Dell launches colorful PCs

17:41' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

Dell Inc. announced nine new Inspiron desktops and notebooks and an XPS M1330 notebook, all available in a choice of eight shell colors. Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Inc., listens to a Dr. Evil character at Dell's keynote address at the 2007 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada January 9, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) The new Inspiron notebooks cost 749 U.S. dollars for the model 1521 to 999 dollars for the model 1720, with a choice of processors from Intel Corp. or Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD). The Inspiron 1420 comes with an additional choice of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista or the Ubuntu Linux operating system, for 799 dollars. "The Dell of today is vastly different from the Dell of six months ago or even last week," said Alex Gruzen, senior vice president of Dell's consumer product group. "We're here at Macy's in New York City. That alone is different for Dell, being in a department store or any kind of retail setting at all." In an effort to bolster its sliding market share and quarterly profits, Dell began selling certain PC models at Wal-Mart retail stores on June 10, marking the first time it had strayed from the direct sales model. Dell rose to prominence by cutting its costs through eliminating retail middlemen and selling its PCs only through its Web site, phone lines and catalogs. "This is really just a hint of what we're doing to get these exciting new products into customers' hands," Gruzen said. "We have a broader retail strategy and over the coming months we will announce more partnerships, both with Wal-Mart and with other retailers." Dell emphasized those increased choices with its color options for each PC, including pink, yellow, green, red and blue, as well as standard white and black. An increasing number of PC vendors will soon begin to follow that pattern, trying to differentiate themselves with flashy style and design instead of solely through technical details like processing power, according to a report released this week by Forrester Research Inc. "The consumer PC industry is entering the Age of Style, a time in which radical form factor innovations, increased aesthetic diversity, and consumer choice and personalization will determine which models, and which PC vendors, win or lose," Forrester analyst J.P. Gownder said. VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Belly dancing gathers force

16:48' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - “Let’s shake the butt and make the belly dance!” shouted Ara Hwang in one of her daily lessons. From only a few enrollees, the talented Korean artist’s class in Hanoi is attracting more and more girls. Ara Hwang’s success is reflected in Bastet Douat, the first and only belly dancing group in the country, which she founded at the beginning of 2006. And just one year after being established, Bastet Douat, which is made up of 6 young Vietnamese girls, has a hectic schedule. On the heels of their recent first public performance at the Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi, the dancers will visit Shanghai, China from July 17- 20 to give 2 performances at the Salsa and Swing Festival to be held there with the participation of many famous international dancers. And at the end of this July, the girls will travel south for shows in HCM City only to return right away to Hanoi to compete in the Salsa International Competition, where they will have to show off both their belly dancing and salsa skills. At the end of August, Bastet Douat will organise a belly dancing festival in Hanoi. Talking about belly dancing, a beautiful and difficult type of dance originating from traditional dances of the Middle East and Arab countries elsewhere, Huyen Trang, a Bastet Douat member, said that this dance was particularly good for one’s mental and physical health. It helps the muscles to be nimble and strong and ensures a good gait for the body. The beauty and healthiness of belly dancing is thus drawing more and more Hanoi girls to Ara Hwang’s class. Her basic session now has 40 students, who are captivated by the sexy, attractive and feminine belly dance, plus those colorful costumes with tiny bells giving off merry ringing sounds every move one makes. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Abundance of IPOs deals blow to investors

17:12' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The OTC market had not yet recovered from the two big IPOs by the Phu My Fertiliser and Bao Viet when it received another ‘blow’, the IPO of 10mil shares by PetroVietnam Insurance (PVI) on June 26. Securities investors on trading floor Before the PVI auction on June 26, PVI shares were traded at VND110,000/share on OTC market. The price dropped dramatically on June 27 after the final average price of the auction at VND75,499/share was announced. On OTC websites, PVI shares are being offered at VND75,000/share. A lot of other OTC share items got involved in the misfortune when the prices dropped dramatically and they are unsalable because investors fear that more IPOs will take place in the coming time. PVI shares have become the obsession of many investors as they set a record in price decrease, though PVI announced impressive business performance. Le Van Hung, Chairman of PVI, said that PVI expected to obtain the turnover of VND1,768bil, or more than $100mil. There are two ways for investors to go now, either to hold shares with the hope that the PVI share price will increase when they are listed, or to sell the shares right now for fear that the price will further decrease. In fact, PVI’s price has decreased not because PVI’s business is bad, but because of too many commodities on the market. Experts have warned that if the IPOs of big corporations took place in the time to come as previously planned, the supply of securities will far exceed the demand, which will result in the dramatic drop of prices and the fall of the market. Kim Thanh, an expert with the State Bank of Vietnam’s Monetary Policy Department, said that 40 IPOs had been made so far this year, with 451mil shares sold. Soon after the IPO by PVI on June 26, Vincom will sell 5mil of shares to the public in early July at the starting price at VND80,000/share. Other IPOs will come in August (Vietcombank), October (MHB), while other big corporations have announced IPOs for the fourth quarter of 2007, including MobiFone and Sabeco. A question has been raised: do investors have enough money for the large and massive number of IPOs? Phan Vu Hung, an investor in HCM City thinks that enterprises should delay their IPOs. He said that domestic investors would not have money to buy all the shares to be issued, especially with commercial banks limiting loans for securities investment. Ngoc Lan, an investor on Bao Viet Securities Company’s trading floor, said that a massive number of IPOs would cause indigestion in the market and not bring much money to the securities issuers as public capital is not unlimited. Unlike the IPOs made last year, the final prices from this year’s share auctions are just a bit higher than the starting prices. Several issuers have to organise auctions twice as they cannot sell all the shares in one auction. The Phu My Thermo Power Company, for example, had 4.8mil unsold shares after the first auction, while the percentage of Thac Mo Hydropower Plant’s shares left unsold accounted for 38%. Tran Bac Ha, Director General of the Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV) has warned that at least six IPOs of big corporations will take place from now until the end of the year. Mr Ha said that the IPOs will make supply far exceed demand, thus badly affecting the market. Viet Nam Net

Anti-corruption website inaugurated

17:03' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The Government Inspectorate today, June 28, launched its anti-corruption website, which is considered one of the agency’s efforts to promote anti-corruption activities in Vietnam. From the left: Deputy Minister of Post and Telematics Tran Duc Lai, ADB Vietnam Country Director Ayumi Konishi and Deputy Chief Government Inspector Mai Quoc Binh at the launching ceremony of the anti-corruption website. The website (http://chongthamnhung.thanhtra.gov.vn/) contains information and legal documents on anti-corruption policies of Vietnam. According to the Government Inspectorate’s Information Technology Centre, the website’s database will be uploaded with much more information and many more functions from July 1 to September 1, 2007. As of September 1, the site will be updated with hot news on a daily basis. Viet Nam Net

US enterprises lead new wave of investment in Vietnam

16:43' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – US businesses are taking the lead in the new wave of investment into Vietnam, said Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), after President Nguyen Minh Triet’s visit to the US. Mr. Loc said that up to 150 Vietnamese companies accompanied the President to the US and this was a message showing Vietnam’s desire to strengthen economic relations with the US. The visit is hoped will contribute to promote the investment wave of the US into Vietnam. That’s why the Vietnamese mission spent a lot of time meeting with American CEOs and groups. Large contracts signed during the Vietnamese President’s US visit 1. The Saigon Investment group and Tan Tao Industrial Zone Development Company signed an agreement with American partners to build a complex of seaport industrial zones, a 3,600MW thermo-power plant, and a loan, totalling $4 billion in value. 2. Electricity of Vietnam group (EVN) signed a gas trading and gas development contract worth $4 billion. The group also signed a $100 million loan contract with Citbank to build a hydropower plant. 3. TVN signed a contract with CitiGroup on bond issuance consulting worth VND3 trillion ($187 million). 4. The Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (Agribank) signed an agreement on buying Microsoft Office software copyright and other agreements with US banks worth $700 million. 5. The Vietnam Shipping Lines Corporation (Vinalines) signed a contract with SSA Marine to build the Cai Lan seaport, worth $500 million. It also signed a contract to borrow $175 million from CitiGroup to build seaports. 6. The Saigon Securities Trading Company and Credit Suisse signed a contract on a $100 million credit. 7. Phong Phu Textile Company and ITG signed a contract on textile-garment cooperation worth $100 million. 8. SOVICO and NBH Group signed contracts on energy, crude oil investment and establishing an investment fund in Vietnam, totalling $600 million. 9. Mai Linh Company and Texas Tech Group signed a contract to build a $100 million hospital. 10. Hoang Quan Real Estate Company signed a contract to build a $30 million technology university in Vietnam and an agreement to sell its stocks to IndoChina Capital, worth $100 million. “Recently we have heard much about the new wave of investment in Vietnam. That’s the investment wave of leading world groups in finance and hi-tech into Vietnam. I believe that with their capital, technology and market, American investors will lead the new wave of investment into Vietnam and soon become the number-one investor in Vietnam,” Mr. Loc said. What do you think about the contracts that Vietnam and the US signed during the recent US visit by President Nguyen Minh Triet? During the President’s visit, I saw that American businesses are very interested in investment in Vietnam through big projects in important areas of the economy. The two sides signed many important agreements and contracts worth around U$11 billion. This is a meaningful, record figure. Contracts signed during the visit include large projects on infrastructure such as building seaports, power plants, industrial zones, residential areas, those to develop the financial market and financial institutions in Vietnam, hi-tech projects in the fields of information technology and telecom, import-export contracts and projects on education and training, specifically the agreement to establish a technology university in Vietnam. Along with a record number of contracts, the quality of projects is also high. We know that the US is the best in the world in infrastructure development, hi-tech and education. Meanwhile, Vietnam needs to strongly develop those fields to boost modernisation and industrialisation. Contracts signed on this occasion are suitable to the advantages of each side. The flow of US investment running into Vietnam through those contracts are in various forms, from wholly foreign owned or joint venture, portfolio investment through buying stocks of Vietnamese companies, and US provisions of credit for Vietnam’s imports to serve its projects in Vietnam. The two sides also discussed other projects and I hope that in the coming time, many new projects will be signed. Thus, the results of this visit don’t include already signed projects but projects for the future. Among signed projects, which impress you most? All projects signed in the US are important, meaningful and impress me in different ways. For example, large projects on infrastructure development such as seaports or power plants have huge capital and are very important to the development of Vietnam. Even small-scale agreements such as the agreement between the Vietnamese and US stock exchanges or the Vietnamese Government and businesses buying Microsoft software copyright, which are only worth several tens of millions of US dollars, are still very meaningful in terms of intellectual property protection and pave the way for hi-tech investment into Vietnam. Hi-tech investment always goes with intellectual property protection. Another example is a $30 million project to build a university in Vietnam. $30 million is not large in the total number of $11 billion but it is a pioneer project for Vietnam-US cooperation to build universities in Vietnam. We wants to cooperate with the US to develop top-tier universities in Vietnam, so besides government agencies, Vietnamese companies are also seeking cooperation with American partners in this area. This is a field with potential for Vietnam-US cooperation. We can see that contracts and agreements signed during the visit are quite comprehensive, covering many fields. There are big ones with billions of US dollars of capital and there are small ones which have great meaning because they mark the first cooperation between the two sides in new areas. Mr Vu Tien Loc In this visit, what did we do for the textile-garment supervision issue, which is hindering Vietnam’s exports to the US? Since Vietnam has become a WTO member, there are still barriers from the two sides, firstly the technical barrier like the supervision on Vietnam’s textile-garments. At meetings with US partners during this trip, we suggested lifting that barrier to boost Vietnam’s exports to the US and Vietnam’s imports of US hi-tech products. The American Importers’ Association confirmed that the application of the supervision mechanism on Vietnam’s textile-garments was a violation of WTO rules and was unfair. The Vietnam Textile-garments Association will work closely with American importers and Government agencies to ask for the removal of this mechanism. We have reasons to affirm that Vietnam’s textile-garment exports don’t influence the US textile-garment industry. Such problems can continue to appear through commercial lawsuits such as anti-dumping lawsuits so Vietnamese enterprises need to cooperate with not only the community of local businesses but American partners to create a common voice to lift barriers in economic ties. What agreements did Vietnam and the US reach to assist enterprises of both sides in trade and investment relations? During this trip, VCCI and the American Chamber of Commerce reached an agreement on establishing the Vietnam-US enterprise forum. The forum will be a regular mechanism of the Vietnamese and US communities of business to exchange information on trade, investment and policies. It will also promote trade and investment cooperation between the two sides. It will be set up soon to connect Vietnamese and US businesses. In addition, the two governments signed the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, a following step of the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement and a step towards the Vietnam-US Free Trade Agreement. The two sides also established the investment-business consulting council. These are the foundations for Vietnam-US economic cooperation at higher levels. Along with promising results through the President’s US visit, Vietnam is receiving the interest of many foreign investors. What should we do to take advantage of the new wave of investment? The investment environment of Vietnam in the WTO era has undergone important changes but we are still facing fierce competition from other economies, which are also trying to improve their investment climates, such as China, India, and ASEAN countries. Before making investment decisions, foreign investors always compare Vietnam to other countries. Vietnam is now in the eyes of big groups so we have to gear up to take advantage of this opportunity. I think with a new cabinet, an improving investment environment, and harsh measures in administrative reforms, investment of the US and other countries into Vietnam will surely increase. Viet Nam Net

US, Australia support pilot Internet project in Quang Ngai

09:14' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - The U.S. Agency for International Development has signed an agreement with its Australian counterpart AusAID to co-sponsor a pilot project that will bring low-cost telephone and Internet broadband services via WiFi technology to the rural central province of Quang Ngai. The Memorandum of Understanding also includes commitments from several US private partners, including World Resources Institute, SRA, Solitech and Intel, as well as Electricity of Vietnam. All parties have agreed to jointly develop a WiFi mesh-based community broadband network built off of EVN's fiber network in three communes, and to provide 300 VoIP phones and services applications for a wide range of public and private uses within local communities. The project will kick off this July and continue operations through December 2007. “We are honored to join hands with AusAID and other U.S. and Vietnamese private partners in this initiative, which aims to improve the economic and social well-being of Vietnamese citizens,” said Dennis Zvinakis, USAID Vietnam country representative. “Our public-private partnership shares a joint vision with the Government of Vietnam that every person, family and community in Vietnam – no matter where they are located, or how far away they are from urban centers – can connect with the international 'knowledge economy' in ways that uplift their lives and prospects for the future.” The project builds on USAID's Last Mile Initiative in Lao Cai province with Intel, Vietnam Post and Telecom Corporation, and Vietnam Data Communications, which channels the resources of USAID expertise, high-tech US firms and Viet Nam's government ministries and communications enterprises to extend the benefits of advanced wireless broadband connectivity to remote areas of Vietnam. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Vietnam keen to boost trade with Tunisia

09:33' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is eager to develop ties with Tunisia, particularly in the areas of trade and investment, President Nguyen Minh Triet said on June 27. During his meeting with Tunisian Foreign Minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah, who is on an official visit to Vietnam, President Triet said that talks went well between high-ranking officials of the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs. He also praised agreements recently signed by the two governments. The State leader also thanked the Government of Tunisia for its support for Vietnam’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term. Minister Abdallah said Tunisia has highlighted trade, investment, agriculture and tourism as areas that his country would like to explore more closely with Vietnam. Later in the day, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong received the Tunisian statesman and relayed a firm desire by his legislatures to ramp up exchanges of visits by the two countries legislature delegations to help promote Vietnam-Tunisia ties. Minister Abdallah said he believed that closer cooperation between the two legislative bodies would also boost economic, cultural and technological cooperation. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

LIFESTYLE IN BRIEF 28/6

09:26' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

Idol contestants in the waiting room Vietnam Idol semifinals start As of today, June 27, 30 contestants of the popular musical contest Vietnam Idol will compete in the semifinal round to last for 3 weeks. Also as of this round, Vietnam Idol will be broadcast on TV twice a week, starting from today at 8.30 pm on HTV9. Viewers will be able to vote for their candidates by sending messages to 4365 or calling 19001764. As the contest is winding up, contestants’ performances have been improving. According to insiders, Idol contests worldwide have been quite similar to each other: General selection rounds witness good voices and terrible ones, serious performances and humorous scenes, ultimately yielding to the seriousness of the semifinals and finals where talents with true potential show off their skills. After the 3 weeks of the semifinals, 9 finalists will be selected for the final, or Gala, round. The remaining 21, however, will still have a chance to compete for a single ticket to the final on June 18. The final round will be held at the end of September with 10 contestants. (Source: Tuoi Tre, Lao Dong) Exhibition on old cities opens On the afternoon of June 25, an exhibition titled Hanoi-Hoi An-Hue opened at Ancient House, 46 Nguyen Thai Hoc road in the ancient town of Hoi An. The exhibition showcases 30 lacquer works by painter Hoang Hung, who is famous for large paintings and a picture hanging in the UNESCO hall in Paris. He is also the Chairman of the Hanoi Taekwondo Association. Another exhibition titled Season of Sunshine by 17 members of the Hoi An Art Club opened earlier at 155B Tran Phu road to kick off the 3rd Quang Nam – Journey of Heritages Festival. (Source: Tuoi Tre) Nguyen Thi Hong (far right), one of the 4 Vietnamese Agent Orange victims in the lawsuit, is being welcomed at San Francisco airport Artists join chorus for justice The online chorus programme launched on June 17 to support Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin victims in their lawsuit filed in the US has been attracting artists who want to be included in the programme’s feature song: Why did you die? According to FPT Telecom’s website nhacso.net, one of the two organisers of the programme, so many singers asked to join the chorus that a second recording of Why did you die has been taking place since June 24. More than 30 artists including popular singers like Lam Truong and Tuan Hung are taking part in the new recording. In the first recording on June 16-17, there wasn’t enough time to record the song in English and Chinese. One June 24, however, singers Doan Trang and Trieu Hoang read the English version of the song and pop star Lam Truong, who is half-Chinese, read the Chinese version. Up until now, 1,390,548 people have joined the chorus at www.dongcavicongly.com (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Vietnam’s sea being ‘cut into small bits’

09:42' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

Nha Trang beach VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s sea is now being cut into small bits, commented Pham Tu, Vice Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), at a recent workshop titled “Nature – tourism resources” held on June 15 in the coastal city of Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province. The number of foreign visitors coming to Vietnam increased from 1.5 million to 3.6 million from 2002 to 2006. During this time, sea tourism accounted for 70% of the total revenues of the tourism sector. As the number of tourists rises, the number of coastal tourism projects is also on the rise. More tourists, more pollution With nearly 1 million sq.km of sea, Vietnam’s sea tourism potential is huge. However, Vietnam’s sea is being polluted. Ha Long Bay, Lang Co Lagoon and Nha Trang Beach are the most typical examples. Recently, the development of diving in Nha Trang has brought about the devastation of corals and seriously affected the lives of aquatic animals. Every day, more than 40 tourism boats carry around 600 visitors to Nha Trang Bay for diving to see corals. According to surveys made by local and foreign scientists, 80% of the assets of Vietnam’s sea like corals, sea grass are at risk and 50% of them are at high risk and will be difficult to recover. Annually, from lunar June to mid lunar July, in some provinces like Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan, coasts become white due to a phenomenon called “tapioca”, which is caused by alluvium, dead creatures and waste. Sea water becomes thick and smells bad. It takes 5-10 years to deal with the situation, according to Dr. Nguyen Chien Thang, Vice Chairman of the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee. Mistaken conception Professor Ernst Sagemueller, a lecturer at the Europe-Indochina Institute of Tourism, said: “Defining Vietnam’s tourism as an industry is the first and basic mistake, which makes Vietnam’s natural resources suffer. Tourism is never a kind of good. It is an interaction between human and human, human and nature.” Considering tourism as an industry has allowed managers to let Vietnam’s tourism become popular tourism. Under the pressure of tourism development, the area of salt marsh forest is reducing rapidly. Vietnam now has around 155,300ha of salt marsh forest, a decrease of 100,000ha compared to the period before 1990. The disappearance of thousands of hectares of salt-marsh forest not only means that Vietnam is losing its unique salt-marsh ecology, but this also directly influences the sea’s ecological system. According to experts of the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD), Vietnam’s tourism, particularly sea tourism, can’t be seen as a market. The moving of native fisherman communities and transferring their land to investors to develop tourism, which is being performed by some coastal provinces in Vietnam, is irrational. It is a fact that sea tourism develops based on the exploitation of sea resources. That’s the reason to restrict the number of tourists in sea tourism areas. According to Professor Ernst Sagemueller, Vietnam needs to differentiate between ‘visitors’ and ‘quality visitors’. ‘Quality visitors’ are people who love nature and respect cultural and natural values. These are people who are ready to pay to enjoy the wonderfulness of nature. From now to 2010, the number of foreign visitors coming to Vietnam is forecast to increase to 7-7.5 million and Vietnam’s sea will have to suffer from tourism projects and overuse if the tourism sector doesn’t have a plan to preserve and develop sea resources in a sustainable manner. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Vietnam’s stock market attractive to US investors

09:05' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

Chairman of the State Securities Council Vu Bang VietNamNet Bridge – Finance and investment were among focal points of the recent visit to the US by President Nguyen Minh Triet. Many contracts were signed, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Vu Bang, Chairman of the State Securities Council (SSC), talks about the visit. Could you reveal some information about the cooperation direction of HOSE and NYSE and the meaning of the MoU signed during the visit to the stock market of Vietnam? The visit by President Nguyen Minh Triet to the US was very successful, in economic cooperation in general and in the field of securities in particular. The NYSE Vice Chairman highly praised Vietnam’s efforts in developing the stock market and expressed his great interest in the Vietnamese stock market. Through the signing of the MoU between HOSE and NYSE, the US side wants to participate in opportunities of reforming and developing HOSE in the coming time and the listing between the two markets. The MoU is a significant foundation for future cooperation in three areas: supporting and sharing experience on developing the stock market, training assistance, information sharing, market connection to better control the market and better supervise inter-national transactions, etc. Before signing this MoU, NYSE representatives came to Vietnam to meet with representatives of HOSE and SSC and they expressed their desire to develop a strategic partnership with us. They also emphasised that currently they had only one strategic partner in Asia, the Japan Stock Exchange. It shows how great their interest is in the Vietnamese stock market. We welcomed their goodwill and the two sides will discuss detailed cooperation plans. NYSE said that they would send representatives to Vietnam to further negotiate. The Hanoi Securities Trading Centre (HASTC) planned to sign an MoU with NASDAQ but the plan changed at the last minute. Why? The cooperation plan between HASTC and NASDAQ was promoted later than the one between HOSE and NYSE. The cooperation between HOSE and NYSE was based on the visit to Vietnam by President Bush last November. After that leaders instructed the two sides to discuss details. Actually, the content of the cooperation between HASTC and NASDAQ is much more detailed than the one between HOSE and NYSE so they need more time for preparation. NASDAQ said that it would send representatives to Vietnam to promote the cooperation plan. You attended Vietnamese investment forums in the US. What do you see regarding US businesses’ interests in business opportunities in Vietnam and in the stock market in particular? US investors are paying a lot of attention to business opportunities in Vietnam, which is seen through the large numbers of investors attending investment forums. Among them were senior officials of big groups, international investment organisations, investment banks, and securities trading companies. They welcomed Vietnam’s message of stronger economic cooperation between Vietnam and the US. There ought to have been a separate meeting between the SSC with American investment banks and securities trading companies following the proposal of large US groups. However, this meeting couldn’t be organised due to technical problems such as security and organisation. I regret that because it would have been an opportunity to access large groups of the world. In general, through investment forums, I saw the great attention of US businesses towards opportunities in Vietnam, and the potentials for cooperation in the stock market are very promising. We have lost a good chance to advertise the Vietnamese stock market. Will the SSC organise similar forums? We have not made any detailed plan to organise such a separate meeting abroad because of various reasons. However, the SSC is talking with Vietnamese embassies abroad to organise forums on portfolio investment to draw capital flows of international investment funds. So far we have attached importance to holding conferences to call for direct investment. The flow of portfolio investment running into Vietnam in recent years has been strong, around $5 billion, including over $1 billion so far this year. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

eBay comes to Vietnam

16:21' 27/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The world leading online business group eBay has officially arrived in Vietnam with the launching of its website in Vietnamese in Hanoi this morning, June 27. The website will connect Vietnamese consumers to the global online market (http://www.ebay.com), enabling them to buy goods from all over the world. With this website, eBay hopes to create export opportunities for Vietnamese businesses and individuals through the global eBay online market. According to Sam McDonagh, Director of eBay Southeast Asia, the first Vietnamese registered to use eBay in 1998. eBay is now in 38 countries, with 233 million people having registered to purchase goods via eBay. The most popular products traded on eBay are automobiles, electronics, clothes, computers, books, sportswear, toys and houses. The most expensive product bought via eBay so far is a personal jet, which went for US$4.9 million. In the first quarter of 2007, the total value of goods exchanged via eBay was $14.3 billion. Around $1,839 of goods is moved on eBay every second. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

A day in paradise for disadvantaged kids

16:35' 27/06/2007 (GMT+7)

Lucky House kids on their way to the cinema VietNamNet – On June 25, disadvantaged children from HCM City-based Lucky House went to the cinema for the first time, thanks to Diamond Theatre’s programme to screen movies free for disadvantaged kids. That morning, Lucky House for Orphans and Disabled Children was more busy and noisy than usual. Kids woke up early to stand in line and wait for the bus to pick them up. “The appointed time was 8.30 am but as early as 7 am they were all ready with their cleanest uniforms,” said teacher Vo Thanh Tung, who is in charge of education at Lucky House and had to ask where Diamond Theatre is, since he himself hadn’t ever been there. After a traffic jam that made some of the kids “bus-sick”, the 77 children arrived on the 13th floor of Diamond Plaza at the centre of Saigon at last. A former homeless boy told his friends with pride that he had known “this green tall building” in his street days before living in Lucky House. A girl said she had once stood in an elevator like the one they had taken to get to the theatre. But none said they had watched a movie in a theatre before. When the light was turned off before the screening, one wondered how her eyes could see in such a dark room. Another 8-year-old girl named Diem shyly sat in the first row and whispered to her friends, “The other day I saw on TV a cinema theatre with seats as big as these. It feels wonderful to be sitting on such a seat now to watch a movie.” And when the first images appeared, small fingers pointed towards the screen, mouths exclaimed and laughed, and eyes watched attentively. “People look bigger than on TV, like real,” some said. 7-year-old Hoa muttered, “I’ll tell my brothers and sisters who aren’t here today.” And so they all found the 120 minutes of the screening of hilarious Mr. Bean’s Holiday fly by very fast. Diamond Theatre’s CEO Kim Dong Wook sat through the screening with them. He was deeply touched. “A boy asked me, ‘Uncle, will the movie appear on that white cloth screen over there?’ I don’t know how to express what I felt then.” As for President Kim Tae Hyung, who first thought of the idea of screening movies free for those kids, he said, “At first, we thought we would give such a screening once a month. But we’ve decided to screen movies once every 2 weeks for the kids. "Everybody, not just those with money, should be able to enjoy such entertainment. “The kids deserve all this. I hope not only Diamond but other theatres will also share with them the opportunity to watch movies.” After Lucky House, children from other centres will be invited to free screenings. CEO Kim Dong Wook said such free screenings (plus beverages, candy and cakes) would more or less draw some of the theatre’s revenue, but he said he was willing, for the sake of unlucky children. (Source: Tuoi Tre, VietNamNet)

Corporate income tax expected to decrease

23:13' 27/06/2007 (GMT+7)

Mr Truong Chi Trung VietNamNet Bridge - Deputy Minister of Finance Truong Chi Trung said that the Finance Ministry was considering reducing the corporate income tax to further attract foreign investment. The reduction may be performed this year and could drop to the level of some countries in the region, from 28% to 25%. At a meeting on the draft Law on Personal Income Tax on June 26, Deputy Minister Truong Chi Trung said that many investors had complained that Vietnam’s corporate income tax was quite high compared to the common level in the world and ASEAN countries (around 20-25%). If Vietnam maintains the current tax rate the country will have difficulty encouraging production and business as well as drawing foreign investment into the country. “That’s why we are considering adjusting the tax rate to be suitable to the development situation of Vietnam,” Mr Trung said. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Hearts with same roots beat to same rhythm

16:33' 27/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – “I feel the President has created a common rhythm for hearts that were previously not on the same front but have the same roots of Vietnam,” said Minister of Post and Telematics Do Trung Ta. Minister Do Trung Ta and President Nguyen Minh Triet in the US. VietNamNet Bridge had a quick interview with Minister of Telematics Do Trung Ta, who accompanied President Nguyen Minh Triet to the US, about his feeling about the trip at the airport in Los Angeles, the US. You have been in many top-ranking Vietnamese missions to many countries. What were the special aspects of this trip? This is the fifth time I have come to the US. The first time was in 1989 when the two countries hadn’t established diplomatic relations yet. For me, this trip is a historical event because this is the first time a Vietnamese chief of state has paid an official visit to the US, opening a new period of cooperation in all fields. You were present at the meeting between President Nguyen Minh Triet and Vietnamese Americans in Orange County, California. How did you feel about the meeting? President Nguyen Minh Triet had a very convincible speech. I feel the President has created a common rhythm for hearts that were previously not on the same front but have the same roots of Vietnam. The President delivered a sincere speech to welcome the return of overseas Vietnamese. At this moment, what do you think about the future of Vietnam? First of all, I’m very proud because in the political arena, Vietnam and the US are equal in cooperation relations, though Vietnam still faces many difficulties. Secondly, when I listened to speakers, especially speakers at the meeting with Harvard University, praising the development of the Internet in Vietnam, from the lowest level in the region in 2000 to the highest position at present, I was very proud. But that pride is not for the telecom sector only, but for Vietnam after years of war. American scholars commented that Vietnam’s telecom sector had developed very fast. As Minister of Telematics, could you reveal the development strategy of the post and telecom sector in the coming time? We have quickly developed telecom because telecom is the infrastructure for the development of other fields. Americans said that all industries must be based on the development of information technology and communications. Different from other meetings with foreign entrepreneurs, I heard no complaint about Vietnam’s telecom, including prices. The upcoming mission of the telecom sector is continuing to build modern information infrastructure to meet the development requirement of the country. What about cooperation with the US and what we have to learn from the US to build a modern telecom industry? In the past we only mentioned cooperation to exploit telecom services with AT&T, MCI, US Sprint but now we have good relations with many big US groups such as Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Sun, Motorola, Cisco, HP, Oracle, Soma to boost application and development of information technology. The Internet, education and the young population of Vietnam will become special tools to develop the country at a higher speed and greater quality. I met with the US Under Secretary of Commerce and the ambassador of information and communication technology of the US Department of State and we agreed to organise dialogues between Vietnamese and strong US IT firms. The first dialogue will take place in September 2007 in Vietnam. Other dialogues will be held in the US, with the participation of the Ministry of Post and Telematics of Vietnam and the Department of Commerce and Department of State of the US. My suggestion about cooperation was accepted by US partners. Accordingly, when American firms come to Vietnam to attend the first dialogue, they and their Vietnamese partners will have to identify fields of cooperation and report on the results of cooperation at the second dialogue, and so on. When cooperating with a country that has a hi-tech industry and many inventions like the US, we are approaching source technologies so we have to grasp this opportunity. With the young power and the dynamics of Vietnam’s information and communication sector, I believe that this cooperation will develop rapidly like cooperation between the two countries to exploit telecom services so far. Viet Nam Net

Maoists set fire to India station

The rebels partially destroyed a goods train on Tuesday

Maoist rebels in eastern India have burnt down a railway station in a second day of protests against the government's economic policies.

The rebels set fire to the Baramdi station in West Bengal, police said.

The Maoists blew up tracks and partially destroyed a goods train in neighbouring Jharkhand on Tuesday. They abducted the driver and the guard.

More than 6,000 people have died during the rebels' 20-year fight for a communist state in parts of India.

Rail property has been the main target of the attacks by the armed Maoists during the two-day economic blockade in their strongholds in eastern and central India.

After blowing up rail tracks in the neighbouring states of Bihar and Jharkhand on Tuesday, the Maoists struck in West Bengal just before dawn.

The police said more than 50 armed rebels chased away railway employees and then set fire to the Baramdi railway station in the remote district of Purulia.

They also mined the rail tracks, leading to panic in the area.

Show of strength

Local people informed the police about the incident and scores of long distance trains between Calcutta and northern India were cancelled.

On Tuesday, the Maoists damaged a goods train at Latehar in the neighbouring state of Jharkhand and kidnapped its driver and guard. They also set fire to six vehicles in the state's Dumka area.

Correspondents say life in Jharkhand and large parts of Bihar were completely paralysed by the Maoist sponsored economic blockade.

Intelligence officials say the Maoists are trying to display their strength by disrupting production in these mineral-rich states of India that produce much of the country's iron ore, mica, manganese, bauxite and even uranium.

The rebels have called a 48-hour-long 'economic blockade' in three states to protest against the federal government's decision to allow special economic zones to boost exports and employment.

They say these enclaves will displace thousands of villagers.

The rebels have a presence in 18 of the 22 districts in Jharkhand.

Maoists operate in 182 districts in India, mainly in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless workers.

BBC News

Vietnam Airlines to open direct air link with the US

10:03' 27/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will exert efforts to soon open a direct air link with the US, said Vietnam Airlines General Director Nguyen Si Hung. The scheme to open a direct air route to the US aims to meet the increasing demands to travel of the two countries’ people. Visitors from the US to Vietnam is expected to surge, while many US businesses considered Vietnam as Asia’s most attractive destination for their investment. In addition, the 1.5 million overseas Vietnamese living in the US are eager to visit their home country, and the transport of goods by air is also expected to surge in the coming time. Talking to a Vietnam News Agency reporter about Vietnam Airlines’ plan in 2007 and the coming years, the director said the corporation would continue investing in modernising its fleet, purchasing more planes to maintain the growth rate of 12-14 percent a year. The corporation will continue selling e-tickets, building an e-trade system in accordance with the standards of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), strengthen technical maintenance, and training workers. Despite fierce competitiveness from foreign airlines operating in the country, Vietnam Airlines earned a revenue of over 17.5 trillion VND (1.1 billion USD) in 2006, a year-on-year increase of 12.5 percent. The corporation carried almost 6.8 million passengers, including over 3 million foreigners in 2006. It was the 10th consecutive year that the airlines absolutely ensure safe lights. (Source: VNA)

Traditional ties with Laos - Vietnam’s pride: Party leader

09:32' 27/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is always proud of its constantly growing traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation with Laos, as well as the fruitful cooperation between mass organisations of the two countries, said Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh. The Vietnamese Party leader made the remarks while receiving a high-level delegation from the Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC), led by its President Sisavath Keobounphan, in Hanoi on June 26. General Secretary Manh expressed his delights at the Lao people's recent achievements in national construction, socio-economic development and expanding international relations. The achievements, made under the leadership of the Lao Party, he said, will help to elevate the position of Laos in the region as well as in the international arena. For his part, LFNC President Keobounphan informed his host of recent socio-economic progresses in Laos, which he said, was yielded from concerted efforts made by the Party, State and people of Laos. He highlighted the friendship and effective cooperation between the LFNC and the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and other relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies. (Source: VNA)

VN-Index up, HaSTC-Index down slightly

10:01' 27/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Ho Chi Minh City's bourse continued its upward trend while its Hanoi-based counterpart reported a slight drop by the end of the day's trading on June 26. The VN-Index at the country's largest exchange in Ho Chi Minh City tacked on 11.31 points or 1.1 percent from the previous session to close at 1055.7 points. More than 5.6 million shares, worth a combined 615.1 billion VND, changed hands on the day, 47 stocks rallied for gains, 26 shares remained the same and 36 shares fell over the course of the session. Blue chip share Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank (STB) led the market in terms of trading volume with 693,090 shares changing hands on the day. Petroleum Drilling Service Firm (PVD) with 290,990 shares and Song Da Urban and Industrial Zone Investment and Development ( SJS ) with 283,830 shares rounded out the top three. Although the State Securities Commission (SSC) has not yet determined whether Binh Dinh Mining Co ( BMC ) has been artificially inflating their stock price, 800 shares were offered during the session. As there was no demand for BMC, its price fell 27,000 VND to 514,000 VND per unit. Financing and Promoting Technology Corporation ( FPT ) hit the ceiling price by 15,000 VND to 324,000 VND with all the 218,550 shares being snatched up. Pharmaceutical company (DHG), Confectioner Kinh Do Corp (KDC) and plastic tube producer BMP were also among the top five in terms of price gains. The HaSTC-Index at the Hanoi Securities Trading Centre continued to slide 0.52 points from its last session to finish at 295.4 points marking its sharpest decline since early this year. Thirty-seven of 87 shares recorded small losses in prices. Noteworthy, after recording price gains for consecutive days, the newly listed Cho Lon Real Estate (CRL) fell 23,500 VND to close at 236,000 VND per share today. On the day, almost 1 million shares, worth over 108.95 billion VND, changed hands at the Hanoi bourse. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Sport channels in Vietnam: in progress

17:18' 26/06/2007 (GMT+7)

A VTC sport programme VietNamNet Bridge – Long gone is the time when sport lovers had to watch piecemeal sports programmes. There are now 2 exclusive sport channels on TV, but they still have lots to learn, according to insiders. Shortage of human resources In the race to catch up with viewers’ needs, the 2 TV sport channels in the country have been quite quick. Head of Vietnam Television (VTV) Sport Department Trinh Long Vu, for instance, said that it only took VTV one month to turn the idea of having an exclusive sport channel on its cable TV into reality. And thus VCTV3 was born. Vietnam Television Technology Corporation (VTC), which is one of VTV’s greatest rivals, has also in time developed its own sport channel, VTC3. With a rapid pace of development, however, these channels are constantly running into obstacles, one of which is how to ensure adequate high-quality human resources and programmes. VTC3’s director Vu Quang Huy said at present, his channel had only 20 reporters, while its 24/24 programmes would require at least 30. VCTV3 is also facing a shortage of reporters. "VTV has tried to recruit new people. "Hundreds applied, but only more than 10 were selected. And even these 10 didn’t perfectly satisfy our needs. And our most important part, commenting, isn’t that great,” said veteran commentator Trinh Long Vu with concern. His VTC counterpart agreed. Vu Quang Huy said out of the 20 reporters at VTC3, only 4-5 were doing their jobs well. One of the reasons not so many reporters are crazy about working for sport channels is that workload there is extremely heavy. "In order to become a sport reporter or commentator, one needs only 2 two most important things: passion and good health. And good health is extremely important,” said Long Vu. Thus, the heads of Vietnam’s only 2 exclusive sport channels said that the first and mandatory questions they asked those who came for a job interview was “Can you work at night?” “Whoever says no will be eliminated right away,” said Long Vu. That is also the reason sport channels don’t welcome women. "It is difficult to have a whole day off when you work at VTC3, even during holidays or Tet,” said Quang Huy. And even men aren’t always able to endure such stress at work. "At present, we have an advantage and that is our reporters are all young, single and trying to prove themselves. But they can’t work forever like this. They can throw 1 or 2 years of their youth into this work, but if things didn’t improve, they would find their work unproductive,” added Quang Huy. Rubbing against new things Competition has only recently taken shape in the TV station market in Vietnam, and the “big brother” of old times, VTV, is now starting to realize that more and more players are joining the game. 2006, for example, witnessed a fierce and bitter copyright battle between the 2 sport channels of VTV and VTC. VTV succeeded in buying the right to broadcast World Cup 2006 and VTC later bought the ASIAD 15 copyright, refusing to share it with VTV. But now that all battles have ended, insiders can look back at them with calmer eyes. “We’re getting familiarized with the fact that VTV can’t always succeed in buying every copyright. “If VTC succeeds in getting what VTV doesn’t have, we’re thinking about negotiating with VTC in order to rebroadcast their programmes. Such an arrangement is a very common thing in the sport world that we must get used to very soon,” said Long Vu. Vu Quang Huy perfectly agrees. "One should consider competition as part of the work, and shouldn’t be too obsessed with winning or losing. If VTC don’t get copyrights of some events, it can always make sideline programmes,” said the director of VTC3. That said, 2007 has been a victorious year for VTC, which has succeeded in buying the rights to broadcast such important international sport events as ASIAN Cup 2007, Copa Ameria, and F1 2007. The future Asked about their future goals, heads of the two sport channels had different answers. VTV is worried about having enough human resources as well as money to buy copyrights. “Now we can only meet 50% of these two needs. What VCTV3 wants is to develop a more professional work team and financial resources in order to have bigger programmes,” said Trinh Long Vu. VTC3 has another ambition in mind. "We want to avoid what exclusive sport channels in Vietnam can easily fall into: ‘Vietnamized’ foreign channels. VTC3 will be present at many domestic sport events and gradually increase broadcast slots for domestic events,” Vu Quang Huy affirmed. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

Nation looks to increase number of guest workers sent abroad

22:19' 26/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – One of Vietnam's goals is to make labour export a key economic sector. Senior Government officials and businesspeople spoke to Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) about measures to increase the number of guest workers sent abroad. * Dao Cong Hai, deputy director of the Bureau of Administration on Overseas Workers, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs I can say the co-operation model between labour export enterprises and local administrations in the provinces of Hai Duong and Phu Tho is a good example of simplified procedures to recruit, train and send workers abroad. Since late 2002, this successful model has been replicated in more than 50 provinces and cities nationwide. It is important to raise people's awareness about the benefits of sending workers overseas and how it positively impacts the national employment and poverty reduction programme in relation to local economic development. This model also helps cut down administrative costs, including, intermediary costs. However, four major weaknesses have been revealed during the implementation of the model. First, recruitment is difficult because the number of applicants is so big that the screening process can't keep up. This leaves workers and the public at large with a bad impression of the industry. Second, many enterprises don't send notifications to local authorities to inform them about successful applicants. Third, there is a lack of co-ordination between enterprises operating in the same area or region. And last, some authorities have caused problems for enterprises by requiring unnecessary paperwork and red-tape. Local banks are guilty of the same. * Nguyen Xuan An, vice president and secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Labour Export (VAMAS) Guest workers remit about US$1.6bil to their families in Vietnam every year. This sum is not small, however, it could be much larger if labour export enterprises didn't face so much international competition in this sector in terms of acquired professional skills, foreign language knowledge and disciplinary attitudes of workers. In my opinion, to win more contracts for overseas workers, it is important to pay attention to skilled people who are already in the field, especially farmers. VAMAS is committed to developing programmes to support these businesses, particularly in the areas of capacity building, market information sharing and protecting the interests of enterprises and workers. For us, it is imperative to have a reliable co-operation mechanism with enterprises while fostering a sense of responsibility towards the workers. It is our mandate to help workers and enterprises. * Nguyen Hoang Hien, director of the Phu Tho Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs At present, Phu Tho has between 15,000 and 16,000 workers living abroad. Every year, they send home more than VND600bil ($37.5mil). We target sending around 5,000 workers abroad annually. There are 40 enterprises operating in this sector and that's why it is very important to foster healthy co-operation between companies. At present, we are helping enterprises to establish links with vocational training institutions. Of the 24,000 attending vocational training courses, only 1,000 have been able to leave home to work in another country. * Dao Xuan Can, secretary of Bac Giang Province's Party Committee Sending guest workers abroad is one of the province's five major economic programmes. We consider this sector as the quickest way to settle employment issues, increase household incomes and effectively contribute to poverty reduction. There are risks involved for workers, enterprises and administrations at different levels. But analysing, assessing and managing these risks helps us minimise them. However, I don't agree with the idea of holding back 10% of the sum lent to workers by some banks in order to set up a fund. I agree that the province should allocate money to support vocational training and commercial banks so they can expand loan coverage, but what I want to emphasis here is the principle of transparency that must be honoured. * Nguyen Xuan Vui, director of the Airserco Co I am strongly in favour of present administrative reform, but I don't know why some local authorities keep asking us to provide so much documentation before granting workers permits to go abroad. For example, if an enterprise wants to recruit labourers to work abroad, the enterprise needs three documents: an introduction letter from the Bureau of Administration on Overseas Workers, an introduction letter from the province and a third from the district. These procedures are time consuming. In my opinion, the most important document enterprises must have is a valid permit to recruit workers to go abroad issued by an authorised agency and a contract with foreign partners. It is the responsibility of local authorities to verify that the enterprise's documents are authentic. I also object to the requirement that each labour export enterprise has to deposit VND500mil ($31,000) in the provincial treasury as written in Decree 81. It would be much better for us to deposit the money in the State Treasury. Regarding the sum of money, each guest worker should be able to borrow more money from the bank as VND20mil ($1,250) just isn't enough. * Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, director general of the Advanced International Joint-Stock Co How to settle violations committed by guest workers has emerged as a big problem nowadays for labour export enterprises. I suggest that the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs have sanctions in place for violators, whether they be workers or their companies. Before going to work abroad, most labourers have been trained to do simple jobs. But in the international market, highly skilled workers are the real treasure. Their salaries depend on their skills and qualifications. My company is willing to support up to 50% of vocational training costs for workers so they can earn better salaries abroad. (Source: Viet Nam Net)

HCM City: investors keen on building projects

16:12' 26/06/2007 (GMT+7)

Diamon Plaza building in HCM City (photo: dothi.net) VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities now have to choose trustworthy faces from among many local investors to whom to give the city’s remaining ‘golden’ land plots in the hub to build buildings. The groundbreaking ceremony of the 61-storey Bitexco Trade and Financial Service Centre project, which fronts the three streets of Hai Trieu, Ho Tung Mau and Ngo Duc Ke in the centre of HCM City, in 2005 stirred the real estate circle. This was not only the largest real estate project invested in by a local investor ($90 million) but also the sign of the start of the movement to build Vietnamese buildings in HCM City’s hub, where land is more valuable than gold. Since then, many Vietnamese-invested building projects have been carried out. Most recently, the nine-storey Opera View was inaugurated on May 12 at the Le Loi-Dong Khoi crossroad in District 1, which is considered the best site in HCM City. The building is invested in by Artex Saigon with VND57 billion ($3.56 million), on 798sq.m of land. There are only world top fashion brands sold in Opera View, such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Furla, Lazoe, Lacoste, French Connection UK and Doc Martens. This is the most luxurious trading centre in HCM City and Vietnam in general; Louis Vuitton had to wait for five years to get its favourite site. Tens of foreign investors wanted to buy this plot of land but Artex decided to build the building with its own capital. Also in May, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) announced Singapore’s DP Architects had won the first prize in a contest to design BIDV tower in HCM City. The 152m BIDV building will be built at 117-119 Nguyen Hue Road, District 1 at a total investment capital of VND1,800 billion ($112.5 million), wholly invested in by BIDV. The construction will begin in early 2008 and be completed in 2010. The building will host offices of banking and securities groups in the world and the region. The PetroVietnam building at 1 Le Duan Street, District 1 is about to open after tens of years in stagnancy. Previously, many foreign investors refused to invest in this project but now it is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in HCM City and all of its space has been hired though the building is not open yet. One June 21, Vincom announced it would implement a project to build three towers in the centre of District 1, HCM City. Those towers will be built on two plots of land. Two towers comprising trading centres, offices for lease, luxurious apartments and garages will be built on the first 12,000sq.m plot of land. The second plot of land will be a tower totaling 62,000sq.m in area, which will be offices for lease. Those buildings will be connected by tunnels. All of those projects are on plots of land that many foreign investors dreamed of but couldn’t invest in for many reasons. “Buildings in the city’s centre which bear Vietnamese trademarks are not only the pride of Vietnamese investors but also prove the development of the Vietnamese economy. HCM City will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese economic groups to invest in the city’s centre,” said Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan. Apart from wholly Vietnamese-invested real estate projects, there are many others in which Vietnamese capital makes up a large part, for example the 35-storey building of the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the 40-storey International Trading Centre of the Saigon Trade Corporation. In the next ten years, tens of made-in-Vietnam buildings will become the focal points of HCM City’s central area besides foreign-invested buildings. (Source: Viet Nam Net)