that the EPA will boost economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, helping raise the Viet Nam-Japan relationship to a new height.

He said he hoped that with tremendous trade and economic benefits that the EPA is expected to yield to both Vietnam and Japan, the two sides will soon reach necessary agreements for the signing of their EPA.

Regarding the Can Tho Bridge collapse which happened in late September this year, the President affirmed that the accident would not affect the traditional relationship between the two countries, adding that Vietnam’s functional agencies are closely coordinating with Japanese partners to find out reasons and solutions for this problem.

(Source: VNA)

Real estate remains first choice of investors

2007-11-21T17:42:00.001-08:00

Despite the quietness in the property market caused by the decision by the HCM City Construction Department to force apartment investors to repay money to investors, the market remains the first choice of investors.

The VN Index has lost 10% in the last 10 trading sessions, which shows the fragileness of the market. Meanwhile, the gold market fluctuates all the time, not suitable for investors who like stability. The property market remains a good investment channel, though it requires big capital.

A lot of investors have had to delay the date of announcing their real estate projects since “The Vista’ event, at which thousands people jostled to buy The Vista’s apartments. The market has become quieter as real estate developers need to listen for the effects.

However, Tran Van Phuoc, a real estate investor, still asserted that property remained the most profitable investment now. “If you cannot sell houses right now since the prices go down, you can still lease houses for money,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to Bui Tien Thang, Deputy Director of Sacomreal, the HCM City property market is a delicious cake, and every one can get his piece of the cake, bigger or smaller.

Mr Thang believes that the real estate market always become bustling towards the year’s end, and it is wise to buy land and houses now and sell later at the year’s end. However, he has warned that investors may face risks after Tet as state management authorities may apply new policies to limit land speculation.

The gold prices keep fluctuating these days, which has caused losses to short-term investors.

Le Hoang Vu, the owner of Kim Hai Gold Shop in Go Vap district in HCM City, said that a lot of individuals had incurred heavy losses as the gold price unexpectedly dropped to VND14.5mil/tael.

According to Hoang Trung Khanh, Advisor to the World’s Gold Council, the regular fluctuations show the low safety of gold investments.

On November 14, SJC gold was sold at VND15.9mil/tael early in the morning, and the price plunged to VND15,580/tael in the afternoon.

“Investors should consider gold as a long-term investment channel, while short-term investors will suffer from heavy fluctuations as currently,” Mr Khanh said.

Meanwhile, a lot of investors now tend to make investment in foreign currencies.

It is interesting to note that people now like buying currencies other than US dollars such as the euro, pound and yen. The continued devaluation of the dollar has made investment in the currency less profitable.

Pham Van Thiet, Director General of Eximbank, also confirms that there is a wave of investing in the euro. However, he said that everything will return to the normal track if the greenback recovers.

(Source: VTC)

Laws passed on income tax, chemicals, judicial matters

2007-11-21T17:39:00.001-08:00

The National Assembly passed laws yesterday on personal income tax, extradition and amnesty of criminals, and hazardous chemicals.

With 79.11% of deputies voting in favour National Assembly yesterday approved the Law on Personal Income Tax.

The law had engendered some vigorous debate among deputies regarding such contentious issues as threshold income levels subject to taxation and whether stock dividends and capital gains would be subject to the tax.

In its final form, the law will subject to taxation personal income from wages and business profits in excess of VND4mil per month at rates from 5-35%.

Dividends and interest income will be subject to a 5-per-cent tax; lottery winnings, 10%; royalties, 5%; and inheritance and gifts, 10%.

Capital gains from stock investments, meanwhile, will be subject to a 20-per-cent levy, while real estate capital gains will be subject to a 25-per-cent rate.

Regarding foreigners subject to taxation, the law states that persons who live in Vietnam for more than 183 days in a calendar year or 12 months consecutively are subject to pay income tax.

The law also covers persons subject to and exempt from taxation and specific definitions of taxable and non-taxable income.

Under the terms of the law, non-taxable income would include real estate transfer and other transfers between family members; income from credit organisations; insurance contracts; overtime pay; and foreign assistance sources.

The law will take effect on January 1, 2009.

Extradition

The National Assembly also approved yesterday the draft Law on Judicial Assistance which covers issues of extradition and transfer between jurisdictions of individuals serving criminal sentences.

The law was drafted under principles of respect for national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in other nation's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit.

Regarding the extradition issue, the law regulates that any prosecuting agency is given the right to ask an authorised foreign agency to extradite Vietnamese individuals charged with violating the laws or subject to sentences by courts for criminal acts in their home country, as well as the extradition of foreign citizens in Vietnam subject to prosecution or sentencing in their home countries.

The law prohibits, however, the extradition of a Vietnamese citizen to a foreign country.

Amnesty

With 88.64% of votes, the amnesty bill was also approved yesterday.

As defined in the law, effective March 1, 2008, amnesty is a presidential pardon granted to prisoners to allow them to be released prior to expiry of their sentences in anticipation of major national events or festivals or in special cases.

The law requires grants of amnesty to abide by the constitution and laws and ensure State interests, legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organisations, fairness and equity, publicity and transparency and requirements of foreign relations, national security and social order and safety.

Apart from detailed regulations on the conditions for proposing an amnesty, the law also regulates cases not eligible for amnesty.

These include prisoners with appeals pending, those presently being prosecuted for criminal acts, and criminals who have already enjoyed amnesty or been convicted two or more times.

In special circumstances, the President will be able to grant amnesty to persons on death row or serving life sentences or persons serving suspended sentences or whose sentences have already been served.

The law also contains provisions regarding officials who exploit positions or power to propose amnesty for unqualified prisoners or prevent detainees from exercising their rights to receive amnesty.

Since 1945, the Vietnamese State has granted amnesty to thousands of prisoners on 40 occasions. In 2007, the President amnestied 8,066 criminals ahead of the end of their terms, including 13 foreigners.

Hazardous chemicals

The National Assembly passed the Law on Hazardous Chemicals with deputies' overwelming concerns about chemical safety rendered into the new law.

The law includes new provisions to enforce safety in all aspects of the chemical business.

According to a National Assembly Standing Committee report, many inputs by deputies regarding security in transportation, storage, production, and trade of chemicals were included in the law.

The new law aims to ensure that individuals and organisations engaged in chemical-related activities must ensure the safety of both people and the environment.

The new law also includes State policies for development of the chemical industry, which aims for the building of a modern chemical industry that focuses on development of high economic value and environmentally-friendly chemicals for the country's socio-economic development.

Pursuant to the law, the State will draft a plan for a chemical industry, establish a national safety system and set up a database for chemical safety.

Product quality

Yesterday a sweeping majority at the National Assembly passed the Products and Goods Quality Law, with 438 out of the 440 deputies present voting yes.

The law, to take effect from July 1 next year, stipulates the rights and responsibilities of producers, importers, exporters and retailers regarding goods and product quality.

According to the law, retailers have the right to decide on methods and which organisations to examine and test product quality.

They can also request compensation from producers and importers if quality is sub-standard and can object to decisions made by quality control officers and other authorised bodies.

The law also underlines retailers' responsibility to ensure the quality of the goods they sell. They must check the origin, label, stamp, and documents of the goods and make sure product quality is maintained during transport and storing of goods.

It is also their duty to tell customers how to transport, maintain and use these goods, as well as give them information on product warranty. They must also inform buyers of the risks of unsafe goods and provide timely solutions.

When quality control officers and examiners come to inspect their goods, retailers need to provide appropriate documents and information.

If goods are found to be unsafe or unregistered, retailers have to stop selling them and inform any producers, importers and buyers involved. They must also take back or exchange faulty goods.

On the other side, the law also maps out the responsibilities of consumers, certification organisations, occupational societies and consumer rights protection organisations regarding product quality.

Certification organisations, for example, are authorised to test and examine product quality and issue certificates accordingly, either on a contractual basis with their clients or as assigned by State authorities.

They also have the right to refuse to hand over quality examination results to outsiders, except when State authorities require the information.

The law also outlines regulations on managing the quality of products for export, as well as quality control on imported goods.

Suppliers of low-quality goods must give compensation to buyers and consumers for any damage to goods during transit.

Violations may be subject to administrative penalties or criminal charges according to the severity and nature of the case.

Administrative penalties range from one to five times the value of the (low-quality) goods concerned that have been sold.

(Source: Viet Nam News)

Trademark for Dau'blog

2007-11-21T17:36:00.001-08:00

Yahoo Asia rates Joe’s blog among the most popular Vietnamese blogs. In May 2007, a book titled “I’m Dau” consisting of entries on Joe’s blog was published by the Kim Dong Publishing House and this is the first book of its kind in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese newspapers and magazines have published entries on Joe’s blog and praised it as “a funny look by foreigners at today’s life in Vietnam”. A newspaper devotes a column for these entries. “I’m happy like crazy whenever I open my blog each morning and see hundreds of comments of young visitors,” Joe said.

360o View

Joe called his early days in Vietnam as “silly first days”. Joe said that he studied Vietnamese everywhere, every moment but he is still “shocked” because Vietnamese language is “more abundant than market prices” (each time going to the market, Joe saw each seller sells the same product at different price each day).

A Vietnamese friend recommended to Joe to write a blog to improve his Vietnamese. Joe did and in mid 2006, Joe’s blog opened with witty entries about everything in Vietnam, from food, entertainment to burning topics in Vietnam like the PMU 18 scandal, Vietnamese brides in Taiwan, etc. These stories are interesting since they are written by a foreigner, in Vietnamese, with a humourous, witty and gentle style.

Joe’s language

Busy the whole day, Joe writes his blog at night, at around 1-2am.

He calls it a relaxation and Vietnamese practice time. This habit has been with Joe for over one year. To deeply understand Vietnamese, Joe always has a Vietnamese dictionary and two small notebooks on his table. One notebook contains formal Vietnamese words he learnt at the Hanoi University for Social Sciences and Humanities and the second contains words that he collects from Vietnamese people from a motorbike taxi driver to a noodle saleswoman and kids. So Joe’s blog has all colours of Vietnamese language.

Many Vietnamese young people comment on Joe’s blog: “The foreigner who writes blog in Vietnamese so well”. Writing entries about youth, Joe also uses language of youth. Reading “I’m Dau” book, famous poet Tran Dang Khoa commented: “Joe’s stories are not about big things but through the eyes of a foreigner, who travels a lot and know a lot, Joe discovers many beauties of Vietnam and Vietnamese people that Vietnamese people can’t see because they are too familiar with it. Joe sees us with the eyes of the people born in the 1980s and 1990s, the age that always sees new, beautiful and lovely things.” Joe describes his blog as an inexpensive way to relax and study Vietnamese.

(Source: Tuoi Tre)

Foreign tourists aid flood victims

2007-11-20T07:54:00.001-08:00

A Swiss tourist in Hoi An is collecting donations to help flood victims in central provinces.

Severe floods devastated the region last week and many areas are still suffering food and water shortages.

Fredrik Kerberg, a sociology student in Switzerland, was doing his research on the historic town of Hoi An when the floods hit Quang Nam Province last Tuesday.

Kerberg has made a donation box, which he carries around the town, to raise money to help local flood victims.

“I have decided to make this box out of compassion. I have reported all the difficulties of the local flood victims to everyone I've met. Many foreign and Vietnamese tourists have donated,” he said.

Kerberg himself was evacuated with the locals and has witnessed the devastation of the floods.

Several other tourists have not only donated money but have involved themselves in relief efforts.

English couple Phil and Eileen Virce accompanied Kerberg to Cam Kim Village last Saturday to give money, rice and notebooks to flood victims.

The road to the tiny enclave had been impassable for days due to the flooding.

“Natural disaster is unexpected. We have to help them [locals] overcome,” said Eileen Virce. “This made our trip to Vietnam truly meaningful.”

“The charity work will surely be part of my thesis,” said Kerberg.

Reported by Ho Trong

Should university management autonomy be limited?

2007-11-20T07:50:00.001-08:00

International best practices suggest more university management autonomy should be allowed in Vietnam if only to stimulate innovation and cost-effectiveness from their administrations. But how it can be effectively provided remains a challenge for both the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and universities themselves.

When a person is appointed to a position, but not given sufficient powers or incentives to fulfill their related duties, sooner or later he or she will neglect some of those duties. When a university lacks both autonomy and sufficient funding to meet its responsibilities to its student body and society, its administration will soon see its work as fruitless and respond accordingly.

Yet there is almost no administration that can be entrusted to wield full autonomy over public budgets without vetting by responsible public representatives. Allowing as much almost always leads to waste or abuse of public funds.

As is often the case with publicly funded public services, a trade-off between competitive autonomy and responsible control must be balanced and, in the end, neither side of the coin can be maximized alone, both sides must be optimized together.

Universities in Viet Nam, however, seem to face an extremely sub-optimal situation. Their budgets are insufficient to meet even the quality demands of government, even monies they raise themselves can’t be spent without government approval and the vetting of requests for permissions to implement even approved programs or projects can take hellishly long.

A typical example is the long-awaited establishment of the university Enrolment Boards as per the 2003 university regulations stipulating universities must set up such boards as ultimate arbiters of universities’ development.

Four years later, only ten universities have managed to set up Enrolment Boards with any effective ability to implement the projects they vet and approve. Other universities’ Enrolment Boards have simply ended up acting as consults to schools’ administrations.

According to education specialists, most universities’ sluggishness can be explained by observing their managements’ habit of “ask and give”, a mechanical process of asking for permission to act, waiting for instructions from higher authorities and then unquestioningly undertaking those instructions in spite of what they see or hear contradicting the effectiveness of those instructions.

To move beyond the black hole of ask-and-give operations, some universities have taken the initiative to raise their own funds, independent of public coffers, yet even then, those in government with vested interests in maintaining the ask-and-give tradition block their way.

Associate Ph.D. Huynh Thanh Hung complained, “I can’t understand why we can’t spend the money we legally made. If we want to purchase any item that costs more than VND100 million (US$6,250), we have to make a proposal and wait for approval even when we have the money on hand.”

One typical example is a project to rebuild the University of Technology that has been awaiting MoET approval for more than seven years!

For the Associate Ph.D. Truong Chi Hien of the HCMC University of Technology, said the Ministry should simply outline specific targets, schemes, plans and policies for the development of education, issue legal documents to give universities guidance on the tasks of supervision, inspection and assessment and then stand out of the way.

Above all, Dr Hien added, the Ministry should play the role of assessing the quality of degrees granted by universities to students and not make use of legal documents to control universities’ day-to-day operations.

(Source: SGGP)

Mike Tyson sentenced to 1 day in jail for drug possession, DUI

2007-11-20T07:47:00.001-08:00

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was sentenced to one day in jail instead of four years, for cocaine possession and driving under the influence, media reported Tuesday.

The 41-year-old boxer who had pleaded guilty in September to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count will begin serving his jail time Tuesday morning.

"I take responsibility for my actions," Tyson told Superior Court Judge Helene Abrams.

In addition to the jail time, he was also ordered to serve three years' probation on each count, pay a fine, submit to drug testing and perform 360 hours of community service.

Tyson, the "Iron Mike," was arrested on Dec. 29 after he had spent the evening at a night club in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was seen driving erratically and almost collided with a police vehicle. An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred.

Authorities said they found 2.16 grams of cocaine in several bags in Tyson's pocket and in his car.

Tyson told officers later that he used cocaine "whenever I can get my hands on it," and that he preferred to smoke it in Marlboro cigarettes with the tobacco pulled out, according to court documents.

He also told police that he used marijuana that day and was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, the documents state.

Prosecutors had sought one year in prison for the boxer, saying he was a repeat offender with a violent past and that the court needed to send a strong message.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he was disappointed in the judge's ruling.

"His intentional criminal conduct seriously endangered the public," said Thomas, in a prepared statement.

"DUI is a very serious offense which too often results in death or injury to others."

Tyson attorneys had argued for probation because he had admitted his mistakes and was trying to battle his addictions. He had passed 29 straight drug tests, said his attorneys.

Tyson, who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20, spent three years in an Indiana prison following a 1992 rape conviction and another spell in jail for two misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland in 1999.

His career hit a low point when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight in 1997.

Recently the former fighter had been trying to revive his career with a series of boxing exhibitions.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

ASEAN-EU FTA, opportunity for small- and medium-sized enterprises

2007-11-20T07:45:00.001-08:00

Bui Huy Son, Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the ASEAN-EU free trade agreement (FTA) would bring opportunities to small- and medium-size Vietnamese enterprises.

Vietnam is the first nation in ASEAN bloc to build up an action plan for its long-term relationship with the EU. Where does this work stem from?

It stems from the encouraging achievements in bilateral trade between Vietnam and the EU recently. Currently, the EU is the leading trade partner of Vietnam, and a big investor in Vietnam. In 2006, the two-way trade reached $10.2bil, while Vietnam’s exports to the EU reached nearly $7bil. The EU accounts for 17% of Vietnam’s total trade turnover.

I can say that the EU is the target market with the biggest potential for Vietnamese exporters. The biggest importers are Germany and the UK ($800mil-1bil a year), followed by France and the Netherlands ($500-700mil). The main export items are apparel, footwear, farm produce, and handicrafts. The export growth rate is 20-30% per annum. Italy, the Netherlands, Germany are the biggest exporters to Vietnam, estimated at $500-700mil a year.

The EU is now a bloc of 27 members, including East European countries, which do not set overly high requirements on Vietnamese products. Meanwhile, the same tax rates are being applied in all EU countries. And this is an opportunity for small- and medium-size Vietnamese enterprises.

The EU is also the biggest investor in Vietnam with $9.94bil worth of FDI registered capital (740 projects, employing 23,000 labourers) and $940mil worth of ODA capital

Do you think that small- and medium-size Vietnamese enterprises will have to face a lot of challenges with the FTA?

Once the ASEAN-EU FTA comes into life, big Vietnamese enterprises will have to compete fiercely with big enterprises from the EU, which will affect small- and medium-size Vietnamese enterprises. For example, if big Vietnamese enterprises lose contracts, small- and medium-size enterprises, the sub-contractors, will not have jobs.

As you have said, small- and medium-size enterprises play a very important role in the national economy, contributing 25% of GDP. What would you say to leaders of the enterprises as the coordinator and the negotiator for the ASEAN-EU FTA?

Ministries and branches should understand that the ASEAN-EU FTA is a necessary thing for the regional connection. Currently, EU is giving Vietnam and some ASEAN countries tax preferences (GSP). However, in the future, when Vietnam and the countries are more developed, the preferences will be transferred to other poor and underdeveloped countries.

It will be necessary to sign partnership and cooperation agreements (PCAs). Vietnam will need to receive support from EU countries to support the development of small- and medium-size enterprises and from ASEAN countries as well, as the development levels of ASEAN countries are different. Vietnam should draw up policies aiming to develop small- and medium-size enterprises.

(Source: TBKTVN)

Uruguay President: Determined to boost ties with Vietnam

2007-11-20T07:40:00.001-08:00

Eastern Uruguay President Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas says the South American country is determined to bolster friendship and cooperation with Vietnam.

His comments were made at a reception by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh in Hanoi on November 19.

President Tabare Vazquez spoke highly of the achievements Vietnam has recorded over the past twenty years of renovation.

The president said he believed the friendship and cooperation between Uruguay and Vietnam will be strengthened and developed for the benefit of the two nations. He invited General Secretary Manh to visit Uruguay in the near future.

For his part, General Secretary Manh applauded President Tabare Vazquez’ visit, saying it marks an important milestone in promoting the two countries’ friendship and cooperation.

He spoke of his delight at the development of economic and trade ties between the two countries.

The party leader said he wished to foster multifaceted relations between Vietnam and Uruguay, for the interests of the two peoples and for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress in the region and the world.

The Party leader extended his thanks to the Uruguay President and accepted the invitation to visit Uruguay.

Later the same day, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong met the Uruguay President.

Chairman Trong said the Vietnamese NA supports the Government in beefing up cooperative ties with Eastern Uruguay , saying the two sides should increase delegation exchange to share experience in various fields, particularly in law making.

He spoke highly of the first official visit to Vietnam by President Tabare Vazquez and said he believed the visit would open up more practical and effective developments in the relations between the two nations.

The Uruguay President said he hoped to further enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries. He said Uruguay is currently Chair of the Southern Common Market and is willing to help Vietnamese businesses penetrate this market.

On the basis of the potential of the two countries, Uruguay and Vietnam should boost their cooperative ties, not only between the two governments but also within business circles, and create a favourable legal framework to accelerate commercial exchanges, he said.

On the same day, the Uruguay president and his entourage visited several cultural and historical relics in Hanoi.

(Source: VNA)

Vietnamised foreigners: I’m Dau

2007-11-20T07:32:00.001-08:00

Many Vietnamese people know this young Canadian man, Joseph Ruelle, who is known for his excellent Vietnamese language.

Many Vietnamese call this 29-year-old foreign man Joe or Dau in Vietnamese (both read dzou).
“I have come to Vietnam to study but accurately both study and earn a living. I have to work and earn money to have a happier and more comfortable life,” Joe said in Vietnamese.
A more comfortable life for Joe is simply “having enough money to buy a glass of tea with ice worth VND1,000 ($0.06), a bowl of pho or bun oc (noodle and snails) worth VND5,000 or a plate of rice and having enough time to write my blog in Vietnamese.”

Boarding-house, street food and ice tea

Joe has a bachelor’s of performance and media from Canada’s Acadia University. In October 2002, when his classmates sought ways to the US, the UK and Australia to work, Joe chose Vietnam by working for a small project of the Canadian government in Vietnam.

The first impression of Hanoi and Vietnam in the young man’s eyes was “no skyscraper and big city but the people are wonderful and friendly”, Joe said in excellent Vietnamese.
“My first time coming to Vietnam, I felt that I would have close relations with this country,” he said.

Several days after coming to Hanoi, Joe sought a job at a foreign language teaching centre on Cat Linh street for modest pay.

“Those were the most difficult days in my life. The pay was enough to hire a room, to buy street food and to drink ice tea.”

By wandering Hanoi streets to seek cheap and good restaurants, Joe knows all streets and alleys in Hanoi.

“At that time my Vietnamese was very bad so I bought everything at high prices. Vietnamese have the words, what is it?... “ban cung” (impoverishment). My circumstance was similar but I’ve never thought that I will return home,” Joe said.

To live in Vietnam, Joe registered for a Vietnamese language course at the Vietnamese Faculty of the Hanoi University for Social Sciences and Humanity in early 2004. Now he can speak Vietnamese like a true Vietnamese. His writing skill is special. Reading his articles, no Vietnamese thinks that they are written by a foreigner.

Joe both studied Vietnamese and worked many jobs to earn his living, like what he said in Vietnamese “lay ngan nuoi dai” (temporary jobs nurture long-term career): seasonal editor for the English version of Dau Tu newspaper, PR manager for a project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, writing reports for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), etc.

Joe worked like a pin wheel: joining class in the morning, going to UNDP office at noon, and printing documents for UNICEF in the afternoon

“I was busier the days I had to work for Dau Tu Newspaper as well. Even if I was ill, I had to try to work. At the weekend, when my friends went out, I had to work. Vietnamese say ‘doi thi dau goi phai bo’ (If you are hungry, you have to seek everyway to have food). You want to live by your ability? It is uneasy!”

The opportunity to get a stable job came to Joe. In a short play to support a show on a national television channel (VTV3), Joe played the role of a foreign student who bargains for an item. His witty and humourous style caught the eyes of VTV managers.

With his excellent Vietnamese, Joe was invited to be MC for a live show on the occasion of APEC Summit in Vietnam in 2006. In early 2007, he got an employment contract with VTV6, a new channel for the young of VTV.

I can eat anything, do any job

These days Joe is busy with some programmes of VTV6. He said: “My schedule is full from 5am to 11pm. You can see me at the intersection of two days, 12am.”
At night, Joe leaves the studio for his small apartment on Kim Lien street, which is near a railway, where nobody wants to live. The apartment lacks many conveniences.

“It is suitable for people who are always absent from home like me. It’s good to have a residence,” Joe said.
He invited two others to live with him. “Sharing room for cheaper payment,” he said.
Joe only has time to take a bath and run to the street to buy two breads. At nearly 2am, Joe has his relaxation: tuning on his computer to write his electronic diary (blog).

At 7am the next day, Joe was very merry and funny at a café near the Hanoi University of Arts before arranging a play for a TV programme.

“He is funny but he does his job very seriously and very well,” said Joe’s colleagues at VTV6 channel.
“It is good to have a stable job in Vietnam. I can do any job, eat anything to be able to live here but a stable job is still better,” Joe said.
At 1.30pm, in the interval between two scenes of a TV show, Joe walked very fast to a street restaurant. “Rice, braised fish, boiled morning glory water. A VND7,000 meal!” he called. As Joe was not her regular customer, the seller mumbled: “What a stingy foreigner!”
Joe said that that meal is tasty and economical. Many people were very surprised to see Joe very popular and able to speak Vietnamese very well. At that time, Joe explained: “I’m Dau. I’m a rau muong (water morning glory) foreigner!”

(Source: Tuoi Tre)

UN climate panel report highlights risks of global warming

2007-11-18T19:59:00.001-08:00

The UN climate panel issued a landmark report on Saturday warning of severe consequences of global warming and urging governments to act to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.

.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (R) and Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC, hold the IPCC report on global warming in Valencia, November, 17, 2007. The report on Saturday warning of severe consequences of global warming and urging governments to act to rein in greenhouse gas emissions

The 26-page report, released in the Spanish city of Valencia by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Climate Change, said warming of the climate system is "unequivocal" and governments must take action to avoid catastrophic consequences.

Climate change is "evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level," the report noted.

The report, which will be the first point of reference for political negotiators meeting next month for talks aimed at finding out a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, attributed global warming mainly to greenhouse gas concentrations caused by human activities.

Signed in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol requires 36 industrial countries to significantly reduce their carbon emissions. It expires in 2012.

"Global total annual greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have risen by 70 percent since 1970," the report said.

It also said governments have a wide range of tools including higher taxes on emissions, regulations, tradeable permits and more investment in research.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the report, saying the potential impact of global warming is "so severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action will do."

Speeding up exports to narrow trade deficit: Minister

2007-11-18T19:26:00.001-08:00

VietNamNet Bridge - Controlling trade deficit is one of “hot” issues raised by National Assembly deputies while questioning Minister of Industry and Commerce Vu Huy Hoang on November 17.

At the hearing, Minister Hoang said economic development demand and world price hike, particularly the increasing prices of imported products such as steel, fertilizer, plastics, petroleum and fibre, are key reasons behind the problem.

The minister admitted that shortcomings remained in forecasting the market, the economy’s demand and both positive and negative impacts of the country’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on business activities.

Minister Hoang said that speeding up exports is one of key measures to reduce trade deficit. Besides traditional products, local businesses also need to turn out more potential commodities such as farm produce and minerals, and to focus on exporting key staples such as garments and textiles, footwear, furniture, electronics, agricultural and aquatic products, and particularly high-tech products.

Additionally, developing supporting industries for the production of machinery, equipment and materials is also needed to cut down imports, Hoang said.

According to the minister, by 2015, Vietnam will not have to depend too much on imports as a series of oil refineries and steel ore plants across the country will be put into operation. In addition, the fertilizer plants in southernmost Ca Mau province and northern Ninh Binh province will turn out products. The plan to produce 1 billion metres of cloth by the apparel sector will also ease the situation, he added.

Minister Hoang pointed to the need to build technical barriers and apply measures to enable local sectors and products to be in line with WTO regulations and agreements that Vietnam has signed to protect domestic products.

According to the minister, the export picture is bright with a 20 percent growth rate of many key staples. “This is an important achievement, particularly after one year since Vietnam joined the WTO,” he said.

(Source: VNA)

Activists meet on new targets for peace movement

2007-11-18T19:21:00.001-08:00

Peace activists worldwide agreed that the top goal of the current peace movement was a world without nuclear weapon, at a seminar entitled “Solidarity and Cooperation for Peace” held in Hanoi on November 18.

President of the Viet Nam Peace Committee Vu Dinh Cu and President of the World Peace Council Orlando Fundora Lopez affirmed that nowadays, peace always goes together with development.

Recent achievements proved that the peace movement for development has grown more diverse, which also requires peace organisations in the world to cooperate closely with each other.

The activists also discussed challenges posed by global capitalism, the exhaustion of natural resources like oil and gas and other millennium issues relating to the tasks of peace movement.

(Source: VNA)

Lindsay Lohan jailbird for 84 minutes

2007-11-16T08:26:00.001-08:00

Recently rehabed starlet Lindsay Lohan spent 1 hour and 24 minutes at Los Angeles County's Lynwood Jail for a drunken driving and cocaine-possession conviction, said Los Angeles police as quoted by media reports Friday.

The actress became the latest celebrity to serve less than a day for a drunken driving offense, following the steps of pregnant actress Nicole Richie and socialite Paris Hilton.

Lohan, 21, presented herself at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the jail. She was searched, fingerprinted and placed in a holding cell in the inmate reception area. The troubled girl was released at 11:54 a.m.

"She was cooperative," said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Asked if the "Mean Girls" star received any special treatment, the spokesman said it was not the case.

"Absolutely not. This is what we do for most everybody in this position," Whitmore said. In fact, 30 to 50 women are granted early releases from the facility every day because of overcrowding, he added.

Lohan had been sentenced in August to one day in jail after admitting guilt to drink and drug charges and was told by the court to serve her time before January.

The charges stemmed from a July car chase and an arrest in May after she wrecked her car in Beverly Hills. After her July arrest, Lohan checked into a rehabilitation center in Utah and spent more than two months there.

Lohan was also sentenced to 10 days of community service, three years probation and 18 months of an alcohol-education program.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Derivatives market: limited but full of potentials

2007-11-16T08:23:00.001-08:00

Financial derivatives were first used in Vietnam seven years ago, but they are still far from popular in the country

First appearing in developed markets in the 1980s, financial derivatives have been used widely by commercial banks worldwide as risk-prevention tools. However, the situation is different in Vietnam. The turnover from derivatives products remains very modest.

Oil and petrol prices have been skyrocketing in the world’s market since the beginning of the year, and have made petrol importers suffer.

Banking experts say that if using derivatives products, petrol importers may avoid losses, while the government would not have to compensate them for losses.

Bankers also say that derivatives products help avoid risks from exchange rate fluctuations. According to Military Bank, exchange rate fluctuations can make import-export suffer. For example, A company signed a contract on July 3, 2007 with a foreign partner when the exchange rate was VND16,139/US$1, and it has to make payment on August 3, 2007, when the rate has soared to VND16,164/US$1, which means the gap of VND25 for every dollar. As such, A company will suffer the loss of VND25mil on a $1mil contract.

In fact, several derivatives products, including forward, swaps, options and futures, have been provided by Vietcombank, BIDV, Techcombank and HSBC. However, the banks still cannot persuade their clients to use the products more regularly.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the ratio of the turnover from derivatives products to total turnover of banks was 11.7%, 15.4% and 17.5% in 1995, 2000 and 2006, respectively. Meanwhile, according to IMF, the world’s derivatives market has been witnessing very high growth rates, valued at $370bil, reaching the 30% growth rate so far this year.

However, Tran Ha Nguyen, Expert from the Development Strategy Institute under the ministry, said that Vietnam’s market was full of potential for derivatives products. Vietnam now has over 7,000 companies which have VND30-50bil in capital each, and these will have high demand for derivatives products when they grow up.

Explaining the reasons behind the indifference of Vietnamese companies to derivatives products, bankers said that these were quite complicated operations and most companies did not have good understanding of them. It took HSBC Vietnam six months to explain and negotiate with a client before a swap contract was reached.

Meanwhile, the turnover from derivatives products is not big enough for Vietnamese banks to spend more time and money to attract clients.

Experts also say that the policy on stabilising the VND/US$ exchange rate has also led to the fact that companies do not pay appropriate attention to these products.

Meanwhile, according to Vietcombank, most credit loans on the market apply fixed interest rates (90%), and with fixed interest rates, borrowers do not need derivatives products to minimise risks from interest rate fluctuations.

(Source: DTCK)

Party General Secretary meets RoK business circle

2007-11-16T08:21:00.001-08:00

Vietnam has always placed importance on a comprehensive, sustainable and long lasting partnership with the Republic of Korea (RoK), Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh said, reaffirming Vietnam’s commitment to assisting RoK’s investors in Vietnam.

The Party leader made the statement at a banquet hosted by the RoK Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business Federation, International Trade Association and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise Federation in Seoul on November 15.

RoK Business Federation President Cho Seoung Reh said he believed Vietnam will become a prosperous country under the clear leadership of the Vietnamese leaders.

The President said the RoK business circle is willing to invest more in Vietnam and that he hoped Vietnam will create further favourable conditions for foreign investors.

The Vietnamese leader responded, speaking of how the two countries have enjoyed continual development in relations since diplomatic ties were established 15 years ago.

Two-way trade turnover has so far reached nearly 5 billion USD and the RoK total investment capital in Vietnam has climbed to 11.5 billion USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam has sent more than 40,000 guest workers to the RoK.

These figures not only show a sharp growth in the Vietnam-RoK relationship but reflects the two countries’ efforts to become comprehensive partners in the 21st century, General Secretary Manh said.

Earlier, the Party leader visited SK Telecom, one of RoK’s leading economic groups that started operation in Viet Nam in October 2000. He then visited the new Seongnam Pangyo urban area bordering the capital city of Seoul, considered a model of environmentally-friendly development. Construction of the 8 billion USD urban area is expected to be completed in December 2009, providing homes to 88,000 residents.

General Secretary Manh also met with leaders of Daewoo and Lotte groups, the Honourable Consulate General of Vietnam in the RoK Park Yeon Cha, leaders of the RoK-Viet Nam Friendship Association, and representatives of the Ly Hoa Son family.

The Vietnamese Party leader and his entourage paid a visit to Seoul Town Hall, where the Seoul Mayor said he hoped the visit would help further boost friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK, as well as the two capitals and other localities.

General Secretary Manh expressed his joy at visiting the RoK at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 15th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties. He said he was very moved to receive the title “Honourable Citizen” of Seoul, describing it a vivid manifestation of relations between the two countries, particularly Hanoi and Seoul.

In the afternoon of November 15, General Secretary Manh met with representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, Vietnamese representative agencies, students, workers and overseas Vietnamese in the RoK. He praised the efforts of the Vietnamese community and called on them to continue contributing to enhancing relations between the two countries.

(Source: VNA)

MOET: higher drop-out proportion anticipated

2007-11-15T06:48:00.001-08:00

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan have said that the ministry has anticipated a higher drop-out proportion when launching the campaign on ‘saying ‘no’ to negativism in education’.

It is understandable why pupils that do not do well in school decide to give up school: they find no use continuing to study when they cannot get more knowledge, Mr Nhan said.

However, Mr Nhan said that these pupils will not stop learning for ever. Local departments of education and training have been trying to persuade the pupils to go back to school, not to normal classes, but to special classes, in which they will receive special care.

If the pupils return to normal classes, they will not be able to get necessary knowledge and catch up with their friends. There, in the special classes, they will be provided with basic knowledge and then put back in normal classes after 1-2 months.

If the pupils find it hard to keep learning, they will shift to study at continuation schools. If they finish secondary education and do not want to continue studying, they can go to vocational schools which can help them get jobs after graduation.

Mr Nhan said that no one will complain about s lack of money to go to vocational schools as banks will provide loans to fund pupils’ studies.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Minh Thuyet, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, said that though anticipating the higher drop-out percentage, MOET has not applied timely solutions to deal with the problem.

There are many reasons that induce pupils to give up school 1. poor academic performance 2. financial difficulties 3. mechanism preventing poor students from advancing.

“The solutions the Deputy PM has mentioned prove to be very necessary. However, the solutions need to be carried out in reality, not on paper, otherwise, pupils will be illiterate and jobless, thus putting a heavy burden on society,” Mr Thuyet said.

On the forum of the National Assembly’s legislative session, deputies have voiced their concern about the high drop-out percentage. The central province of Nghe An, the land famous for fondness for learning, has reported that 11,000 pupils have given up school. A high drop-out percentage can also be seen in many other provinces, including Bac Ninh, Kien Giang, Phu Yen, Bac Kan, Dien Bien, Quang Binh and Lam Dong.

(Source: VnMedia)

Merrill names NYSE chief Thain as CEO

2007-11-15T06:41:00.001-08:00

Troubled Wall Street investment bank Merrill Lynch and Co. on Wednesday named John Thain, the former Goldman Sachs president who has run the New York Stock Exchange since 2004, as its new chief executive and chairman.

Thain, 52, who forged the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext into the world's largest stock market operator, will take the Merrill Lynch posts on Dec. 1, Merrill Lynch said in a statement.

Merrill's former CEO and chairman, Stan O'Neal, was ousted late last month after he delivered a 2.24 billion U.S. dollar third-quarter loss, six times what the company forecast three weeks earlier.

Merrill shares have declined 38 percent this year, the worst performance among the five largest U.S. securities firms.

Analysts said Merrill brought in an outsider with a Goldman Sachs pedigree to repair an image battered by wrong-way bets on subprime mortgages.

One of Thain's first tasks will be to assess Merrill's risk management procedures, which analysts said clearly failed in evaluating exposure to subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations.

Sip tea, enjoy traditional music and fashion

2007-11-14T04:46:00.000-08:00

Seeing as though tea is Vietnam’s favorite beverage, tourists in HCMC should not have difficulty locating a shop or restaurant serving up this healthy and refreshing drink.

However, only at the Diem Mot Thoi Teahouse of designer Si Hoang (36-38 Ly Tu Trong Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1) will tourists be able to find a place that serves tea and simultaneously showcases Vietnam’s traditional music and costumes.

Since its opening in 2003, the teahouse has attracted hoards of foreign and local guests.

Teahouse guests enter the space through Si Hoang’s design studio, which is a traditional wooden house that feels peaceful and dream-like.

As guests arrive in the attic space, they are seated at low tables with large pillow cushions. A lady in traditional Vietnamese dress will bring a tray of Vietnamese tea such as lotus, jasmine, sweet grass and cinnamon with different accoutrements like crystallized ginger and lotus seeds.

Teahouse guests on Tuesday and Thursday evenings will enjoy music from northern Vietnam that has not been heard since the Hung Dynasty.

Guests are welcomed with the Ngoc Lu bronze drum portraying the solemn rain praying ceremony, the Khanh Son stone lithopone, in harmony with the mighty Central Highlands instruments of bronze gongs, P’Longkhang, T’rung or K’longput or the ca tru, chau van, and Quan Ho folk songs. Some of the musical instruments used in the show are very precious such as the P’Longkhang of Bana people and K’Ni of Gia Rai people in the Central Highlands.

On Wednesday and Friday evening, attendees travel to the musical world of the central and southern region of Vietnam with songs praising the beauty of the royal ancient capital of Hue, the Bong drum solo, the Kim Van Kieu cai luong (southern opera), don ca tai tu (the southern amateur music) and a music performances in the southern festivals. On Saturdays, a combination of southern, central and northern music is performed giving guests a complete survey of the country’s music.

All performances from Tuesday to Saturday feature a scene of the village market with men and women modeling traditional costumes and carrying food specialties of the rural areas in Vietnam on their shoulders. Guests are then invited to leave their seats and join the models in enjoying the food such as steamed manioc or che hat sen (sweet lotus seeds porridge).

Another unique feature of the performance is the ao dai fashion show highlighting the collections of designer Si Hoang. The Ao Dai Then & Now collection features Vietnam’s first ao dais as well as a collection of costumes of Vietnam’s ethnic people.

Designer Si Hoang told the Daily that the teahouse is a favorite of Korean and Japanese tourists because there are many similarities between Vietnamese music and their own cultures. They also fell in love with the Vietnamese ao dai.

The music and fashion show starts at 8.30pm and guests who arrive early can wander around the designer’s space.

Along the way up to the stage room, guests will have a chance to examine many of Si Hoang’s pieces as well as precious pictures of Vietnamese women in traditional ao dai from the past. The portraits of the queens of Vietnam such as Queen Mother Tu Du and Queen Nam Phuong makes guests feel like they are wandering in a museum of Vietnamese culture and fashion.

Si Hoang told the Daily that he is working on a large-scale project to construct an ao dai museum aimed at tourists and comprised of three areas - one for display, one featuring a library and a theater space similar to the teahouse.

The show is priced at US$35 per guest and guests could buy a DVD priced at US$10 of the most favorite performances of the show as a souvenir. For reservation and more information, call tel: (84.8) 8299 156, fax: (84.8) 8257 124, email: sihoang@sihoang-art.com.

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Scientists engineer rare tree species

2007-11-14T04:43:00.000-08:00

Vietnamese scientists have for the first time successfully reproduced via in vitro fertilisation specimens of Chinese swamp cypress (Glyptostrobus pensilis), a tree species on the verge of extinction.

Listed in Vietnam’s “red book” of protected wildlife, Chinese swamp cypress has also been announced as one of the most-hunted plant species by the World Wild-life Fund.

The species once grew in many provinces from North to South across the country, but its numbers have shrunk to merely 150 trees, mainly growing in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

Worse still, a majority of the remaining trees are showing signs of severe ageing like stunted growth, sparse boughs and flat seeds. The species was poised for extinction because new saplings with seeds had not grown for 35 years.

Efforts to use grafting methods to produce a seedling of Chinese swamp cypress all met with failure. Studies conducted at various universities to reproduce the plant species in vitro never yielded anything more than buds.

Only in October of this year did Nguyen Thanh Sum – a lecturer and doctoral candidate at Da Lat University – manage to successfully produce a Chinese swamp cypress seeding through in vitro fertilisation as part of his studies. Sum used samples of buds taken from a Chinese swamp cypress tree near Krong Nang Bridge in Dak Lak Province for his study.

He said he had grown the cells in four different environmental conditions and only supplemented regulatory substances to create buds and roots after he determined the best environment in which to grow the species.

So far, 60 percent of the buds germinated in vitro have taken root. Sum said he was trying now to transfer the buds from their test tubes to the nursery. He also pledged to study measures to acclimatise the plant to its natural environment.

Chinese swamp cypress evolved about 10 million years ago. It is a medium- to large - sized tree, reaching 25m in height and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.3m.

Substances extracted from its bark and leaves have recently been used to develop pharmaceuticals for treating leprosy and cancer, as well as to produce painkillers. The wood is resistant to termites, making is also popular for use in the construction of temples and houses and fine arts products.

Archaeologists discovered a set of musical instruments made of Chinese swamp cypress wood dating back to over 4,000 years ago, after excavating a site in Dublin, Ireland in 2004.

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Nicole Kidman: "Married life comes first"

2007-11-14T04:37:00.001-08:00

Nicole Kidman said her marriage to country music star Keith Urban is her life's No. 1 priority for the moment, media reports said Wednesday

"Married life comes first and everything else comes second," said the Oscar winner actress at the premiere of her latest movie, "Margot at the Wedding."

"I just recently married so that's my priority. I love my work but at the same time I don't want to do it without having somebody else in my life to share that with," she added.

A recent Forbes.com study of actors box office return on their salary ranked Kidman, who had some recent high-profile flops, at No. 18 out of 22 actors with a return of 8 U.S. dollars for each 1 dollar she was paid.

Kidman, however, said she is just interested in doing good work.

"I'm interested in working with complex, really, really good directors and sometimes that results in great films and sometimes that results in some films that were reaching high and didn't get there," she said.

Kidman split from actor Tom Cruise in 2001 after nearly 10 years of marriage.

Last week, the actress said she lost her self-identity during her marriage to Tom Cruise, because the superstar couple did so much traveling around.

"Tom and I, we moved and moved and moved. Your sense of where do I come from becomes less and less relevant."

But the 40-year-old actress also said she is "not willing to give up my life with my man anymore."

Glory Glory Manchester United

2007-11-09T06:19:00.000-08:00

Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is arguably the most popular football club in the world, with over 50 million supporters worldwide;[1][2] average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964-65.

The club is also one of the most successful in English football; for over twenty years, since the 1986-87 season, they have won 18 major honours, which is more than any other Premier League club.[4] They are the Premier League's reigning champions, and have won the Premier League/Football League 16 times. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating S.L. Benfica 4–1, and they won a second European Cup in 1999. They also hold the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.[5]

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world, and until recently had the highest revenue of any football club for several years running. As of 2007, the club has the fourth largest turnover in club football,[6] but remains the most profitable club based on operating income.[7] Manchester United also remains the most valuable club in the world.[8] The club is a founding member of the G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986. The captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.

History

The club was formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The club's shirts were green and gold halves. They played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road, near the future site of the Manchester Piccadilly railway station for fifteen years, before moving to Bank Street in the nearby town of Clayton in 1893. The club had entered the Football League the previous year and began to sever its links with the rail depot, becoming an independent company, appointing a club secretary and dropping the "L&YR" from their name to become simply Newton Heath F.C.. Not long afterwards, in 1902, the club neared bankruptcy, with debts of over £2500. At one point, their Bank Street ground was even closed by the bailiffs.[10]

Just before having to be shut down for good, the club received a sizeable investment from J. H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries. Legend goes that Harry Stafford, the club captain, was showing off his prized St. Bernard dog at a club fund-raiser, when Davies approached him to buy the dog. Stafford declined, but was able to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman.[11] It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were among the names suggested, before Louis Rocca, a young immigrant from Italy, said "Gentlemen, why don't we call ourselves Manchester United?"[12] The name stuck, and Manchester United officially came into existence on 26 April 1902. Davies also decided it would be appropriate to change the club's colours, abandoning the green and gold halves of Newton Heath, and picking red and white to be the colours of Manchester United.

Ernest Mangnall was appointed as club secretary after James West had resigned as manager on 28 September 1902. Mangnall was charged with trying to get the club into the First Division, and fell just short of that target at the first attempt, finishing in 5th in Division Two. Mangnall decided that it was necessary to bring in some fresh faces to the club, and signed players such as Harry Moger in goal, Dick Duckworth at half-back and John Picken up front, but it was another new half-back by the name of Charlie Roberts who made the biggest impact. He cost the club a then-record £750 from Grimsby Town in April 1904, and helped them to a third place finish in the 1903-04 season, just a point short of the second promotion place.

It was not long, however, before the club was at last promoted to the First Division for the first time under their new name, finishing in second place in the 1905-06 Second Division. A season of consolidation followed, with the club finishing in 8th, before they finally won their first league title in 1908. Manchester City had recently been under investigation for paying some of their players a salary over the amount allowed by FA regulations. They were fined £250 and eighteen of their players were banned from playing for them ever again. United were quick to pounce on the situation, picking up Billy Meredith (the Welsh Wizard) and Sandy Turnbull, amongst others. The new boys from across town were ineligible to play until New Year's Day 1907, due to their suspension, so it was left until the 1907-08 season for them to make a proper impact on United's bid for the title. And that they did, getting the campaign off to a storming start, with a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United, beginning a run of ten consecutive victories. Despite a shaky end to the season, United managed to hang on and finished the season nine points ahead of their closest rivals, Aston Villa.

The following season began with United picking up another piece of silverware, the first ever Charity Shield,[13] and ended with another, the club's first FA Cup title, sowing the seeds for what has become a record number of FA Cup titles. Just as they were in the club's first title-winning campaign, Turnbull and Meredith were instrumental in this season, Turnbull scoring the winner in the FA Cup Final. The club had to wait another two years before winning any more silverware, winning the First Division for the second time in the 1910-11 season. In the meantime, United moved to their new ground at Old Trafford. They played their first game there on 19 February 1910 against Liverpool, but lost 4-3 having thrown away a 3-0 lead. They then went trophyless again in the 1911-12 season, which not only proved to be the last with Mangnall in charge (he moved to Manchester City after ten years with United), but also the last time the club won the First Division for 41 years, the longest time they have gone without winning the league in their history.

For the next ten years, the club went into a state of gradual decline before being relegated back down to Division Two in 1922. They were promoted again in 1925, but struggled to get into the top half of the table, and were relegated again in 1931. In the eight years leading up to World War II, the club became somewhat of a yo-yo club, reaching their all-time lowest position of 20th in Division Two in 1934. They were promoted and relegated once again before being promoted in the penultimate season before World War II. They guaranteed their place in the top flight for after the war by finishing in 14th in the 1938-39 season.

1945 saw the appointment of Matt Busby to the manager's post at Old Trafford. He took a then-unheard of approach to his job, insisting that he be allowed to pick his own team, choose which players to sign and direct the team's training sessions himself. He had already missed out on the manager's job at his former club, Liverpool F.C., because the club saw those tasks as jobs for the directors, but United decided to take a chance on Busby's innovative ideas. Busby's first signing was not a player, but a new assistant manager by the name of Jimmy Murphy. The risk the club had taken in appointing Busby paid immediate dividends, with the club finishing second in the league in 1947, 1948 and 1949 and winning the FA Cup in 1948, thanks in part to the locally-born trio of Stan Pearson, Jack Rowley and Charlie Mitten (Rowley and Pearson both scored in the 1948 Cup Final), as well as the centre-half from the North-East, Allenby Chilton.

Charlie Mitten had fled to Colombia in search of a better salary, but the remainder of United's old heads managed to win the First Division title back in 1952. Busby knew, however, that football teams required more than just experience in the side, and so he adopted a policy of bringing in players from the youth team whenever possible. At first, the young players such as Roger Byrne, Bill Foulkes, Mark Jones and Dennis Viollet, took time to bed themselves into the side, sliding to a low of 8th place in 1953, but the team won the league again in 1956 with an average age of only 22, scoring 103 goals in the process. The youth policy set in motion by Busby has now become a hallmark of the most successful periods in the club's history (the mid-1950s, mid-to-late-1960s and 1990s). Busby's original "crop" of youth players was referred to as the Busby Babes, the jewel in the crown of which was a wing-half named Duncan Edwards. The boy from Dudley in the West Midlands made his United début at the age of just 16 back in 1953. It was said that Edwards could play at any position on the field, and many who saw him play said that he was the greatest player ever. The following season, 1956-57, they won the league again and reached the FA Cup final, losing to Aston Villa. They also became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, at the behest of the FA, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season, and reached the semi-final, only to be knocked out by Real Madrid. En route to the semi-final, United also recorded a win that still stands as their biggest win in all competitions, beating Belgian champions Anderlecht 10-0 at Maine Road.

Tragedy struck the following season, when the plane carrying the team home from a European Cup match crashed on take-off at a refuelling stop in Munich, Germany. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed the lives of eight players - Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam "Billy" Whelan - and another fifteen passengers, including United staff members Walter Crickmer, Bert Whalley and Tom Curry.[14] There had already been two attempted take-offs before the fatal third, which was caused by a build-up of slush at the end of the runway slowing the plane down to a speed insufficient for take-off. The plane skidded off the end of the runway, through a fence and into an unoccupied house. United goalkeeper Harry Gregg managed to maintain consciousness after the crash, and through fear of the plane exploding at any second, he grabbed both Bobby Charlton - who had made his United début less than 18 months earlier - and Dennis Viollet by their waistbands and dragged them to safety. Seven United players died at the scene, while Duncan Edwards died a fortnight later in hospital. Right-winger Johnny Berry also survived the accident, but injuries sustained in the accident brought his football career to a premature end. Matt Busby was not given much hope of survival by the Munich doctors, and was even given the Last Rites at one point, but recovered miraculously and was finally let out of hospital after having spent over two months there.

There were rumours of the club folding and withdrawing from competitions, but with Jimmy Murphy taking over as manager while Busby recovered from his injuries, the club continued playing with a makeshift side. Despite the accident, they reached the FA Cup final again, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. At the end of the season, UEFA offered the FA the opportunity to submit both United and the eventual champions, Wolverhampton Wanderers, for the 1958-59 European Cup as a tribute to the victims, but the FA declined. United managed to push Wolves right to the wire the following season, finishing in a creditable 2nd place; not bad for a team that had lost nine first-team players to the Munich air disaster.

Busby rebuilt the team throughout the early 1960s, signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand, all the while nurturing his new generation of youngsters. Perhaps the most famous of this new batch was a young man from Belfast named George Best. Best had a natural athleticism rarely seen, but his most valuable asset was his close control of a football. His quick feet allowed him to pass through almost any gap in the opposition defence, no matter how small. The team won the FA Cup in 1963, albeit finishing in 19th place in the First Division. The FA Cup triumph seemed to reinvigorate the players, who helped the club to 2nd place in 1964, and then went one better by winning the league in 1965 and 1967. United won the European Cup in 1968, beating Eusébio's SL Benfica 4-1 in the final, becoming the first English club to win the competition. This United team was notable for containing three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best. Matt Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by the reserve-team coach and former United player, Wilf McGuinness.

United struggled to replace Busby, and the team struggled under Wilf McGuinness in the 1969-70 season, finishing a disappointing 8th, and following a poor start to the 1970-71 season, McGuinness was demoted back to the position of reserve team coach. Busby was coaxed back to the club, albeit only for six months. Results got better with Busby's guidance, but he finally left the club for the last time in the summer of 1971. In the meantime, United had lost a number of high-profile players such as Nobby Stiles and Pat Crerand.

Despite approaching Celtic's European Cup-winning manager, Jock Stein, for the manager's job - Stein had agreed a verbal contract to join United, but pulled out at the last minute - Frank O'Farrell was appointed as Busby's successor. However, like McGuinness, O'Farrell only lasted less than 18 months, the only difference between the two being that O'Farrell reacted to the team's poor form by bringing in some fresh talent, most specifically Martin Buchan from Aberdeen for £125,000. Tommy Docherty became manager at the end of 1972. Docherty, or "the Doc", saved United from relegation that season but United were relegated in 1974, by which time the golden trio of Best, Law and Charlton had left the club. Denis Law had moved to Manchester City in the summer of 1973, and ended up scoring the goal that many people say relegated United, and politely refused to celebrate the goal with his team mates. Players like Lou Macari, Stewart Houston and Brian Greenhoff were brought in to replace Best, Law and Charlton, but none could live up to the stature of the three that came before.

The team won promotion at the first attempt, with a young Steve Coppell making his début towards the end of that season, having joined from Tranmere Rovers, and reached the FA Cup final in 1976, but were beaten by Southampton. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool 2-1. In spite of this success and his popularity with the supporters, Docherty was sacked soon after the final when he was found to have had an affair with the physiotherapist's wife.

Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977, and made the team play in a more defensive formation. This style was unpopular with supporters, who were used to the attacking football preferred by Docherty and Busby. Major signings under Sexton included Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Gary Bailey and Ray Wilkins, but Sexton's defensive United failed to break out of mid-table obscurity, only once finishing in the top two, and only reached the FA Cup final once, losing to Arsenal. Because of this lack of trophies, Sexton was sacked in 1981, even though he won his last seven games in charge.

He was replaced by the flamboyant Ron Atkinson, whose extrovert attitude was reflected in the clubs he managed. He immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from his old club, West Brom. Robson would come to be touted in the future as United's best midfield player since Duncan Edwards. Atkinson's team featured new signings such as Jesper Olsen, Paul McGrath and Gordon Strachan playing alongside former youth-team players Norman Whiteside and Mark Hughes. United won the FA Cup twice in three years, in 1983 and 1985, and were overwhelming favourites to win the league in the 1985-86 season after winning their first ten league games, opening a ten-point gap over their rivals as early as October. The team's form collapsed, however, and United finished the season in fourth place. The poor form continued into the following season, and with United on the edge of the First Division's relegation zone by the beginning of November 1986, Atkinson was sacked.

Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen to replace Atkinson and guided the club to an 11th place finish. The following season (1987-88), United finished second, with Brian McClair becoming the first United player since George Best to score twenty league goals in a season.

However, United struggled throughout the next two seasons, with many of Ferguson's signings not reaching the expectations of the fans. Alex Ferguson was reportedly on the verge of being sacked at the beginning of 1990 but a Mark Robins goal gave United a narrow 1-0 win in the third round of the FA Cup over Nottingham Forest. This kept the season alive, and the team went on to win the competition, beating Crystal Palace in a replay in the final.

United won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1990-91, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona in the final, but the following season was a disappointment as a late season slump saw them miss out on the league to rivals Leeds United. Meanwhile in 1991, the club floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £47 million, bringing its finances into the public eye.

The arrival of Eric Cantona in November 1992 provided the crucial spark for United, and blending with the best of trusted talent in Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin and Paul Ince, as well as budding stars like Ryan Giggs, they finished the 1992-93 season as champions for the first time since 1967. They won the double (the league and the FA Cup) for the first time the following season, aided by the capture of Roy Keane, a determined midfielder from Nottingham Forest, who would go on to become the team captain. In the same year, however, the club was plunged into mourning following the death of legendary manager and club president Sir Matt Busby, who died on 20 January 1994.

In 1994-95, Cantona received an eight month suspension for jumping into the crowd and assaulting Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons, who had given Cantona racial abuse as he left the field, in United's game at Selhurst Park. Drawing their last league match and losing to Everton in the FA Cup final left United as runners-up in both the league and FA Cup. Ferguson then outraged the supporters by selling key players and replacing them with players from the club's youth team, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes. The new players, several of whom quickly became regular internationals for England, did surprisingly well and United won the double again in 1995-96. This was the first time any English club had won the double twice, and the feat was nicknamed the "Double Double".

They won the league in 1996-97, and Eric Cantona announced his retirement from football at the age of 30. They started the following season (1997-98) well, but they finished in second place, behind the double-winning champions Arsenal.

The 1998-99 season for Manchester United was the most successful season in English club football history as they became the first and only English team to win The Treble - winning the Premiership, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in the same season. After a very tense Premier League season, Manchester United won the title on the final day beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1, whilst Arsenal won 1-0 against Aston Villa.[18] Winning the Premiership was the first part of the Treble in place, the one part that manager Alex Ferguson described as the hardest. In the FA Cup Final United faced Newcastle United and won 2-0 with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. In the final match of that season, the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final they defeated Bayern Munich in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed, losing going into injury time and scoring twice to win 2-1. Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football. Rounding out that record breaking year, Manchester United also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1-0 in Tokyo.

United won the league in 2000 and 2001 but the press saw these seasons as failures as they failed to regain the European Cup. In 2000, Manchester United became one of 14 founder members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs. Ferguson adopted more defensive tactics to make United harder to beat in Europe but it was not a success and United finished the 2001-02 Premiership season in third place. They regained the league the following season (2002-03) and started the following season well, but their form dropped significantly when Rio Ferdinand received a controversial eight month suspension for missing a drugs test. They did win the 2004 FA Cup, however, knocking out Arsenal (that season's eventual champions) on their way to the final in which they beat Millwall.

The 2004-05 season was characterised by a failure to score goals, mainly due to the injury of striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and United finished the season trophyless and in third place in the league. This time, even the FA Cup eluded them as Arsenal beat United on penalties after a goalless draw after 120 minutes. Off the pitch, the main story was the possibility of the club being taken over and at the end of the season, Tampa businessman Malcolm Glazer, acquired a controlling interest in the club.

United made a poor start to the 2005-06 season, with midfielder Roy Keane leaving the club to join Celtic after publicly criticising several of his team-mates, and the club failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade after losing to Portuguese team Benfica. Their season was also dealt cruel blows with injuries to key players such as Gabriel Heinze, Alan Smith, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. However, they were prevented from being left empty-handed in successive seasons – a disappointment not endured in the last 17 years – by winning the 2006 League Cup, beating newly-promoted neighbours Wigan Athletic in the final 4-0. United also ensured a second-place finish and automatic Champions League qualification on the final day of the season by defeating Charlton Athletic 4-0. At the end of the 2005-06 season, one of United's key strikers, Ruud van Nistelrooy, left the club to join Real Madrid, due to a row with Alex Ferguson.

The 2006-07 season saw United return to the attacking style of football that was the cornerstone of their years of success in the late 1990s, scoring almost 20 more goals in 32 matches than second placed side Chelsea. In January 2007, United signed Henrik Larsson on a two-month loan from Swedish side Helsingborgs, and the striker played an important role in advancing United to the semi-finals of the Champions' League, with hopes for a second Treble; however, upon reaching the semi-finals, United lost to A.C. Milan 3-5 on aggregate.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Manchester United's entry into European competition, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, Manchester United played Marcello Lippi's European XI at Old Trafford on 13 March 2007. United won the game 4-3, with two goals from Wayne Rooney, and one each from Wes Brown and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Four years after their last championship, United claimed back the Premier League title on 6 May 2007, after Chelsea drew away with Arsenal, leaving the Blues seven points behind with two games to go, following United's 1-0 victory in the Manchester derby the previous day, making it their ninth Premiership title in the 15 seasons of its existence. However, an unprecedented fourth Double was not to be, as Chelsea beat United 1-0 in extra time in the first FA Cup Final to be held at the new Wembley Stadium; the first to be held in England since the old stadium was demolished seven years earlier.

Canon has good year in Vietnam

2007-11-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

Canon has achieved high sales and export growth in Vietnam this year, a senior official from the Japanese printer and camera giant has said.

Mike Asao, director of Canon Singapore's HCMC Representative Office, said sales had risen by 20 per-cent on average, though it was 50 per-cent for some products like laser and ink-jet printers.

In Vietnam, Canon mostly makes low-end printers meant for developing markets.

Asao told Thanh Nien Daily Thursday at a product launch ceremony that the demand in the country was rising constantly.

At the ceremony, 23 new models of single and multifunctional printers, cameras, video camcorders, and scanners were unveiled for the Vietnamese market.

They are being made in Canon's Thailand plant.

Asao added that printer exports from Vietnam in 2007 would be worth US$1 billion.

Canon Vietnam produces mainly two kinds of products, laser and ink-jet printers, all of it for export.

Last year, printer exports were worth $700 million, almost twice as much as the previous year.

Canon is the biggest Japanese investor in Vietnam with an investment of $306 million and three plants set up since 2002.

They are located in Hanoi's Thang Long Industrial Zone (IZ) and the Que Vo and Tien Son IZs in Bac Ninh Province, also in the north.

They have a total capacity of 2.23 million units per month.

RMIT launches research institute in city

2007-11-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

Australia's RMIT University has inaugurated a research institute at its Saigon South campus in HCMC as a commitment to developing education and research in Vietnam

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the Global Cities Institute on Monday evening, vice chancellor for research Neil Furlong of RMIT University said the institute marked an important stage for research at RMIT and for RMIT research in Vietnam in particular."

"Today we are launching the Global Cities Institute here in HCMC as we think the research foci-globalization and climate change adaptation - are very relevant to the future of Melbourne and HCMC," Furlong said.

He clarified that the organization would be developing research collaboration with counterparts in Vietnam as part of a long-term program in addition to existing teaching programs in Hanoi and HCMC.

Institute director Paul James said six priority research areas were climate change, human security such as disease threat, urban infrastructure and city planning, learning cities, community sustainability and cultural globalization.

James elaborated researchers would work with counterparts in Australia's Melbourne, Vietnam's HCMC, Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur and other targeted cities in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere in the world.

James noted RMIT was already be working with partner universities in Vietnam and the Ministry of Education and Training over a joint Masters and Doctoral Program through which future researchers can build the foundation for their future research careers.

Furlong said the institute used multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding the challenges of cities as they sought to prosper within global environments.

"Challenges cover the spectrum from infrastructure to environment to health and social structures. In working within selected cities such as HCMC, our researchers will identify the needs across this spectrum and form research teams with the necessary research skills," he said.

He said RMIT had established a research investment fund of around A$8mil a year for recruiting and developing researchers in various target programs.

James said RMIT professors of climate change would design research projects that examine how global warming may have impacts on Melbourne and HCMC, and ways in which city authorities plan and respond.

He added alongside architects, city planners and social scientists, the institute had appointed a virologist to co-operate with Vietnamese researchers on avian influenza and fish vaccine research.

Saigon cafés

2007-11-08T07:16:00.002-08:00

Nowhere in Vietnam can compare to Saigon for the number of cafés, and the variety of cafés, with old and new flourishing in the current day.

No ones know exactly when the habit of drinking coffee in the morning was imported into HCM City but this habit is now very popular to the level that any urban man must… drink morning coffee. Not only men but also many women love tasting coffee each morning, even black coffee without sugar.

It doesn’t mean that only HCM City people love coffee but it is sure that all kinds of coffee are available in Saigon, at all cafés, from small to big ones.

Big cafés are luxurious restaurants and night-clubs that have nice and spacious space. Both medium-sized and big cafés now offer coffee with wireless Internet service for office staffs or IT addicts. Coffee lovers can surf Internet while drinking coffee.

Small cafes are also very diversified, located densely on all roads in every corner and alley in the city. A café of this kind can be opened under the shadow of a big tree or on the pavement, near a school, a restaurant or an office. This café is just equipped with several plastic chairs and tables, a cart carrying bottles of ready-made coffee, some glasses, a box of ice, etc.

Sidewalk cafes without chairs are now very attractive to students, who love to sit on pieces of cardboard to taste coffee and chat with their friends after class.

Fashionable cafes

It is very easy to find a big café in HCM City. At any road in the city, one can see big, luxurious cafes with unique architectures of western or oriental styles.

Some cafés are located on the first floor of big hotels while others are on the top of buildings and trade centres. They are all bright and luxurious, and bring coffee drinkers the feeling of eternity, like they are in another world.

Some of the most crowded cafes in Saigon are Gio Bac and Grammy near Turtle Lake, Cam Xuc, Serenata on Ngo Thoi Nhiem street, Zenta on Mac Dinh Chi street, Chot Nho on Nguyen Van Troi road, Khuc Giao Mua on Tran Huy Lieu road.

Some cafes with ancient style like Vien Xua on Phan Dang Luu road, Tuan Ngoc on Le Van Sy are also attractive.

At big cafes, the price for a cup of coffee is quite high, from VND10,000 to VND20,000/cup ($0.6-1.2).

If you want to taste coffee while gazing away at the panorama of HCM City from a café on the 33rd floor of the highest building in the city, you must pay around VND200,000 ($12) for a cup of coffee. Most people may come here once in their lives but many return to enjoy a strange feeling from the 33rd floor.

Borderless cafes

In Saigon, café coc or mobile café is not a new concept. Among all kinds of cafes, perhaps café coc is the most vital. While other types of cafes develop through a circle of prosperity and retrogression, café coc has been quietly existing through ups and downs of life.

If big cafes are luring customers by building their brands, small ones and café coc also try to build their brands verbally.

There is a fact that café coc sell coffee at cheap prices, reasonable quality and have a street view. While big, luxurious cafes offer a cup of coffee for tens of thousands of dong, it is several thousands of dong at cafe coc.

Bui (Dust) Café or Café 47 on Pham Ngoc Thach road is always crowded though located in a small alley, the road to the house of ex-musician Trinh Cong Son. Though nobody knows whether the famous song writer sat at this café coc or not, many people still come here because it is near his house.

Some cafes work in the early morning, mainly serving workers or office staffs. This kind of café appears everywhere, on the pavement outside a building, in a park, in front of the gate of universities.

Anyway, café has become a cultural characteristic of Saigon. Go to Saigon to discover the culture of coffee!

Vietnamese pool player shocks Philippine audiences

2007-11-08T07:12:00.001-08:00

The three-time world champion from the US, Earl Strickland, suddenly became “small” before an unknown pool player from Vietnam, Luong Chi Dung, at a Wednesday competition under the World 9-Ball Championship in the Philippines.

The cool temperament and sharp cue blows of this 27-year-old Hanoian man made the experienced rival lift his hat.

Experts began to forecast an upset as Strickland was continuously on the defensive early. Taking advantage of each opportunity created by his rival, Chi Dung stayed in the lead, jumping to an 8-5 advantage. However, Strickland bounced back to equalise the score, 8-8.

Pressure began to oppress Chi Dung because he didn’t have the right to break. But good luck smiled on the Vietnamese player when Strickland was unable to capitalise. Chi Dung won the rack, 9-8.

The competition ended in favour of Chi Dung (10-8). Defeating a world champion to become one of the two first players entering the 1/32 round, Chi Dung is hoped will further surprise at the World 9-Ball Championship

Cholera virus stretches to environment

2007-11-08T07:11:00.001-08:00

VietNamNet Bridge – Some cases show that cholera virus has reached the environment, not remained solely in food, said the Dean of the Central Institute for Epidemiology.

Dr. Nguyen Tran Hien said that some samples of shrimp paste, the top suspect of cholera virus carrier, taken in Hanoi and Thanh Hoa province are negative for cholera virus. In addition, many cholera patients did not eat shrimp paste or highly risky foods like raw vegetables, blood pudding, pork entrails, etc.

Trinh Quan Huan, Head of the Preventive Health Agency, agreed with Dr. Hien that the sources of cholera were not shrimp paste or food only, but said they also were in the environment.

While the sources of cholera have not been determined, the number of patients keeps increasing in many provinces while it is declining in Hanoi, the first place reported with cholera.

Some 170 new diarrhea patients were hospitalised Wednesday, raising the total number to 1,400. So far, around 100 patients have left hospitals already. Cholera epidemic is reportedly in 11 provinces.

Big hospitals in Hanoi are full of diarrhea patients, including 354 determined to be carrying the cholera virus.

Controlling diarrhea patients is now a headache for hospitals in Hanoi as some patients have run away from hospitals. Bach Mai Hospital reported that two patients had run away while the National Institute for Contagious and Tropical Diseases has reported 13. Other hospitals haven’t released official statistics about this but said that many patients had left hospitals without doctors’ permission.

Dr. Hien said that many patients get angry when they have to stay for a long time in hospitals although doctors explain that they need three tests to know whether they have cholera virus or not.

“These patients are dangerous sources of virus carriers for the community,” Hien said.

Death toll from Finland school shooting rises to eight

2007-11-08T07:09:00.001-08:00

Eight people have been killed in a school shooting on Wednesday in Finland's southern city of Tuusula, Finnish police confirmed on Wednesday evening.

Finnish police said at a press conference that the shooter was arrested after a siege.

The shooting took place in Jokela school in Tuusula, some 50 km north of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Eight people have been killed in the shooting. Among them, one is the schoolmaster, and others are the school pupils. Several more have been injured.

Police confirmed that the shooter at the Jokela school was arrested after a siege. He was armed with a handgun and hurt himself after the shooting.

Police said the shooter is an 18-year old high school male. He shot inside the school building and also directed his fire towards police.

The Jokela school building serves as an upper-level comprehensive school and an upper level secondary school. The two schools had combined 480 pupils.

According to local media report, references to an impending attack in Jokela school have been found on the Internet. A video clip called Jokela High School Massacre was posted on YouTube on the internet the day before a shooting. The video begins with a still image of the school and then shows a man pointing a pistol at the camera.

Tuomas Hulkkonen, a member of the graduating class of the upper level secondary school in Jokela school building, said that he has known the gunman for 10 years since the lower grades. Hulkkonen said that in recent days he had been acting strange, drawing pictures involving firearms. He also said that the suspected gunman had shooting as a hobby.

The Finnish government has convened for an emergency session over the shooting, and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen characterized the situation as extremely deplorable.

The Finnish Red Cross has set up a hotline for those needing help in dealing with the crisis.