Week spans 60 years of German film

Seven movies of the 1940s and 50s will be screened; “The Lost One”(1951); “Women’s Destiny (1952)”, “Sky without Stars (1955)”; “The Hooligans” (1956); “ Berlin , Schonhauser Street ” (1957); and “Different from Me and You” (1957).

The movies are among the most typical works that portray Germany and the lives of its people after World War II. They will be held in big cities to celebrate the “German Year” in Vietnam , said Marina May, from the Goethe Institute.

“German cinema has gone through remarkable milestones since the War for which the German Year in Vietnam is a retrospective opportunity. We will introduce a series of German films made in the 1940s-50s, including the most typical works that reflect German life and lifestyles,” she said.

“The works were often shocking and inspiring to viewers at the time and played a part in defining a role for both East and West German cinema industries.”

The event is part of a year-long celebration of German culture to mark the 35 th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

A movie will be screened at 7.30 pm every day until January 31 at the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street . Tickets are available at the institute or by order on 3734 2251/52/53 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . org.

Dolphin gives special show

HCM City (VNA) – A performing dolphin in District 9’s Suoi Tien Cultural Park gave birth on Saturday afternoon after refusing to perform in the morning show.

The 17-year-old mother, Hindri, was already pregnant before she was brought to Vietnam , Indonesian dolphin trainer Jimmy Sukat said.

Hindri was imported with three other dolphins from Indonesia last January to entertain the public at Suoi Tien Park .

Female dolphins reach breeding age at 15 years and have 13-month pregnancies.

According to witnesses, Hindri started to give birth at around 3pm, with the calf’s tail coming out first. Her labour finished three hours later.

The birth amazed and embarrassed trainers and staff at the park, who were not prepared for the birth of a dolphin calf.

It’s the first time Hindri has given birth and also the first time a dolphin has been born in captivity in the country, according to trainers at the park.

Experts will be invited from Indonesia to take care of the calf, which was named Suoi Tien after the park, according to Doan Minh Tuan, the park deputy general director.

Hanoi to set off fireworks to welcome Tet

Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi will set off fireworks for 15 minutes (0-0.15 am) on February 14 at 29 locations to welcome the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, according to the municipal People’s Committee. 

The main locations are Hoan Kiem Lake, Ly Tu Trong flower garden, Thong Nhat Park and Van Quan Lake . 

Last year, the city set off fireworks at 17 locations.

Tien Minh returns to list of top ten badminton players

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam ’s number-one badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has made a comeback to the list of the world’s top ten players, according to the latest ranking of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 

The step forward was attributed to Minh’s efforts to enter the quarterfinals at the Korea Open Championship which started on January 12. 

It is expected that Minh will continue to go up in BWF’s next ranking as he has entered the semifinals at the recent Malaysia Open 2010. 

This year, Minh will participate in some 15 international competitions held by BWF, including eight in the Super Series. In November, Minh will compete at ASIAD 2010.

WTO willing to sketch Vietnam’s integration roadmap

Geneva (VNA) – The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is willing to lend Vietnam a helping hand in designing roadmap for each specific phase of its integration into the world economy, the WTO chief has said.

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Geneva , Switzerland , on January 25.

The WTO chief urged Vietnam to continue to perfect its legal system to meet WTO standards.

Three years since its WTO admission, Vietnam has attained hordes of economic achievements, especially GDP growth, and those in trade, FDI attraction, and tourism, Lamy said.

He also highlighted Vietnam for posting a positive GDP growth rate in 2009 when the financial crisis and economic recession lingered their impacts globally.

Regarding the Doha talks, the WTO official emphasised that once the round of negotiations succeeds, it will work to both stimulate the global economy and speed up the world’s financial reform.

Accordingly, he said he hoped Vietnam and other ASEAN members would act as the medium to push the Doha negotiations to end as scheduled.

For his part, Prime Minister Dung said as the ASEAN Chair in 2010, Vietnam and other members of the grouping hope that the Doha talks will wrap up in 2010 with an equal result, which takes the benefit of developing and underdeveloped countries into consideration.

The early end of the Doha round will open up opportunities for trade facilitation, helping improve market entry capacity and cut subsidies, PM Dung told the WTO official.

The Vietnamese leader said Vietnam ’s serious adhesion to its WTO commitments over the past three years has provided a proof of its wide and deep integration into the international trade system and positive contributions to the world’s largest trade organisation.

On the occasion, PM Dung thanked Lamy for his assistance to Vietnam in its WTO-related activities and said he hoped the WTO chief would continue giving both attention and assistance to the country to help facilitate its deeper participation into the WTO agreements.

He also said he expected the WTO to continue backing the idea of dispensing the WTO’s new members from undertaking obligations to implement new commitments of the Doha talks.

Vietnam, Finland share sci-tech communication experience

Hanoi (VNA) – A delegation of Vietnamese scientists on Jan. 25 wrapped up a ten-day working trip to Finland to learn experiences in implementing scientific and technological communication activities.

The visit, organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology, was part of the bilateral Innovation Partnership Programme (IPP) between Vietnam and Finland .

During the stay in Finland, Vietnamese experts had held talks with nearly 20 relevant Finnish agencies, including the Ministry of Education’s Committee of Public Information, the Foreign Ministry’s Policy Department, the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) and the Finnish Innovation Fund (SITRA).

They also visited Helsingin Sanomat, a prestigious international edition of Finland , in order to learn its experience in designing a specialised page for scientific news. 

Through the working sessions, representatives of the Finnish agencies showed a diversity of methods to promote scientific and technological communication.

Representatives of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they were willing to help Vietnam in encouraging innovations within the scientific and business circles and improving the capacity of scientific and technological management officers.

They also pledged to assist Vietnam to create an open dialogue forum for policy-makers and universities, institutes and businesses and a linkage between research and application of technologies for Vietnam and Finland .

Started in August 2009, the IPP will run until 2012 with a budget of 3 million EUR contributed by the Finnish government on a grant basis. 

With a focus on strengthening Vietnam’s capacity in science, technology and innovation, the programme seeks to develop policies on science and technology, train personnel, strengthen the link between research and its application, and increase cooperation in science, technology and innovation between Vietnam and Finland.

BUSINESS

Market volumes hit 7-month low

Hanoi (VNA) – Market volume on the HCM Stock Exchange sank to a seven-month low on Jan. 25, with only 20.9 million shares changing hands, although the VN-Index gained 0.7 percent to close at 480.91 points.

The value of the trading session totalled a meagre 863.8 billion VND (46.7 million USD).

Investor responses to positive news seemed weak, said Nguyen Xuan Binh, a market analyst with Bao Viet Securities Co, pointing to optimistic corporate results being released but having no impact on market moves.

Even with January inflation rates in HCM City and Hanoi suggesting a reason for optimism, investors had not taken any action, Binh said.

And, noted analyst Nguyen Thanh Vuong, “they are really sensitive to any changes in or rumours about the economic situation, as well as global events”.

The US situation was another thing dragging down the market, Vuong added.

Binh felt the current market funk was similar to the period leading up to last year’s Tet holiday, adding: “Analysts and investors agree the market will be brighter after Tet, when liquidity issues and inflationary pressure settle.”

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell another 0.16 percent to close at 157.32 points. Market value was a weak 439.8 billion VND on a volume of 14.4 million shares.

Technical indicators indicated no signs of an impending dip in the market, Binh said, noting a current price-to-earnings ratio of 12.5x.

The domestic economy was in sustainable recovery which would allow the market to achieve a mid or long-term rally, he added, recommending value investors continue injecting money while margin traders should stay out.

Was2501.012 US Website: VN economy likely to show significant expansion

Washington (VNA) – The Vietnamese economy is expected to show a significant expansion though it was mildly affected by the diminished export demand, said a New York-based website. 

An article posted on Seeking Alpha on Jan.25 wrote: “Vietnam practically evaded all the direct problems that came with the financial crisis, but the country was mildly affected by the diminished export demand. The Vietnamese economy and related exchange-traded fund (or ETF) may show a significant expansion as other countries start increasing imports.” 

The website quoted PXP Vietnam Asset Management as saying that Vietnam’s economy could grow 7.5 percent this year and Bloomberg as saying that the Vietnamese economy expanded 5.3 percent in 2009 after a drop in demand for exports and foreign direct investment. 

Harvard University Professor Joseph Nye was quoted by Seeking Alpha as pointing to Vietnam’s open economy, foreign direct investment and increasing exports as factors that aided the country’s rebound from the recent global financial downturn. 

According to Bloomberg, the gradual recovery in export demand will provide the extra push in economic expansion in Vietnam. 

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