Beach beautiful, but travelers don’t loosen purse-strings

16:55' 30/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has many beautiful beaches, among which, Da Nang beach has been recognised by the US Forbes magazine as one of the most wonderful beaches on the planet. However, this is not enough to lure travelers and persuade them to spend money. While people in the world now tend to travel by sea, the number of foreign tourists coming by cruise ship to Vietnam remains modest. It is estimated that European travelers spend 50-70% of their time in Vietnam relaxing on beaches. According to Truong Nam Thang, Director of OSC travel firm, most foreign tourists stay in HCM City for one night only, and then travel to the central region to enjoy the fresh atmosphere and wonderful beaches there. Statistics of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) show that Vietnamese sea areas attract 70% of foreign tourists. Lacking… ways to beaches While people in the world now tend to travel by sea, the number of foreign tourists coming by cruise ship to Vietnam remains modest. According to VNAT, the number of foreign cruise tourists just accounts for 6% of the total number of travelers visiting Vietnam. The tourists only stay in Vietnam for two or three days on average; therefore, they do not have much time for sightseeing, entertainment and shopping. Most of the cruise ships dock at merchandise ports, while there are not specialised ports for tourism ships in Vietnam. Many big ships cannot go far into the port, while travelers have to be ferried ashore, which takes time and discourages tourists. The Institute for Transport Development Strategy under the Ministry of Transport has acknowledged that the seaport development strategy does not mention the port system for tourism. An official said that the situation would be improved once the ministry drew up a plan on developing a port system modern and capable enough to receive big cruise ships at key tourism points like Ha Long Bay, Hue, Da Nang and Nha Trang city, HCM City, Vung Tau and Phu Quoc Island. Beaches beautiful, but still need advertisement Analysts have said that Vietnam has never paid appropriate attention to the advertisement of its seas and beaches. In fact, VNAT published bulletins with special issues on Vietnam’s sea landscapes, but they just provided general information. Vietnam has never participated in conferences and trade fairs with the focus on sea traveling and cruise traveling. Only recently, when working with the US CNN television, did VNAT mention advertisement for Vietnam’s seas and beaches with Ha Long Bay being the focus. The strategy on tourism development by 2010 and vision to 2020 also did not mention sea travel development. Meanwhile, Vietnam now has to compete with regional countries including Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia in terms of attracting tourists. Director of the Tourism Department of Binh Thuan Ngo Minh Chinh has asked VNAT to build standards for types of sea travel: which sea areas should be reserved for rehabilitation travel, which ones for sea sports and entertainment, and which for open air sea travel. Local authorities would refer to the standards to programme their tourism development strategy. VNAT plans to submit to the Government a project on sea and island travel development by 2010 with a vision to 2020. One day, Vietnam will also have its trademarks for sea travel as other regional countries have, like Indonesia’s Bali and Thailand’s Phuket. (Source: Tuoi tre, Viet Nam Net)

HSTC’s strict requirements to create sub-licences?

17:11' 30/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Newly set up securities companies have expressed concerns since hearing the news that the HCM City Securities Trading Centre (HSTC) will inspect their capabilities before granting HSTC membership. HSTC has set up a new rule, under which securities companies, after getting operation licences, must go through a process of being inspected in terms of technical conditions and material facilities before getting HSTC membership. A council to be established by the trading centre will examine the companies to find out if they are technically capable of being granted membership. What worries securities companies most is that the new regulation by HSTC will create the ‘ask-and-grant’ mechanism and the so called ‘sub-licence’, a big social problem that needs to be cleared up. Meanwhile, HSTC’s Deputy Director Le Hai Tra affirmed that HSTC acted within its authorised power and in accordance with international practice. Mr Tra said that a licenced securities company did not automatically become a member of HSTC. He said that the New York Stock Exchange only recognised the membership of 1,336 securities companies out the several tens of thousands of securities companies in the US. “It is not difficult to give more tables and seats for securities companies’ staffs at the centre. However, we need to examine securities companies to see if they can meet requirements in terms of technology, service quality and a lot of other requirements,” said Mr Tra. However, the explanation by Mr Tra does not help dispel the worries of securities companies. A lot of questions have been raised: Why didn’t HSTC inspect the securities companies which were set up before? Will the previously established companies be inspected? The chairman of a big general corporation which is applying to set up a securities company belonging to the corporation wondered if HSTC was setting stricter regulations because it wanted to stop licencing new companies. It is clear that the announcement by HSTC on setting up stricter requirements on new securities companies has put investors, who are applying to establish 50 securities companies, on the edge. Securities companies have to do a lot of things to get an operation licence, and after getting the licence, they still have to exert more effort to get HSTC membership, which they called a kind of ‘sub-licence’. If a company cannot be granted membership, it means that it will go bankrupt, because no client will use the services of companies which are not recognised by HSTC. Yen Trang, Viet Nam Net

US$ deposit interest rates and loaning up, why?

16:59' 30/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Since mid March 2007, many joint stock banks have raised interest rates on US$ deposits by 0.05-0.57% per annum. Outstanding loans in US$ have also grown more rapidly than VND loans with the growth rates of 19% and 13%, respectively. Joint stock banks: lacking capital in foreign currencies US$ deposit interest rates and loaning up, why? The raising of US$ deposit interest rates was initiated by joint stock banks, especially banks in Hanoi like Military Bank, VIB and Techcombank. The move later was followed by HCM City-based banks like Phuong Nam and Nam A. Other banks, though they have not adjusted interest rates, have launched promotional programmes in order to attract capital in US$. Why are Vietnamese banks still raising deposit interest rates while the US FED has decided to maintain the US$ interest rate at 5.25% (the rate is expected to remain unchanged until the year’s end) and there are no big fluctuations in the international market? Analysts have said that local banks have to raise deposit interest rates because they lack capital in foreign currencies. In general, in Hanoi, the proportion of mobilised capital in use is not high, at 61.3%; however, the figure is high among joint stock banks, at 82%. The liabilities in foreign currencies of eight joint stock banks in Hanoi are VND12.9tril, while the assets have reached VND13.7tril. Since the end of 2006, joint stock banks have been largely unsuccessful at raising mobilised capital. In Hanoi, the mobilised capital in foreign currencies has even decreased by 2%. Joint stock banks have not been able to mobilise much capital in foreign currencies from the public because people prefer depositing in VND to get more interest. Meanwhile, companies which can supply big sums of foreign currencies only have relations with state owned banks. In order to raise more capital in foreign currencies, joint stock banks have no other choice than raising deposit interest rates. Enterprises prefer loans in US$? The growth rate of loaning in US$ remains relatively high because of two reasons. First, enterprises try to import more goods and it is the time for disbursement for big projects. However, many experts say that this is not the main reason behind the interest rate increases. As for big projects, disbursement always goes in accordance with a scheduled roadmap, while it does not come in the second quarter only. Moreover, enterprises that have high demand for capital in foreign currencies contact state owned banks rather than joint stock banks. Meanwhile, state owned banks all said that the demand for foreign currencies had not increased considerably in the last three months, and that they could still supply enough foreign currencies. In fact, state owned banks have not raised their US$ deposit interest rates. As for the demand for foreign currencies to make payments for import deals, bankers have said that the demand always decreases to the deepest low in the second quarter and that the demand only increases at the end of the third quarter. Bank officials have pointed out that loaning in US$ increases because enterprises prefer borrowing in foreign currencies. It is to enterprises’ advantages to borrow in foreign currencies in comparison with VND, and in the current context of the exchange rate. The sharp increase of loaning in foreign currencies has raised doubts about loaning to the wrong subjects. Under current regulations, credit institutions can only provide loans in foreign currencies to clients which have turnovers in foreign currencies for paying debts, and clients which do not have turnovers in foreign currencies but have permission from banks to sell foreign currencies for paying debts and can show contracts on buying foreign currencies. As for banks, they are ready to lend money, no matter in VND or foreign currencies, if they can make profit on the deals. The director of a bank even said that banks could get more profit when lending in foreign currencies as enterprises use derivative products of banks, from which banks can collect fees. State owned banks drawn into the game? Though only joint stock banks have joined the move of raising deposit interest rates, state owned banks may get involved in the game. State owned banks are considering raising interest rates because they fear that joint stock banks will attract their traditional clients. The escalating deposit interest rates will certainly lead to the increase of lending interest rates. This will make credit contracts signed in previous years difficult to be disbursed (medium- and long-term interest rates are never fixed, but always floating). Meanwhile, expenses for paying debts in the medium term will be higher for the credit contracts signed at this moment. Experts have also warned that the increased interest rates would be a burden on small- and medium-size enterprises, a sector that plays a decisive role in export growth and national economic development. (Source: Lao dong, Viet Nam Net)

In good company

16:29' 29/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - If you’re looking to do a bit of team building a company retreat is the perfect challenge, discovers Duong Kieu Whether your staff is stressed out or is in need of a bit of bonding, you might be interested in new packages now available for company retreats with a focus on team building. Company retreats, also referred to as professional development seminars, are growing in popularity in Vietnam. Looking to capitalise on this growing demand, numerous travel agencies in Ho Chi Minh City have created team building packages. An itinerary will be devised incorporating games or services based on the requirements of each client that, whether indoors or outdoors, will energise the group, illuminate the issues at hand, and provide a welcome break from their sedentary jobs! “Our clients are mainly colleagues, loyal customer teams, directors or marketing agents with potential strategic clients, who usually combine internal meetings or business events with games to help them all relax and get to know each other,” says Minh Phuong, the marketing director of Vietmark travel agency. “We are tired of merely going sight seeing. What is interesting is heading out into nature then sharing the highs and lows with our colleagues and bosses,” says Huynh Nguyet Thu from SV technology after a successful teambuilding trip. Depending on the clients’ time, budget and trip’s main purpose, the agencies brainstorm the most suitable package. “Games could be indoor or outdoor but most prefer outdoor activities,” says Phuong. Such team building trips usually revolve around physical activities but more intellectual challenges are also used. The games help people work together. Office positions are left behind. Hidden talents are encouraged to emerge. “I really found it such fun and so encouraging to do this. On the trip there was no distance between us – juniors and seniors were side by side. We were all in the same boat, fighting, yelling and living life together!” says Le Tran Huong Lan, from Atlas Copco. “I was a little bit worried when I first heard the games explained but it was a great experience to have with my colleagues.” “We have to survey suitable places to organise each specific game package, in which we aim not to harm the environment and protect participants by providing medical support and rescue boats,” says Phuong. “I would never have believed that I could swim across a sea like I have just done on tour, which, I think, is down to being able to explore myself and realise everyone’ else’s strengths,” says Thu. Recommended Companies Vietmark, 166D Tran Hung Dao, D1, Ho Chi Minh CIty 08 404 3939 Lua Viet, 677 Tran Hung Dao D1, Ho Chi Minh CIty 08 923 2148 Saigon Tourist, 49 Le Thanh Ton, D1, Ho Chi Minh City 08 829 8914 (Source: VIR)

Legislators vote on leaders, members of NA bodies

16:21' 29/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - National Assembly deputies on July 28 voted on the posts of heads, deputy heads and members of the NA Council of Ethnic Minorities and other NA Committees and the Secretariat in charge of NA sessions. Ksor Phuoc was elected as Chairman of the Council of Ethnic Minorities and Nguyen Van Thuan was voted as Chairman of the Law Committee. Le Thi Thu Ba was elected to the post of Chairwoman of the Judicial Committee, while Ha Van Hien was voted as Chairman of the Economic Committee. Phung Quoc Hien was elected as Chairman of the Financial and Budgetary Committee and Le Quang Binh was voted for the position of Chairman of the Defence and Security Committee. Dao Trong Thi was elected as Chairman of the Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children and Truong Thi Mai was voted to the post of Chairwoman of the Committee for Social Affairs. Dang Vu Minh was elected as Chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, while Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of the Committee for External Affairs, and Tran Dinh Dan, Head of the Secretariat in charge of NA sessions. As scheduled, the legislature will hold a plenary session on July 30 to hear reports presented by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on the number of Deputy Prime Ministers, the establishment and dissolving of ministries and ministerial-level agencies. (Source: VNA, Viet Nam Net)

Golf investors to the rounds of Long An

16:27' 29/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Scores of investors are clubbing together to take a swing at winning golf projects in Long An province. Nguyen Huu Tuan, deputy director of the Long An Department for Planning and Investment, said nine investors were looking at golf and tourism blueprints for the Mekong Delta province. “We are happy to receive many projects in this field because these are highly benefitable,” Tuan said. However, Tuan said it was unclear whether the province had sufficient room to accommodate all the projects. While most of the projects would be located on the outskirts of the province, most of them each require 150 to 200 hectares. Tuan also voiced some environmental concerns. “Therefore, we need guidance from the Ministry of Planning and Investment about this,” Tuan said. Four of the projects come from South Korea, Hyoil, DM Lee, Genuwin D&C and the Viet-Han Join Stock Company while the rest are backed by domestic investors. Hyoil is the only firm which has been granted an investment licence. The company will build a $58 million, 36-hole golf course and resort in Thu Thua district’s My Phu commune. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2010, with the entire 280ha complex slated for completion in 2015. DM Lee company is also processing procedures to build a golf course, villas, hotel and restaurants on a 300ha site in Can Giuoc district, while Genuwin D&C has signed an agreement with the local People’s Committee to build a golf course complex on 337ha in Thu Thua district. Meanwhile, Phu Quang New Residential Area Join Stock Company wants to build a residential area in Phuoc Lai district. The province is the ninth most successful in attracting FDI projects with 132 projects worth $1,134 million having arrived up to last month. (Source: VIR)

Western bride helps protect Vietnamese nature

16:19' 29/07/2007 (GMT+7)

Bettina and her mother back in Germany are playing traditional Vietnamese instruments VietNamNet Bridge – People in Na Hang district in the northern province of Tuyen Quang are all familiar with Bettina, a Vietnamese painter’s wife, who has worked to protect wildlife for 10 years. Ten years ago, from her home province of Baden Wuntemberg in Germany, Bettina first came to Vietnam to take part in a project to protect snub-nosed monkeys endemic to Tuyen Quang. At first, the sight of a blond girl was rather strange and unfamiliar to local residents. But Bettina was determined to learn Vietnamese in order to meet and mobilise local people to protect forests. Her efforts paid off. Local residents said they began to realise what was happening: a foreigner came from far away just to protect their own forests which they themselves had been destroying by felling trees and killing wildlife. To forestry officials in particular, she was like a sister who used to accompany them on their forest surveillance tours and never failed to tell local residents not to kill wild animals in an imperfect Vietnamese accent wherever she went. “If I didn’t know something, I asked. If I didn’t hear things clearly, I asked again. I spoke to people, and if they didn’t understand me, I explained until they understood,” said Bettina about her efforts to communicate with Vietnamese people in Vietnamese. So when Bettina recently returned to Na Hang, Tuyen Quang with a team from the University of Forestry to work on an agricultural support project she had persuaded Schmitz Stiftung Organisation to sponsor, she was instantly recognised and warmly welcomed. Since her first trip to Vietnam, Bettina has taken part in other wildlife protection activities. Protection seems to run in her blood. Once on her way from Tuyen Quang to Hanoi, Bettina happened to see a wild cat being sold on the road. She immediately called the Tuyen Quang Forestry Department’s head and told him to send somebody to pick it up. Yet, life in Vietnam means more than just wildlife to Bettina. Married to painter Tuan Anh, who won the first prize at the 2003 Vietnamese Art contest, she is also part of a Vietnamese family and fulfils the role of a Vietnamese wife, doing her share of cooking meals for her in-laws during Tet. “My heart belongs to Vietnam,” she said, smiling, and taking out a traditional two-chord fiddle to play a song. (Source: Tien Phong, Viet Nam Net)

Central Vietnam highlighted for world heritage sites tour

10:07' 28/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - There are several of UNESCO’s designated world heritage sites attracting a large number of tourists from near and far in the historically and culturally rich central region of Vietnam. International and local tourists now can book a five-day, four-night or a four-day, three-night “central region’s heritage road tour” through local tourism agencies to explore many of the beautiful landscapes as well as world heritage sites in this region. A five-day and four-night tour by airplane departing from Ho Chi Minh City is designed with two different destinations for tourists to choose. The first one will take tourists to several tourism sites in Da Nang City, ancient Hoi An Town, Hue City and Quang Binh Province. Joining this tour, visitors will be transferred to the airport and flown to Da Nang. Upon arrival, tourists will visit Ngu Hanh Son, a group of five mountains representing the five basic elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, in Da Nang City. Then, tourists can try to conquer one of the mountains of Ngu Hanh Son and visit the Linh Ung Pagoda, Huyen Khong and Tang Chon caves. At night, tourists will have some relaxation time to wander around Hoi An, just around 30km away from Da Nang and one of UNESCO’s designated world heritage sites, with famous stops such as the Japanese roofed bridge Lai Vien Kieu and Tan Ky ancient house. On the second day, tourists will go to Hue City to visit the palace of former royalty, which is also a World Heritage site, and take a tour of the Huong (Perfume) River by boat to view Trang Tien Bridge and listen to Hue’s traditional music and release colorful lanterns onto the river to wish for happiness and prosperity. Then they will visit the southern province of Quang Binh, where there are the historic sites of the Quang Tri Citadel, Ben Hai River and the Hien Luong Bridge, and the World Heritage site of Phong Nha Cave in the Ke Bang limestone mountain. Tourists will go back to Hue City at the end of the fourth day before returning to HCMC in the afternoon. The second type of the five-day, four-night tour will also take tourists to Da Nang City, Hue City and Hoi An Town, but excludes Quang Binh Province. Despite not stopping in Quang Binh Province, tourists will have more time exploring the beauty of the cities and the ancient town. They will depart from Ho Chi Minh City by airplane to Da Nang and spend the first day discovering the ancient town of Hoi An in the light of colorful lanterns. On the second day, tourists will visit My Son Sanctuary, the religious center for the capital of the Champa Kingdom in the 7th century in Quang Nam Province, about 69 kilometers southwest of Da Nang. Tourists will also explore Ngu Hanh Son on the third day and go to the tourism site of Son Tra Peninsula. The tour continues to Hue City with a stop at Hai Van Mountain Pass for tourists to take photographs and view the beautiful landscape of the Lang Co fishing village. At Hue City, tourists will visit the palace of former royalty, watch a dancing and singing performance of royal music and enjoy Hue’s specialties. For those who lack time, the four-day, three-night tour by airplane could be another option as it will take tourists from Ho Chi Minh City to the most famous landscapes and world heritage sites in Da Nang and Hue cities such as Ngu Hanh Son, Hoi An and the ancient royal palace in Hue City. A visit to Ngoc Island in Da Nang City added to the tour will give tourists a chance to explore a primeval forest and a beautiful beach with sea sports such as kayak racing and diving to observe the island’s coral. (Source: SGGP, Viet Nam Net)

Industrial equipment market: playing field for big bugs

10:06' 28/07/2007 (GMT+7)

Most specialised vehicles at coal mines use Bridgestone tyres. VietNamNet Bridge – Big names like Bridgestone, a provider of specialised tires, and Flygt, a provider of submersible pumps, mixer and fluid handling technology, are strongly ‘attacking’ the industrial equipment market of Vietnam. This market seems to be the playing field for big firms. According to the Ministry of Industry, the coal-bed in the Red River Delta may have deposits up to 200 billion tonnes and it is 10 billion tonnes for coal mines in the northern province of Quang Ninh. Along with coal, iron ore reserves in Vietnam are forecast to be 1.2 billion tonnes, including around 600 million tonnes at the Thach Khe Iron Mine and around 100 million tonnes at the Quy Sa Iron Mine. In addition, the cement market is booming with a series of new factories and many others that are raising their capacity while many others are being built. As a result, the market for industrial equipment has become a fertile land for providers of specialised mining equipment, like specialised tyre providers such as Japan’s Bridgestone and France’s Michelin, submersible pump providers such as Sweden’s Flygt and Japan’s Ebara, since local producers are unable to manufacture those products. This fact can be clearly seen at coal mines in Quang Ninh and stone exploiting sites of cement plants like Hoang Thach, But Son, Bim Son, Tam Diep and Hoang Mai. There, all specialised vehicles use Bridgestone tyres. With high-quality and reasonable prices, Bridgestone tyres don’t have rivals in Vietnam. Not only holding large market shares in coal mining and cement production industries, Bridgestone has also provided tyres for container trucks at seaports and entered industrial zones, which are mushrooming in Vietnam. Sharing this cake with Bridgestone is France’s Michelin and some smaller firms such as Yokohama and Toyo of Japan, DRF of India, Kumhoo and Hankook of the Republic of Korea. Besides tyres, another product that is provided for the mining industry is submersible pumps of Flygt. The major rival of Flygt in Vietnam is Ebara of Japan and some smaller ones such as Tsuzumi from Japan, Grundfos from Denmark and Ksb from Germany. Though Vietnam has some producers of high-capacity pumps their products can only be used for irrigation activities, not for mining operations. Kieu Duc Hung, an official of the Ha Tu Coal Joint Stock Company, said that only Flygt pumps, which are made from special materials, worked well in the environment of mines. Bridgestone and Flygt, despite competition from other firms, are leading providers of specialised tyres and submersible pumps in Vietnam thanks to their professional distributors. “With the booming of the industrial equipment market, smaller providers will seek ways to increase their market shares and this is an opportunity for Vietnamese clients. However, we will only choose providers that meet standards on quality and after-sales services,” said Nguyen Quang Sy, Deputy Director of the Hoang Thach Cement Company. (Source: TBKTVN, Viet Nam Net)

A bay of scenic islets

15:29' 26/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The hidden beauty of the islets in Nha Phu has been discovered and it calls travelers from near and far to come to immerse themselves in the quiet bay of the central coast in Khanh Hoa Province. Crossing the sea on Nha Phu Bay in Khanh Hoa Province. Recent months have seen groups of holidaymakers traveling by boat to the bay and spending the whole day swimming in the sea and leisurely lying on the white-sand beaches. There, they can rest under the shade of Casuarina trees and listen to the pleasant sound of waves gently clapping against the shore. Gentle breezes also welcome vacationers aboard the primeval islets of the bay, which is part of Nha Trang Bay, one of the world’s most beautiful bays. The islets mark Nha Phu on the map of attractive tourist destinations in Vietnam. The trees and long pristine beaches of the islets make Nha Phu worth visiting. Thi Islet features an L-shaped beach, which is an ideal place for groups of visitors to play games and then enjoy fresh seafood from the bay. Many visitors have described the islet as a “paradise on earth” because of its tranquility and natural charms. To enjoy seafood from the ocean, visitors must book an organized package tour from Long Phu, the local tour operator, or travel firms in HCMC such as Vietmark and Ben Thanh Tourist. An organized tour package offers holidaymakers an opportunity to experience a memorable buffet lunch on Thi Islet. Fresh seafood, fish, meat and vegetables are placed on bamboo tables, whose poles are the feet of trees, for vacationers to make their selections that are then grilled or fried to taste over burning charcoal. Nha Phu also comprises Lang, Ro and other islets whose offerings can please different groups of vacationers. These islets are not too far from one another so they form a good area for team games. Nha Phu Bay is only approachable by boat. A boat trip from Da Chong Wharf in Nha Trang to the bay takes about 20 minutes or more so vacationers can visit it in a day. Nearly 20 kilometers north of Nha Trang, Nha Phu is also the home of Thi Farm where ostriches and deer are raised, and it also contains mango and dragon fruit orchards. A little farther from Thi Islet is Orchid Spring Park, where visitors can find many orchid varieties and scenic springs as well as beaches, the forest and the sea. This islet is said to have been the home of the Cham people hundreds of years ago. (Source: SGT, Viet Nam Net)

Classical music concert to tour five cities

15:57' 26/07/2007 (GMT+7)

Conductor Tetsuji Honna in a concert VietNamNet Bridge – A symphony concert titled Toyota Concert Through Vietnam will be performed in five big cities, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hue, Nha Trang and HCM City, starting on July 29. Led by Japanese conductor Tetsuji Honna, the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra will perform familiar romantic works by German composer Felix Mendelssohn such as excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Violin Concerto in E minor and Symphony No. 4. Besides conductor Tetsuji Honna, another Japanese name to appear in the concert is renowned violinist Ai Okumura. Tomorrow, July 26, Okumura will be in Vietnam for practice with the orchestra. Ticket prices will be unusually reasonable for a classical musical concert. According to Artist of Merit Hoang Quan, Director of the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra, tickets in Hanoi and HCM City will range from one to two hundred thousand dong each. In Nha Trang, Hai Phong and Hue, ticket prices will be much cheaper: around VND30,000/ticket. All revenues from ticket sales will be donated to music and art schools to support disadvantaged students in the cities where the orchestra will perform. The Toyota concert will take place at the Hanoi Opera House on July 29; the Hai Phong Opera House on July 31; the Thua Thien-Hue Centre of Culture and Information on August 5; the Khanh Hoa Cultural Centre on August 9; and the HCM City Opera House on August 12. Son Ha, Viet Nam Net

Unsafe seafood exports: no solutions?

17:17' 26/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – How to minimise exports of seafood with antibiotics remains an unanswerable question, though management authorities have taken a lot of measures to control the quality of exports. Manyl batches of food exported to the US have been rejected by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently. In the latest news, on July 19, the FDA seized all consignments of crab from Vietnam for the same reason: chloramphenicol. This substance, found in the imports, is prohibited by US laws on food processing. Seafood material uncontrollable HCM City-based Hai Nam Company has not exported crab to the US for three years, though, according to the company’s Director, Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, crab exports can bring the highest profit among export items to the US market. Yet, Hai Nam has just found its name on the list of the companies that cannot get customs clearance for their crab meat without examination which has been made public by the FDA. FDA has also announced it had rejected 240 batches of food imports from Vietnam in the first six months of the year due to problems of food hygiene, returning the imports to the country. Most of the rejected imports were frozen seafood, both preliminarily treated and already processed. According to Mrs Sac, exports to the US are processed from materials collected from fishermen, and are always infected with chloramphenicol because material collectors for preliminary treatment like using the substance to keep the material fresh. The owner of another enterprise which was also named on the newly declared list of FDA said that FDA did not miss his case, though the exports were made two years ago. He said that appearance on the FDA’s list would severely damage the prestige of enterprises, making it more difficult for the enterprises to export goods, because nearly all countries which imported seafood from Vietnam referred to the FDA’s website. Inspected already, but… still has antibiotics Under current laws, seafood products must be supervised and examined by the National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate (Nafiqaved) before shipping. Though Nafiqaved inspected the exports already, and exporters had to pay $30/container for the inspection, the FDA still found antibiotic residues in the seafood. How? According to Mrs Sac, the inspectors just took samples at random, while a consignment of seafood may include products processed from different sources of material. In some cases, the inspections carried out by different inspection centres gives different results. Where will the rejected batches of seafood go? According to Huynh Thi Thanh Giang, Deputy Director General of the An Giang Seafood Import-Export Company, the rejected seafood cannot be consumed domestically. She said that the rejected products must be recycled or have their purposes changed. The only way for enterprises to minimise losses when products are discovered as containing antibiotics, according to Mrs Giang, is to look for easier-to-please markets. (Source: SGTT, Viet Nam Net)

Export plan for 2007 can be fulfilled?

17:23' 26/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Exports in the first six months of the year were not as successful as expected, which has raised a question about whether or not the ambitious export plan for 2007 can be fulfilled. Deputy Minister of Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien on July 24 expressed his concern about export performance in the second half of the year at a conference on exports. Exports up, but worries exist According to Pham The Dung, Director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Trade, though exports in the first half of the year increased by 20% over the same period of last year ($22.54bil in turnover) the figure was still lower than expected. A lot of efforts are needed for the remaining months of the year to reach the targeted export turnover of $48bil. Mr Dung acknowledged that it proved to be a very difficult task to fulfill, especially as exports of key items might not be satisfactory. Except coffee, apparel, footwear, seafood and plastics, which maintained stable export growth, other key export items had low export volume in the first half of the year. For example, Vietnam exported 2.3mil tonnes of rice ($732mil), down by 5% in price and 18% in quantity. Rubber exports brought $527mil in turnover, down by 4% over the same period of last year, while Vietnam previously planned to increase the export turnover of this product by 7%. Vietnam exported 7.7mil tonnes of crude oil in the first six months, a decrease of 6.7% in volume, while the country has to export 17.5mil tonnes in 2007 to fulfill the plan in turnover. The quality of exports – a big problem Officials from the Ministry of Trade (MoT) stressed that the quality of exports remained a big problem. If drastic measures are not taken, Vietnam may lose its export markets. The Ministry has asked the Government and the Ministry of Finance to budget for the works of inspecting export products. Regarding apparel exports, Mr Bien said that MoT was trying to do what it could to minimise the bad impacts of the US’s programme on Vietnam’s apparel imports monitoring. Mr Bien said that MoT would strengthen the supervision and control over the origin of exports. In the immediate time, MoT will not allow temporary import for re-export later, a move aiming to prevent fraud in the declaration of product origin. The proposal by MoT has been accepted by the Government. According to Huynh Minh Hue, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Food Association, there are many reasons behind the decreases in rice exports. Exporters now have to pay more for transport fees (up by 40% compared to 2006) and for storage fees, as many exporters cannot charter ships for carrying rice. Mr Hue said that though rice exports could go for good prices, at $290/tonne on average, $39-40/tonne higher than during the same period last year, profit remained modest. Pepper exporters are also facing big difficulties, as the export volume decreased by 31.1%, though the export price was triple last year. American and European countries are now limiting importing pepper from Vietnam because they think that Vietnam-made pepper is too expensive. Ambitious plan can be fulfilled? Mr Bien said that the fulfillment of the export plan would rely on the export of key items, including coffee, apparel and seafood. High hopes are still put on rice and crude oil, which had ‘problems’ recently. Experts said that the export prices of these products always go up in the last months of the year. Wooden products, electronic accessories, and plastics are also forecast to maintain high growth rates. Apparel exports are believed will bring the highest turnover, at $7.3-7.5bil. Currently, the average turnover of apparel exports remains above the ideal level, at $600mil/month. Mr Huy said that enterprises would have a lot of pressure as they would have to ensure both export growth and the quality of exports. Van Thanh Huy, Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, has also expressed his concern about exports in the second half of the year. The industry has fulfilled 92% of the yearly export plan, and only has to export 300,000 more to fulfill the plan of 1.2mil tonnes and $1.5bil in turnover. However, Mr Huy said it would be a big difficulty to ensure the quality of exports. Especially, quality is a big problem for seafood exports. The EU, US and Japan are now inspecting imports from Vietnam very carefully, and if the problem of unsafe exports cannot be settled, Vietnam may lose the export markets. Russia has also created difficulties for Vietnamese exporters as an inspection delegation will arrive in Vietnam to make the final inspection tour of seafood processing establishments, a necessary procedure for considering if it will allow Vietnam to resume exports to the market. In the immediate time, the state will spend VND50bil ($3.12mil) to buy five machines which can examine the quality of seafood. This is hoped will help bring $2.1bil in turnover from seafood exports in the second half of the year. (Source: Tuoi tre, Viet Nam Net)

Vietnam lacking ticketing staff for commercial airline industry

16:47' 25/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – A recent survey by the Air Service and Travel Company TransViet showed that Vietnam needed 400 more reservation and ticketing staff serving the commercial airline industry every year to meet the aviation growth rate of 20% per annum. A training course The survey has pointed out that Vietnam seriously lacks reservation and ticketing staffs for air travel, and this has made companies scramble for staffs, while the quality of the labour force is low. Mai Trung Thanh, Training Director of TransViet, said that the number of students trained for reservation and ticketing(booking tickets, issuing tickets, calculating airfares) remains very modest. In Vietnam, the Aviation Institute is the only place that trains labourers for this sector. However, the institute is located in the south of the country, and mainly serves Vietnam Airlines. The number of graduated students every year cannot meet the demand of the market. There are 520 travel agents in Hanoi and HCM City, and 40 international airlines which have offices in Vietnam. Mr Thanh said the survey showed that 70% of agents have only a half of trained staffs, while the other staffs learn right at work. Vietnam Airlines has its own programme on training booking employees with 4 training courses every year (920-25 trainees every course). However, the trainees are just enough for Vietnam Airlines only. The air carrier only provides free training to 1-2 persons for every booking agent, while others have to pay the fee of VND6mil ($375) for the course. TransViet, which acts as the general agent for big airlines, like United Airlines (US), British Airways, All Nippon Airways (Japan), also trains staffs itself: senior staffs show juniors the things they have to do. The serious lack of reservation and ticketing staffs has forced air carriers to scramble for staffs. The carriers have to offer higher pay in order to lure staffs from other airlines. “All airlines try to attract staffs by offering high salaries when they enter Vietnam,” said Mr Thanh. The biggest problem with the scrambling is the bad quality of ticketing staffs, because the regular shift of working places does not give enough time to staffs to get experience. According to Mr Thanh, the number of contracts Vietnamese booking officials can cover a year is just a half of the contracts covered by Thai and 1/3 of Singaporean officials. The Head of United Airlines’ Representative Office in Vietnam, Joe Mannix, said frankly that the general capability of ticketing staffs in Vietnam was okay, but they still did not have deep understanding about their work. Meanwhile, Vietnamese staffs do not have deep knowledge about international standards. He said that the skill that was most necessary for ticketing staffs was English speaking. Moreover, Vietnamese staffs should become more active and take initiative in their works. Pham Thi Thuy, Director of the Training Centre under the Aviation Institute, said that students now had to go to HCM City to be trained, and most of them stayed in the city after the training; therefore, northern airlines are still seriously lacking staffs. The biggest problem in training ticketing staffs is the lack of practice-fostering environments. Moreover, it takes $4,000 on average to send a teacher abroad to follow training courses and get the certificate from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Nguyen Hai, Chairman and Director General of TransViet, said that TransViet would join forces with Amadeus and United Airlines to launch a 3-month training course for booking employees. Mr Hai also revealed that TransViet would provide courses for tour operators and air agents, hoping to provide qualified staffs for the airlines operating in Vietnam. Ha Yen, Viet Nam Net

Hanoi’s first private studio to work on sitcom

10:22' 25/07/2007 (GMT+7)

Director Do Thanh Hai VietNamNet Bridge - Mesa’s studio, the first studio in Hanoi to be owned by a private entity, is being completed to welcome the film team of a 300-episode foreign-type sitcom titled Merry Apartment this September. According to director Do Thanh Hai, who will be in charge of Merry Apartment, unlike another new film studio to be built in the My Dinh area by Vietnam TV Film Production Company, Mesa’s studio was designed especially for the sitcom’s film team to work there for the next three years at least. Mesa’s studio is situated on an area of 1,000 sq.m in the neighbouring province of Hung Yen, about one hour’s drive from Hanoi. Mesa’s studio has other facilities besides its studio such as office, production and logistics areas to ensure a self-contained system. As for Merry Apartment, it is an ambitious multi-episode TV comedy of the sitcom type which Vietnamese filmmakers have been exploring in recent years. It is based on a Chinese series and will cast familiar comedians in both the north and south like Quang Thang, Van Dung, Hong Van and Bao Quoc. Director Hai said this Chinese sitcom, which is about intricate human relationships and contact within a modern apartment, was a little bit different from western sitcoms such as the popular American show Friends, which has been broadcast on Vietnamese TV. “Western sitcoms don’t have to reflect real life too faithfully so they are freer to explore situations to make audiences laugh. Chinese sitcoms, on the other hand, are more or less influenced by eastern values. “Their dialogues are thus more subdued. Instead of directly tickling people with dialogues, they bring about laughter by the clashes among different characters,” said Mr. Hai. (Source: Tuoi Tre, Viet Nam Net)

Nguyen Tan Dung re-elected as Prime Minister

16:50' 25/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was re-elected to his post in a landslide vote that saw 96.96 percent of National Assembly (NA) deputies call on the PM to embark on a new term, in Hanoi on July 25. Nguyen Tan Dung, born 1949, was elected as Prime Minister at the 11th National Assembly's mid-term (June 2006) and is the youngest person to head the cabinet over the last two decades. At the morning session, the NA deputies elected Nguyen Thi Doan as Vice State President; Truong Hoa Binh as Chief Judge of the Supreme People's Court; and Tran Quoc Vuong as Director of the Supreme People's Procuracy. They also discussed the personnel of the NA's Council of Ethnic Minorities and other Committees and the Secretariat in charge of NA sessions. - The Council of Ethnic Minorities is to be comprised of 39 members, including five full-time Vice Chairpersons and three Vice Chairpersons. - The Law Committee will be made up of 34 members of whom four are Vice Chairmen. - The Judicial Committee will consist of 34 members, including four Vice Chairmen. - The Economic Committee is to have 36 members, including four Vice Chairpersons. - The Financial and Budgetary Committee will include 35 members, of whom four will be selected to act as Vice Chairmen. - The Defence and Security Committee is to have 34 members, including two Vice Chairpersons. - The Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children is to consist of 39 members, including four Vice Chairpersons. -The Committee for Social Affairs is to be composed of 40 members, including four Vice Chairpersons. - The Committee for Science, Technology and Environment is to have 37 members, of whom three are Vice Chairpersons. - The Committee for External Affairs will include 30 members, including three Vice Chairpersons; and the Secretariat for NA session is to have 13 members. The NA is set to vote on these issues on July 26. (Source: VNA, Viet Nam Net)

VND/US$ exchange rate stable until year-end: reports

16:56' 25/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Big international institutions all share the same view that the VND/US$ exchange rate will keep stable in the last part of the year as in the previous three years. The strong flow of foreign capital into Vietnam over the last time has put pressure on the local currency, forcing the VND to revaluate. However, the fact that the State Bank of Vietnam is trying to buy more foreign currencies has helped stabilise the exchange rate. According to Citibank, in 2004-2006, the VND lost 0.8-0.9% in value every year. However, the local currency unexpectedly revaluated in the first two months of 2007. The revaluation of the local currency halted in subsequent months; however, the local currency has revaluated again in the last three months, by 0.6% against the greenback. The current exchange rate is VND16,138/US$1, which is lower than the rate seen in January 2007 (VND16,142/US$1), but higher than the VND16,060/US$1 level in mid February 2007. The fact that the central bank bought dollars in large quantity in the last time has helped reduce the supply of foreign currencies on the market. This is considered the main reason that the greenback has recovered. The central bank has confirmed that it will continue buying foreign currencies in order to raise the foreign currency reserve and ensure the devaluation of the VND of 1% in 2007 as previously targeted. Therefore, the reports by Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered all said that the VND would slightly devaluate in the short term. However, as the surplus in international payment balance remains high thanks to the big capital inflow (foreign direct investment FDI), overseas remittance and portfolio investment, this will maintain the pressure on the local currency. Experts have voiced their concern about the increased supply of money on the market as the central bank is trying to buy more foreign currencies. In fact, in order to buy a big volume of foreign currencies, the central bank will have to put a big volume of VND into circulation, thus making it more difficult to realise the goal of curbing inflation. In fact, international financial institutions, including the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), warned about the impact of the foreign capital flow on the monetary policy management earlier this year. WB even said that the investment flow would challenge the monetary policy. It seems that the central bank has to do two works that may conflict with each other: putting more money into circulation to buy foreign currencies for reserve, while tightening the monetary policy to curb inflation. Therefore, every solution should be considered thoroughly to ensure reaching both purposes. Most recently, the central bank has decided to raise the compulsory reserve ratio to 10% for bank deposits, a move aiming to tighten the monetary policy and withdraw money from circulation. However, the effects of the decision will only be clear in some months. (Source: DTCK, Viet Nam Net)