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VN, Laos inaugurate main border gate
Hanoi (VNA)- Vietnam’s central Thua Thien Hue province and Laos’ Se Kong province on March 26 held an inauguration ceremony for the main A Dot-Ta Vang border gate in A Luoi district.
The upgrade of A Dot-Ta Vang check point into a main border gate will serve the political, socio-economic and security development at border area between the two provinces./.
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Vietnamese association in UK hold congress
London (VNA) – The Association of Vietnamese People in the UK held its 7 th congress in London on Mar. 27 and elected an 11-member executive board for the 2011-2013 term.
In the new term, the association plans to focus on consolidating the Vietnamese community, supporting cultural and educational activities among the community, boosting exchanges with local organisations and authorities and raising charitable funds to help disadvantaged people in home country.
Attending the congress, Tao Thanh Huong, Charge d’affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy to the UK , praised the association’s achievements over the past time, which contributed to boosting the cooperative relations between Vietnam and the UK .
The Vietnamese community in the UK currently numbers around 50,000./.
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Hearing impaired face book shortage
Hanoi (VNA) — A shortage of sign language materials and books is contributing to communication problems among hearing impaired people, Hanoi Deaf Association chairman Le Van Anh says.
It was causing difficulties for deaf people who weren't able to even communicate properly with their own parents, let alone relatives and teachers, Anh said.
"The lack of sign language books not only creates difficulties for deaf people, but their relatives and friends also meet obstacles," he said.
The association has 360 members, and most of them said they have difficulties communicating with their relatives.
Many parents and teachers wanted to study sign language to communicate with them but they couldn't find sign language books anywhere, Anh said.
"My wife and I are both hearing impaired and we had to ask my mother to take care of our little daughter who can hear. But my mother finds it hard to teach our daughter to talk with us in sign language because she can't find a book," said Anh.
The main reason for the shortage of sign language books was the small profit that can not be made from publishing books for deaf people.
At present there are two main sign language books: Sign for the Deaf, with three volumes, and the Vietnam Sign Language Dictionary, edited by HCM City Teacher's Training University .
But it was difficult to find a copy, Anh said.
"Investing in student text books brings great profits but enterprises will not profit from investing in sign language text books. So no-one specialises in publishing such books."
Another problem was the lack of a common sign language alphabet, Anh said. Vietnam has about 2 million deaf people using different signs in different provinces.
There are different dialects in Hanoi , HCM City and Hai Phong.
For instance, to say "pink", deaf people in Hanoi rub their cheek but those in HCM City point to their lips, Anh said.
To help improve the situation, a Sign Language Club was set up in October 2006 in Hanoi 's Cau Giay district with the aim of spreading sign language in the community and helping deaf people communicate.
After four years, the club opened more than 30 training courses with more than 500 trainees. It organised a number of sign language competitions and exchanges between deaf people and the community.
With help from the Swedish National Association of the Deaf, the Hanoi Deaf Association completed a set of books and a DVD of sign language dictionaries. When printed, it will be distributed to hearing impaired people, their teachers and parents.
Meanwhile, Le Van Tac, director of the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences' Research Centre of Special Education under the Ministry of Education and Training, said the institute was planning a uniform sign language system for the whole country.
"It will take a long time to complete procedures for a permit to publish a book so we expect that it will take about three years," he said. /.
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HCM City faces groundwater crisis
HCM City (VNA) — Experts have sounded a red alert about the quality of groundwater in Ho Chi Minh City , saying it was critically degraded and salinised.
Dr Nguyen Van Nga of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said the groundwater was also close to exhaustion.
"My studies show that it began to dwindle in 1996, falling by 2m to 3m every year in several areas," Assoc Prof Dr Le Van Trung, Director of the National University in HCM City 's Geology-Information Technology Centre, said.
Nga told Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Sai Gon Marketing) newspaper that in many places the water was contaminated by nitrate and iron though he did not specify their source.
In some places, the water has four times the permissible NO3 content and 100 times the iron content.
Trung said the exploitation of groundwater has increased by several times, causing its level to recede from level 2 to level 3 or even 4, resulting in salinisation in many places.
Water has turned brackish in many places in districts 8, 5, and Binh Thanh and parts of districts 2 and Binh Chanh, while in the southeastern districts of Nha Be and Can Gio, it is become much saltier.
Though the volume of water exploited in a day is controlled, the exploitation is concentrated in a few places where it is now virtually exhausted.
Nga blamed the situation on poor water management and the lack of a clear plan for exploitation.
The City People's Committee previously had earlier banned the drawing of groundwater in 30 wards in 13 districts, but, with water supply failing to keep pace with the urbanisation and industrial growth, the ban was rarely observed.
"Urgent solutions are necessary to deal with the situation," Nga said.
"The water supply should be stepped up to meet the needs of city residents so that exploitation of groundwater stops."
From 2020 onwards, groundwater should only be drawn in suburban districts like 9, 12, Thu Duc, Hoc Mon, and Cu Chi, he added. /.
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Officials laud athletes during ‘Sports Day'
Hanoi (VNA) — The top 15 athletes and coaches of the year were honoured during a ceremony at the Hanoi Opera House on March 27 to mark the 65th anniversary of Vietnam Sports Day.
At the ceremony, the State also presented the Labour Order, First Class to the National Sports Administration , for the contributions that the group had made to national sports in the country during the last 65 years.
The national sports administration presented cash-prizes to top sprinters Vu Thi Huong and Truong Thanh Hang and the martial artist Le Bich Phuong.
Phuong, who won Vietnam 's only gold medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou last year, received 13,000 USD in cash from the National Sports Administration and sponsors.
The National Sports Administration also gave prizes to 32 athletes who won medals at the Games.
Vietnam hopes to finish second in the medal tally at the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia this November. /.
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Workshop on Truong Luy site in Quang Ngai
Quang Ngai (VNA) - A workshop on the historic significance in terms of economic and ethnic relations of the Truong Luy rampart, a national historic site was held on March 27 in the central province of Quang Ngai .
The workshop was jointly hosted by a delegation of foreign ambassadors and the head of the Eropean Union (EU) delegation in Vietnam , domestic and foreign scientists and the Quang Ngai provincial People’s Committee.
Truong Luy, which is said to be the longest rampart in the Southeast Asian region, is a 130-km stone wall running from Tra Bong district of Quang Ngai province to Binh Dinh province’s An Lao district. It was officially discovered and studied since 2005.
Researchers said the rampart played a significant role not only in ensuring local security but also in facilitating cultural and socioeconomic development in the region, as it served as both a foundation for administrative management and the gathering site for traders ./.
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RoK group offers free surgery to poor children
Hanoi (VNA)- Five Vietnamese children with cleft palate from poor families in the central province of Quang Ngai will be provided with free plastic surgeries in Chung Ang University Hospital (CAUH) in Seoul.
All the costs will be covered by the Republic of Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam (Doosan Vina) and the CAUH.
Since its presence in Vietnam on May, 2009, Doosan Vina has funded humanitarian plastic surgeries for 52 poor Vietnamese children with cleft palate and cataract along with many medical and educational activities for the local community.
Based in Dung Quat Economic Zone in Quang Ngai province, Doosan Vina is employing over 2,000 Vietnamese labourers working in the fields of electricity, water, logistics and chemicals./.
BUSINESS
Hanoi highest tower not use State budget
Hanoi (VNA) – The building of the 79-storey Oil and Gas Tower, Hanoi’s highest building, will not use any capital from the State budget, affirmed its investor, the PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Company (PVX).
PVX General Director Vu Duc Thuan made the affirmation at a press briefing in Hanoi on Mar. 27, denying rumours that the project will be partly funded by capital from the State budget and the National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), which holds a 40 percent stake in PVX.
According to Thuan, the building will have only 79 storeys instead of the initially-planned 102 storeys and as a result, the estimated cost will drop from over 1 billion USD to 600 million USD.
Thuan said that after the project’s feasibility study is approved, PVX will set up the Oil and Gas Tower Joint Stock Company to arrange capital and carry out the project.
Capital for the project is expected to be sourced by PVX and domestic and foreign partners.
PVX will joint with Hansin firm of the Republic of Korea and Samsung C&T, which have good experiences in construction of buildings of over 70 storeys.
The project’s final design will be announced on Mar. 30 after an international contest.
The Oil and Gas Tower will be built on a 6.5 ha area in Me Tri commune, Tu Liem district of Hanoi. It will be built with modern and environmentally- friendly technology and can stand earthquakes of up to 6 on Richter scale./.
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E-payments easier for State, businesses
Hanoi (VNA) — Electronic payments have improved the Government's ability to collect taxes and other duties, said Deputy General Director of the Customs Department Hoang Viet Cuong.
Cuong said the application has made the customs sector more effective and the tool has reduced the work load at customs offices.
Figures from the Information and Technology Department and Customs Statistics showed that the number of import-export businesses, customs declarations and annual tax revenues have rapidly increased.
There were more than 4.1 trillion customs declarations last year, while there were only 1.94 million in 1994.
The State budget increased from 53.1 trillion VND (2.47 billion USD) in 1995 to 181 trillion VND (8.4 billion USD) last year.
The sector has been coordinating with financial institutions and banks with the hopes that the groups will be the foundation for implementing e-payments throughout the industry.
Deputy general director of the VietnamBank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) Nguyen Viet Manh said projects between Vietinbank, Customs Department and the State Treasury have led to progress. More than 100 trillion VND in tax revenue has been paid through Vietinbank since 2009.
During the pilot period of implementing the new method, the sector has signed bilateral agreements with three banks including the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Vietinbank and the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank).
Businesses have also responded to the application. A representative from FPT said using the application to pay for taxes could be immediately implemented within their company, which will help enterprises reduce their costs by 10 million VND (465 USD) a month.
The General Customs Department was expected to officially launch the pilot project for the State budget collection and tax guarantee at the Customs Agency of North Hanoi and Hanoi Customs Department on March 28. /.
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Wood products industry faces challenges
Binh Dinh (VNA) — Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan urged the Government to boost sustainable development of the domestic wood products industry, with the aim of making it an important economic sector.
Doan spoke at the opening ceremony of the first national wood products festival in the central city of Quy Nhon on March 26.
The three-day trade fair, with with the participation of 110 domestic and foreign enterprises participating, is helping promote domestic wood products, boost investment and cooperation, and raise public awareness about the value of preserving forest resources.
With over 2,500 wood processing enterprises nationwide, including about 400 foreign-invested enterprises, the wood processing industry has become a major employer, creating an estimated 170,000 jobs.
Vietnamese wood products were now present in 120 countries and territories around the world, with the EU, US and Japan leading markets. Last year, the industry's export value grew 30 percent to 3.4 billion USD, and it is expected to increase another 17 percent this year to about 4 billion USD.
Wood products have consistently been among the nation's top ten exports.
The rapid growth in the industry has boosted reforestation, and the nation's admission to the World Trade Organisation has opened even more markets for the industry, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hua Duc Nhi, at a forestry forum on March 27.
Nhi also pointed out significant challenges facing the industry. The nation's plantation forests yield millions of cubic metres per year, but most is exported as raw materials with low-added value. Meanwhile, millions of dollars are spent on imported materials to meet domestic demand.
Since the industry imported around 80 percent of needed materials, its average margin was only 5-7 percent. As a result, the industry faced the risk of becoming a mere processing line for foreign firms.
Difficulties also included a lack of processing facilities and skilled workers, low export product competitiveness, limited product designs, market instability and the hikes in input costs due to world price fluctuations.
"Despite encouraging results in production and processing in recent years, many shortcomings remain for the forestry industry," said Tran Bac Ha, chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), which provides major financing for the industry.
Despite relatively high export value, Vietnam has nailed down only 0.78 percent of global market share, Ha said.
"Sources of raw materials for production remain unstable, without clear master plans or long-term strategies, and insufficient attention has been paid to forest development projects," he said.
According to Ha, the country has only about 20 enterprises engaged in forestry. He suggested the Government provide more detailed guidance under the Land Law to give enterprises easier access to lands for reforestation, as well as to give export credits and other incentives to forestry investments.
The industry also needed to develop sources of wood that meet the high standards of international partners.
Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association chairman Tran Duc Sinh said the industry's margin has fallen to under 5 percent due to the rising cost of raw materials, fuel, electricity, and labour.
The Deputy Director of the Hung Thinh Wood Products Joint Stock Co in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong , Trinh Huu Hoa, said exports to Japan have dropped to two containers a month recently from six to eight earlier because of increased timber prices and insufficient supply.
In the last three months, the prices of wood imported from the US and Europe have risen by 100 USD per cubic metre compared with the same period last year, he said. The cost of locally-grown wood, meanwhile, has risen 35 percent in the past two years.
La Thai Thuy Van, director of HCM City-based Danh Moc Wood Processing Co, said profits dropped from a margin of 7-10 percent in past years to less than 5 percent last year. To pay its workers, the company sometimes accepted contracts that represented no profit at all, she lamented.
Doan urged the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association and relevant agencies and sectors to study and propose more suitable policies to encourage the domestic forestry sector.
She suggested suitable funding be reseved for research and development to facilitate small- and medium-sized enterprises and encourage growers and forest managers.
"All of these are needed to promote the potential of the Vietnamese forestry industry in our economic development strategy, as well as environmental protection," she said.
In the national forestry development strategy for 2006-20, the country targeted to develop 825,000ha of plantation forests and reach 7 billion USD in wood products exports by 2020. /.
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SBV issues currency regulations
HCM City (VNA) — Organisations and individuals residing in Vietnam will be required to have corresponding foreign currency capital if they want access to foreign currency loans, according to a new circular.
The Circular No 7 issued by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on March 25 and will take effect on May 6.
According to the SBV, this circular follows up on the Government's Resolution No 11/NQ-CP on measures to curb inflation, stabilise the macro-economy and ensure social welfare to ensure that the government's new policy is implemented effectively.
Under the new circular, credit institutions will be allowed to provide foreign-currency loans of short-, medium- and long-term for individuals and organisations that need to pay for their imports of commodities and services.
However, in order to qualify, they must have a similar amount of foreign currency raised from their trading and production activities. They can also buy or borrow from other credit organisations. If they do so, they must provide proof and a commitment in writing.
Credit organisations will also be able to provide short-term foreign currency loans for individuals and organisations to carry out their projects involved in trading and production of commodities exported via Vietnam 's border gates.
However, borrowers must prove to have enough foreign currency that will be raised from their export business to pay the debt.
Individuals and organisations that want to get foreign-currency loans for their domestic trading and production activities will be required to sell the amount of the borrowed foreign currency to their lenders in accordance with the form of foreign-exchange spot trading.
Any foreign currency lending cases that do not adhere to these regulations must be approved by the SBV Governor in writing.
The new policy also notes that individuals and organisations that apply Vietnam 's Resident Law can benefit from these new foreign currency lending regulations. /.
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Architecture expo highlights German designs
HCM City (VNA) — Fifteen selected international projects by German architectural company Gerkan, Marg and Partners (GMP) will be presented in Ho Chi Minh City on March 28.
The exhibition, themed Designing in Dialogue, is organised by the company, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Goethe Institute in HCM City .
Jorn Ortmann, Vice Director of GMP office in Vietnam , said dialogue was an essential feature of architecture.
In Vietnam , where architectural constructions are still based on national and traditional characteristics, the company holds discussions with authorities, Vietnamese clients and the public to produce the best and most suitable designs, he said.
Today's exhibition will present concepts and architectural models of constructions in German, Italy , Latvia , South Africa , China and Vietnam , including the Berlin Central Station, Cape Town Stadium and Grand Theatre Chongqing.
The prime exhibits will be projects already completed in Vietnam , including the National Convention Centre in Hanoi and the Hanoi History Museum .
The National Convention Centre was built between 2004 and 2006 with a gross floor area of 65,000sq.m, while the 30,000sq.m museum opened last autumn to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the capital city after two years of construction.
The exhibition, which will also show films introducing international architectural projects, will remain open until April 6 at the HCM City Exhibition Hall, 92 Le Thanh Ton, district 1. /.
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Little interest in farm insurance
Hanoi (VNA) — The Government wants to pilot an agricultural insurance scheme in some localities from July, but insurers are reluctant to get involved.
In newly ratified Decision 315, the Government said agricultural insurance aimed to cover farmers affected by natural calamities and crop and stock diseases.
However, the Ministry of Finance cannot issue guidelines until insurers themselves show interest.
"Agricultural insurance is undeniably necessary," said General Secretary of the Vietnam Insurance Association Phung Dac Loc. "However, as production always faces the likelihood of damage, insurance companies themselves are at risk," Loc added.
Bao Viet Group, one of the country's leading finance and insurance companies, ceased offering agricultural insurance in 1999.
This was because, after 15 years of implementation, no profits were made, according to Hoang Xuan Dieu, the group's agricultural insurance manager.
He is seeking regulations on the types of compensation from the Ministry of Finance so his group can consider continuing the service.
Insuring farm production can be difficult because of its small and separate nature and the ups and downs in prices.
Dieu said that finding insurance staff skilled in implementing a pilot project required great effort.
Twenty one provinces have been chosen to test farm insurance's effectiveness in covering rice production and raising cattle, poultry, fish and shrimp.
"Last year, my family lost 40 percent of rice production because of an invasion of rats," said Chau Si, a farmer in the southern province of An Giang .
"Insurance will encourage farmers to increase production," said Nguyen Hoang Khai, deputy director of Bac Lieu Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Vietnam is a potential market for farm insurance because of the high percentage of farmers. Seventy percent of the population lives in rural areas.
The current proportion of agricultural production insured is only 1 percent. /.
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