Obama approves additional $12 mln for Da Nang dioxin cleanup

US President Barack Obama has approved US$12 million for an ongoing project aimed at cleaning up dioxin that has contaminated the soil and water in and around the Da Nang Airport.

The announcement was made by congressman Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) on August 26, during a three-day visit to Vietnam.

Faleomavaega's visit was aimed at discussing the two countries’ relationship, including cooperative efforts to mitigate Agent Orange contamination in Vietnam.

(Picture: Da Nang Airport in the central city of Da Nang is expected to receive another US$12 million for dioxin cleanup efforts)

Last year, the Obama administration dedicated $3 million to dioxin cleanup efforts in the central city of Da Nang, where the airport was listed by scientists as one of several “hotspots” throughout the country.

Da Nang Airport was once used by the US Air Force as a base of operations. During the war, US forces untold quantities of defoliant chemicals loaded onto planes to be sprayed over the countryside.

It is believed that US forces sprayed over 12 million gallons of defoliats in Vietnam throughout the course of the war.

The chemicals were meant to deprive Vietnamese forces of "food and cover." The campaign ended up having long-term effects on US soldiers and millions of Vietnamese civilians.

The substance has been linked to increased instances of birth defects and at least 12 chronic diseases - including Spinal Bifidia and several types of cancer.

Reported by Nguyen Phong

Rolls-Royce to help develop aircraft maintenance facility

Rolls-Royce, the famous UK engine producer, will help national carrier Vietnam Airlines develop an aeroplane maintenance facility in Vietnam.

Patrick Regis, president of Rolls-Royce Vietnam, said the facility was essential for the country’s growing aviation industry.

Regis told Thanh Nien Weekly that partners in Singapore and Hong Kong had also proposed similar projects to Rolls-Royce and asked for its support.

However, he said, as an aeroplane engine producer, Rolls-Royce would only offer advice, not join it as a partner.

Rolls-Royce won orders worth US$240 million for engines to power 36 Airbus A321 aircraft last month. Delivery of the aircraft to Vietnam Airlines is scheduled to start in 2011.

Regis said they were competing to win more orders from the carrier.

Vietnam Airlines, which opened the Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company with a chartered capital of VND420 billion ($21.5 million) last year to offer maintenance services, also proposed the project to US airplane producer Boeing.

Reported by Minh Quang

Vietnam, US hold first-ever defense talks

Vietnam’s Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh (R) and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Robert Scher at a joint conference held in Hanoi on August 17

Vietnam and the US held their first-ever defense dialogue on Tuesday (August 17), officials announced at a press briefing following the conference.

Robert Scher, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, said the dialogue was very candid and open. According to Scher, the substance of the meeting included increased cooperation in areas such as marine security, international peacekeeping and search and rescue.

The talks, held 15 years after the normalization of diplomatic relations, represented "the next significant historic step in our increasingly robust defense relationship which is based on mutual trust, understanding and respect for independence and sovereignty," Scher told reporters.

Previous security talks, which started in 2008, were held at the foreign ministry and State Department level, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Vietnam’s Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh reaffirmed the country’s commitment to work with the US in dealing with war legacy issues, such as MIA recovery and Agent Orange remediation.

Both officials said that the border dispute in the East Sea was not the focus of the talks but they agreed that this matter must be addressed through peaceful negotiations to maintain stability in the region.

Vinh said Vietnam's increased military ties with the US would not harm others.

"We believe this cooperation brings about benefit to Vietnam and the United States," he told the briefing. "This cooperation does not do harm to the interests of any other country."

The dialogue focused on bilateral issues, including unexploded ordnance and herbicides left over from the Vietnam War as well as servicemen listed as missing in action, the two officials said.

Other areas where they hoped to step up cooperation included humanitarian and disaster-relief operations, and language training.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is scheduled to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting – Plus scheduled to convene in Hanoi this October. The meeting will be attended by defense ministers from member countries. The “plus” refers to the eight ASEAN dialogue partners, which include the US and China that will also attend the conference.

The second US-Vietnam defense dialogue is scheduled to be held in Washington next year.

Last week, a US Navy destroyer became the latest US warship to dock in Vietnam since the war ended in 1975.

Reported by Huong Le

Wildlife authorities raid Da Lat restaurants

Lam Dong officials seize a box containing weasels and Musk Deer in Da Lat, Thursday

An international team of wildlife authorities seized hundreds of kilograms of wildlife meat during a raid on 12 restaurants in Da Lat conducted on August 26.

Nearly 100 forest rangers and experts from the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society rushed into a dozen restaurants simultaneously and recovered a bonanza of illicit meat.

Tran Thanh Binh, Chief Forest Ranger for Lam Dong Province, said the raids had to be timed together to prevent the establishments from alerting one another of their presence in the area. They are all connected, Binh said.

The senior ranger said that his agents had scouted the establishements prior to the raid to ensure that the busineses would be caught red-handed.

One restaurant was discovered to possess a virtual menagerie of banned meat, including two bear hands, the head of a chamois and lynx skins. Three protected anteaters were also recovered there in addition to cuts of musk-deer and porcupine.

Most of the animal parts were found soaking in formaldehyde.

A team at another restaurant seized 27 different snakes weighing a total of 14 kilograms. The owner claimed to have bred the snakes but failed to demonstrate any proof of the claim.

All told, more than 312 kilograms of wild animals were recovered in the operation. Some restaurants did not have any illicit meat in stock but their menus suggested that they served wildlife dishes.

Binh said the restuarant raid was the most successful operation in province history.

The senior ranger said that the investigation is still underway; but he pledged to ask city officials to consider revoking business licenses of the restaurants.

Reported by Gia Binh

• Steel strategy aims to upgrade technology, not def...
• Beauty queens at Hanoi Wedding Gala

Steel strategy aims to upgrade technology, not defend obsolete mills

Even though investors have been slow to implement approved steel projects, no licenses have yet been yanked.

The steel industry association has been warning that the nation already has too many steel mills, and the Government has put the brakes on some new mills. However, even though investors have been slow to implement approved projects, no licenses have yet been yanked. VietNamNet interviewed a high Industry & Trade Ministry official to find out why.

Sixteen months ago, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai instructed cities and provinces and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to stop granting licenses to projects for manufacture of ordinary structural steel. Hai also told local authorities to check licensed projects and revoke investment licenses from the projects which have been slow in implementation.

Though no license has yet been revoked, it now looks as though Ninh Thuan province will cancel the huge Ca Na project. “Granting and revoking licences is a prerogative of local jurisdictions,” explains Bui Quang Chuyen, Deputy Director of the Heavy Industry Department (MOIT). “We can only advise them.”

VietNamNet: The Government told local authorities to stop granting license to the steel projects that make ordinary structural steel. Why have more steel projects still been licensed?

Bui Quang Chuyen: There are only two such cases. The first is the Shengli steel mill in Thai Binh province. In the first phase of the project, the investor built a mill to make 600,000 ton of steel ingots annually. All along, it was understood that the feasibility of the investment depended on completion of a second phase, in which the investor would convert ingots into structural steel, up to 200,000 tonnes per annum.

When Shengli began implementing Phase II in late 2009, some argued that it was defying the Government’s order to refuse any further structural steel projects. However, the second phase had already been foreseen in the original investment license.

The second case involves a mill built by Viet Duc Steel Company in VInh Phuc Province which went into operation in April. We are looking into this case.

VietNamNet: What’s the situation with respect to revoking licenses of moribund projects?

Chuyen: Local authorities have been checking the status of approved projects. Recently, the Ba Ria –Vung Tau Industrial Zone Management Board transferred the investment certificate of the Essar hot rolled coil steel (HRC) project to the Vietnam Steel Corporation (VSC).

Decisions are pending in other provinces where, mainly as a consequence of the global recession, investors have failed to implement projects.

We’ve discovered that coordination between the ministry and local authorities has not been satisfactory. Provinces have been slow to report problems or have sent misleading reports.

VietNamNet: In its latest update, your ministry mentioned three big projects that may not be implemented, including the Ca Na project and the projects under development by invested by two Indian corporations, Tata and Essar. Can you tell us more?

Chuyen: Ninh Thuan province has decided that the $9.8 billion Ca Na project will not be implemented. Its Malaysian promoters proved not to have the financial ability to carry out the work.

As for Tata Group’s $5 billion steel mill project in Ha Tinh, we still support it. Tata is India’s largest corporation and one of the ten biggest steel makers in the world. They still wish to develop the project. The Prime Minister has tasked the Ha Tinh provincial authorities to work out a way to go forward with Tata and VSC, its partner in the joint venture.

We also want the two million ton per annum HRC steel project in Ba Ria – Vung Tau to be implemented. Though Essar’s backed out, we support that project because Vietnam still must import HRC. Its implementation of the project depends on VSC’s arranging financing.

VietNamNet: Why should we worry if there are many steel projects not listed in the steel industry development strategy?

Chuyen: We want to avoid more projects using obsolete technology. Every new steel project increases demand for electricity, which is already in short supply. An ingot steel mill consumes 500 to 700 kWh to make one ton of ingot steel. Further, we already have plenty of mills that make structural steel. Besides, the existence of the steel mills that make normal construction steel will cause overproduction and cause waste in investment.

VietNamNet: It’s said that MOIT will propose that the Government add more steel projects into the steel industry development strategy. Will that lead local authorities to license more steel projects?

Chuyen: The steel industry development strategy is open-ended and, in my view, already 90 percent successful. We are going to be putting more emphasis on assuring that developers have good financial strength and will get right to work. We need projects which use modern technologies and make products that Vietnam currently must import. We need to pay attention to project efficiency, not worry if there are too many steel projects or if current, obsolete facilities cannot compete.

Pham Huyen

• Beauty queens at Hanoi Wedding Gala
• Thua Thien-Hue holds rehearsal of sea rescue in st...
• Catfish breeders in troubled waters despite export...

Beauty queens at Hanoi Wedding Gala

Special wedding dresses were displayed and auctioned for charity at the Wedding Gala in Hanoi on August 28.

Miss Vietnam 2006 Mai Phuong Thuy in an ao dai worth $3,700, designed by famous fashion designer Vo Viet Chung.

Miss Sea of Miss Vietnam 2010 pageant Nguyen Thi Loan in a $2500 wedding gown designed by Lekchi. The auction winner presented this gown to Loan.

Some new wedding dresses and wedding ao dai were showcased:

PV Thua Thien-Hue holds rehearsal of sea rescue in st... Catfish breeders in troubled waters despite export... Businesses struggle as dollar gets more expensive

Thua Thien-Hue holds rehearsal of sea rescue in storm

A rehearsal to rescue victims of a tropical storm on the sea took place in the coastal district of Phu Loc in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on August 28.

The rehearsal was organized by Thua Thien-Hue province in preparation for the current storm and rainy season. The rehearsal had the participation of the local police, border guard, militia forces, and local people.

The situation set for the rehearsal: storm is measured at grade 9, with wind speeds of over 100km/hour in the eye of the storm. The storm is moving very fast to the coast. There are two fishing boats lost in the sea and three people have been swept away.

In the rehearsa, rescue workers had to help local residents strengthen their houses and evacuate people to safer locations. They also practiced rescuing victims in various circumstances.

Below is the rehearsal in photos:

In this photo, a border guard shot flares calling boats to come ashore.

In the rehearsal, local forces practiced calling for and guiding fishing boats to return home. In this photo, a canoe goes to rescue a fisherman.

Many victims are bandaged on the sea.

Fishing boats are escorted to the shore.

Border guards instruct fishing boats to make landfall.

Pulling out fishermen by rope.

All boats find a safe shelter.

People were watching the rehearsal.

Source: Dan Tri

Two artists and Sudden Inspiration exhibition

A painting exhibition titled “Sudden Inspiration”, by Le Ngoc Linh and Nguyen Duc Tuan opened at Applied Arts Gallery, 5 Phan Dang Luu Street, Binh Thanh District, HCM City last weekend. VietNamNet Bridge - A painting exhibition titled “Sudden Inspiration”, by Le Ngoc Linh and Nguyen Duc Tuan has opened at Applied Arts Gallery, 5 Phan Dang Luu Street, HCM City.

“Green Girl” by Le Ngoc Linh.

The exhibition introduce about 70 paintings including lacquer on wood, sketches, and oil on canvas.

Nguyen Duc Tuan is inspired by his relationship with nature, with titles such as Ballet of wave and moon, Tranquil flooding season, and The old way captures trees, and The bright colors of flowers and tranquil seas. “Painting is not my job, just a hobby and I paint at nighttime to express my feelings of happiness, sadness, anger, or love. I choose nature as a theme for my paintings as nature sometimes is your best friend with whom you can share everything,” Tuan said.

The Water Season by Nguyen Duc Tuan.

In contrast with the brightness of Tuan’s paintings, Nguyen Ngoc Linh’s work feature dark colors to express feelings of nostalgia. Her works include Fishing village, The old town, My mother’s village, and The corner evoke the past.

Linh also made some sketches of scenery in the U.S., such as the California and Hawaii landscape.

The exhibition runs until August 23.

PV

Catfish breeders in troubled waters despite export surge

Exports of tra catfish have risen since early this year, but many breeders in the Mekong Delta are on the verge of bankruptcy.

Exporters and/or seafood processors have been buying tra catfish for VND15,500-16,000 per kilogram, while breeding costs have climbed to VND16,000-16,500 per kilogram.

Mekong breeders have suffered losses for the third consecutive year, and many of them have been forced give up their vocation as a result.

Meanwhile, the Minsitry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said that tra fish exports rose 8.23 percent in the first seven months.

Lam Minh Chieu, chairman of the An Giang Province People’s Committee, told Sai Gon Giai Phong that farmers in An Giang in particular and the Mekong Delta in general have been struggling with increased breeding costs and unchanged selling prices.

He said it costs VND1.6-1.7 billion to farm 100 tons of tra fish, and a breeder typically farms between several hundred and several thousands of tons.

Meanwhile, the export market for tra catfish has expanded steadily. Even in 2008, when the global economic crisis hit and many sectors were in turmoil, the export of tra catfish was not affected, Mr. Chieu noted.

Mr. Chieu said exporters have not cooperated with each other on pricing, and importers were controlling prices as a result, hurting localbreeders.

For the tra catfish sector to develop sustainably, all the main aspects – breeding, processing and exporting – need to be improved, Mr. Chieu said.

He said Mekong Delta provinces have asked the Prime Minister for permission to establish a tra catfish association to formulate development strategies and production plans; and to expand export markets.

If the PM’s approval is obtained, the association is expected to be established in the third quarter of this year.

The association would help resolve current problems in the sector and protect breeders.
It would work to ensure proper investment in production techniques, strengthen cooperation between breeders and exporters, and improve quality, Mr. Chieu said.

Source: SGGP

• Businesses struggle as dollar gets more expensive
• Miss Vietnam World abrogates Most Favorite title

Businesses struggle as dollar gets more expensive

Following the State Bank of Vietnam’s decision to devalue the dong against the US dollar, many companies have complained they cannot keep their selling prices unchanged and maintain profits.

On August 17, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) increased the average inter-bank exchange rate by VND 388 to VND 18,932 per US dollar in an effort to ease the trade deficit. The new exchange rate is applicable as of August 18, and the trading band remains unchanged at ±3%. The SBV also stipulated that the ceiling exchange rate listed by commercial banks is VND19,500.

Several manufacturers, retailers, and distributors told Sai Gon Giai Phong on Thursday, August 19, that the new exchange rate made it difficult to maintain the prices of many commodities, especially of items produced with imported materials whose prices depend on the USD-VNDexchange rate.

Some importers, including those of kitchen utensils, are preparing to increase their selling prices to offset the rise in input costs, said Bui Hanh Thu, deputy director of the Saigon Co.op.

One representative of a supermarket chain said: “In early August, many suppliers of garments, food and cosmetics said they would increase prices of a number of commodities by 3-12 percent. While we were negotiating ways to maintain prices, the inter-bank rate increased, making it more difficult for us to keep prices unchanged.

“From September, we cannot help but raise the selling prices of a number of commodities at a rate that reconciles the benefit of producers, traders and consumers.”

Currently, most supermarkets, including Co.op Mart, Big C, Satramart, Maximart and Citimart, can offer goods at the same prices as before, owing to large reserves. Meanwhile, many traditional markets and shops that trade in imported goods have increased theirselling prices.

The rise of the interbank rate had an immediate effect on traders who hold small quantities of goods in stock, said a trader of imported confectionary in Binh Thanh District said. “For the time being, I try to keep prices unchanged but have to reduce the discount rates to maintain profit”.

Cao Tien Vi, chairman of the Saigon Paper JSC, said the increased inter-bank rate would directly affect the company’s business, as increased prices of many imported materials “would make our production costs rise”.

The company’s investment plan has been also affected. “We are investing in a new production line worth VND100 billion. Now with the new inter-bank rate, we will suffer an increase of about 2.1 percent in our investment costs,” Vi said.

To maintain its competitiveness, the company is trying to not to increase selling prices, but if the situation continues, the company’s profits will come down to zero, he said.

Tran Quoc Manh, Vice President of HCM City’s Association for Fine Arts and Wood Processing, said: “The country targets US$3 billion worth of woodwork exports this year, but with the increased inter-bank rate, the target becomes distant since as much as 80 percent of the materials for the wood processing industry are imported”.

Many long-term export contracts have been signed with foreign partners, so local importers could face a lot difficulties with a rise in their input costs that will eat away their profit, Manh cautioned.

Source: SGGP

• Miss Vietnam World abrogates Most Favorite title
• Vietnam to have national demographic database
• RoK, Vietnam sign tourism pact

Miss Vietnam World abrogates Most Favorite title

The pageant organizing board has announced plans to cancel the Most Favorite title after the pageant website was attacked, resulting in abnormal changes in votes.

The online vote for Most Favorite title began on August 10. Nguyen Thuy Kieu Tien, Ho Thi Oanh Yen, Ton Diep Nhat Trang were always at the top of voter rankings. However, on August 18, Phan Thi Ly, who ranked far behind, suddenly got more than 41,000 votes to move into first.

The organizers asked technicians to check the system and found out that someone hacked the site to raise the number of votes for some contestants. As the online vote will close on August 21, theorganizers said they would not have time to fix the error so they decided to not choose a Most Favorite winner.

Paging fees will be returned to the audience who sent text messages to vote for their contestants via number 8501.

Chief organizer Nguyen Trong Hien said that this is a very interesting title but the organizing board anticipated possible fraud, stipulating that the Most Favorite title winner would not enter the top 15 contestants.

“This is a very regrettable incident. We have tried to seek solutions to fix the system but we are afraid we will not have timely, accurate results before the final night on August 21,” Hien said.

“This is a difficult decision but for the fairness, transparency, and seriousness of this pageant, we must stop this vote. We will learn from this experience and avoid it the next time. We condemn these individuals, who because of their unhealthy personal reasons, frustrated a highly interactive competition.”

On behalf of the organizing board, Hien apologized to the audience who supported the pageant.

This is the second incident at Miss Vietnam World 2010. Earlier, Pham Thi Thuy Linh from HCM City had to give back her Miss Ao Dai title and leave the pageant afterorganizers discovered that she had cosmetic nose surgery five years ago.

PV

• RoK, Vietnam sign tourism pact
• High-end leases demarcate Saigon’s “well-known bra...
• Rubber, textile industries lament materials shorta...

Vietnam to have national demographic database

The government has decided to set up the national demographic database which will be managed by the Ministry of Public Security.

The establishment of a national population database aims to provide state agencies and individuals with accurate and updated demographic information which can serve socio-economic development requirements.

Personal information will be collected and updated, including names, photo, ID number, place of birth, gender, nationality, passport number, heath insurance card number, tax number, education background, occupation, work place addresses, and home addresses.

The Ministry of Public Security will work with relevant agencies to amend and supplement the collected data.

State agencies, socio-political organizations, and individuals will be able to access the database for legitimate purposes.

• RoK, Vietnam sign tourism pact
• High-end leases demarcate Saigon’s “well-known bra...
• Rubber, textile industries lament materials shorta...

RoK, Vietnam sign tourism pact

TVietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral tourism cooperation in Seoul on June 25.

TVietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral tourism cooperation in Seoul on June 25.

It was signed by Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh and his RoK counterpart Yu In-chon during Mr Anh’s visit to Seoul.

During their talks, both hos and guest discussed ways to increase bilateral exchanges in the fields of culture and tourism.

Yu In-chon said the RoK will send more delegations to Vietnam and work closely with relevant Vietnamese agencies to boost tourism in the near future. He said he believe Vietnam would become the No 1 destination for RoK tourists.

Minister Anh said Vietnam and RoK have great potential for tourism cooperation. The RoK is a promising tourism market and Vietnam is making efforts to lure tourists from the country, he said.

Every year, about 400,000 RoK tourists visit Vietnam.

Source: VOV

• Boy preference lingers, alarming imbalance in cent...
• Film companies lack money, studios

High-end leases demarcate Saigon’s “well-known brand” streets

Dong Khoi, Nguyen Hue, Le Thanh Ton and Le Loi Roads are now called “the well-known brands” streets in HCM City, because area trade centres only sell products with well-established names. Retail leases in this business hub, therefore, are also the highest in the city.

In late April 2010, Vincom Tower, a 58,000 square meter shopping complex, began welcoming guests. The rent for a ground floor space here is equal to the rent on the upper floor of another nearby trade centre.

Brand barriers

The appearance of fashion shops selling global brands like Louis Vuitton, Versace, Milano, Lacoste, Espirit and Omega, has turned Dong Khoi into a road with the highest rental rates for a retail premises in HCM City.

Fashion traders call Dong Khoi “the road of high rank,” because it is very difficult to lease a space here, even when the renters have plenty of cash. Vincom Centrerental rates are up to $250 per square metre and, retailers must sell products with well-known brand names to be able to lease a spot on the first or upper floors.

Louis Vuitton occupies the first floor of Opera View Centre, presenting a silent but visible statement to newcomers– only high-end products welcome. Le Van Canh from Artex Saigon, the investor of Opera View, stated frankly that the company prioritises leasing to international brand names.

Businesses that intend to lease a space at Parkson trade centre are always questioned about what products they sell, which brand names and their world rankings.

A luxury shopping centre invested by Duy Anh Fashion Cosmetics and Saigontourist will become operational in the third quarter of 2010. The shopping centre, at the intersection of Nguyen Hue–Le Loi roads, covers an area of 2000 square metres and will gather the most popular brand names in the world like Chanel, Burberry, Ferragamo, Bally and Zegna.

Retail rents escalate

Marketing analysts report that the Louis Vuitton product representative was very lucky to obtain a lease at Opera View of just $15,000 a month.

The appearance of Vincom has now pushed area rents to new heights. The $65 per square metre rent at the Tax trade centre is just equal to halfthe rent of Vincom’s ground floor. Moreover, clients must lease an entire kiosk at Vincom, with an area of 70 square metres.

All other types of retail premises are raising their rents too. In 2009, one shop with the width of its entrance door (just four metres) leased for $4000, but nowthe rent has increased by 25 percent. If the shop has a little wider entrance, the rent would have doubled.

One businessman leased a big shop on Dong Khoi Road with an area of 7×12 square metres in February 2009 at $30,000 a month. Two months ago, he was approached by a foreign brand representative to sub-lease for 50 percent more.

According to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), businesses must compete fiercely to be able to lease unoccupied “beautiful” premises. The firm calculated that rent increased significantly in the first quarter of 2010 and will increase still further in the second quarter.

Source: Saigon tiep thi

• Rate talk continues to simmer
• Banks ponder a new burden: gold
• With capital more abundant, banks ease interest ra...

Rubber, textile industries lament materials shortage

Both textile and rubber industries have been facing big difficulties due to the material shortage. While the material prices have been increasing, producers dare not raise the sale prices because they fear they may lose customers.

Natural rubber latex prices have risen dramatically since the beginning of 2010, surpassing the highest-recorded price level to stand at 67.5 million dong/ton.

According to Le Van Tri, Deputy General Director of Casumina, rubber latex has increased by two-fold, from 33 million dong per ton in September 2009, with a 300 percent increase over the first quarter of 2009.

Large natural rubber latex providers like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and Vietnam must delay harvesting latex due to the drought, which has led to the serious shortage.

Ha Phuoc Loc, Deputy General Director of Da Nang Rubber Company, noted that the company needs some 13,000 tons of materials to make tires and other products in 2010. They just purchased 4000 tons from Vietnam Rubber Group, but must collect additional rubber from other sources.

According to Loc, the 300 percent price increase presents serious obstacles for enterprises. “If the rubber latex price does not decrease by the end of May, we will have to raise prices,” Loc admitted.

Prices have risen twice in 2010 already. On January 15 and March 15, Casumina, Da Nang Rubber and Sao Vang Rubber Companies all increased prices by 10 percent.

Casumina and Sao Vang representatives also observed that they prices will remain unchanged until the end of April, but after that, if the rubber rates continue rising, they will be forced to increase prices.

Nguyen Duc Khiem, Chair and General Director of Viet Thang Textile and Garment Company, explained that visco fiber rates have been rising steadily by 10 percent every month since the beginning of 2010, from $2.2 to $2.7 per kilo. Cotton fiber has increased from $1.3 to $1.6 per kilo.

Phuong Dung, a small merchant in HCM City, provides thread and fiber. She can only provide 50 percent of the demand from textile workshops in the area. “Buyers accept high prices, but the supply is very short,” she stated.

One company’s general director pointed out that many fiber suppliers do not want to sell to domestic buyers, since the export price is high and domestic companies are always late in making payments.

In mid-April 2010, India prohibited the export of cotton to protect local industries, raising concerns in Vietnam since the country relies heavily on cotton imports.

Concurrently, China has been purchasing more materials from markets across the world, including Vietnam.

Source: Saigon tiep thi

Banks attempt to collect more in ATM fees, again

The Vietnam Card Association has sent a request to the State Bank of Vietnam asking the bank to support the association’s decision to collect fee from ATM transactions.

This is the second attempt by commercial banks to collect ATM fees. In the past Banks have asked to charge fees, but the plan was not approved by the State Bank of Vietnam.

The proposal on collecting ATM fees has already faced strong opposition from cardholders, who believe that ATM collection are contrary to the state’s policy on encouraging non-cash payment. They say that many cardholders, in order to avoid paying ATM fees many times, will withdraw all the money they have in their accounts.

Hoang, officer of a media company, said that banks can get many benefits from providing ATM services already, therefore, they should not think of collecting ATM fees. 22 million cards have been issued. If every card has the minimum balance of 50,000 dong as required, banks can use the 1,100 billion dong as investment capital.

The Vietnam Card Association has insisted on the need to collect fee from ATM transactions because the expenses banks have to pay per ATM transaction average around 5000 dong. Currently, cardholders have to pay fee when they make transactions with ATMs owned by other banks, while they do not have to pay fees when making transactions with ATMs of the banks that issue their cards.

The Card Association argues that the free withdrawal of cash from ATM will encourage people to use cash, all the while banks do not have money for reinvestment, and then do not have money to expand the network and improve quality service.

An officer of a bank said that the initial expenditure for every ATM is about $20,000, while banks have to bear many other kinds of expenses during the ATM operation. He said that most of banks now have to cover losses for ATM services, about 10-30 billion dong a year. Currently, only three banks can make profit from ATM services thanks to the large and effective POS system. There are 36,620 POS throughout the country.

The card association has also proposed that the Ministry of Finance slash the import tariff on various kinds of specialized equipment for using cards.

According to Nguyen Thu Ha, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Banking Card Association, commercial banks will not collect ATM fee in 2010. However, it wishes to begin collecting fee from 2011, that is, if this is approved by the State Bank of Vietnam.

Source: An ninh

• Small banks race to expand capital
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State will strictly control private credit information centers

At present, Vietnam has no privately-run credit information institutions. In the near future, based on a decree on credit information management that comes into effect as of April 15, the way for establishing such centers will be paved.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is collecting opinions on a draft circular that guides the implementation of a decree that allows the establishment ofcredit information centers if they meet strict requirements.

In order to establish a credit information company, a group must have commitments from at least 20 banks to provide information. The 20 banks must also agree that they will not provide information to any other company.

According to Pham Cong Uan, Director of the Credit Information Centre (CIC) under SBV, the requirement aims to restrict the number of privately-run credit information companies.

Uan noted that there are 51 banks in Vietnam, including foreign bank branches, so, under this regulation, Vietnam will have no more than two privatecredit information companies

He added that credit information companies can also get data from other credit institutions. They can cooperate with each other or with CIC in order to gain necessary information for clients.

Colin Raymond, an International Finance Corporation representative from the World Bank, maintained that Vietnam has good reason to restrict the number of credit information institutions. Russia set no limit on the number of such centres, which has resulted in nearly 50 companies and big difficulties in management.

IFC will give advice to SBV in building the legal framework for providing credit information.

The decree also stipulates that every company must have chartered capital of at least 30 billion dong and must have qualified employees who are not allowed to do other kinds of business.

CIC is assigned by SBV to manage credit information companies. In addition, CIC will join forces with other government agencies, inspectors, the information technology department and legal departments to grant licenses for privately-runcredit information centers.

According to Uan, two companies have already expressed their intention to set up credit information institutions in Vietnam.

Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon

Tourism to hit new heights

A nationwide set of standards to rate tourism services is expected to be published in the second quarter of this year.

The work was commissioned to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan as part of a long-term programme to improve tourism in Viet Nam.

“A set of standards is necessary to promote better tourism as they will help ensure higher service quality,” said Vu The Binh from the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism.

Under the new standards, tourism operators would have to meet certain criterion before they could sell tickets to tourists, said Binh. Localities, particularly tourism hot-spots, will also be required to perform comprehensive urban planning to meet the standards.

Ngo Quang Vinh, director of the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, also welcomed the new standards.

“We have been awaiting the implementation of this new policy with great enthusiasm. It will help us to improve tourism services to maintain Viet Nam’s position as a popular tourist destination.”

Pham Tat Thanh, from the Lao Cai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the province had yet to receive information about the incoming set of standards but appreciated the move. Thanh added that the editorial team responsible for drafting the standards should ensure the standards would be comprehensive enough to be applied in every province.

Quality and quantity

Speaking about the importance of standards that address qualitative aspects of tourism, Thanh said: “Our recommendation, which is based on experience, is that standards should be linked to the level of satisfaction reported by tourists. For so long the number of visitors was thought to be the best measure of progress in the tourism industry but this is not sustainable. The extent to which tourists are satisfied –quality– is just as important as the quantity of tourists.”

Lao Cai Province is home to the immensely popular H’Mong town of Sa Pa which has enjoyed wide popularity from both domestic and international tourists in recent years.

Speaking about her experience as a tourist in Viet Nam, American Amelia Henry remarked: “Our trip would have been much more enjoyable if we hadn’t been chased down by overly-aggressive street vendors. Even though I was happy to buy souvenirs, being pressured to do so made me feel uncomfortable.”

Thanh said that this issue had given local authorities a headache although in Sa Pa the problem had been solved by creating a specific area where local people could set up stores to sell their goods. In remote hamlets around the town, Thanh said the problem persisted as it was difficult to police.

Simplify entry and exit

The Deputy Prime Minister has requested relevant agencies and localities to establish a common set of regulations on entry and exit procedures by land, sea and air for foreigntourists arriving at border gates to simplify administrative procedures.

Yet, Binh noted: “It would take a remarkable amount of time and work before visas-on-arrival could be issued at border gates throughout the country.

This is because the gates would first need to be equipped with powerful information systems and co-operate closer with relevant agencies.”

Another qualitative problem identified in the tourism industry is the lack of market research into tourist preferences. As British expat Elizabeth Liz put it: “Viet Nam should have done this market research sooner. Many tour agencies thought they knew what we [foreigners] want but in fact they don’t. And they never ask us.”

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang said the tourism sector was starting to develop specific products for the international market, including the eco-, adventure and regional tourism to address this shortfall.

Others like French-Vietnamese Raymond Nguyen cited environmental degradation as one of the major problems with tourism in Viet Nam. After returning from a trekking tour in Sa Pa, he said: “Viet Nam is an ideal place for adventure tourism due to its spectacular sights and challenging terrain. But, the nature of the landscape, the reason why we come to Viet Nam in the first place, should be preserved, not destroyed.”

According to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism , while the number of foreign tourists entering the country dropped by 10 per cent last year to about 4 million, total revenue over the same period increased by 10 per cent to VND70 trillion (US$3.8 billion).

VietNamNet/VNS