Authorities prepare Tet cheer for poor

This is the third year that authorities in the central city have planned to dole out Tet largesse. 

Last year cycle driver Tran Van Phuc, 50, of Hai Chau district was among those who received 250,000 VND in cash. 


“The amount was not big but it was equal to one month’s saving for me. It helped buy new clothes for our children and some food and wine to worship our ancestors during Tet,” he recalled. 


Xe om (motorbike-taxi) driver Quy is another who received money which helped him have a simple but joyful festival. 

But migrant workers will not benefit. Quy said: “Motorbike-taxi drivers who get the dole plan to concede their customers to their migrant colleagues before Tet.” 


Four years ago, city Party Committee secretary Nguyen Ba Thanh witnessed a sight which persuaded him to help the poor celebrate Tet – a group of cycle and motorbike-taxi adrivers wrangling over customers before the New Year. 


Authorities will publicly announce the list of beneficiaries and how much they will get. 


Other cities and provinces also plan to donate gifts to the needy. 


Hanoi has earmarked 109 billion VND (5.5 million USD) for Heroic Mothers, invalids, revolutionary veterans, families of martyrs, military and labour heroes, and others who will get between 100,000VND and 600,000 VND. 

In HCM City , 2,777 poor households will each received 500,000 VND while 28,000people aged 85 and above and 14,000 beneficiaries of social subsidies will each get 400,000 VND. 


Heroic Mothers, invalids and revolutionary veterans will get 1.2 million VND.

Vietnam goes down to China in Asian Cup

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam ’s hopes of taking at least one point in the second leg of the Asian Cup 2011 qualifier against China were quashed on Jan.17 when the host lost 2-1. 

China , who already qualified for the finals in Qatar in 2011 along with Syria in Group D, started the game slowly with an advantage of fitness and skills. 

After 30 minutes, Yang Hu took China to the lead when he netted a rebound at the 35 th minute to open the score. 

At the 43 rd minute, Whang Linpeng made it 2-0 when he converted his teammate’s cross to beat goalie Bui Quang Huy. 

The hosts had only two clear chances in the first half, but left winger Pham Thanh Luong and midfielder Phan Thanh Hung could not turn their long shots in. 

After the break, Vietnam played with 10 men after striker Nguyen Viet Thang was sent off with a foul. 

The hosts pulled back a goal at the 72 nd minute when top striker Le Cong Vinh scored from aa penalty kick after playmaker Pham Thanh Luong was pulled down in the box. 

Vietnam regrouped to find an equalizer in the last minutes, but strikers could not get past the Chinese defence.

Volleyball: Signal Corps women in command

Gia Lai (VNA) – Volleyball team Military Signal Corps Command took a 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei at the international women’s volleyball tournament in Gia Lai province on January 17. 

The Military team beat Chinese Taipei 25-13, 25-19, 25-22 at the Pleiku City Gymnasium. 

Entering the match as favourites at the tournament, Taipei played far below the expectations of nearly 2,000 spectators packed in the Gymnasium, making a series of reception and service errors. 

With cheers from the enthusiastic audience, the Signal Corp started the match strongly and led 12-4 after a seven-point run before Taipei called for a time-out. The Vietnam team went on to win the set after a Taipei player’s serve out. 

After being trailed 3-1 in the second set, the Signal Corp team recovered to lead 15-11 after a four-point run before Taipei called for a time-out, but key spiker Pham Thi Kim Hue and setter Dao Thi Huyen helped the Signal Corp lead 20-16. 

Japanese coach Norimasa Sakakuchi called for a second time-out, but Chinese Taipei only added three more points before Vietnam win the set 25-19. 

The visitors regrouped in the third and decisive set and led all the way through to 15-15, before Hue put the military team ahead at 16-15. The two teams fought hard until the score reached 21-21. 

Ho Yen Chih’s spike flew out and Wushu Fen’s blocked spike helped Signal Corps move in front 23-21. Ho pulled back a point but Phan Thi Yen’s powerful spike and Ho’s unsuccessful drop sent Signal players circling the court. 

“Our players played good game today, but Chinese Taipei has some young players and maybe they are just not familiar with the court,” Pham Van Long, head coach of the Military team said after the match. “This is not the Chinese Taipei national team, but it includes some national players. Our players also played a bad game today,” Sakakuchi said. 

At the previous day of competition, with matches in Pool A,VTV-Binh Dien Long An overcame Thailand ’s national youth team 3-2 while PV Oil Thai Binh also got past China ’s Shandong with the same score. 

In another match of Pool B, Vietsopetro also cruised China ’s Nanjing in three straight sets with the same score of 25-20.

HCM City lights up streets for Tet

HCM City (VNA) – Nguyen Hue Boulevard in downtown HCM City will be transformed into a street of flowers for the country’s biggest holiday, Tet (Lunar New Year). 

The theme this year, Xuan Binh Minh (Spring Dawn), was chosen to illustrate the city’s belief in a resurgence of tourism after the global financial crisis. 

The flower festival, which will take place from February 11 to 16, is divided into six areas with different themes Vang Thai Duong (The Sun), Xuan Yeu Thuong (Spring of Love), Binh Minh Tu Hoi (Gathering in the Dawn), Suc Manh Doan Ket (Strengthen of Solidarity), Goc Que Huong (A Corner of Motherland), and Huong ve Thang Long (Looking toward Thang Long Citadel). 

An apricot flower garden with dozens of apricot pots and hundreds of Mokara orchid branches will be placed in the Uncle Ho statue park in front of City Hall. 

Yellow and red flowers in square and round shapes, which are symbolic of Vietnam ’s traditional banh chung (square glutinous rice cake), and banh day (round glutinous rice cake), will surround the feet of apricot trees. 

The arrangement aims to honour President Ho, as well as express the hope for a happy and successful year. 

The sacred object of the year, two tigers, will be placed near a century-old tree at the top of Nguyen Hue Boulevard , opposite Cay Lieu (Willow Tree) round about. 

The Spring of Love section from Le Loi street to Mac Thi Buoi street will feature bamboo, timber, mangrove, and stone. 

Rows of trees and mountain ranges will be stylized into flower forests and flower waves. 

Huge hills of flowers named Song Hoa Binh Minh (Flower Waves in the Dawn), and Binh Minh Tay Nguyen (The Dawn in Central Highlands) will beautify the section called Strength of Solidarity, stretching from Huynh Thuc Khang to Hai Trieu streets. 

The section A Corner of Motherland will include paddy fields, golden straw hills, white stork’s wings, and papooses filled with popcorn. 

Drums and flower trellises will also decorate the area. 

This is the sixth consecutive year Saigontourist organised Nguyen Hue Flower Street.

Vietnamese-Russian “Teachers-students reunion”

Hanoi (VNA)- Almost 30 teachers from the former Soviet Union were moved to tears in their meeting with 4,000 Vietnamese alumni in Hanoi on January 17. 

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Thien Nhan, represented the 52,000 alumni from various parts of Vietnam to express thanks to their Soviet teachers. 

He pledged to further boost friendly and cooperative relations with Russia and other republics of the former Soviet Union . 

V. Ferovich, who experienced a working mission in Vietnam in 1964, said “In this return, I rejoiced at Hanoi ’s dynamic development and was very happy to see our students make great success in their careers and considerably contribute to all aspects of the social life.” 

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan described the deep passion between people of the former Soviet Union and Vietnam as well as the rich culture of Russia as noble cultural values. 

He said “Our hearts have been engraved with this value and the Russian soul has blended in with the Vietnamese soul, helping us advance in life.” 

This special relationship was marked with the October, 1954 event, when the late President Ho Chi Minh sent 300 first students to the former Soviet Union for higher education. 

Of them, 100 were sent to universities, 100 others to vocational colleges and 100 to general education schools. The figure had been surging by time. 

Many of the alumni have been promoted to senior positions or become famous artists and experts in various fields in national construction and defence.

Ethnic minority people in Central Highlands access to electricity

Hanoi (VNA) – More than 90,000 households of ethnic minority group in the Central Highlands have accessed to electricity thanks to a project to supply electricity to villages of five provinces in the region, according to the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN).

EVN said among villages in the five projected provinces, all villages of Lam Dong province get access to the national electricity grid.

The group expects to fulfill the project in 2010, supplying electricity to 114 remaining villages.

Apart from the project, EVN is carrying out another project to supply electricity to about 40,000 households of Khmer ethnic minority group in the Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh and Soc Trang.

The group also plans to implement a similar project to provide electricity to poor households in the northwestern mountainous provinces of Lai Chau and Dien Bien during 2010.

Another project to supply electricity for poor and ethnic minority people in the northwestern mountainous province of Son La and the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu is in the pipeline.

Besides, the group has provided early 280 billion USD to the three poor districts of Phong Tho, Than Uyen and Tan Uyen, in Lai Chau province in the 2009-1011 period under the government’s resolution on supporting poverty reduction in poor districts.

BUSINESS

Inflation worries weigh on stock market

Hanoi (VNA) – When the dust settled on Jan. 15 on a week of ups and downs on the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index had lost 15.48 points, or 2.97 percent, from the previous week, closing at 505.42.

Meanwhile, investors once again began to stay away from the market. The southern bourse saw average daily trades last week of nearly 43.5 million shares, averaging a daily value of 1.9 trillion VND (102.2 million USD), a drop of 31.4 percent from previous week.

“Concerns about inflation governed trading decisions all last week, contributing to driving the Index down,” said independent market analyst Nguyen Anh Dung. 
Dung blamed rising concerns on assessment published last week by foreign financial institutions which suggested Vietnam could soon hike its prime rate and that stronger consumer demand leading up to Tet would drive up inflation.

“As a result, trading began lacklustre and market moves unfavourable,” he said.

Fiachra MacCana, head of Research for HCM City Securities Co, said on Jan. 15 that the market seemed to be holding its breath for the January inflation data which would be released toward the end of the month.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange last week, the HNX-Index also dipped by a cumulative 4.67 percent to close the week at 171.37 points. Volumes slowed to 27.4 million shares per day, for an average value of 964 billion VND (52.1 million USD).

Gossip circulated last week about Dragon Capital, a long-standing investment company in Vietnam , and its plan to liquidate part of its portfolio. The fund executives moved quickly to deny the rumours, but they still had some impact. 
“This gossip would not have bothered the market if investors had had another things to care for,” said Dung, noting the calm situation with the domestic economy.” However, the more peaceful it is, the easier it is to shake them up.”

Foreign investors bucked last weeks trend to become net buyers on both stock exchanges last week, picking up a net of 5.7 million shares worth a combined 265.4 billion VND (14.3 million USD).

Brokers banned from OTC trades

Hanoi (VNA) – Securities companies will be banned from trading shares on the over-the-counter (OTC) market effective January 28, under a new order from the State Securities Commission.

Before the ban, securities firms offering OTC brokerage services were acquiring or disposing of shares on behalf of investors who, in some instances, were defaulting on the transactions, adversely affecting investor interests and distorting share prices.

VNDirect Securities Co has asked its investors to withdraw their unlisted shares from the brokerage accounts and repurchase shares pledged as collateral before 12pm on January 28. Investors who have sold shares without receiving payment before 11am on that date will have to buy back the shares.

A number of brokerages said the order would not affect their business performance because unlisted shares were not a large part of their services and the brokerage fees from these trades were insignificant.

Vu Lan Anh, a veteran trader in OTC shares, said the new rule was consistent with how the market was developing.” Sooner of later shares will have to be listed on the official stock exchange or on UPCoM [the unlisted public companies market],” she said. “As it is, the OTC market is attracting fewer and fewer players and transactions are modest.”

Trades on the OTC market take place via brokers instead of a physical trading floor. Trust plays an important role in the transactions which are executed without a formal written agreement.

Vietnam remains attractive investment destination

Hanoi (VNA) – Foreign investors will keep injecting billions of USD into Vietnam , according to Germany ’s EMFIS.com. 

The country will continue to receive foreign investors’ consideration thanks to its continued modernisation and urbanisation and improved living condition of people, it said. 

According to the website, Vietnam made a strong growth in 2009, however, inflation rate is still high. 

The website cited Vietnam ’s VN-Index rise of 8 percent, the highest in Asia since the beginning of the year, on Jan. 14 as an example of the stock market’s development that resulted in a very low benchmark index (Leitindex). 

In the fourth quarter of 2009, the Leitindex was under 1.9 percent, the lowest in Asia , it said. 

The recovery of the stock market is thanks to the Government’s loosening stock transaction and the suspension of public gold trading until the end of March, 2010. 

In addition, the country GDP growth rate increased 5.32 percent despite the financial crisis.

Economic recovery can also be seen in a surge in money supply. In 2009, banks’ credits rose by 38 percent compared to 2008, especially in construction sector, thus helping support the domestic economy.