ours to Ha Giang to be developed

17:26' 20/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has recently taken a trip to investigate Ha Giang’s potential as a destination for adventure, ecology and culture tours. This was a challenging 7-day and 6-night investigation trip through well-known remote and dangerous areas of the northern mountainous province like Xin Man, Hoang Su Phi, Quan Bạ, Meo Vac, and Dong Van. Nguyen Thi Minh Thu, Head of Hanoi-based Travel Company, a member of the group, said that the first step in the development of a tour was investigation, which includes such important activities as learning about local culture, infrastructure and health services. According to Ms. Thu, whose customers come chiefly from Europe and the US, the most important thing in tours is safety and sanitary conditions. Ha Giang still retains much of its primitiveness and originality in terms of nature and culture and has hardly been touched by commercialism. Since this trip, Mekong Travel has begun to develop tours of 6 days and 5 nights and 5 days and 4 nights, in which picturesque destinations like the rock plateau Dong Van Dong Van, Tien Thang and Xin Man villages will be the main stops. Another member of the investigation trip was Sen Rung Trade and Tourism Company, which has more than 10 years of offering discovery tours to foreign tourists. President of the company Tran Thi Huyen Thanh said tours to such places like Ha Giang helped foreigners discover natural beauty and cultures of Vietnamese ethnicities. Sen Rung has been eyeing Ha Giang for the past two years and considers the July trip a valuable opportunity. Ms. Huyen Thanh suggested that local authorities and travel agencies work together to develop trekking tours for foreigners. According to Ms. Huyen Thanh, Sen Rung will offer at least two kinds of tours for Ha Giang: a 4-5 day tour connecting Tuyen Quang and southern Ha Giang and a 5-7 day one for the rock plateaus, Quang Ba, Yen Minh, Meo Vac, and Dong Van. Vu Thi Thanh Ha from Exotissimo Vietnam Travel said Ha Giang had a lot of potential for tourism development thanks to its breathtaking beauty and interesting cultures of more than 22 ethnic minorities. But there are still many things to do to turn it into a tourist destination. Kevin Tu Quy Thanh from Travelink Company agrees. He said Ha Giang still needed to improve traffic safety, sanitary conditions and health services. He suggested that local authorities put direction signs to famous areas and build fences on dangerous roads to ensure traffic safety as well as build more roads, public restrooms and stops to make it more convenient for tourists. (Source: TBKTSG, Viet Nam Net)

Gold prices skyrocket along with global trends

17:05' 21/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Gold prices in the local market continued to escalate on July 20 as 20,000 VND (1.25 USD) was tacked onto the per tael price that pushed unit prices past the 13 million VND mark. Sai Gon Jewelry Holdings Co. (SJC)’s 99.99 gold price reflected the spike as it was trading between 13-13.07 million VND per tael in Hanoi by the morning of July 20. Domestic gold traders attributed the price hike to an increase in gold prices on the world market that was caused by the slippage of the US dollar and the growing price of crude oil. In Hong Kong, gold rose by 3.2 USD per ounce from the July 19 trading session to 675.7-676.2 USD per ounce (equivalent to 13.137-13.146 million VND per tael). Vietnam’s demand for gold has grown sharply over the past years and now surpasses 70 tonnes a year. In 2006, the country imported 86 tonnes of gold, a year-on-year increase of 41 percent. According to the Viet Nam Gold Business Association (VGBA), although the volume of gold hoarded by locals remained high, businesses have still splurged hundreds of millions of USD to import gold from abroad. In a recent move, the association submitted a second request to the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) for permission to export ingot gold. Currently, local companies can only import gold and trade on the local market after receiving central bank approval. ”Exporting would help us manage short term output and input more easily,” said SJC general director Nguyen Thanh Long. (Source: VNA, Viet Nam Net)

Reconsideration of hospital equitisation having domino effect

17:37' 22/07/2007 (GMT+7)

A hospital in HCM City. VietNamNet Bridge – The decision by the HCM City People’s Committee to not equitise the Binh Dan Hospital has not only affected investors who bought stocks of this hospital that have not been issued yet but also halted many similar projects. HCM City: no more equitisation for Binh Dan Hospital Binh Dan was the first hospital in HCM City chosen for equitisation on a trial basis. However, this scheme was not carried out because of many problems, one of which is the protest of many people against the equitisation of state-owned hospitals, who said that HCM City should not sell a state-owned hospital to businessmen. Binh Dan is now seeking another way to seek capital to invest in equipment and infrastructure. The stopping of equitisation of this hospital has not only derailed investors who bought stocks of this hospital though they have not been issued yet but also some other state-owned hospitals in HCM City which have been planning to perform equitisation. Previously, HCM City scheduled to equitise Binh Dan first, then the Eye Hospital, the Hung Vuong Obstetrics Hospital, People’s Gia Dinh Hospital, and People 115 Hospital. “Our hospital has registered to conduct equitisation with the HCM City Department of Health in 2009 but now Binh Dan Hospital has stopped its equitisation so perhaps we will not equitise our hospital anymore, but have to wait for an instruction from the Health Department,” said Doctor Do Hoang Giao, Director of the People’s Gia Dinh Hospital. Directors of the Eye and Hung Vuong Obstetrics Hospitals also said that they would halt the equitisation process. It is the same for People 115 Hospital. Nguyen The Dung, director of the HCM City Department of Health, said that as the public had different opinions about the equitisation of hospitals, not only HCM City but other provinces had temporarily stopped equitising their hospitals to re-consider and select a more suitable form of investment and development to better serve patients. Development models that HCM City Department of Health is considering, according to Mr. Dung, include three types: non-profit, one-member state-owned limited liability company; private hospital; and combinations of state-owned and private (equitisation is in this form). The first form, non-profit, one-member state-owned limited liability company, has been successfully applied by some countries, especially Singapore, Mr. Dung said. The difficulty of most state-owned hospitals is lack of financial sources. However, many say that socialising the health sector is not only equitisation but calling for investment into hospitals in other ways. (Source: Thanh Nien, Viet Nam Net)