VET: Dung Quat oil refinery needs 38,000 workers

[Dao Van <daotb@yahoo.com>]

Tuesday, October 26, 1999 Export of 4.1 million tons of rice in 10
months

(VET)- Export of rice in October is
estimated at 250,000 tons, raising the total rice export in the first 10
months of the year to 4.1 million tons.  Thanks to the high demand of
rice from a number of African countries the price of rice has risen a
little and at this point the 5 percent broken rice was offered at US$
210/ton; the 25 percent broken rice at US$ 189 / ton or US$ 10 higher
than that of early October. 



Chu Lai opens economic zone to submit to NA for approval

(VET)- The detailed master plan for Chu
Lai open economic zone OEZ in the central province of Quang Ngai, 70 km
south of Da Nang, will be submitted to the year-end National Assembly
session for approval.  The cost to develop the Chu Lai OEZ is estimated
at US$ 5 billion between now and the year 2015, US$ 600 million of which
will be spent on infrastructure and some industrial facilities between
2000 and 2005. 

The Chu Lai OEZ will be a free trade zone, where local and foreign
companies can freely import and export goods, use foreign currencies for
import payments and run business in all fields. 



Licenses given to three more FDI projects

(VET)- Vietnam's central highland
province of Lam Dong has licensed three more foreign invested projects
this year with the total capital of US$ 3.7 million.  During this period
the applications for additional capital from 11 foreign invested
projects have also been approved, while the licenses of other three
projects have been revoked. 

Lam Dong Province has 41 projects in operation with the total capital of
US$ 862.9 million; of these 26 projects are totally foreign owned and
the remaining 15 are JVs. 



Two banks won T. Bill auction

(VET)- The Foreign Trade Bank of
Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Bank won
the 37th round of the one- year T. Auction worth VND 100 billion at an
annual yield of 6.29 percent.  Vietcombank won the biggest amount with
VND 80 billion and Incombank won the rest. 



Dung Quat oil refinery needs 38,000 workers

(VET)- Dr. Nguyen Kim Hieu, chief of
the Dung Quat Industrial Zone Authority said by the year 2002 Dung Quat
oil refinery and factories in the Dung Quat IZ will need around 8,288
workers and technicians and 13,531 workers in the year 2006; and 16,780
unskilled and skilled workers by the year 2010. 

And in order to meet the demand in human resources for the zone he said
the Dung Quat IZ authority has submitted a proposal to MPI for
establishment of a technical training center to be located in Van Tuong
township with the invested capital of VND 43 billion. 


GDP and Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the past few years

GDP

CPI 1995 9.5%

12.7% 1996 9.3%

4.5% 1997 8.2%

3.6% 1998 5.8%

9.2% 1999 4.7% or 5%
(est)

2.0% (est)



Import tax on condensate down

(VET)- According to a decision by The
Ministry of Finance the new import tariff on condensate will be cut by
half to 5 percent from November 1, while mazut imports will enjoy a free
tax. 

Import tariffs of between 5 percent and 20 percent will be imposed on
other oil products, for example aviation fuel and white gasoline will be
taxed at 10 percent and 20 percent respectively.  Vietnam exports most
of its crude oil, but imports most of the refined products. 



Swissair to increase HCMC Zurich flights

(VET)- SGT reported that Swissair was
about to open an additional weekly service on the HCMC-Zurich route
early next month; and according to the announcement by the Airlines last
Saturday there would be three weekly flights on this run, which include
a 40-minute stopover in Singapore. 

The flights depart from Zurich on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8.55
p.m.  and from HCMC on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; and
takes about 13 hours.  The air fares range from US$950 to US$1.150 for
economy class and some US$2.400 for business class.  Swissair opened
direct flights to Vietnam on November 1.1997 and is one of the first
airlines to reach a code-sharing agreement with Vietnam. 



Early feasibility studies for Hanoi's Linh Dam Housing Complex needed

(VET)- According to The Government
Office' s document No 4732/ VPCP-CN dated October 15,1999 the Ministry
of Construction is assigned to co-ordinate with the Hanoi People's
Committee to ask investors to soon submit feasibility studies for the
Housing and Service Complex at Linh Dam Lake to the Prime Minister for
consideration. 

And the Ministry of Planing and Investment MPI is required to work with
relevant ministries and agencies to evaluate the project in accordance
with existing regulations. 



Land compensation in Hanoi needs to be solved soon

(VET)- Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen
Cong Tan in the name of the government has asked Hanoi authorities and
the relevant ministries to settle all compensation claims for people
affected by projects in the capital this year or next.  Tan proposed
that the city authority set up a team responsible for settling land
compensation claims.  The government has also ordered The Department of
State Property under the Finance Ministry to draft a compensation and
relocation plan for submission to the Government before being passed to
the Standing Committee of the National Assembly next year. 



Industrial growth rises 9.8 percent in HCMC

(VET)- Industrial production value in
HCMC has risen 9.8 percent for the first ten months of the year compared
with the same period last year to VND 38,393 billion, according to the
city statistics bureau. 

Industrial production at the centrally run businesses based in the city
has risen 8.5 period on the year earlier period to VND 14,741 billion
during this period, while locally run businesses posted VND 13,005
billion, or an increase of 7.9 percent; and foreign invested enterprises
VND 10,647 billion, or up 14.3 percent. 

HCMC has received nine foreign- invested projects worth US$ 30.05
million combined so far this month.  This brings the total number of
operational projects to 786, with the total capital of just over US$ 10
billion. 



Can Tho port plans major expansion

(VNS-VET)- Can Tho Port is slated to
undergo a major expansion to make it a centre of shipping for the entire
Cuu Long
(Mekong) Delta.

The expansion plan will include upgrading the present port and building
a new port, Cai Cui, with the two facilities combined known as the Can
Tho Port Group.  Under the plan, the Can Tho Port pier will be
lengthened from the present 160m to 300m, thus enabling the docking of
more than two ships at a time. 

In addition, port authorities will launch a waterborne container
transport service and construct a container pier, enabling the port to
handle 500,000 tonnes of goods by next year.  An estimated US$40 million
will be needed to build the new port, which will have a capacity of 2.5
million tonnes a year and will include three piers totalling-600m in
length, as well as container handling and warehouse facilities. 



Land allocated to National Sports Complex

(VET)- According to the Prime
Minister^Òs decision No 981/QD/TTg dated October 22 over 247ha of land in
the west of Hanoi would be allocated to the Management Board of the
National Sports Complex.  The land straddles Me Tri and My Dinh
communes, and the town of Cau Dien in Tu Liem District. 

The decision also says that after the project components have been
appraised by the relevant agencies, the National Sports Committee, the
Hanoi People's Committee and the Land Administration Board should keep
the PM informed. 



RoK pledges more help for new securities centers

(VNS)- The Republic of Korea's
Securities Board has pledged further co-operation with Vietnam's
fledgling securities centres to boost their development.  The Board has
given assistance in staff training and equipment to help establish the
new Securities Centres in Hanoi and HCM City. 

The offer of further help was made to Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh
Cam by visiting Board Chairman, Pac Change Be who said he was happy to
see the formation of the centres and their completion on schedule.  He
said the Board was ready to continue assisting the Vietnamese securities
centres in operating effectively through exchange of information and
staff training. 

Pac said his visit to Vietnam was to promote ties between the securities
organisations in particular and in economic, trade and cultural areas-in
general. 



Police taught drug-fighting techniques

(VNS)- Police officers, border guards
and customs officials from northern Vietnam are in Hanoi to learn the
latest techniques in the global fight against drug trafficking and
abuse.  The officers are attending a six-day course in Hanoi held
jointly by the Vietnam Police and the United Nations Drug Control
Programme (UNDCP). 

The course is the sixth in a series of such events designed to
strengthen the police's drug-fighting capacity.  It is being taught by
Australian lecturers experienced in the field of drug fighting.  Vietnam
police have already established a special task force to fight the
growing menace posed by drug traffickers and drug abuse.  So far this
year, the force has uncovered over 8,000 drug-related crimes, leading to
the arrest of over 16,500 suspects and the seizure of more than 51.8kg
of heroin, 314kg of opium and 369kg of marijuana.  Of the nearly 5,000
suspects already brought to court this year, 57 have been sentenced to
death. 



Vietnam to invest 15% of forex reserves aboard

(SGT)- The central bank will invest up
to 15 percent of its foreign exchange reserves directly with banks
abroad in a bid to increase returns for covering Government spending. 

The central bank has for the first time issued regulations for the
exchange bureau, which operates under the central bank and monitors
exchange rates, to invest State reserves abroad.  Observers say the move
marks a change from the previous Policy, which allowed the investment of
State reserves only through local banks and foreign bank branches in the
country.  The central bank's forex holdings comprise the State's foreign
reserves, the gold and exchange rate stabilization fund, foreign
currency bank savings and deposits, the State Treasury's holdings and
other source. 

To minimize investment risks, the central bank just allows the exchange
bureau to buy Government bonds denominated in currencies Vietnam is now
holding in its foreign exchange reserves, such as the U.S.  dollar, the
Japanese yen, the British pound and the euro, and corporate bonds backed
by their governments.  When depositing foreign reserves abroad, the
exchange bureau must choose banks rated highly by the international
ratings agencies Moody's Investors and Standard & Poor. 





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