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Architect re-elected mayor
Hanoi (VNA) — Nguyen The Thao has been re-elected as Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee for the 2011-16 term at the first session of the municipal People's Council, the 14th tenure 2011-2016.
Thao, 59, with a PhD in economics and an architect by profession, won roughly 94 percent of the vote.
The People's Council also re-elected four vice-chairs of the committee and elected two new ones.
Ngo Thi Doan Thanh, 54, has also been re-elected as head of the Hanoi People's Council for the 2011-2016 term, winning nearly 98 percent of the vote.
At the 11th Party Congress held in January, both Thao and Thanh were voted as members of the Party Central Committee.
Speaking at the meeting, Hanoi Party Secretary, Pham Quang Nghi, affirmed that the city People's Council had greatly contributed to Hanoi's development, stressing that the People's Council in the new term would need to continue reform its working style in order to improve its effectiveness./.
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VN ambassador to Chile presents credentials
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese newly- accredited Ambassador to Chile Ha Thi Ngoc Ha on June 16 presented her credentials to President of Chile Sebastian Pinera Echenique in the capital city of Santiago de Chile .
At the following reception, Ambassador Ha congratulated President Pinera on his achievements since he came to power.
She affirmed that she would do her utmost to contribute to maintaining and strengthening the cooperative friendship relations between the two countries’ governments and people.
On his part, President Pinera expressed his delight at the fine development of friendly relations between Vietnam and Chile in the past 40 years, and spoke highly of the achievements on social-economic development that Vietnam has made in the process of renovation and integration.
He stressed that the two countries should further promote bilateral trade relation, expressing his hope that the both countries will complete negotiation to reach a bilateral free trade agreement in the coming time./.
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Relations with Lao province at high pitch
Binh Phuoc (VNA)- Leaders from Binh Phuoc province and Champasak province of Laos came out of talks held on June 20 with consensus on comprehensive cooperation for the next five years to 2015.
The talks were part of a Vietnam visit by a high-level delegation from the Lao province, led by its Party Secretary and Governor, Sonsay Siphandone, who is also member of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee.
The two sides agreed to boost exchange of high-level delegations as well as those from relevant industries and agencies. The two provinces also pledged to grant full scholarships in Vietnam studies for two students from the Lao province and vice versa. They saw the necessity to establish tours connecting the three Indochinese countries, which will start from Binh Phuoc, run across Kratie and Stung Treng provinces of Cambodia and finish at Champasak province.
At the talks, the participants exchanged experiences in agriculture and discussed measures to promote people-to-people diplomacy and relations between social organisations.
The Lao head delegate expressed profound gratitude to Binh Phuoc for its assistance in the recent past and sought stronger and more comprehensive cooperation from the Vietnamese province in the years to come. He highlighted assistance in farming technology and seeds and saplings of cashew nuts, pepper and rubber./.
BUSINESS
Inflation data depresses shares
Hanoi (VNA) — Shares yesterday continued last week's declines on both of the nation's stock exchange on June 20, although cash flows continued stronger into the HCM City bourse.
"The greatest contributing factor to the session was information about the June inflation rate," said Dang Anh, an analyst for a Ha Noi-based securities company.
The consumer price index rose by 0.69 in HCM City in June, compared to the prior month, and 1.21 percent in Hanoi. The pace was lower than in May but remained alarmingly high.
While rising consumer prices helped drive up shares of food, beverage and household goods producers, the tourism industry, representing discretionary consumer spending, saw shares fell by an average of 4.6 percent, Anh noted.
On the HCM City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index lost 1.6 percent overall to close at 431.63 points. The value of trades stood at 753.9 billion VND (35.7 million USD), 86.8 percent of the value of the previoues session on June 17, on a volume of 43.8 million shares.
Decliners outnumbered advancers by three-to-one, while around 70 codes bottomed out.
The 10 leading shares by capitalisation also had a poor day, with only food producer Masan Group (MSN) making gains and closing up 1.6 percent, while Sacombank (STB) closed unchanged. Meanwhile, shares of real estate developer Vincom (VIC) hit their floor price, and insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) both fell by over 3 percent.
Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) was the most-active share, with nearly 3.6 million traded.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index also dipped by 1.7 percent to 75.33 points. The value of the day's trades reached just 417.2 billion VND (20.3 million USD), 32.7 percent below June 17's level, while volume also slumped by 30.5 percent to just 36.5 million shares.
Kim Long Securities Co (KLS) was the most-active share nationwide, with just over 5 million exchanged.
Foreign investors were buyers overall on the northern bourse of a net of 5.6 billion VND (271,800 USD) worth of shares, while they were net sellers in HCM City of over 26 billion VND (1.27 million USD) in shares./.
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HCM City ad agency wins world contest
HCM City (VNA) — A team from HCM City-based advertising agency G2/Grey Group has become the first from Vietnam to win the global issue cover design competition held by US magazine Ad Age.
Creative planner Nguyen Tuong Luan, art director Nguyen An Hoa, and copywriter Do Duy Thien now go to the renowned Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year.
Ad Age, a global magazine providing news, trends, data, and analyses for the marketing and media communities, had called for ideas and designs for their global cover issue.
Entries had to convey the topic of Ad Age's Global Issue published each June focusing on the international advertising and marketing scene, multinational marketers and their strategies, and how brands connect with consumers in regions around the world.
G2/Grey Group, a global ad agency, said after hours of brainstorming in the office, the three had still been stuck for an idea and decided to go out on the street for change at 11pm one night when they chanced upon a stained-glass façade of a cathedral with its multiple colours dancing through a prism.
It sparked off a chain of visuals, and "the kaleidoscope" was born.
Luan explained the concept: "The patterns in a kaleidoscope are multiple and diverse and the chance of seeing the same [again] is very small.
"Our world is the same; each individual is different. But we observed that individuals while differing by outlook, aspirations, values and cultures, share a special affinity and common ground with others via brands”./.
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Consortium to buy up surplus rice
Hanoi (VNA) — The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) plans to purchase 1 million tonnes of summer-autumn rice between July 15 and August 30, but enterprises are concerned over a lack of capital for purchasing activities.
The association's 80 member enterprises will purchase 1 million tonnes for temporary stock in order to maintain the price of rice at 5,500-6,000 VND per kilo and ensure farmers are making a profit.
The price of rice has started to fall in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces of Dong Thap, Tien Giang and An Giang, said the association.
Duong Nghia Quoc, director of the Dong Thap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the VFA's plan is a good sign for farmers, but a lack of capital would affect purchasing activities and exports.
"High interest loans will affect purchasing activities because exporters are reluctant to take them out at the moment," said Cao Thi Ngoc Hoa, deputy general director of the Southern Food Corporation.
"Only those that have already signed export contracts will purchase now," Hoa said.
High interest loans will also affect investment in warehouses and drying facilities that are needed to increase the value of rice in line with new Government standards for rice exporters that willbecome effective on October 1, she said.
Only the An Giang Import Export Joint Stock Company (Angimex) has reached the standards necessary to be awarded a certificate by the Ministry of Industry and Trade under Decree 109 on trading and exporting rice.
According to the VFA, Vietnam expects to export 3.9 million tonnes of rice in the first half of this year./.
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New transport plan for Hanoi
Hanoi (VNA) - The Hanoi People's Committee has approved a transport development plan for the period from 2011-15, a project estimated to cost 153 trillion VND (7.5 billion USD), which aims to upgrade the city's transport infrastructure and address traffic problems.
In the April proposal, the Hanoi Transport Department requested more than 260 trillion VND (13 billion USD) to carry out the plan. This figure, which amounts to 20 per cent of the city's GDP, raised concerns among both experts and the public about the feasibility of funding the proposal, and the projected cost was reduced to 145 trillion VND (7 billion USD) in a later draft of the budget released this month.
Under the newly-approved plan, in the next five years Hanoi will prioritise the construction of national highways, ring roads, bridges, overpasses for pedestrians and railway routes through inner districts.
The first urban railway project, the Cat Linh-Ha Dong Route, is expected to become operational in 2014, followed by the Nhon-Hanoi Station Route in 2016, and the Nam Thang Long – Tran Hung Dao and Yen Vien-Ngoc Hoi Routes in 2018.
The municipal People's Committee Vice Chairman, Nguyen Van Khoi, said that in addition to improving the transport infrastructure of the city center, the proposed plan also includes work in suburban districts.
The city intends to pave all urban roads over 4,900km in length, targeting key roads linking districts to the city or to the provincial main routes, which help to build new rural areas and boost local tourism, according to the vice chairman.
Also included in the plan are provisions for 12 additional bus routes and 40 new multi-storey and underground parking lots to deal with the increasing demand for space./.
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HCM City sees lowest CPI rise in seven months
HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City ’s consumer price index (CPI) in June rose by 0.69 percent against last month, the lowest monthly increase since November 2010.
But the index soared 11.54 percent compared to the end of 2010 and 16.54 percent over the same period last year, said the municipal Statistics Office.
The biggest price hike in the month was seen in the group of miscellaneous goods and services with 2.2 percent due to higher health and social insurance costs resulting from salary increases.
Cultural, entertainment and tourism services experienced a surge of 1.56 percent, followed by beverage and tobacco, and home appliances both groups with 0.94 percent.
The group of medicine and health care services saw the lowest CPI rise of 0.02 percent and prices of housing, utilities and construction materials only increased by 0.29 percent./.
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Vietnamese embassy in Algeria meets local businesses
Algiers (VNA) – The Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria held a meeting with local businesses in the capital city of Algiers on June 20.
Joining the meeting were representatives of 40 local import-export businesses operating in such fields as food, agricultural products, seafood, garment, footwear, construction materials, electronics and computers.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Do Trong Cuong spoke on business and investment opportunities in Vietnam .
On the occasion, he also introduced a book entitled “ Vietnam - Reliable Partner of African Countries” and a list of prestigious Vietnamese exporters.
Nguyen Van Mui, Commercial Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy, said that as Algeria is implementing its 2010-2014 five-year national development plan with a total budget of up to 250 billion USD, focusing on housing and infrastructure projects, there will be good chances for Vietnamese businesses to invest in this country.
Vietnam ’s import-export turnover with Algeria reached over 119 million USD in 2010, up 26 percent against the previous year./.
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Nuclear energy staff training on crucial stage
Hanoi (VNA)- Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has been appointed to chair a steering board on nuclear energy human resource development in preparation for the construction of nuclear energy plants.
The board was established under a decision signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on June 20. Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan is the board’s Deputy Head.
The board has been assigned with a task to conduct research and submit to the Prime Minister orientations and measures to deal with major issues on nuclear energy human resources development.
Other tasks include examination and evaluation of the execution of a project to train 3,000 workers for nuclear energy plants by 2020, including 2,400 engineers and 350 master degree or doctorate holders in nuclear energy./.
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