Nhat Tan peach blossoms to welcome Tet in south

Nguyen Thi Binh, Head of the Farmers’ Association of Nhat Tan ward - the cradle of the blossoms – said, although the number of branches is “modest” compared to the south’s demand, most of growers find it hard to transport peach blossoms over a long distance. 

An owner of 250 bonsai peach trees in Nhat Tan ward, Tran Tuan Viet said he had declined a lot of orders placed by customers from southern cities and provinces also due to the difficulties regarding transport. 

Viet has to date had 40 bonsai peach trees leased in advance for the festival with rentals ranging between 2.5 million VND and 12 million VND. 

The sale prices would be 500,000 VND - 1 million VND higher than the hire charge of each tree, Viet added.

Largest satellite television trademark makes debut

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Satellite Digital Television (VSTV), a joint venture between Vietnam Television and France’s Canal + Group, on January 12 officially launched its satellite television service trademarked K+. 

K+, the largest trademark of its kind in Vietnam at present, will broadcast nearly 60 channels covering various fields such as entertainment, film and sports. 

The joint venture has produced its own television channels bearing the K+ trademark and most K+ channels have been tailored to serve the local audience with Vietnamese subtitles or dubbed in Vietnamese.

Action needed to cut traffic deaths

Hanoi (VNA) – Deaths caused by traffic accidents in 2009 fell by only 0.7 percent compared to the previous year, far lower than the target of 5 percent.

This figure was released at the national Traffic Safety Conference, which took place on Jan. 12 in Hanoi .

According to statisticS by the National Traffic Safety Committee, in 2009 there were more than 12,400 traffic accidents, killing 11,516 people and injuring more than 7,900.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked relevant ministries to seek breakthrough initiatives to reduce traffic accidents.

“The losses caused by traffic accidents are serious and huge. Thus, traffic safety practices must significantly reduce the number of deaths and injuries,” he said.

He also emphasised the importance of heightening people’s awareness of traffic laws, calling on relevant ministries to focus on communicating such laws to all people.

The management of transport vehicles and the construction of modern transport infrastructure were also included in the measures to ease traffic jams and prevent accidents.

Compared to figures in 2008, the number of traffic accidents in 2009 decreased by 390, but the number of serious traffic accidents actually increased.

The main causes for serious accidents were traffic lane violations, speeding and careless passing.

Traffic jams in Hanoi and HCM City have become a big concern for the cities’ citizens.

Islamic Cham ethnics in An Giang hold 2nd congress

An Giang (VNA) - The second congress of Islamic Cham ethnic community in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang was held at the Nekmah Mosque in Tan Chau town on Jan. 12. 

Representatives from the Government Committee for Religious Affairs and local authorities joined more than 100 Islamic followers at the event. 

The participants agreed that from now until 2015, the Islamic Cham community will continue to organise religious courses combined with the dissemination of law to its believers. 

The community will seek funding to support Cham students pursuing graduate and post-graduate study both in and outside the country, and hold more Vietnamese-Cham bilingual courses at local schools and mosques. 

At the congress, the delegates elected a 16-member representative board of the Islamic Cham community for the 2010-2015 term, with MuSa Haji re-elected as its head. 

An Giang province is now home to over 15,000 Islamic Cham people who conduct religious practice at 27 mosques in seven districts and towns. 

Over the past five years, a total of 1,813 houses were built for poor Cham families in An Giang, with financial support sourced from hunger eradication and poverty reduction Programmes 134 and 135.

Miss Vietnam in Europe crowned

Hanoi (VNA) – The final round of Miss Vietnam in Europe has crowned Nguyen Ngoc Kieu Khanh from Germany the winner.

Showcasing her voluptuous body, Khanh beat 34 contestants to take the prize.

The first runner-up was Nguyen Mai Anh, Miss Vietnam of the Czech Republic , followed by Nguyen Phuong Loan from Germany .

This year’s Miss Vietnam in Europe pageant was held by the Our Common House Association in Germany . This is the first event to mark Vietnam Year in Germany and the 35 th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Germany .

The event was held with the aim of introducing Vietnamese beauty and culture to Europeans while strengthening solidarity within the Vietnamese diaspora community.

European classical duo to perform

Hanoi (VNA) – European classical duo, Clara Cernat and Thierry Huillet, will perform at the Hanoi Opera House January 13.

The couple will play songs composed by Gabriel Faure, F Chopin, Camille Saint-Saens, Claude Debussy and Huillet himself.

The concert was organised by the French Cultural Centre L’Espace in Hanoi . On January 15, the duo will also perform at Idecaf in HCM City .

Before forming the duo in 1996, the Romanian Cernat was declared one of Europe ’s Eight Great Talents at the European Talent Awards in 1994.

French pianist Thierry Huillet has also won the prestigious First Grand Prize at the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in Cleveland , the Busoni competition in Italy , and the Tokyo International Music Competition.

Aid to child heart patients in Quang Ngai

Quang Ngai (VNA) – The Quad Personnel Consultant company of the United States on January 12 announced a 5,000 USD aid package to help children suffering from congenital heart defects in the central province of Quang Ngai. 

The company’s Chairman, Ronald Ostermilller, presented the money to poet Thanh Thao, who leads a fund-raising campaign to sponsor free operations for the disadvantaged children, at a new year meeting with local authorities and companies operating in Dung Quat oil refinary. 

Thao himself donated 1,000 USD to the campaign.

Vietnam: attractive market for Japanese investors

Bangkok (VNA) – Vietnam , Indonesia and Singapore are emerging as attractive markets for Japanese investors, said Vice President of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC) in Bangkok Fukujiro Yamabe. 

Yamabe said that Thailand is no longer the most attractive investment destination in the region because the government has yet to prove its leadership in addressing prolonged political instabilities and standstills in many controversial projects at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Park. 

The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) has been creating favourable conditions for Japanese businesses to operate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market as six economies, including Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia , the Philippines , Singapore and Thailand applied zero import tariff as of January 1, he said. 

Except Thailand , other countries in the bloc and India have seen good results in foreign investment attraction, he added. 

According to Yamabe, Japanese investors plan to increase investment in ASEAN in the coming years in order to tap the region’s potentials. 

Japan is now the leading foreign investor in Thailand with a total registered investment capital of 54.63 billion Thb (1.65 billion USD) in the first 11 months of 2009, representing a sharp fall compared to 97.64 billion Thb of the same period in 2008.

Vietnam Airlines flies new route

Hanoi VNA) – The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, today launched its new direct flight route from Hanoi to Osaka in Japanon Jan. 12. 

The airline plans to operate five flights a week using Airbus A321 planes on the new route. 

The carrier decided to bring the route into operation to meet the demand of customers as Japan Airlines stopped its Osaka-Hanoi route on Jan. 12. 

According to Vietnam Airlines (VNA), it is an important step to expand its market in Japan . 

Director of the airline’s representative office in Japan , Nguyen Quoc Tuan, said Vietnam Airlines was determined to open the route with a desire to enhance commercial, investment and tourism activities between the two countries. 

He said with an extensive flight network, Hanoi hoped to become a hub for visitors heading to Cambodia and Laos . 

With this launch, the total number of flights per week operated by the airline to Japan will increase to 31. 

The flights will operate out of Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports to the Japanese cities of Tokyo , Osaka , Nagoya and Fukuoka . 

Statistics released from the carrier showed that it accounted for half of the total direct flights between Vietnam and Japan in the first nine months of last year.

Craft exports lack promotion

HCM City (VNA) – The handicraft sector should participate in more international trade promotions if they want to increase exports, an industry expert said at a conference on Jan. 12 in HCM City . 

Dang Quoc Hung, deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (Hawa), said local firms should take the initiative in participating in international trade fairs and exhibitions, which could help them promote their trademarks and find new customers 

Companies must prepare well when participating in international fairs including having staff who can communicate with foreign visitors, aid Phan Thi Hoai Phuong from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

Local firms usually lack experience in decorating and arrangement of their stalls at international fairs, according to Pham Hong Son, a trade promotion officer from the Vietnam Handicraft Exporters’ Association. 

He said they should seek help from consultants to make their stalls more attractive. 

Export earnings from the sector last year were estimated at under 1 billion USD, still low compared to the sector’s potential. 

The lower earnings were mainly due to the global economic downturn and a lack of trade promotions. 

“There is an increasing demand for handicraft products globally, and more countries are interested in importing products made of bamboo,” said Tran Quoc Manh, also a deputy director of Hawa. 

He called on the sector to invest in staff who could create new ideas rather than just wait for orders and make products following the designs from buyers. 

Since most firms in the sectors are small- and medium-sized, firms should cooperate with each other to raise their competitiveness as well as developtrade promotion to reduce costs. 

Vietnam ’s handicraft products are sold in 80 countries and territories, with Japan , the EU, Russia and Southeast Asia as the main importers.

Steel pipe exports to US to rise,

Hanoi (VNA) – Domestic steel pipes producers are hoping to increase exports of steel pipes with a diameter of less than 10 inches to US, saying the market offers great potential due to high demand and low supply. 

Industry insiders said that demand for steel pipes in the US is huge, with not many countries and territories, including Taiwan , mainland China and Vietnam , manufacturing the product. 

The director of the Son Ha International Joint-Stock Co, Le Vinh Son, said that his company expects to export roughly 2,000 tonnes of steel pipes monthly to the US during the next two years. 

Vietnam Steel Association vice chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi said that Hoa Phat, Viet Duc and SeAH Steel are among Vietnamese companies currently manufacturing steel pipes. The latter two began exporting steel pipes to the US late last year, with annual export revenue totalling several million dollars. 

However, authorities also producers that Vietnam was also among six countries which faced complaints from US steel pipe producers over alleged dumping. 

Us trade authorities have yet to investigate steel pipes imported from Vietnam, as total steel pipe imports from Vietnam make up only 2.55 percent of the US steel market. According to US rules, if the percentage abruptly climbs to 3 percent, they would launch an anti-dumping probe. 

But sources from steel pipe manufacturers believe that Vietnam ’s steel pipe exports to such a huge market as the US would be extremely unlikely to break the 3 percent threshold.