National press photo contest’s winners honoured

 The first prize went to Tran Dam with six photos on the construction of Cua Dat hydroelectric power plant in the central province of Thanh Hoa , while the two second prizes belonged to Dinh Huu Tuyen and Cao Manh Tien from provinces of Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa. There were also three third prizes and ten consolation ones. 

The photos are seen as valuable documents depicting Vietnam ’s integration and development, industrialization and modernization process and poverty reduction. 

The contest, which was launched on June 21, 2009 by the Press Photo Club under the Vietnam Journalists’ Association, is aimed at celebrating the country’s major anniversaries, especially the 1000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi 

On the same day, an exhibition showcasing 81 photos by 55 photographers selected from 3,000 entries of the contest opened until January 23.

VNA targets national communication group

Hanoi (VNA) - The leadership and staff of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) need to make greater efforts to fulfill all the tasks entrusted by the Party and government, and turn it into a powerful national communication group. 

VNA General Director Tran Mai Huong delivered the request at a conference held in Hanoi on Jan. 19 and 20 to review the news agency’s operations in 2009 and launch plans for 2010. 

Huong said VNA reporters must follow closely and cover timely and exactly political and socio-economic events both in and outside the country in line with the Party and State’s directions, especially major activities in 2010 such as Party Congresses at grassroots levels, millennium celebrations of Thang Long-Hanoi, the 80th founding anniversary of the Party and the 65th National Day. 

The general director asked VNA’s units to step up concerted coordination and make the best of strengths brought in by domestic bureaus in 63 cities and province nationwide and 27 overseas bureaux to effectively deploy new news services. 

To make breakthroughs in 2010, VNA is planning to implement a wide range of comprehensive measures to reform its apparatus as well as management and financial mechanisms, expand cooperation with partners and improve operations of domestic and overseas bureaux, he said. 

Huong also emphasised the need to accelerate the establishment of VNA’s television channel that is scheduled to begin trial broadcasting in the second quarter of 2010. 

According to the general director, improving the quality of VNA’s products, including the Tin Tuc newspaper, e-newspaper VietnamPlus and its newly-launched multi-language telecom service, is also an important task of the news agency this year.

Vietnam, Hungary mark 60 years of diplomatic ties

Hanoi (VNA) – The Hungarian Embassy on January 20 announced major activities in 2010, with the focus on cultural events, to celebrate the 60 th anniversary of Vietnam-Hungary diplomatic ties (February 3). 

Accordingly, the events will cover numerous cultural activities, including a Hungarian concert in Hanoi Opera House on January 29 and 30, exhibitions showcasing photos, paintings, sculptured works and bronze statues, which feature the country of Vietnam. 

The Embassy will also publish bilingual books depicting Vietnam-Hungary friendship during the past six decades and take the occasion to introduce Hungary’s literature works, which has been translated into Vietnamese.

Vietnam wishes to strengthen ties with Algeria

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam wants to expand the friendship and cooperation with all countries over the world, including traditional friends like Algeria . 

So said State President Nguyen Minh Triet at a reception for visiting Algerian National People’s Assembly Chairman Abdelaziz Ziari in Hanoi on January 20. 

He said he was pleased with the fine developments of the friendship and cooperation between the two countries over the past time. Vietnam and Algeria have showed the solidarity, sharing and mutual assistance in their political relations while furthering bilateral economic, trade and investment ties, he said. 

The State leader expressed his hope that Vietnamese and Algerian ministries, agencies and businesses will speed up cooperation and share experiences in economic development in order to meet the two countries’ aspirations. 

For his part, Chairman Abdelaziz Ziari affirmed that the Algerian people consider Vietnam a close friend and wish to expand the comprehensive cooperation with the Southeast Asian country. 

He spoke highly of Vietnam ’s great achievements during its renewal process and the building of a market economy, considering them valuable experiences for Algeria as the country is entering into the process of building a market economy. 

He added that his visit aims to boost economic, trade and investment relations between the two nations. 

On the same day, Chairman Abdelaziz Ziari had working sessions with Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan, President of the Vietnam-Algeria Joint Committee and Chairwoman of the Hanoi municipal People’s Council Ngo Thi Doan Thanh. The two sides exchanged measures to speed up the exchange and cooperation between agencies and localities. 

In the evening of January 20, the Algerian top legislator hosted a banquet for Vietnamese leaders.

PM to attend world economic forum in Switzerland

Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will lead a delegation to attend the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland from January 25-31 at the invitation of Klaus Schwab, Chairman of WEF. 

PM Dung will also take the occasion to pay working visits to the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneve.

Vietnam, Cuba vow to boost financial cooperation

Havana (VNA) – Vietnam and Cuba will enhance the exchange of experiences in the management of tax, public spendings and foreign exchanges as well as tax and treasury cooperation. 

Cuban Minister of Finance and Prices Lina Pedraza and Deputy Vietnamese Finance Minister Nguyen Cong Nghiep expressed the determination at the recent talks in Cuba. 

Deputy Minister Nghiep, who is in Cuba for a five-day working visit that will last through Jan. 20, informed the host of Vietnam’s financial and budget policy to stabilise macro-economy while ensuring sustainable economic growth and social welfare. 

He also briefed the host of Vietnam ’s socio-economic achievements during the 2001-08 period and orientations for the nation’s financial policy in 2010. 

Cuban Minister Pedraza highlighted Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements over the past years and the country’s timely and effective implementation of financial solutions to minimise negative impacts of the global economic crisis. 

Both host and guest assessed the implementation of the two ministries’ cooperation programmes last year. 

They also exchanged experiences in budget deficit and connections with gross domestic product and the management of funds for social development and investment as well as tariff measures. 

Also on the occasion, Deputy Minister Nghiep and his Cuban counterpart Felix Martinez inked a cooperation agreement between the two ministries for 2010.

VNPT awarded Labour Hero title

Hanoi (VNA) – Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong on Jan. 20 conferred the Labour Hero title on the Vietnam Post and Telecom Group (VNPT) for its outstanding achievements in the 1999-2008 period. 

Addressing the conferment ceremony, NA Chairman Trong asked VNPT to maintain its key role to help the State regulate the market in the context of integration and fierce competition. 

This is a difficult, but honourable task, he stressed. 

VNPT has developed a modern and synchronous post and telecom infrastructure for the whole country. 

To date, VNPT has more than 62.7 million telephone subscribers, an increase of 90 times over 1995’s figure, and 18,800 places providing post and telecom services. 

The group targets to become one of 10 leading telecom and IT service providers in Asia.

Southwestern delegation visits Cambodia

Phnom Penh (VNA)- Vietnam’s southwestern region steering board has sent a delegation to Cambodia to boost neighbourliness, including border security both in land and at sea. 

During their ten-day stay up to January 20, the Vietnamese guests visited the sisterly provinces of KeP, Campot, Preah Sihanouk and Koh Kong and the Riem naval base. 

The southwestern Vietnamese delegation, led by Son Song Son, Deputy Head of the steering board and member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, mulled with the host issues on border security, including fishing operations from both sides. 

The two parties went deep into difficulties and advantages for residents on the either side of the common border so as to make joint efforts in providing favourable conditions for them to earn their livings. 

Host and guest also discussed concrete measures to boost relations between sisterly provinces, including plans and orientations on cooperation in all fields, ranging from economics to culture and science-technology. 

The Vietnamese delegation also called on at the Khmer ethnic community of the southern Vietnamese origin, encouraging them to work hard and abide by law in the resident country.

The Vietnamese delegates advised them not to follow incitements into sabotages against the Vietnamese and Cambodian states by hostile forces. 

The Vietnamese guests also visited monks and nuns at the Ong Ta Ming pagoda in Phnom Penh and had working sessions with Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith and the Senate’s Office.

Poverty rate drops to 26.7 percent among ethnic groups

Hanoi (VNA) – The poverty rate in areas inhabited by ethnic minority groups dropped to 26.7 percent in 2009 as a result of specialised programmes such as Decision 134 and Programme 135. 

At a conference held in Hanoi on Jan. 20, the Committee for Ethnic Affairs reported that under Decision 134, more than 87,820 ethnic households received land for housing and 237,715 others received land for production last year. New houses were built for nearly 337,600 households and 6,040 water works were built for hundreds of thousands of families in disadvantaged areas. 

The second phase of the socio-economic development programme for ethnic minorities and mountainous commune, known as Programme 135, has poured more than 3.7 trillion VND into infrastructure in 3,149 poor villages. 

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said efficient work on ethnic affairs last year has contributed to the country success. He affirmed the Party and State’s special attention to improving ethnic people’s living conditions, adding that it is necessary to increase the capacity of officials who involve in ethnic affairs as they play a key role in realising the Party’s policies. 

Deputy PM Hung said an important task for the Committee for Ethnic Affairs this year is to organise the first national congress of representatives from Vietnam ’s ethnic minorities. 

The committee also plans to devise socio-economic development policies, including human resources schemes, for ethnic-inhabited and mountainous areas during the 2011-2015 period and orientation for 2020.

Construction starts at RoK-funded hospital in Quang Nam

Quang Nam (VNA) – Work on construction of a RoK-funded general hospital started in the central province of Quang Nam on Jan. 20. 

The building of the hospital is a demonstration of the development of the Vietnam-RoK relations, Minister of Health Nguyen Quoc Trieu said at the ground breaking ceremony for the 45 million USD hospital, to which the Republic of Korea government doles out 35 million USD. 

RoK Ambassador to Vietnam Im Hong Jae reiterated the RoK’s pledge to help Vietnam reach its goal to become an industrialised country by 2020 with priority given to caring for people’s life. 

The hospital will have 500 beds and is equipped with modern facilities. 

The RoK’s aid package includes 3 million USD for the training of hospital staff in RoK and Vietnam . 

The RoK Hallym University ’s Medical Centre, the project management advisor, has pledged to provide five scholarships each year for doctors working in the hospital to follow postgraduate education.

Japanese trust fund helps preserve Hanoi’s citadel

Hanoi (VNA) –The Japanese Fund-in-Trust will provide Vietnam with more than 1.1 million USD in non-refundable aid to help preserve a cultural heritage site in Hanoi .

The agreement, which is valued at more than 1.2 million USD, was signed in Hanoi on January 20 in the presence of Mitsuo Sakaba, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam , Katherine Muller-Marin, UNESCO’s representative in Vietnam , and members of Hanoi ’s authorities.

With the remaining 93,000 USD being contributed by Vietnam , the project will be completed in 36 months and starts in January this year.

It is designed to support scientific research, that assesses the archeological, architectural, and socio-economic values of Hanoi ’s former Thang Long citadel and will come up with proposals to conserve and make full use of those values.

The project will also help to develop a management plan for the site and will focus on providing Vietnamese specialists and managers with methodologies used in urban and historical archeology, as well as preservation methods and managerial skills.

Muller-Marin said that the preservation of these valuable heritages is necessary, to help enrich the younger generations’ knowledge of Hanoi and understand what helped to create the oldest capital city in Southeast Asia .

The Thang Long-Hanoi Citadel Area has been rated as a special national relic site and has been submitted to UNESCO for recognition as a world heritage.

France helps Yen Bai to conserve historic documents

Yen Bai (VNA) – The province of Val de Marne in France will provide the Library for the northern province of Yen Bai and an air conditioning system to preserve its historic documents.

A memorandum of understanding for the donation was signed between Yen Bai’s authority and a representative from the Val de Marne Council after a recent visit to Yen Bai.

Val de Marne also helped the library to digitalise the documents, build two reading rooms and train up librarians.

At present, the library has nearly 400 books dating back 80-300 years. The documents include handwritten letters in ethnic minority languages but 26,000 pages were damaged and need to be restored.

Flu pandemic eases, but threat remains

Hanoi (VNA) - The H1N1 flu pandemic appears to be easing, but a third wave of infections could yet strike, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. 
"Pandemic infections are occurring in many countries but overall the pattern is decreasing," Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's top flu expert, was quoted by Reuters as saying at the start of a week-long meeting of the organisation's Executive Board. 


He warned, however, that a new wave of infections could hit the northern hemisphere in late winter or early spring, saying: "This is probably the biggest speculation. We simply do not know." 


The H1N1 virus emerged last April and caused the first influenza pandemic in 40 years. 


It initially sparked widespread concern about antiviral and vaccine supplies, especially in developing countries, but many nations have cut back their vaccine orders recently because the pandemic has not turned out as deadly as originally feared. 


WHO director-general Margaret Chan told the meeting that the effects of the pandemic had been moderate and were probably closer to outbreaks experienced in 1957 and 1968 rather than the far more deadly 1918 version. 


The 1918 pandemic, known as the Spanish flu, swept around the world at the end of World War One, killing some 40-50 million people. 


Chan said H1N1 appeared to be easing in the northern hemisphere, but cautioned that it was too soon to say what would happen once the southern hemisphere entered winter and the virus became more infectious. 


Fukuda said the majority of people infected with H1N1 recovered without complications or special treatment, but children were being hospitalised at about twice the rate of adults. 


Most deaths occurred in people with underlying conditions, including pregnancy, asthma, heart or lung disease, or diabetes. A total of 265 million doses of the vaccine had been distributed and 175 million of those administered to people, Fukuda said. 


Chan, a former health director of Hong Kong, said nearly 14,000 official deaths had been reported by more than 200 countries since the virus emerged in North America last April. 


But it will take at least 1-2 years after the pandemic ends to establish the true toll and WHO experts say the actual death rate could be much higher than the number of laboratory-confirmed cases so far.

WWF calls for biosphere reserve

HCM City (VNA) – The World Wide Fund for Nature has recommended developing coastal areas in the Mekong River into a world biosphere zone.

Vietnam should seek recognition from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a World Biosphere Reserve for the coastal areas of Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, and Ben Tre provinces, it said.

To achieve this, the country should reorganise production and improve the living standards of people in the target areas so that they have a vested interest in their conservation and development, it said.

The NGO stressed the need for a project to manage the coastal areas in the three provinces in such a way that their socio-economic development path is appropriate for the situation caused by climate change.

Soc Trang, Ben Tre and Tra Vinh have a 202-kilometre coastline that plays a decisive role in their economies and the lives of their 17 million people. 
The provinces, situated at the mouth of the Mekong River , are rich in alluvium, mangrove, and other bio-diversity, and have enormous economic potential, making the impacts of climate change potentially more devastating.

A WWF expert, Hoang Viet, said the biosphere zone would bring much benefit to the delta region.

It would be contiguous with existing biospheres like Ca Mau, Can Gio, and Kien Giang, and create a “natural shield” that would protect the delta from natural calamities and restore the coastal forest ecology and fish stocks, he said.

This would also result in increasing residents’ incomes, he said.

“In addition to their ability to prevent soil erosion and act as windbreaks, sandy saline forests also absorb carbon dioxide,” Viet said.

Bears rescued from bile farm

Tam Dao (VNA) – Nineteen bears that were rescued from an illegal bile farm in Binh Duong province are being taken to the Moon Bear Rescue Centre near Hanoi run by Animals Asia.

The bears, nine males and 10 females, were loaded onto three trucks early on Jan. 18 and are heading north along Highway 1, said Tuan Bendixsen, Animals Asia’s Vietnam director.

“We plan to drive through the night. The trucks and our support van have two drivers who will take shifts. We want to get the bears to the sanctuary and out of those terrible containers as quickly as possible. We’re hoping to get to Hue on Jan. 18 night and to Tam Dao by Jan. 21 morning,” he said. 
Kirsty Officer, Animals Asia’s vet, said that once the bears arrived at the sanctuary it would take two to three days to move them from the containers into quarantine cages.

“We’ll remove the bears one-by-one, anaesthetising each one and giving them an initial health check and priorities them for surgery or other urgent treatment,” she said.

The owner of the farm, a Taiwanese businessman, had kept the bears in tiny concrete cells for six to seven years. 
Animals Asia stepped in when officials from the national and Binh Duong forest protection departments asked for help after deciding to close down the farm a few weeks ago.

Officials said the farm did not meet regulations governing minimum cage-size and ventilation.

The bears were moved into larger cargo containers two months ago after the authorities told the owner the concrete holding cells were illegal.

Initially there were 25 bears at the farm but five were earlier confiscated by the authorities and another died when having its bile extracted.

Tuan said all the bears at the farm had been caught in the wild.

“One is blind and two are missing limbs. We also believe that all the bears on this bile farm arrived either as cubs or juveniles (40 kg-50 kg),” he said.

“The containers are divided into six or seven compartments with one bear per compartment. This is the first time we’ve seen bears kept under such bad conditions.”

Bear bile milking was banned in Vietnam 15 years ago bur farmers were allowed to keep the bears they already had to display to tourists. All the bears on farms at that time were microchipped so the authorities could monitor if any new animals were being captured illegally. 
The bears were last milked for their bile about a month ago and two were not microchipped, according to staff at the Binh Duong farm.

Jill Robinson, Animals Asia Founder and CEO, said the actions of the authorities in closing down the farm demonstrated a willingness to uphold the law.

Bear bile and gall bladders have been used in traditional Asian medicine to treat “heat-related” illnesses, such as liver and eye complaints, for thousands of years. The bears used to be killed in the wild, but in the past three decades, people have found ways to keep the bears alive and milk them regularly for their lucrative bile.

State President confirms commitment to IP protection

Hanoi (VNA) – State President Nguyen Minh Triet confirmed Vietnam ’s commitment to protecting intellectual property rights (IPR), which he said, is demonstrated by the laws it has introduced. 

The state leader made the remarks during his meeting with the visiting World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) General Director Francis Gurry in Hanoi on January 20 th .

However, Vietnam is poor at implementing regulations on IPR, said Triet, adding that this was due to a lack of quality staff and modern technology. 

Vietnam therefore is keen to receive WIPO’s continued support to catch up with the world in this field, especially when the country is trying to increase intellectual property’s contributions to national development, he added.

Gurry said that Vietnam is one of the best world models of cooperation with WIPO in IPR protection. The Vietnamese government has shown a strong determination and introduced a legal system and infrastructure to protect IPR. 

Vietnam has soundly acknowledged the importance of controlling IPR in the current economic environment and has made many significant achievements over the past 20 years, Gurry added. 

The WIPO’s General Director said that together with the WIPO, he personally will support Vietnam to protect IPR, and especially in building up the capacity of IPR-related agencies. 

Vietnam’s development and the increasing flow of foreign direct investment into the country in recent times has prompted a huge demand for IPR in the future, he said.

Vietnamese painter recognised by Russian artists

Moscow (VNA) – The Russian Academy of Arts (RAA) has granted an “honorary membership” to Vietnamese painter Ngo Xuan Binh at a ceremony in Moscow on January 19. 

On addressing the ceremony, the RAA’s Chairman Zurab Tsereteli said that this was in recognition of Binh’s talent and that the RAA was proud of him. 

Binh was born in the central province of Nghe An in 1959 but has been living in Russia for over 10 years. He is one of the few foreigners to receive the title. 

Previously, Binh was recognised as “national medicine professor” by the Russian Association of National Medicine (RANN) for his contributions to improving Russian health care services.

Music copyright centre rakes in royalties

HCM City (VNA) – The Vietnam Music Copyright Protection Centre collected 23.3 billion VND (1.1 million USD) in royalties last year for the composers and songwriters who have registered with it, up from 15 billion VND in 2008. 

Its director, musician Pho Duc Phuong, said this year the amount would rise sharply since the centre planned a drive to collect royalties from hotels, karaoke parlours, night clubs, and other entertainment providers.

“Only 18 percent of royalties for writers and composers came from use on radio, television, and discs [because] we are facing difficulty in collecting from them because of a shortage of experienced professionals.” 

One of the major problems, he said, is controlling the use of works by people who usually “ignore royalties”.

In its eight years of existence, the centre collected nearly 55 billion VND from Vietnam and abroad.

In 2008, it signed nearly 700 contracts with music producers and entertainment companies.

The country’s first organisation to protect songwriters and composers from copyright infringement has signed up 1,602 Vietnamese artists.

After became a member of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers in 2007, Vietnamese composers are protected when their materials are performed or recorded abroad.

Foreign musical products are given the same protection in Vietnam .

Phan Mong Thuy, deputy director of the Phuong Nam Culture Company, one of HCM City ’s leading music producers, said copyright protection for music is still a new concept in Vietnam .

“We need the State’s help to enforce the rights of composers, songwriters, and users as stipulated in the Intellectual Property Law, effective since 2006,” she said.

Da Nang celebrates VN-Russia diplomatic ties

Da Nang (VNA) – A music performance entitled “Vietnam-Russia Friendship Melody”, was held at the Trung Vuong theatre in the central city of Da Nang on Jan. 19 as part of celebrations of the 60 th anniversary of the Vietnam-Russia diplomatic ties (Jan. 30).

The event, held by the municipal chapters of the Vietnam Union of Friendships Organisations and the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association, entertained the audience with popular Russian songs and dances by both Russian and Vietnamese artists.

The same day, a photo exhibition on the Vietnam-Russia relations opened at the same venue.

On display are 100 photos on the Russian land and people, relations between the two countries, particularly between Da Nang and Russian localities.

World Cup trophy arrives in HCM City

HCM City (VNA) - The FIFA World Cup Trophy arrived in Vietnam on a charter plane that landed at Ho Chi Minh City ’s Tan Son Nhat Airport on January 18. 

The famous icon from the sport’s world will be in the country for three days. 

The trophy has been awarded to the winners of the World Cup since 1974. 

The trophy cup was brought to the Caravelle Hotel for a press conference, where the organizers of the tour announced the trophy’s itinerary in Vietnam . 

Today, Vietnamese football fans will have a chance to take commemorative photos with the golden trophy. 

The trophy will travel through 86 countries and Vietnam is the second stop on the icon’s international tour entitled “FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour”. 

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa kicks off on June 11.

Folk painting making proposed for UNESCO recognition

Bac Ninh (VNA) – The northern province of Bac Ninh is compiling a record of the making of Dong Ho folk woodcut painting to submit it to the UNESCO for its recognition.

This was revealed by Tran Van Tuy, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Ninh, which has recently won the UNESCO’s recognition of its Quan Ho (duet singing) as an intangible cultural masterpiece of the humankind.

The making of Dong Ho folk woodcut painting was originated from Dong Ho village, Thuan Thanh district, Bac Ninh province.

Traditionally, Dong Ho painting, which reflected a wide range of themes, especially good luck wishes, historical figures, and folk allegories, was part of the essentials in each Vietnamese family during the traditional Tet (lunar New Year) festival.

According to the villagers, the making of Dong Ho painting was dated back to the 11th century during the reign of the Ly dynasty. However, researchers said the craft began under the rule of the Le dynasty. 


Making the painting, Dong Ho craftsmen used raw materials from nature, including making sheets of printing papers from bark of “do” tree and creating colours from earth, burnt bamboo leaves, sea shell. 
Printing the picture, they used the woodblock which is applied with paint and pressed it on a sheet of paper like a stamp. The process was repeated with different colours until the craftsman felt satisfied with the painting.

The finished painting was later covered with a layer of rice paste to strengthen the durability of its illustration and colours and afterwards dried under the sun.

As the traditional craft has faded with time, efforts have been made to preserve it, with Nguyễn Đăng Chế, one of the few remaining experienced craftsmen of the village establishing his own Dong Ho painting centre in 2008.

France assists Hanoi in urban planning

Hanoi (VNA) – The French region, Ile de France, will help Hanoi design a master plan for its development following a contract signed with the Ministry of Construction in Hanoi on January 19. 

Under the contract, the region will pay salary for experts who offer advices to the master plan building the capital until 2030. 

The master plan is expected to include ideas to preserve a “green corridor” surrounding 62 percent of the capital’s acreage and develop five satellite urban areas, including Soc Son, Phu Xuyen, Xuan Mai, Hoa Lac and Son Tay. 

According to the ministry, the master plan will have to settle issues Hanoi is facing, such as transport, population, preservation of architectures and other historical values and protection of landscape and the environment.

PM on visit to check development in Ha Giang

Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Jan. 19 led a government delegation to the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang to examine its socio-economic development last year and outline new tasks for 2010.

During a working session on the same day with the provincial authorities, PM Dung praised the efforts by the locality in maintaining high growth rate despite effects from natural disasters and diseases.

In 2009, Ha Giang’s GDP grew by 13.46 percent. The province achieved high agricultural yield of between 12 and 15 tonnes per hectare, thereby slashing the number of poor households by nearly six percent. 

The achievements were partly attributed to the PM’s approval of funding worth 201.2 billion VND (roughly 10.86 million USD) in 2007 to build 30 water reservoirs for ethnic people living in rocky mountainous districts.

Since then, 14 reservoirs have been built to supply the four water-lacking districts of Dong Van, Meo Vac, Yen Minh and Quan Ba with water.

However, Ha Giang remains a poor province with an annual average per capita income of only 6.3 million VND and an under-developed infrastructure for development.

Therefore, PM Dung urged the province to make the best use of its advantages, including natural resources and a vast area of forest, to speed up socio-economic development. 

The PM asked the provincial authorities to make a thorough review of hydro-power and mining projects to make sure of their profitability and friendliness to the environment. He suggested investment should be increased in developing cross-border economic and tourism services so as to achieve sustainable development.

As part of the visit to Ha Giang, PM Dung and his entourage visited and presented gifts to familities of ethnic minorities in Lung Cu commune of Meo Vac district, which is the farthest point in northern Vietnam . 

The delegation is scheduled to continue visiting other districts in Ha Giang to check out poverty reduction work and give presents to local people before the lunar New Year holiday.

BUSINESS

Australia, UK back VN’s economic integration

Hanoi (VNA) – Australia and the UK will jointly fund a 285 billion VND project designed to help Vietnam maximise benefits of trade liberalisation and implementation of WTO commitments. 

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) signed an agreement on the funding with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi on Jan. 20. 

The agreement covers the second phase of the “Maintaining Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Gains through WTO Commitment Implementation” technical assistance programme (often known as the “Beyond WTO programme). 

Under the terms of the deal, AusAID will contribute 12 million AUD (180 billion VND) while DFID will contribute 3.4 million GBP (105 billion VND) to the programme. 

The five-year programme, which started in September 2009, will also receive technical assistance from the World Bank. 

It aims to support Vietnam’s efforts in creating jobs and speeding up hunger eradication and poverty reduction in its integration into the world’s economy by strengthening the institutions of the market economy in areas such as competition, State-owned enterprises reform and land management. 

The project will also help rural areas cope with the impacts of economic integration through research and analysis of new market opportunities and build the capacity of key Vietnamese institutions that are implementing economic reforms. 

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang spoke highly of the support from the international community on the basis of donor harmonisation, government ownership and strengthened policy coordination among relevant Vietnamese agencies. 

The minister said during the first phase from 2007-2008, the project already supported the development of the Government Action Plan and action plans prepared by agencies and provinces. 

It also helped identify measures that Vietnam will take to maximise the benefits of WTO accession and assist poor and vulnerable populations share in these benefits. 

The Australian Ambassador to Vietnam , Allaster Cox, said “Behind the border’s reforms are critical to ensuring that Vietnam is positioned to take full advantage of the resumption of trade and investment flows as the current downturn recedes.” 

“As well as infrastructure and human resource development, taking advantage of the global recovery will require an increase in the international competitiveness of Vietnam ’s enterprises, sound frameworks for attracting long-term foreign investment and good policies to support business development,” he said. 

While pointing out a fact that the poor are often the most affected by trade liberalisation, and many of them are women, DFID chief representative in Vietnam Fiona Lappin pledged to work with the Government of Vietnam to ensure that “the poor are in particular protected from any negative externalities associated with trade liberalisation and economic integration.” 

The ‘Beyond WTO programme’ is a joint initiative of the governments of Vietnam , Australia and the UK and the World Bank.

Hanoi’s CPI up 1.30 percent in January

Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi ’s consumer price index (CPI) in January rose 1.30 percent over the previous month, the city’s Statistics Office reported. 

The index was up 7.96 percent over the same period last year. 

Ten of the 11 goods groups, including foods and restaurants services, beverages and tobacco, garment and footwear, housing-electricity-fuel and construction material, home appliances and equipment, medicine and health care services, transport, cultural, recreational and tourism products, education and other goods and services experienced slight increases, ranging from 0.01-1.66 percent. In particularly, price of food in the foods and restaurants services group surge 4.68 percent over last month. 

Meanwhile, the price of post and telecom service remained unchanged. 

As the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival is coming near, experts predict that prices of food serving for Tet will continue to increase from 5-7 percent. 

During January, gold price fell by 3.62 percent compared to the previous month but increased 52.6 percent over the same period last year. 

The USD/VND exchange rate decreased 0.28 percent compared to last December, however, rose by 10.7 percent over the same period last year.

Dien Bien urged to maintain high economic growth

Dien Bien (VNA) – The northern mountainous province of Dien Bien should continue maintaining its high economic growth rate but focus on the quality, said Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh. 

While working with the provincial Party Committee during his Jan. 19-20 visit, the Party leader suggested the province should pay attention to investment in tourism and service in order to make it the locality’s key industry. 

The province must turn its strengths into momentums for socio-economic development and poverty reduction, he said. 

Forests have a strategic significance for the country in general and Dien Bien province in particular, he said, adding that the province must do well forest planning and protection and take proper measures for forest-borne residents. 

According to the General Secretary, to reach a rapid and sustainable development, Dien Bien province should pay special attention to education and training with suitable policies to attract talents and train officials, especially ethnic minority people and women. 

He asked the provincial Party Committee to make good preparations for the party congresses at all levels scheduled for this year. 

He praised the province’s socio-economic development achievements during the 2006-2009 period with an average annual economic growth rate of 11.21 percent, fulfilling its target set by the Resolution of the 11 th provincial Party Committee Congress. 

The province’s per-capita income increased from 4.46 million VND in 2005 to 9.7 million VND in 2009 and its import-export turnover reached 9.2 million USD, including 5.2 million USD from exports, last year. 

During the reviewed period, Dien Bien province wiped out nearly 20,000 makeshift shlters for poor people and generated jobs for 28,000 labourers. The poverty rate reduced to 34.57 percent, down 9.45 percent against 2005. 

On the day, General Secretary Manh visited and presented gifts to children at the Dien Bien Phu SOS Village and workers at the Dien Bien Rubber Joint Stock Company. He also paid tribute to heroes and fallen combatants at the Dien Bien Phu Martyrs’ Cemetery.

WIPO chief highlights commercial value in IP

Hanoi (VNA) – World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) chief has stressed commercial value in IP, saying businesses should not consider the implementation of IP a task to abide by but assistance to develop their production. 

WIPO General Director Dr. Francis Gurry said at a meeting with organisations and individuals winning WIPO prizes in Hanoi on Jan. 20 that IP made a contribution to economic development. Products and firms will have their footholds on the market, creating Vietnam’s images abroad.

In the next 10 years, Vietnam will see a boom in IP, so increasing demand on patents from local businesses and foreign investors in Vietnam will require better patent and IP protection, he said.

According to the WIPO chief, with good legal infrastructure on IP, Vietnam needs to continue enforcing and improving the capacity of IP implementation because of regular changes and developments in the field.

WIPO has carried out cooperation programmes on capacity enhancement in order to create favourable conditions for developing countries, including Vietnam , he said.

The organisation has also developed other projects for Vietnam such as remote training programme in the Vietnamese language and a programme to support small- and medium-sized enterprises in the field.

On this occasion, the Vietnam Fund for Supporting Technology Creations presented the badge “For the cause of Vietnam’s technology creation” to Dr. Gurry in recognition of his and his organisation’s contribution to Vietnam.

Binh Dinh pledges to improve investment environment

Binh Dinh (VNA) – A conference to promote investment in Binh Dinh province on January 20 saw 22 projects worth a total 26 trillion VND licensed or signed as hundreds of domestic and foreign businesses came to the event to seek opportunities. 

Binh Dinh this year will continue to undertake a host of measures to improve the local investment environment, said the Chairman of the central province’s People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thien. 

When addressing the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai praised provincial leaders’ initiative in holding the conference and urged Binh Dinh to use all the local capital resources it can muster and carry out site clearance projects more efficiently. 

Being one of the five major economic areas in Central Vietnam, Binh Dinh has a great potential to attract investment. The province pulled in 229 projects with a combined capital of over 33.4 trillion VND between 2007 and 2009. Of these projects, 26 have been licensed to operate in the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone with a total capital of more than 18.1 trillion VND.

Luxembourg trains personnel for tourist services

Hanoi (VNA) – The Luxembourg government will provide 2.95 million EUR to carry out a 3.3 million EUR project to help train personnel for the tourism and hotel sector in Vietnam .

A protocol was signed in Hanoi on January 20 by the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang and the Luxembourg Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Ungeheuer.

The project will take place in Hanoi and Hai Phong City in the north, Da Nang and Nha Trang cities in the central region, Vung Tau City, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho in the south as well as Da Lat City in the Central Highlands over three years.

Ambassador Ungeheuer said at the signing ceremony he believed in the development of Vietnam ’s tourist industry, which can generate many more jobs to enable local people to escape from the poverty trap.

He stated that by improving the capacity of the human resources in the tourist industry will help it to become more competitive and attract increased numbers of visitors from overseas.

The project is the fourth of its kind in Vietnam sponsored by the Luxembourg government. The three previous projects, which had a combined value of over 10.3 million EUR, have been in operation in Vietnam since 1997.

Burberry sales eclipse forecasts

Hanoi (VNA) -- British luxury goods group fashion label Burberry smashed third quarter revenue forecasts and predicted annual profit towards top of market expectations, adding to evidence that the rich are spending again. 


The 154-year-old maker of upmarket raincoats and handbags was reported by Reuters as saying that it expected further profit growth in 2010-11. 


Luxury goods firms have been hard in the recession but Burberry has coped better than most because it reacted quickly by slashing costs, and jobs as well as its stock and range. 


The group, known for its camel, red and black check, said underlying revenue increased 12 per cent to 380 million pounds (624 million USD) in the three months ended December 31. 


That compared with analysts’ consensus forecast for a rise of 3 percent, according to a company poll of 12, and a first-half decline of 5 percent.

Shares in Burberry, which have nearly trebled over the last year, closed at 599.5 pence on Jan. 18, valuing the business at 2.6 billion pounds.

Burberry said retail sales rose an underlying 16 percent, with growth in all regions led by Europe and Asia Pacific, while wholesale revenue increased an underlying 5 percent, driven by earlier and more frequent deliveries. 


The firm raised its wholesale guidance for the second-half to down between 10 and 12 percent from at constant currency down 15 per cent previously. 


“Burberry has delivered a strong performance in both retail and wholesale, as customer around the world responded positively to our collections, marketing and service initiatives,” said Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts.

“As a result we currently expect adjusted profit before tax for this financial year to be towards the top end of market expectations.”

Prior to Jan. 19’s update, analysts were forecasting a consensus underlying pretax profit of 188 million pounds for the year to end-March 2010, according to Thomson Reuters, up from 175 million pounds in the previous year.

56 trln VND in Gov’t bonds to be allocated in 2010

Hanoi (VNA) – The Prime Minister has decided to allocate 56 trillion VND (3,100 USD) in government bonds as capital for projects in 2010.

The sum includes funding allocated in advance to some projects in 2009.

Currently, a Vietnamese delegation, headed by Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha, is on an international road show to promote sales of a 1 billion USD Government bond to foreign investors. 

After meeting with potential investors in Hong Kong on Jan. 18, the road show will move on to London on January 19, then to Boston on Jan.20 and New York on Jan.21. 

The bonds have a maturity of 10 years and a yield is capped at 7 percent per year. 

Capital raised from the bond sale will be lent to PetroVietnam, Vinalines, Song Da Corporation, and Vietnam Machine Erection Corporation (Lilama) to invest in Dung Quat oil refinery projects, hydro-electric power projects and to purchase vessels.

Spanish firm to build three airports

Hanoi (VNA) – Spanish airport builder Garuda Group is expected to pump 15 billion USD into the construction of three world class airports in Vietnam , following an agreement to be signed in HCM City on Jan. 20. 

The airports will be the International HCM City-Long Thanh Airport , costing 6 billion USD, the new Hanoi International Airport , 8 billion USD, and the Chu Lai International Airport in central Vietnam with an investment capital of more than 1 billion USD. 

The investments will make Garuda the biggest foreign investor in the country so far. 

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to undertake the Long Thanh airport feasibility study is expected to be signed by the company and the municipal People’s Committee on January 20. 

Long Thanh airport will be about 43 km from the hub of HCM City . It is expected to generate 5,500 permanent jobs for Vietnamese workers after construction. Garuda group is an airport/seaport builder, manager and consulting company. Giuliano Koenigsberg, chairman of the Aviation South East Asia, a branch of the Garuda Group, said on Jan. 19 the company would carry out the feasibility study and map out a master plan for Long Thanh project jointly with Vietnam ’s Southern Aviation Corporation. 

Last month, the Garuda Group also reached an MoU with the Airport Design Construction Consultancy to set up a joint venture to build the new Hanoi International Airport , its biggest project in Vietnam . 

“It will be the largest and the most modern airport in Asia ,” Koenigsberg said. “It will be designed by multi-national companies from Spain and Italy to refleet (Vietnamese) culture and aspirations.” 

The foreign partners include Spanish Galo Architects and Italian AIG. The airport would have two heliports, a hospital, school, apartments and hotels. After completion it is expected to generate 10,000 permanent jobs. 

Last month, Garuda Group also agreed with the Middle Airport Corporation to establish a joint venture to build Chu Lai International Airport in the central province of Quang Nam . It was expected that Chu Lai would be larger than neighbouring Da Nang airport. 

“Spanish enterprices are ready to come here and we see potential intrade and investment between Spain and Vietnam ,” he said. 

Chu Lai had an annual capacity of 2.25 million passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo by 2015 and 4.1 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo by 2025. 

The group set up an office in Hanoi last year, providing consulting, investment and construction services for infrastructure projects, market surveys, trade and others. It also intends to set up an office in Ho Chi Minh City.

Standard Chartered targets priority customers

Hanoi (VNA) - Standard Chartered Bank has launched a priority banking service targeting customers with incomes of more than 5,000 USD per month or with at least 50,000 in deposit. 

Priority customers would enjoy privileged services worldwide, with preferential rates on term deposits and personal loans, and unlimited free local fund transfers, international outward remittances and international debit card. 

The bank estimated that 2-3 percent of the national population was in the target group.

RoK telecom places S-Fone on hold

Hanoi (VNA) – The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s invested telecom SK Telecom confirmed on January 19 that it would make no further investment in S-Fone, putting the underperforming mobile service provider on life support. 

Plagued by low profits and low subscription rates since it was launched in 2001, as a 230 million USD business cooperation contract (BCC) between SK Telecom and Sai Gon Post and Telecommunications Corporation (SPT), S-Fone was only able to sign up about 7.3 million subscribers to its CDMA network, a market share of less than 10 percent. 

In a recent announcement, S-Fone had revealed that SK Telecom and SPT had inked a memorandum of understanding to change the form of their investment from a BCC to joint venture. 

SK Telecom denied on January 18 that it was effectively pulling the plug on S-Fone, saying instead that it was now engaging SPT in discussions on future operations and other ideas that might be of mutual benefit. 

SPT would continue managing the S-Fone network until a final decision was reached, the announcement said. 

“We are still working well,” said S-Fone CEO Ho Hong Son, noting that the provider had already expanded its third-generation coverage (3G-EVDO) by building more transceiver stations.

Bank, construction shares revive Index

Hanoi (VNA) – A rise in banking and construction shares on January 19 helped lift the HCM Stock Exchange out of January 18’s tailspin, carrying the VN-Index to a close of 495.51 points, a gain of 1.72 percent. 

Trading value and volume stalled, however, dropped 20 percent from January 18’s session to just under 32.5 million shares, worth a combined 1.4 trillion VND (76.1 million USD). Sacombank STB was the most-active share, with over 2 million changing hands. 

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also advanced by 0.83 percent to end the day at 165.90 points, Meanwhile, the volume of the day’s trades on the northern bourse fell slightly to nearly 19.4 million shares, worth a total of 660.7 billion VND (35 million USD) – a decline of 10 percent from the previous session’s value. 

Kim Long Securities Co (KLS) continued to be the most active share on the northern bourse, responsible for over 3.8 million shares traded. 

“Many market-leading shares made a comeback on January 18, particularly banking and construction stocks which benefited from the State Bank’s lowering of capital reserves ratios,” said analysts of FPT Securities Co in their daily report. 

Foreign investors were net sellers by volume of 74,950 shares in HCM City on January 19, but were net buyers by value of 25.8 billion VND (1.4 million USD). In Hanoi , they returned to being net buyers, but of a net of just 252,700 shares, worth 8.7 billion VND (462,765 USD).