Performance art centre opens doors

Run by the Music, Song and Dance Theatre, the centre is the result of a 150-billion VND (7.8 million USD) project, which was aimed at creating a modern venue for art performances.

According to theatre’s director, Nguyen Quang Vinh, the centre’s architectural design was completed with the support of leading Vietnamese and foreign experts. The centre is also equipped with an international-standard lighting and audio system.

“The birth of the 730-seat centre is an important milestone of our theatre’s development. Different generations of theatre artists have dreamed of performing in such a modern venue, and now our dream has come true,” said the Meritorious Artist.

To celebrate the birth of the centre, the theater is presenting seven performances featuring different art forms, including cheo (traditional opera), quan ho (love duet), ca tru (ceremonies singing), and light music.

The performances have gathered not only the theatre’s artists and singers, but also folklore artisans, and artists from other art troupes nationwide.

The show “Vong Tay Ban Be” (Friendship Arms), alone has attracted 30 artists from the Guangxi Music Academy during the first week.

“Thanks to our abundant shows as well as the art genres presented in the centre, the audiences will have more options for their entertainment,” Vinh said。

Photographers capture Hanoi

Hanoi (VNA) – A new exhibition at The Bui Gallery in downtown Hanoi has gathered four photographers, all with vastly different views and subjects from the capital, to showcase the underlying mysteries of the city.

Titled Days and Nights, the exhibition gathers photographers Jamie Maxtone-Graham from New York City, Nguyen Na Son from Hanoi, Aaron Joel Santos from New Orleans, and Diego Cortizas from Madrid.

For the show, the walls of the gallery have been painted black, and black curtains separate the four rooms, giving each individual photographer a space to curate their own works. Within these “black boxes”, viewers must stop to contemplate the works on their own, with nothing else there to distract or detract from them.

Maxtone-Graham contributes the largest number of images among all of the artists, all taken from his Night Market series. The 21 photographs on display offer candid yet composed views of labourers, sellers and residents within the Long Bien night market. His portraits are intense and confrontational, but they are not without a certain tenderness and tranquility.

Na Son, a resident Hanoian, is showing only four photographs at the exhibition, but he says that they show a “profound understanding of the city”.

Na Son toes the line between journalism and fine art. He is a freelance photographer who contributes to the Associated Press in Vietnam , other newspapers and magazines.

Having lived in Vietnam for the shortest amount of time among the four photographers, Santos ’s work depicts the capital’s changing urban landscape through the sometimes romanticised eyes of a person still coming to know the city. Working in total black and white, his images show a city rushing headlong into the future while desperately trying to retain a large part of its history. The images feel at once lonely and desolate, but also filled with hints of hope and joy.

Santos ’s photographs have been shown in numerous international publications, as well as in galleries in the US , Malaysia and Vietnam .

Cortizas, by contrast, show a secondary city through a series of reflective surfaces. He chooses the most symbolic places in Hanoi , like the Opera House, Saint Joseph ’s Cathedral and Long Bien Bridge . All of his works are on display ad triptychs, placed in shuttered black boxes. When the shutters are opened, a skewed and reflective panorama of the city emerges.

Cortizas lives in Hanoi with his wife and three children, and also works as a fashion designer. The exhibition will run at The Bui Gallergy, at No. 23 Ngo Van So Street, Hanoi , until next Thursday.

Plans underway to build 44 more waste treatment plants

HCM City (VNA) – Forty-four solid waste treatment plants will be built in the country in the period of 2010 to 2020 to reduce the use of landfills, the Ministry of Construction has said.

The ministry’s Infrastructure and Technology Department said their construction would follow a road map – by 2015, 85 percent of the waste generated in the country will be treated and by 2020, it will rise to 95 percent.

The department also expects to recycle 60 percent of the waste by 2015 and 85 percent by 2020.

In 2010-2015, the road map will focus on certain regions, including the Mekong Delta, cities that have landfills do not meet environmental standards, and tourist hotspots.

In the next five years, the focus will turn to cities that have landfills which cannot be expanded to meet the increasing need.

The plants will be built under the build-operate-transfer and build-transfer modes with initial funds from central and local grants and soft loans from the Vietnam Department Bank.

Major urban centres like HCM City face a shortage of land for use as fills and building treatment plants. The city Department of Natural Resources and Environment said 1,100 companies and factories in the city and neighbouring provinces churn out 600 tonnes of hazardous waste every day.

This exceeds the capacity of the city’s 40 waste transport companies and 12 treatment businesses.

The city is clearing a 100-ha site in Cu Chi District’s Tay Bac Zone for building several waste-treatment plants.

Free operations help more children smile

Hanoi (VNA) – The Central Odonto - Stomatology Hospital and the US CAMA-GHO organisation are jointly conducting free operations for 40 children with hare lips and cleft palates, between Mar. 7-14.

The children come from different localities across the country, such as the northwestern province of Tuyen Quang , the northern midland province of Vinh Phuc , the Red River Delta province of Thai Binh and the central highlands province of Dak Lak .

Apart from free operation, the children also get financial assistance to partly cover their travel and food.

A total of 2,500 children with hare lips and cleft palates nationwide have so far got their smiles back thanks to joint cooperation between Central Odonto-Stomatology Hospital and the CAMA-GHO organisation.

236.8 mln USD for upgrading and building schools

Hanoi (VNA) – The government has decided to spend 4,500 billion VND (236.8 million USD) on a project to upgrade and build schools in the country this year, according to a report prepared by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). 

In the report launched on March 8, MOET asked municipal and provincial people’s committees to urgently approve the allocation of the capital for beneficiaries with top priorities given to poor districts. 

The capital source is reportedly from the sale of government bonds. 

In 2008 and 2009, more than 55,000 classrooms were built in the country, of which 32,496 were put into use.

Northwest ethnic groups to hold cultural festival

Hanoi (VNA) – The 7 th Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival of Ethnic Groups in the Northwestern Region will be held in the northern midland province of Phu Tho from April 14-17 with the participation of 10 provinces in the region.

This year’s festival is aimed at boosting solidarity among ethnic people in the region and promoting tourist destinations in Phu Tho.

Major events of the festivals will take place at the Hung Kings’ Temple with incense offering ceremonies and a parade.

Competitions of sports and folk games of ethnic people in the region, as well as exhibitions of the region’s culture and paintings will also be held.

Students to receive free eye treatment

HCM City (VNA) – Nearly 30,000 high school students in four localities will receive free eye check-up, consulting services and medicines under a programme launched on March 9. 

The “Taking Care of Eyes For Students 2010” programme is being carried out by the Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital in cooperation with the Central Eye Hospital and the sponsorship of Japanese pharmaceuticals and cosmetics producer Rohto Mentholatum Vietnam Co Ltd. 

The 1.3 billion VND (68,062 USD) programme will be implemented until April 4 in Hanoi , HCM City , Binh Thuan and Gia Lai. 

Hirofumi Shiramatsu, deputy general director of Rohto Mentholatum Vietnam Co Ltd, said that results of a similar programme carried out in Hanoi , Buon Ma Thuot City in Central Highland Dak Lak province and Long Xuyen City in southern An Giang province last year showed more than 50 percent of the students suffered from short-sightedness while 10 percent had astigmatism. 

Rohto Mentholatum Vietnam Co Ltd has said it will expand the programme to other localities in the country.

Japan grants aid to schools in central region

Hanoi (VNA) – Japan ’s ambassador to Vietnam Mitsuo Sakaba on March 8 signed with provincial authorities of Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam agreements on two grant projects with a combined value topping 187,000 USD.

Of the total funding, 97,000 USD will go to the project on constructing water supplying system in Thanh Hoa Agriculture and Forestry School . The remaining 90,345 USD will be provided to construction of a dormitory at Northern Quang Nam Vocational Training School .

Japan has provided nearly 110 million USD to non-refundable aid projects for Vietnam in the fiscal year 2009 which ended on March this year. 

US company launches Vietnamese Internet super portal

Washington (VNA) - Dot VN, Inc., an innovative Internet and Telecommunications company and the exclusive online global domain name registrar for Vietnam , announced that it has launched a website able to aggregate and organise everything offered by the Vietnamese Internet.

“Info.VN”, intended to be the ultimate Internet portal, is currently in the beta test phase, which will last for 30 days and test the functionality of the site in order to optimise its design and performance.

Dot VN is offering this super portal to individual and business users in Vietnam and around the world as a main hub for news, entertainment and information available in one central and easy to navigate website. The website is available in both Vietnamese and English, making access easier for non-Vietnamese speaking users.

“This is a very ambitious project in scale based on the variety of information, products and services that will be offered through this portal," said Dot VN CEO Thomas Johnson.”

He continued: “Info.VN is the first of its kind in scope and functionality. We envision it as a central resource that people of Vietnam can use on a daily basis. Our overall goal is to revolutionize the way people access content and navigate the Vietnamese internet so that they can find everything they are looking for." 

“Our goal is to create a consolidated portal that aggregates many online services that are currently scattered into one easy to use resource,” said Johnson.

US firm plans to expand operations in Vietnam

Washington (VNA) - The US 's NewMarket Technology, Inc. on March 8 announced plans to expand operations into Vietnam , local newspapers reported. 

The company has also scheduled an initial trade mission beginning March 22 to Ho Chi Minh City . 

Its CEO Bruce Noller is scheduled to conduct a webcast on March 10 to preview NewMarket 's Southeast Asia strategic update to the company's current plans to achieve 150 million USD in profitable revenue in 2010.

NewMarket provides systems integration services, including technology reseller, customisation, integration, outsourcing and support services, in Southeast Asia, Latin America and North America, as well as China , and is actively expanding its business services into the growing markets of East Africa.

Local company installs underwater pipelines for oilfield

Hanoi (VNA) – The Petroleum Technical Service Corporation (PTSC) is preparing for the installation of an underwater intra-pipeline network worth 57 million USD for the Dai Hung offshore oil field.

The corporation will cooperate with J. Ray McDermott (JRM), a leading worldwide marine solutions company, to undertake the work, which includes designing, engineering, procurement, and operation, following a contract PTSC signed with the Dai Hung Petroleum Operating Company Limited (PVEP Dai Hung) on Mar. 6. 

The underwater pipeline network is part of a series of work that the PVEP Dai Hung will carry out in its operation expansion plan that looks forward to producing 18,000 barrels of crude oil by September 2011.

Work to start on VN section of transnational road

HCM City (VNA) – Construction of the 220km Vietnamese segment of a transnational highway linking the greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) will begin in the second quarter of the year, says Duong Tuan Minh, general director of the My Thuan Project Management Unit. 

The 1,000-km highway will run from Bangkok city in Thailand , pass the border town of Kok Kong town and Sihanoukville city in Cambodia and reach the Vietnamese border town of Ha Tien in Kien Giang province before ending at Ca Mau province, where it meets the country’s National Highway 1A. 

Its section in Thailand has been built and just 34 kilometres in the Cambodian section remain to be completed. 

Vietnam ’s 220-km section, which runs on the western coast of the Cuu Long ( Mekong ) Delta and is expected to be completed at the end of 2013, will need an investment of about 500 million USD, Minh said. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will loan Vietnam 75 million USD for the first phase of the project, which cost 390 million USD. The remaining capital will be sourced through a 25 million USD ODA loan from Australia and a preferential loan of 134 million USD from the Republic of Korea . Vietnam will use its contingency cost for site clearance. The second phase of the project is also expected to receive capital assistance from ADB fund. 

Experts have said the highway will enhance the socio-economic development of not only the provinces of Kien Giang and Ca Mau, but also the adjacent provinces of Can Tho, An Giang, Bac Lieu and Soc Trang. 

Authorities in Kien Giang and Ca Mau provinces are carrying out site clearance works for the construction of the highway, which ADB country director in Vietnam , Ayumi Konishi, has called a corridor that will open up opportunities for cooperation and development.

Hoa Sen sells shares to strategic partners

Binh Duong (VNA) – Steel producer Hoa Sen Group (HSG) has sold nearly 12 million shares to three domestic and foreign financial institutions: the Republic of Korea ’s STIC Investment Inc, FPT Securities Co and Bong Sen Fund Management Co. 

The share sale has allowed the Ho Chi Minh City-listed Hoa Sen to raise capital of 538 billion VND (28 million USD) and made Hoa Sen the first Vietnamese enterprise in which STIC has invested following nearly two years of market research, according to Kevin Lim, general director of STIC, which made a 10 million USD investment in the group. 

“STIC chose Hoa Sen group for two reasons,” said Kim. “First, it is the business leadership of the company’s chairman, Le Phuoc Vu. And second, the company’s management system and employee competence attracted us.” 

Vu confirmed that the strategic cooperation marked a new stage in the development of Hoa Sen and would help it achieve a target of 1 billion USD in annual revenue and 100 million USD in annual profit. 

Capital raised from the sale of Hoa Sen shares would be used in building the Ton Hoa Sen Phu My Factory, which would produce up to a million tonnes of zinc-coated and cool-rolled steel per year once completed, Vu said. 

Products from the first phase would be on the market next month. 

Hoa Sen Group, established in 2001, currently has charter capital of 570 billion VND (30 million USD). Last year, the group earned 2.85 trillion VND (149 million USD) and posted a net profit of 189 billion VND (10 million USD). This year, it has targeted a much higher 5 trillion VND (262 million USD) in revenue and 520 billion VND (27.2 million USD) in profit.

 Stocks rise in south, stall in north

Hanoi (VNA) - Gains on world markets last week helped buoy domestic investor confidence, lifting the VN-Index to a close on March 8 of 521.12, a gain of over 1.5 percent. 

Volume on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange rose by 20 percent over Friday’s totals to 54 million shares, worth a combined 2.3 trillion VND (121 million USD). 

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index advanced by a slimmer 0.63 percent, closing the day at 171.23. The value of trades on the northern bourse also declined by over 16 percent to 933.3 billion VND (49 million USD) on a volume of over 28.8 million shares. 

Nearly 80 percent of codes on both bourses posted gains, with Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) claiming the place as most active share on the southern bourse, with a volume of over 3 million traded, and PetroVietnam Construction Co (PVX) leading the Hanoi bourse on a volume of 3.5 million shares. 

FPT Securities Co analysts, in their daily report, noted that rising investor confidence was causing volumes and values to increase steadily on both markets without overheating. 

Foreign investors concluded on March 8’s trades as net buyers on both stock exchanges of nearly 38 billion VND (2 million USD) worth of shares.

Garment sector targets 10.5 bln USD in exports

Hanoi (VNA) – The garment and textiles sector aims to earn about 10.5 billion USD from exports this year based on recovery signs from the country’s two major markets in the US and the EU.

Measures to achieve the target were discussed at a conference of the Vietnam Garment and Apparel Association’s Executive Council in Hanoi on Mar. 8.

The sector is focusing on rearrangement of production to reduce production cost and the application of advanced technology to raise productivity and competitiveness.

The sector also invests in building strategic linkage with customers, increasing the local content of products and expanding its share of the domestic market.

In 2009, the sector led the nation’s major export items despite impacts of the global economic slowdown. It earned over 9 billion USD, a decrease of 1.3 percent since the previous year. 
The US remained the largest importer of Vietnam ’s garment and textiles with import turnover of 4.9 billion USD, making up 55 percent of the sector’s export value. 
The sector earned 930 million USD from garment and textile exports to Japan , an increase of 12 percent. Its exports to the Republic of Korea , Australia , Canada and Singapore also saw increases in value. 

Besides garment and textile products, the sector also exported materials. Of which fabric exports increased 70 percent over 2008。