Agency warns pharmaceutical companies against Tet hikes

The agency has asked health departments nationwide to work with localities to inspect pharmaceutical companies from now through the holiday.

Some drug companies are cheating artificial scarcity in order to raise prices, according to the agency.

The Vietnam Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Trading Association said its survey of 5,760 imported drugs this month showed that prices of 32 drugs had on average increased by 5.1 percent compared to the end of last year. 

The prices of domestic drugs, as well as some imported dorugs in HCM City , have also increased. 

For example, a box of Coversy1 5mg, which is used to treat high blood pressure, rose from 132,000 VND to 142,000 VND, and a box of Duxil, from 102,500 VND to 110,500 VND. 

Pham Van Quan, deputy permanent chairman of the association, said the prices of some kinds of drugs were expected to increase next month due to the appreciation of the greenback and the euro.

Traditional clinics shut over faulty treatment

HCM City (VNA) – The HCM City Department of Health on Jan. 28 fined and withdrew the licences of two traditional medical clinics for making wrong diagnoses, faulty treatment and selling drugs though they are not authorised to do so.

Pham Kinh Binh, deputy head of the department’s inspectorate, named them as Mai Hoa Duong clinic in Go Vap District and No 241 clinic in Phu Nhuan District.

Nguyen Thi Hoa Mai, owner of Mai Hoa Duong, sold drugs without proper origins and health supplements though she was not licensed by the department, Binh said.

She also failed to maintain patients’ records and falsified prices, he added.

Tran Thi Hanh, owner of No 241 clinic, too was found guilty of failing to maintain records and misdiagnosis.

Hanh falsely told some of her patients they were pregnant and prescribed health supplements, said Pham Huu Quoc, an inspector.

Women who thought they might be pregnant should go to hospitals for checks, including ultrasound tests, he advised. 
“This is the only way to safeguard their health and avoid being cheated.” 

Hanh’s clinic also committed other violations like not maintaining sanitary standards and flouting several health regulations, he said.

Inspectors had taken samples of drugs and supplements from the two clinics for tests, he added. 
HCM City hospitals have reported in the last few months that a large number of women who are not actually pregnant are coming for check-up and even delivery.

A doctor at the Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital said the hospital had received 12 such cases since last May.

Avatar director sends thanks to Vietnamese audiences

Hanoi (VNA) – “Avatar” Director James Cameron has sent his greetings and sincere thanks to Vietnamese audiences for their warm response to his blockbuster sci-fi epic. 

He said in a 20-second video clip showed at the Ho Chi Minh City-based Megastar Hung Vuong on January 28 that one million USD in revenue from the film shows over the past month is a special thing and beyond his expectations. 

Vietnam is the only country Cameron has sent his greetings to audiences through video clip.

Swiss experts share urban development experiences

Hanoi (VNA) – More green and water spaces should be added to the sketches of urban projects in Hanoi so as to make the city a good place to live, Vietnamese and Swiss architects and urban developers said at a workshop in Hanoi on Jan. 28.

The seminar was part of the project “Globalisation and urban forms in Hanoi ”, which runs from 2009-2010 with the funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation. The project is jointly conducted by Switzerland ’s University of Neuchatel , the Institute of Social Sciences , University of Construction , the Institute of Urban Planning and Architecture and the Construction Magazine of Vietnam.

Dr. Blaise Dupuis from University of Neuchatel said a recent survey shows that ordinary people in Hanoi find the city messy and polluted and the traditional values associated with the place need to be preserved. Hanoi should create distinguished characteristics and must enable the co-existence of old and new features. 

Dupis said the survey that he and his associates had conducted on two groups of people – urbanisation and architecture experts and normal people - also found that poor regulation and underdevelopment of traffic systems make it hard for Hanoi to become a cosmopolitan city.

The situation is compounded as over the past 20 years, Hanoi has seen an upsurge in the number of migrants. The number of original Hanoians now accounts for less than five percent of the total population of six million.

Migrants donot have enough time to feel attached to the city as well as to understand and follow its standards, experts said. They added that despite impacts from the global integration process, Hanoi still manage to keep its lovely features alive.

HCM City to have first underground car park

HCM City (VNA) - The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has allowed the Underground Space Development Investment Corporation (IUS) to carry out a project to build an underground car park in District 1.

The project, the first of its kind in the country, will be conducted in the form of build-operate-transfer with an investment capital of over 1.7 trillion VND (97 million USD).

Construction of the project is scheduled to start in late February and is expected to be completed in 2012.

The 103,225 sq.m five-storey park will be capable of accommodating 2,025 motorbikes, 1,250 cars and 28 buses or trucks. 
Ho Chi Minh City is home to some 370,000 cars and 3.7 million motorbikes. The number of registered vehicles in the city increases by 12 percent each year with about 120 new cars and 1,200 new motorbikes every day while parking space in the city, especially in downtown districts, is insufficient. 

The city’s authority expected that the car park will effectively help reduce traffic jam in the city.

Arts works on Communist Party on display

Hanoi (VNA) – An exhibition of arts works on the Communist Party of Vietnam opened at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi on Jan. 29.

The exhibits, including 45 paintings, and seven sculptures, are part of the works the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum collected from 1950-1980.

Among the exhibits are works by popular Vietnamese artists, including Tran Van Can, Nguyen Van Ty, Nguyen Sang, Huynh Van Gam, Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Pham Van Don and Diep Minh Chau.

The exhibition is an activity to mark the 80th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Feb. 3).

Vietnamese badminton player ranks 8th in world’s top ten

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam ’s number-one badminton player Nguyen Tien Minh has moved to the 8 th position in the list of the world’s top ten players after he entered the semifinals at the Malaysia Open 2010. 

The latest ranking, announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on January 28, is not the highest achievement Minh has made as last September he ranked 7 th in the world’s top ten. 

If Minh plays well in the coming time, he is likely to replace Thai player Boonsak Ponsana who is keeping the 7 th position. 
In early February, Minh will be trained by famous Indonesian coach Asep Suharno before competing at the Thomas Cup in Thailand from February 21-28.

BUSINESS

VinaCapital invest 2 million USD in e-services

HCM City (VNA) – The DFJ VinaCapital Fund on Jan. 28 signed a contract with TS24 Company to become its strategic partner. 

The fund will contribute 2 million USD to help the investors improve its data and management systems, and its human resources. 

It will also help diversify services, including tax declaration and payments on its Tax Online website. 

The company will be able to prepare financial reports and deal with taxes on personal and corporate income, value-added taxes, natural resources and special consumption. 

TS24 general director Nguyen Phan Viet Thuy said he was confident in the potential market of more than 10 million individuals with tax codes and another 500,000 enterprises. 

It has signed an agreement with the card company with the card company DongA Bank VNBC for taxpayers to use cards issued by DongA Bank and other banks who join its ATM network for online payments. 

DFJ VinaCapital, a 32 million USD joint venture between the IT group Draper Fisher Jurvetson and VinaCapital, specialises in making investments in the internet, telecommunications and media businesses. 

Apart from this fund, VinaCapital also manages three others, the Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF), VinaLand Ltd (VNL) and Vietnam Infrastructure (VNI), which are listed at the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.

Vietnamese seafood wins gold

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese seafood products earned a gold medal at the American Masters of Taste competition held recently in Northern California . 

The winning products, distributed by QDV USA , included Basa Vina Pearl Swai and Vina Blue Barramundi Fillets, the Vietnam Association Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said. 

The American Master of Taste, part of the Chefs in America Foundation, was created to recognise great American chefs and food quality in North America . 

The association said the award was good news for the Vietnamese seafood industry, which saw exports and prices fall last year. 

The winning products were exported to 130 countries and territories last year, earning a total export revenue of 1.34 billion USD, accounting for 31.5 percent of the total seafood export value for the year. 

In addition to catfish exports, Vietnam exported shrimp, tuna and dried seafood products. 

In January this year, the country earned a total seafood export value of 235 million USD, 9 percent higher than the same period last year. 

The QVD USA, along with its sister company QVD FOODS LTD, operates the only US Department of Commerce approved facilities in Vietnam, Serving more than 30 countries worldwide, it is one of the world’s leaders in catfish production and has its primary headquarters in the US. The Vietnam operation includes a 7,000sq.m factory and a 5,400-tonne cold storage facility. 

Recently, it began construction of a second fish factory, which is expected to be completed this year.

HCM City market stalls for second day

Hanoi (VNA) – Share values continued slipping on the HCM Stock Exchange on Jan. 28, with the VN-Index losing another 0.96 percent of its value to close at 481.76. 

Market turnover also fell below the 1 trillion VND level, totalling an anaemic 919.3 billion VND (49.7 million USD) on a volume of 22.5 million shares Decliners outnumbered advancers on the day by 153-30, with another 27 codes unchanged. 

The situation on the Hanoi Stock Exchange was just as grim; with the HNX-Index also off by nearly a percent to 159.32. Trading volume shriveled to 14.2 million shares, worth a combined 453.4 billion VND (24.5 million USD). 

Lower volumes would generally suggest little investor interest in the market but shouldn’t be seen as a serious problem on a gloomy day, said Quach Manh Hao of Thang Long Securities Co. 

“The whole session was a game of bluffing between buyers and sellers, with buy orders coming in low and sellers only accepting at higher prices,” said Dang Duy Anh, a client of Saigon Securities Inc. 

A higher-than-expected inflation rate seemed to be affecting investor psychology, he said. “Meanwhile, the central bank has decided to keep the prime rate unchanged Investors are bewildered.” 

Fiachra Mac Cana, head of research at HCM City Securities Co, said in a report on Wednesday that month-on-month inflation over 1 percent for two consecutive months put pressure on State Bank to raise rates further, sometime in the first quarter. 

As a result, February inflation figures were likely to be dispositive, he said, noting that an interest rate hike would be viewed as an important buying trigger, particularly if the market initially were to fall on the news. 

In the meantime the market will probably have a series short-tern runs followed by equally short-term corrections, he said. 

“But we are unlikely to either break out or break down for the time being.”

Knight Frank opens realty office in Hanoi

Hanoi (VNA)- The UK real estate agent Knight Frank opened its office at 40 Phan Boi Chau Str. in the capital city of Hanoi on Jan. 28 

The office works as an independent company, providing a wide range of services, including: property sale, lease, management, price appraisal, counselling and market research. 

Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing market in the world. Knight Frank has seen emerging business opportunities in this area and the office is part of its plan targeting the market, said Clive Betts, Knight Frank Managing Director for Asia Pacific. 
The group plans to open its second office in Ho Chi Minh City in the first quarter of 2010.