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VNSA-L digest 308



			    VNSA-L Digest 308

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: Ti'nh ca'ch... (3) 
	by Dung Trong Nguyen <nguyen@jaist.ac.jp>
  2) Re: Ti'nh ca'ch... (3)
	by Aiviet Nguyen <aiviet@cat.syr.edu>
  3) Re: Chu*~ BA'C trong tie^'ng Viet.
	by VU KHAC TRI <tvk@info.fundp.ac.be>
  4) RE: Ba'o VN: CD-ROM "Nhu+~ng ngo^i chu`a no^?i tie^'ng Vie^.t Nam
	by Hai-Tri Le <haitril@microsoft.com>
  5) Re: Specificity 
	by Aiviet Nguyen <aiviet@cat.syr.edu>
  6) Re: Ti'nh ca'ch... (3)
	by Tran Minh Tien <tran@idefix.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de>
  7) [Tho+] Sao ro+i
	by Tran Minh Tien <tran@idefix.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de>
  8) RE: Ro^`ng bay phu+o+.ng mu'a ?
	by Aiviet Nguyen <aiviet@cat.syr.edu>
  9) Re: Re[2]: Take something back to Vietnam 
	by Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>
 10) Re: Re[2]: Take something back to Vietnam 
	by Aiviet Nguyen <aiviet@cat.syr.edu>
 11) [ECONOMICS] Banking in VN
	by Thanh <thanh@lombok.cs.uwm.edu>
 12) VN news (Mar 26, 1997)
	by Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>
 13) VN Business News (Mar 26, 1997)
	by Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Topic No. 1

Date: Fri, 28 Mar 1997 01:20:17 JST
From: Dung Trong Nguyen <nguyen@jaist.ac.jp>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: Re: Ti'nh ca'ch... (3) 
Message-ID: <199703271620.BAA19261@mikan.jaist.ac.jp>

Hi,

Ve^` ma`u sa('c, to^i nho+' co' la^`n ddo.c ddu+o+.c o+? ba'o la`
cu. Nguye^~n Tua^n loay hoay ma~i mo+'i ti`m ddu+o+.c te^n cho ma`u
nu+o+'c cu?a Ho^` Gu+o+m\.  Cu. go.i la` ma`u "nu+o+'c rau muo^'ng
luo^.c".  Nghe co' hay hay kho^ng thi` to^i kho^ng da'm, nhu+ng qua? 
la` to^i tha^'y ra^'t gio^'ng.

Cheers, d~

------------------------------

Topic No. 2

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 11:37:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Aiviet Nguyen <aiviet@cat.syr.edu>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: Re: Ti'nh ca'ch... (3)
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970327111609.28377B@lynx.cat.syr.edu>



On Thu, 27 Mar 1997, Tran Minh Tien wrote: 
> Ne^'u xoa'y la^u qua' thi` "lu.c", "lam" ... cu~ng xoa'y tu+`
> tho+`i Ma~ Vie^.n ro^`i\.
 Oh, yes. But is there any evidence that these words were stolen at Ma~ 
Vie^.n time?
  If the governer class of Giao Chi? was like Anglo-Saxon, we cannot
talk about stealing. The South-East Asian race was something like the 
Brittons or Celtics...
 
> Ma`u sa('c o+? dda^u cu~ng the^' tho^i\. Ngu+o+`i ta bao gio+`
> cu~ng "quan va^.t thu? tu+o+.ng", sau ddo' mo+'i kha'i qua't
> tha`nh ma`u (tru+` ddi xoa'y cu?a thie^n ha.), nhu+ "bi'ch"
> la` ma`u 1 loa.i ngo.c, "thanh" la` chi? ma`u xanh cu?a ca^y,
> ca'i la' ddang dda^m cho^`i, "xi'ch" la` ma`u ngo.n lu+?a trong lo`,
> "ha('c" la` ma`u muo^.i than trong be^'p ... Cha? cu+' ma`u, 
> thu+' kha'c cu~ng the^'\.
   I don't know, my daughter knows a lot of English colors and I cannot 
relate them to anything. Let me ask her.

> Chi? co' ddie^`u kho^ng tha^'y trong chu+~ Ha'n tu+` chi
> tu+o+ng tu+. nhu+ "ma`u cu+'t ngu+.a" ... Cu+' theo quan
> ddie^?m "quan va^.t thu? tu+o+.ng" thi` te' ra ca'c cu.
> nha` ta nhi`n pha^n (sorry !) dde^? la^'y tu+o+.ng va`
> tru+`u tu+o+.ng ho'a\. 
   Ddoa.n na`y la.i pha?i no'i tie^'ng Vie^.t cho no' impressive.
Ca'c cu. nha` ta kho^ng nhu+~ng nhi`n ma` co`n ra^'t quy' tro.ng.
" Nha^'t nu+o+'c nhi` ph..". Cha('c vi` ta^`m quan tro.ng ddo^'i vo+'i 
no^`i co+m ma` kho^'i thu+' mang hi`nh bo'ng cu?a pha^n ma(.c du` cha(ng 
" thu? tu+o+.ng" gi` he^'t. Thi' du. hoa "cu+'t lo+.n". Lu'c dda^`u to^i 
nghi~ la` mo^.t loa.i hoa To+?m la('m nhu+ng thu+.c te^' co' dde^'n no^~i 
na`o, cu~ng la` mo^.t loa.i hoa ddo^`ng no^.i nhu+ Bo^` Co^ng Anh o+? A^u 
cha^u ma` tho^i.
  Tho+ ti`nh thi` co' nhu+~ng ca^u ba^'t hu? nhU+:

                  " Ga'i pha?i ho+i trai nhu+ tha`i la`i ga(.p cu+'t cho'
                    Trai pha?i ho+i ga'i nhu+ be` vo' tro^i so^ng"
( Xin anh Tru+o+ng Tro.ng Hoa`ng gia?ng nghi~a la` the^' na`o.)

Ro^`i chU+a he^'t:
                 " Anh nhu+ cu.c c... tro^i so^ng
                   Em nhu+ con cho' du+'ng tro^ng dda^`u bo+`".
( Dde^'n che^'t vo+'i ca'c cu.. Tho+ vo+'i tha^?n gi` ma` grotesque qua' 
tro+`i)
   Kho^ng bie^'t ca'i hi`nh " vie^n pha^n" la` "thu? tu+o+.ng" cu?a 
ngu+o+`i Ta`u hay cu?a ngu+o+`i Vie^.t. Ca'i ca^u cu?a Mao Chu? Ti.ch:
      " Tri' thu+'c kho^ng dda'ng..." la` nga`i ho.c ddu+o+.c khi ha. 
Giang Nam hay ca'ch no'i cu?a Ho^` nam. Tie^'c qua' cu. Kho^?ng loa.i 
ma^'y ba`i ba^.y ba. trong kinh Thi chu+' kho^ng bie^'t dda^u ta la.i 
co' nguye^n ba?n cu?a ma^'y ca^u ti`nh ca Vie^.t o+? tre^n.     
   
    Ma^'y chuye^.n hay ho cu?a Anh Huy Duong va` Tua^'n Nguye^~n hay 
the^' ma` to^i tra tu+` ddie^?n tie^'ng Vie^.t thi` nghe ra^'t cho^'i tai:
     Pha^n bo^' cu?a o^ng Poa't xo^ng.
:-))


> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Tran Minh Tien
> 
> 

------------------------------

Topic No. 3

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 17:35:43 GMT
From: VU KHAC TRI <tvk@info.fundp.ac.be>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: Re: Chu*~ BA'C trong tie^'ng Viet.
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19971020174032.24077386@info.fundp.ac.be>

My GOD ! :-D

>O^'i chu choa o*i , tui chi? vie^'t co' va`i ca^u ma` sao  "ba'c" ddo^'i
>dda'p nhie^`u qua' dzi.  thi` la`m mo^ ma` tui ddo.c cho ddu*o*.c ;-)



I send you the V-E Dictionary at moment. Wait.......

*-------------------------*-----------------------------------*
| VU KHAC Tri.            | Tel: +32-81-423411 (bureau)       |
| Medical Imaging Group   | Tel: +32-81-737832 (private)      |
| Institut d'informatique | Fax: +32-81-423408                |
| Rue de Grangagnage, 21  | http://www.info.fundp.ac.be/~tvk/ |
| 5000 - Namur, Belgium.  |                                   |
*-------------------------*-----------------------------------*


------------------------------

Topic No. 4

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 08:30:18 -0800
From: Hai-Tri Le <haitril@microsoft.com>
To: "'vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu'" <vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu>
Subject: RE: Ba'o VN: CD-ROM "Nhu+~ng ngo^i chu`a no^?i tie^'ng Vie^.t Nam
Message-ID: <A1A89B76BC87CF11925C00805FD4224C020C8B87@RED-102-MSG.dns.microsoft.com>

Ba'c So+n me^'n,

Ba`i ba'o co' no'i ca'ch na`o ta co' the^? mua ddu+o+.c ddi~a CD-ROM
na`y kho^ng. To^i dda~ nghe no'i ve^` CD-ROM na`y tu+` Te^'t na(m ngoa'i
(1996) khi to^i ve^` SG. Nhu+ng dde^'n Tin Vie^.t ho?i mua thi` ho. no'i
"chu+a ba'n ddu+o+.c". Ba'c co' the^? ho?i ca'c contacts cu?a ba'c o+?
SG ca'ch mua kho^ng?

Nghe ba'c AnHai no'i ba'c bi. "ma nu+~ Cali" ho+'p ho^`n ro^`i co+ ma`.
Sao co`n toa`n ma.ng tro+? ve^` vo+'i anh em va^.y? Ne^n cha(ng ba'c
vie^'t mo^.t "pho'ng su+.: Cali va` ma nu+~" cho anh em ddo.c cho+i
dde^? nhe. bo+'t kho^ng khi' ca(ng tha(?ng ma^'y ho^m nay ?

Ti`nh tha^n,
HL

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Dam Son [SMTP:son@fermi.phys.washington.edu]
> Sent:	Thursday, March 27, 1997 2:13 AM
> To:	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject:	Ba'o VN: CD-ROM "Nhu+~ng ngo^i chu`a no^?i tie^'ng
> Vie^.t Nam"
> 
> Ngu+o+`i va` vie^.c
> 
> * CD-ROM "Nhu+~ng ngo^i chu`a no^?i tie^'ng Vie^.t Nam"
> 
> V.V
> Ba'o Lao ddo^.ng So^' 44 (18/3/1997)
> 
> La` cuo^'n sa'ch ddie^.n tu+? dda^`u tie^n vo+'i tie^u chua^?n
> Multimedia
> ddu+o+.c Co^ng ty Tin ho.c Tin Vie^.t (TPHCM) ho+.p ta'c vo+'i NXB
> Va(n
> hoa' - Tho^ng tin va` ta'c gia? Vo~ Va(n Tru+o+`ng bie^n soa.n tre^n
> ddi~a
> CD-ROM. Sa'ch gio+'i thie^.u 300 ngo^i chu`a dda(.c sa('c trong kho
> ta`ng
> quy' gia' cu?a ho+n 14.000 ngo^i chu`a Pha^.t gia'o o+? Vie^.t Nam ,
> vo+'i
> 2.200 ta^'m a?nh tu+ lie^.u ddu+o+.c ta'c gia? chu.p trong suo^'t 15
> na(m
> qua, mo^.t so^' ba`i nha.c Pha^.t gia'o ddu+o+.c bie^n soa.n hoa` a^m
> pho^'i khi' MIDI, cu`ng nhie^`u tu+ lie^.u quy'. 
> 
> CD-ROM na`y ddu+o+.c bie^n soa.n co^ng phu ba(`ng hai thu+' tie^'ng
> Vie^.t
> va` Anh de^~ tra cu+'u, la` cuo^'n sa'ch ca^`n thie^'t cho ca'c nha`
> nghie^n cu+'u, ca'c Pha^.t tu+?, kha'ch du li.ch va` ba.n ddo.c trong,
> ngoa`i nu+o+'c muo^'n ti`m hie^?u ve^` nhu+~ng di sa?n va(n hoa' quy'
> ba'u
> cu?a Vie^.t Nam. 
> 

------------------------------

Topic No. 5

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 12:07:44 -0500 (EST)
From: Aiviet Nguyen <aiviet@cat.syr.edu>
To: Dung Trong Nguyen <nguyen@jaist.ac.jp>
Cc: Multiple recipients of list <vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu>
Subject: Re: Specificity 
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970327115546.485A-100000@lynx.cat.syr.edu>

Hi Anh Dung,
 Thank you for " Dda' ga`". To^i no'i ba^.y ba. la.i nha(`m ddu'ng expert.
To^i chi? hay ha^`u chuye^.n ca'c cu. ne^n bie^'t da(m ba chie^u cha(?ng 
bo~ cho anh cu+o+`i. To^i khoa'i ca'i chuye^.n ga` bo^i ma(.t dda' nhau.
Ma^'y anh ddu`ng anonym o+? hotmail chU+/i nhau loa.n xa. tre^n SCV 
cha('c cu~ng gio^'ng va^.y.

  Ho^`i nho? to^i cu~ng me^ ca' la('m. Bo.n ca' dda'nh nhau ha(ng nha^'t 
la` Ro^ co+`. Ca' cho.i cu~ng de^~ bi. Ro^ Co+` ( hay go.i la` sa(n sa('t 
thi` pha?i) dda'nh tra('ng bu.ng. 
   Tuy va^.y to^i khO^ng me^ cho.i chie^'c gi` la('m ma` me^ ma^'y co^ 
Tha^`n tie^n va` ma^'y em Ma~ gia'p ho+n.
  Tuy va^.y cha me. to^i nga`y xu+a cu~ng nghe`o, tha`nh ra to^i kho^ng 
vo`i tie^`n ca'c ngu+o+`i ddi mua ca' ca?nh ddu+o+.c. Tha`nh ra chi? co' 
va`i con Kho^?ng tu+o+'c, ma^'y chu' ca' Va`ng va` mo^.t ddo^i Ha('m mo^ 
ni, toa`n thu+' re? tie^`n. Sau na`y thi` tu+. ddi ba('t ddu+o+.c Ro^ 
Co+` ve^` nuo^i. Bo. na`y tuy dda'nh nhau ha(ng nhu+ng ngu la('m chi>? 
co' ca'i dduo^i sa(.c so+~ mo^.t chu't la.i ngo^? nga'o ne^n ba('t de^~ 
nhu+ cho+i. Tha(`ng na`y bi. ba('t ma` tha(`ng sau o+? ngay dda^'y 
cha(?ng ru't kinh ngfhie^.m gi` la.i ddu't dda^`u va`o ba^~y. Cha('c 
chu'ng nghi~ ra(`ng ma^'y tha(`ng ddi tru+o+'c dde^`u ngu ca?, hoa(.c 
gia? chu'ng ddu+o+.c Chi' Phe`o da.y la` ca'i ba^~y no' tru+` mi`nh ra.

Ho+i la.c dde^` ca' mo^.t chu't dde^? ve^` vo+'i nguo+`i Vie^.t

Cheers
Aiviet

On Thu, 27 Mar 1997, Dung Trong Nguyen wrote:

> > Anh Du~ng cha('c kho^ng hie^?u nhie^`u ve^` dda' ga`.
> > Ga` ma` dda' hay la` dda' ca`ng i't ca`ng to^'t. Dda' vo+' va^?n ho?ng 
> > ma^'t ga`.
> > 
> >   A^'y la` to^i hy vo.ng va^.y. Bie^'t dda^u la.i co' nhie^`u tru+o+`ng 
> > pha'i, la.i co' di.p mo+? mang kie^'n thu+'c.
> > Aiviet
> 
> Cha`o anh Vie^.t.  DDo^`ng y' vo+'i anh la` ga` hay kho^ng the^? mang
> ddi dda' vo+' va^?n ddu+o+.c.  Y' to^i muo^'n no'i la` ca^`n pha?i
> "va^`n" ga` thu+o+`ng xuye^n tho^i\.  Nghi~a la` bi.t cu+.a (co' khi
> ca? mo?) cho hai con dda' nhau, dde^? ta^.p tho^i\.  Ta^.p xong la.i
> bo'p ba(`ng nu+o+'c nghe^. va` ru+o+.u.  Co' the^' thi` da co^? mo+'i
> da`y dde^? chi.u ddu+o+.c nhu+~ng cu' dda' co' cu+.a, su+'c dai dde^? 
> dda' ddu+o+.c be^`n, va` nha^'t la` cho ga` kho?i be'o qua', "mo^.ng
> na(ng" kho^ng nha?y ddu+o+.c :)
> 
> Kha'c vo+'i chim ca^u, ga` tro^'ng choai cu`ng mo^.t lu+'a sau khi
> dda'nh nhau mo^.t la^`n ra^'t du+~ (khoa?ng trong tho+`i gian ta^.p
> ga'y), go.i la` tra^.n pha^n dda`n thi` kho^ng bao gio+` chi.u dda'nh
> nhau nu+~a.  Con chua se~ chi.u pha^.n la`m em suo^'t ddo+`i.  DDo^i
> khi vi` kho^ng ti`m ddu+o+.c ba.n co' ga` ddo^`ng la.ng dde^? va^`n
> ma` chu? ga` pha?i cho hai con cu`ng dda`n ta^.p vo+'i nhau\.  Muo^'n
> chu'ng kho^ng nha^.n ra nhau ma` dda'nh nhau, ngu+o+`i ta pha?i du`ng
> nho. no^`i tro^.n vo+'i mo+~ ma` bo^i ma(.t i't nha^'t la` con "anh".
> Ca^u "ga` nha` bo^i ma(.t dda' nhau" to^i ddoa'n la` the^'.
> 
> Ho^`i be' to^i ra^'t thi'ch xem dda' ga`, nhu+ng nuo^i thi` cha(?ng
> dda^u va`o dda^u\.  Nha` to^i ddie^`u kie^.n cha^.t cho^.i qua', ga`
> kho^ng co' cho^~ dde^? pho+i na('ng, ddi la.i.  Ta^.n ti`nh he^'t
> su+'c ma` ga` toa`n ru`.  Nuo^i ca' cho.i de^~ ho+n nhie^`u.  Cho.i
> ca' cu~ng ha^'p da^~n kho^ng ke'm.  Kho^ng bie^'t anh co' thi'ch ca'
> cho.i kho^ng ?
> 
> Cheers, d~
> 

------------------------------

Topic No. 6

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 18:17:28 +0100 (MET)
From: Tran Minh Tien <tran@idefix.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: Re: Ti'nh ca'ch... (3)
Message-ID: <9703271717.AA23193@idefix.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de>

> > Ne^'u xoa'y la^u qua' thi` "lu.c", "lam" ... cu~ng xoa'y tu+`
> > tho+`i Ma~ Vie^.n ro^`i\.
>  Oh, yes. But is there any evidence that these words were stolen at Ma~ 
> Vie^.n time?
>   If the governer class of Giao Chi? was like Anglo-Saxon, we cannot
> talk about stealing. The South-East Asian race was something like the 
> Brittons or Celtics...

Xe't cu`ng ly' thi` cha? co' ba(`ng chu+'ng gi`\.
Nhu+ng ne^'u con cha'u vua So+? tranh hu`ng tranh ba' gi` ddo'
cha.y xuo^'ng qua' Li~nh Nam, thi` sao co' ca'i chu+~ kho^ng
mang theo\. Ca'c tro^'ng ddo^`ng co^? lo^~ co' ca'i na`o co'
chu+~, tru+` ca'i ma^'y tro^'ng ddo+`i mo+'i hay ca'i tro^'ng
chi mo+'i dda`o o+? Co^? loa\.
Ne^'u kho^ng xoa'y tho+`i Ma~ Vie^.n thi` cu~ng xoa'y tru+o+'c
ddo'\. Lu.c, lam ... la` tu+` go^'c Ha'n, cha? tha^'y ai no'i
chi pha?i xe't la.i\.  Co' xe't la.i thi` xe't nhu+~ng tu+`
nhu+ "nu+o+ng", "hu`ng" ...


>    Kho^ng bie^'t ca'i hi`nh " vie^n pha^n" la` "thu? tu+o+.ng" cu?a 


Hi`nh na`y cha(?ng co' chi ma` pha?i thu? tu+o+.ng\. DDo' la` tu+`
ghe'p chi'nh phu.\. Co' pha?i "pha^n" la` "pha^n" dda^u\.
("Ai ddem pha^n ca^'t la^'y mu`i hu+o+ng").


> ngu+o+`i Ta`u hay cu?a ngu+o+`i Vie^.t. Ca'i ca^u cu?a Mao Chu? Ti.ch:
>       " Tri' thu+'c kho^ng dda'ng..." la` nga`i ho.c ddu+o+.c khi ha. 
> Giang Nam hay ca'ch no'i cu?a Ho^` nam. Tie^'c qua' cu. Kho^?ng loa.i 
> ma^'y ba`i ba^.y ba. trong kinh Thi chu+' kho^ng bie^'t dda^u ta la.i 
> co' nguye^n ba?n cu?a ma^'y ca^u ti`nh ca Vie^.t o+? tre^n.     

Kho^?ng tu+? co' san ddi.nh Kinh Thi\. Nhu+ng ma` ai cu~ng cho Quan Thu+
kha'c vo+'i So+? tu+`\. Kha'c ve^` ta^'t ca? mo.i ma(.t\. Kinh Thi co`n
cha? co' So+? tu+`, huo^'ng ho^` nhu+~ng thu+' na(`m ngoa`i ri`a ma`
ham\.

Cheers,
Tran Minh Tien

------------------------------

Topic No. 7

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 18:53:35 +0100 (MET)
From: Tran Minh Tien <tran@idefix.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: [Tho+] Sao ro+i
Message-ID: <9703271753.AA22209@idefix.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de>


Hi all,

Vu+`a nha^.n ddu+o+.c ba`i tho+ sau tu+` "Thi uye^?n", gu+?i
ca'c ba'c ddo.c cho vui nha^n le^~ Phu.c sinh\. 
Nga`y mai Chu'a bi. ha`nh hi`nh thi` pha?i\. Co`n ho^m nay
ddang va'c Tha'nh gia' le^n ddo^`i Gogol. DDa.o dde^'n
ddu+o+`ng cu`ng la` ca'i che^'t, chu+' dda^u co' pha?i
vi` 13 ddo^`ng ba.c\. Ngu+o+`i ba?o la.i da^n Do Tha'i 
muo^'n gie^'t, ke? thi` ba?o ta.i Pilat. 
"Phu'c cho ke? na`o kho^ng tro^ng tha^'y ta ma` la.i tin ta", 
khi phu.c sinh Chu'a no'i nhu+ va^.y\.

Cheers,
Tran Minh Tien

***************************************************************

SAO RO+I

                Nguye^~n Ta^'n Hu+ng


Tu+` em da.o a^'y sang so^ng
Tre^n ta co`n la.i ddo'a ho^`ng tie^'c thu+o+ng
Tie^~n em qua cho^'n mu+o+`i phu+o+ng
Cho em buo^n pha^'n, ba'n hu+o+ng vo+'i ddo+`i

Chu+~ ti`nh cha(?ng ve.n thi` tho^i
Ba chia ba?y xe? mo^.t lo+`i ta^m giao ?
Cuo^.c ddo+`i nga`y a^'y em trao
Bie^'t la`m sao tra? cho nhau cuo^.c ddo+`i!

Vi` sao ?  Ro+i!  Vi` sao ... ro+i!
Trong ta su.p ddo^? mo^.t tro+`i da^'u ye^u!

Nguye^~n Ta^'n Hu+ng


(Tri'ch Poetry Digest #38. Home Page: http://www.saigon.line.com/tho/)


------------------------------

Topic No. 8

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 12:59:12 -0500 (EST)
From: Aiviet Nguyen <aiviet@cat.syr.edu>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: RE: Ro^`ng bay phu+o+.ng mu'a ?
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970327125317.2262B-100000@lynx.cat.syr.edu>



On Thu, 27 Mar 1997, Tuan Pham wrote:

Hi Anh Tuan Pham,
 
   To^i tha^'y Co^ Duye^n co' o~ng e.o gi` dda^u. Co^ Y' Lan mo+'i va(.n 
ve.o kinh hoa`ng cho+'.
    
Cha('c ro^`ng bay phu+o+.ng mu'a la` tha`nh ngu+~ Ta`u. Co`n ta thi` co' 
ca^u: A(n nhu+ Ro^`ng cuo^'n, no'i nhu+ Ro^`ng Leo, La`m nhu+ me`o mu+?a.
 Sao gio^'ng ba` chi. ho. ca(`n nha(`n to^i qua'.

Aiviet
 
> thi` to^i chu+a nghe bao gio+`. Co' pha?i la` vu+`a no'i
> vu+`a uo^'n e'o o~ng e.o nhu+ Nguye^~n Cao Ky` Duye^n
> kho^ng?  :)))
> 
> Cheers
> Tuan Pham
> 

------------------------------

Topic No. 9

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 10:04:13 -0800 (PST)
From: Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: Re: Re[2]: Take something back to Vietnam 
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.91.970327094336.15315B-100000@fermi.phys.washington.edu>


On Thu, 27 Mar 1997, Ho Tu Bao wrote:

> 2) Tuy nhie^n IT textbooks thi` ra^'t thie^'u va` ra^'t hie^'m. Ha^`u
> he^'t gia'o vie^n dda.i ho.c dde^`u kho^ng co' sa'ch to^'t (chu+a no'i
> gi` dde^'n sinh vie^n). Theo to^i ca'c loa.i sa'ch na`y ddang ra^'t
> ca^`n, vo^ cu`ng quan tro.ng, kho^ng so+. kho^ng co' ngu+o+`i
> du`ng. To^i va^~n mong gia' nhu+ Khoa Tin ho.c o+? ma^'y dda.i ho.c
> lo+'n co' ddu? mo^.t bo^. textbook to^'t cho ca'c mo^n ho.c co+ ba?n
> cu?a undergraduate programme thi` cha^'t lu+o+.ng da.y o+? dda.i ho.c
> se~ co' mo^.t ddie^`u kie^.n (ca^`n) dde^? ta(ng dda'ng ke^?.

The problem is nobody throws away these books, as well as textbooks in 
other fields.

I would like to ask people to do a quick estimate of how much money one
has to spend in order to have a set of undergrad textbooks in each fields
(IT, engeneering...). Just a bare minimum, please. 

In physics, my bare minimum is one good textbook on general physics,
around $80-90 here (for non-physics students).

Son.


------------------------------

Topic No. 10

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 13:24:00 -0500 (EST)
From: Aiviet Nguyen <aiviet@cat.syr.edu>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: Re: Re[2]: Take something back to Vietnam 
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970327131906.2262D-100000@lynx.cat.syr.edu>


Ne^'u ke^'t ho+.p to^'t giU+~a " xoa'y", "mu+o+.n" va` "mua", ke^? ca? 
suy+? du.ng to^'i dda thu+ vie^.n. Tie^'t kie^.m nha^'t la` spend 60USD/ 
course. Va^.y tie^u de` se?n va` "xoa'y" ta^'t ca? nhu+~ng gi` bo.n no' 
dde^? ho+? ra thi` va^~n pha?i tie^u 3000 cho undergarduate va` 1000 cho
graduate.
  Ca'i cuo^'n Physics ddo' thi` cha('c cha(?ng ai mua la`m gi`. Ca'i ddo' 
co' kha('p mo.i no+i cha(?ng ma na`o buo^`n xoa'y cho na(.ng ca(.p.

Aiviet

On Thu, 27 Mar 1997, Dam Son wrote:

> 
> On Thu, 27 Mar 1997, Ho Tu Bao wrote:
> 
> > 2) Tuy nhie^n IT textbooks thi` ra^'t thie^'u va` ra^'t hie^'m. Ha^`u
> > he^'t gia'o vie^n dda.i ho.c dde^`u kho^ng co' sa'ch to^'t (chu+a no'i
> > gi` dde^'n sinh vie^n). Theo to^i ca'c loa.i sa'ch na`y ddang ra^'t
> > ca^`n, vo^ cu`ng quan tro.ng, kho^ng so+. kho^ng co' ngu+o+`i
> > du`ng. To^i va^~n mong gia' nhu+ Khoa Tin ho.c o+? ma^'y dda.i ho.c
> > lo+'n co' ddu? mo^.t bo^. textbook to^'t cho ca'c mo^n ho.c co+ ba?n
> > cu?a undergraduate programme thi` cha^'t lu+o+.ng da.y o+? dda.i ho.c
> > se~ co' mo^.t ddie^`u kie^.n (ca^`n) dde^? ta(ng dda'ng ke^?.
> 
> The problem is nobody throws away these books, as well as textbooks in 
> other fields.
> 
> I would like to ask people to do a quick estimate of how much money one
> has to spend in order to have a set of undergrad textbooks in each fields
> (IT, engeneering...). Just a bare minimum, please. 
> 
> In physics, my bare minimum is one good textbook on general physics,
> around $80-90 here (for non-physics students).
> 
> Son.
> 
> 

------------------------------

Topic No. 11

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 12:28:49 -0800
From: Thanh <thanh@lombok.cs.uwm.edu>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu
Subject: [ECONOMICS] Banking in VN
Message-ID: <333AD881.419A@lombok.cs.uwm.edu>

Hi all:

I remember that there are several banking experts in our list. Could you
comment on the news bellow?

There are a lot of talk about reforming VN banking system. In my
opinion,
there should be talk about how to create one. In general, I always
wonder if
there is real banking in VN at all. I mean nobody realy uses bank
accounts
for their financial needs unless they are forced to by government
regulation.
Perhaps that is a legacy of long lasting wars. People do not trust their
saving to anyone but themself. Or perhaps that is the legacy of
centralized
planning. Money was considered merely as a bookeeping instrument of the
state.

I heard news about the introduction of the latest banking technology to
VN:
smart cards, ATM, credit card etc. That might be the easy part. Building
people trust in banks (be it state owned or private) will be much harder
and
much more time consuming. HOw long will it take? any idea?

Cheers,

-Thanh.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Vietnam faces bad loan crisis, say economists

Mar. 24, 1997
------------------------------------------------------------------------

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Top bankers and economists in this southern
city are warning that Vietnam's banking system faces a major bad
loan problem, following failed property speculation by domestic
firms.

In a series of interviews over the past week, banking executives
and others painted a picture of an industry owing millions of
dollars as a result of bad debts, and saddled with near-worthless
collateral.

They said a handful of companies had used influence and
connections to secure huge multiple loans from both joint-stock
and state-owned commercial banks to finance real estate deals
during the early 1990s, mostly through letters of credit.

A property market downturn since 1995 has left these companies
and individual lenders unable to repay banks.

The banks, in turn, were having to delay repayments on letters of
credit because collateral on the loans was taken in the form of
real estate, which is losing value and tangled in the red tape of
Vietnam's archaic land ownership laws.

"We should blame the property speculators," said an industry
source who requested anonymity.

"They tried to create monopolies in the real estate sector.
They're the ones who should be paying the price now that it's
gone wrong."

Official figures for the sums involved were not available, but
some bankers spoke of debt levels of around US$1 billion (S$1.45
billion). An estimate by a senior banking executive put total
overdue payments at around US$500 million.

"It's a serious problem," said banking operations director Tran
Trong Do of the central State Bank of Vietnam. "Due to our poor
experience in supervision, big problems have been caused for the
national banking system."

Economists and academics said trouble has been looming in
Vietnam's still-nascent banking system for some time because of a
number of shortcomings, including lax management and corruption.

An indication of the problems arose last month when the
Joint-Stock Commercial Bank for Private Enterprises (VP Bank)
came under scrutiny for extending the payment period under a
letter of credit to South Korea's Ssangyong.

But economists said the problems at private banks such as VP
paled in comparison to the level of debt in state-owned
commercial banks.

The Tai Chinh and Thi Truong newspaper warned early this month
that the problem had reached the point where state intervention
was needed "immediately to save a chain reaction collapse of the
whole banking system".

But an international economist in Hanoi downplayed the magnitude
of the problem, saying the fundamentals of the banking system
remained reasonably healthy.

"I think it's too early at this stage to talk about it as a
crisis," he said. -- Reuter

---------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Topic No. 12

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 11:02:19 -0800 (PST)
From: Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu, viet-khsv@is.aist-nara.ac.jp
Subject: VN news (Mar 26, 1997)
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.91.970327110046.16050A-100000@fermi.phys.washington.edu>


   Mar 26: New pig species found in Vietnam's ``lost world''
   Mar 26: Remains of another U.S. Vietnam War pilot returned
   Mar 26: Vietnam-Women: From Poverty to Diaster 
   Mar 26: Second Vietnam-China passenger rail crossing to open in April
   Mar 26: Vietnam rejects criticisms from human rights group
   Mar 26: Two accused of defrauding Vietnam's biggest state bank
   Mar 26: Vietnamese police launch hunt for escaped judge on drug charges
                                      

   Wednesday - Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines 
   
   [INLINE] New pig species found in Vietnam's ``lost world'' 
   
   LONDON (Reuter) - A so-called lost world on the border between Vietnam
   and Laos has yielded yet another new species of animal, this one a
   primitive wild pig, researchers reported on Wednesday
   
   DNA tests showed the pig, Sus bucculentus, was only distantly related
   to other pigs in the region, said Colin Grove of the Australian
   National University in Canberra.
   
   Grove said the pig had been described more than 100 years ago but then
   became lost to science.
   
   A living version was never seen by scientists.
   
   ``We here report its re-discovery in the Annamite Range in Laos, an
   area which is becoming famous for the discovery of new and previously
   undescribed large mammals,'' Grove and his colleagues wrote in a
   letter to the science journal Nature.
   
   Grove said he found one skull from the pig in Beijing's Academia
   Sinica, with century-old documentation.
   
   ``A new specimen of Sus bucculentis, a partial skull of a juvenile
   male, was obtained from indigenous hunters in the Annamite Range,
   Laos, in January 1995,'' he added.
   
   They did DNA tests on muscle tissue left on the skull and found a
   ``remarkably'' large difference in the DNA between it and other wild
   and domestic pigs in the region.
   
   The Vu Quang area has already yielded several spectacular wildlife
   finds, including the discovery in 1992 of a deer-like animal known as
   the saola or Vu Quang ox, and a new freshwater fish last September.
   
   ``These conclusions underline the significance of the Annamites as a
   biotically unique region where primitive taxa, long extinct elsewhere,
   have been able to survive into the late 20th century,'' Groves wrote.
   
   The Vietnamese government and environmental groups say the region's
   forests are threatened by loggers. According to the World Wide Fund
   for Nature, Vietnam has only 19 percent forest cover today compared to
   43 percent 50 years ago.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday - Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines 
   
   [INLINE] Remains of another U.S. Vietnam War pilot returned 
   
   WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The remains of a U.S. pilot killed during an air
   strike in the Vietnam War have been returned to the United States for
   burial, the Defence Department said Wednesday.
   
   It said 1st Lt. Gary Offutt was unable to eject when his F-100 Super
   Sabre went into a near-vertical dive during a strafing run near Can
   Tho in South Vietnam Oct. 1, 1965, according to another U.S. pilot.
   
   Offutt's remains were recovered and later identified after joint
   U.S.-Vietnamese teams investigated the crash site in 1993, 1994 and
   1995. His remains were returned to his hometown, Stewartsville,
   Missouri.
   
   Offutt had been listed as unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War, the
   department said. With identification of his remains, 2,127 Americans
   remain unaccounted for in that war, it added.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday - Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines 
   
   [INLINE] Vietnam-Women: From Poverty to Diaster
   
   By Nguyen Phan Phuong
   Inter Press Service
   
     Hanoi, Mar. 26 (IPS) -- Lured by promises of well-paying jobs in the
   city or overseas, impoverished Vietnamese women are being bussed from
   their rural villages by sweet-talking gangs into the hands of brothel
   owners in China.
   
   Despite a police crackdown, a growing number of Vietnamese women and
   girls are falling prey to criminal syndicates who smuggle them to
   China as prostitutes or bonded brides.
   
   Closed after the bloody Sino- Vietnamese border war in 1979, the
   frontier with China was reopened in 1992 and has since emerged as a
   major route for trade, both legal and illegal.
   
   Last month, three people were given prison terms by a court in Lang
   Son province, 170 kilometers north of Hanoi, for trafficking women.
   The gang leader, Nguyen Thi Nga, was given a 14-year sentence, while
   her chief aides, Luu Van Tho and Trieu Van Sinh, were sentenced to 13
   years and 11 years respectively in prison by the local People's Court.
   
   All three were also fined five million dong ($450) each for their
   complicity in the syndicate, which sold six women during the course of
   its one-year existence. The gang was busted last September and the
   trial was held in February.
   
   Some Vietnamese women are reported to consent to arranged marriages
   with Chinese men, but most are tricked into going with promises of
   good jobs in China, a local official said.
   
   Most of the women lured by Nguyen Thi Nga were from the impoverished
   northern Vinh Phuc province. They were later sold for between 2,800
   and 3,500 Chinese yuan (between $300 and $380) to Chinese brokers who
   in turn sold them to Chinese men.
   
   The mafia-style organizations recruit women from the countryside with
   promises of good jobs or prosperous marriages across the border. Upon
   their arrival in China, however, they are handed over to
   representatives of brothels or sold as wives and maids to farmers.
   
   One syndicate was known to recruit women with offers of factory work
   in Hanoi. They were trucked from the villages, only to find that at
   the end of their journey, they had crossed the border in China.
   
   At the end of December 1996, a total of 10,400 Vietnamese women had
   either been sold or married off to Chinese men, according to Vietnam's
   interior ministry. It is not clear how the statistics were gathered,
   but the ministry said most of the women came from northern provinces
   like Hai Phong area (3,354), Quang Ninh (1,301), and Lang Son (734).
   
   At present, a total of 1,829 Vietnamese women have left their Chinese
   husbands and either returned voluntarily or fled back home, bringing
   with them some 200 children, officials said.
   
   An estimated 70 million men are without wives in China, and the number
   is expected to grow to 80 million by the year 2000, according to a
   Vietnamese sociologist who said China's one-child policy and the
   preference for sons has made the world's most populous country a
   market for women.
   
   Ideal conditions for the trade have been created by the introduction
   of free market reforms, which saw the opening of the country's borders
   and the emergence of a "get-rich-quick" mentality among some sections
   of the population.
   
   Particularly vulnerable are women in rural areas -- still largely
   unreached by the benefits of reform -- who are desperate to escape
   poverty at home.
   
   Many of the trafficked women have had to endure beatings and complete
   isolation due to their illegal status in China. According to the
   Center for Family and Women's Studies in Hanoi, one woman was forced
   to serve as the wife of a man and his four sons.
   
   There are cases of women deported back to Vietnam after giving birth.
   
   China also serves as a transit point for the transport of women to
   third countries. Last year, police in the southern economic hub of Ho
   Chi Minh City broke up a ring involved in trafficking young girls to
   Taiwan for prostitution.
   
   There is also a flourishing trade of women to Cambodia, which has its
   origins in the early 1980s when Vietnamese troops were stationed in
   Cambodia fighting the Khmer Rouge.
   
   Analysts say that the reported volume of trafficking may only be the
   tip of the iceberg and that it is difficult to determine the true
   extent of the illegal trade.
   
   They say the physical transport of the "human merchandise" is easy
   amid the huge volume of trade along the Chinese frontier.
   
   There is no central government agency assigned to look after the
   problem, and local Vietnamese authorities do not have the resources to
   trace all reported cases.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday - Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines 
   
   [INLINE] Second Vietnam-China passenger rail crossing to open in April
   
   HANOI (AFP) - Vietnam and China will open their second border crossing
   to passenger trains in April, local reports said Wednesday.
   
   The crossing between Vietnam's Lao Cai province and China's
   southwestern Yunnan province will open to passengers on April 18, the
   official Vietnam News reported. It is already open to freight.
   
   China and Vietnam reopened their first cross-border railway between
   Guangxi and Lan Song provinces in February 1996 after an 18 year
   suspension.
   
   Rail links were severed after border clashes between the two countries
   sparked by Vietnam's 1979 invasion of Cambodia, which ousted that
   country's Khmer Rouge regime.
   
   Relations between the two states were normalised in 1991, though the
   neighbours are currently engaged in a dispute over oil and gas claims
   in the South China Sea.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday - Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines 
   
   [INLINE] Vietnam rejects criticisms from human rights group 
   
   HANOI (AFP) - The Vietnamese government Wednesday rejected a claim
   from a human rights group that nearly 200 Vietnamese Buddhists were
   threatening to burn themselves alive in protest at the disbanding of
   their organisation.
   
   "There is absolutely no case of nearly 200 buddhists threatening to
   set themselves on fire because their organisation has been disbanded,"
   a foreign ministry spokesman said.
   
   "This is not the first time the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights has
   maliciously made up information to damage Vietnam," he said.
   
   The Paris-based committee, in a document received here last Saturday,
   accused the official Vietnam Buddhist Church of having dissolved the
   "Buddhist Youth Movement" at the start of the year
   
   The movement, which is similar to the Scouts organisation, groups more
   than 300,000 young people aged between six and 18.
   
   The committee president told the United Nations Human Rights
   Commission, in its annual session in Geneva on Friday, the Buddhists
   made their threat in the face of a government campaign of religious
   repression.
   
   "The government respects religious activities and creates favourable
   conditions for Buddhists to practise their religion in a healthy way
   under the instruction of the (official) Vietnam Buddhist Church and
   conforming to Vietnamese law," added the spokesman.
   
   The communist regime in Hanoi, which has been in confrontation with
   the Buddhist opposition since the creation of the official church in
   1981, systematically rejects all western criticisms of the human
   rights situation in Vietnam.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday - Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines 
   
   [INLINE] Two accused of defrauding Vietnam's biggest state bank 
   
   HANOI (AFP) - Ho Chi Minh City police have accused two export company
   directors of defrauding the country's largest state bank of nearly 18
   million dollars, reports said Wednesday.
   
   "In terms of a potential banking crisis this is serious," said a
   Vietnamese businessman and part owner of a joint-stock bank in Ho Chi
   Minh City.
   
   Tang Minh Phung, director of Minh Phung Export Garment Co Ltd and Lien
   Khui Thin, director general of EPCO Import Export Company were
   arrested after it was discovered that collateral used on a loan had
   gone missing, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Prosecution said Tuesday.
   
   EPCO reportedly lent commodities worth 200.4 billion dong, (17.9
   million) including silk, iron and plastic to Minh Phung for collateral
   on a loan from the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank),
   the Saigon Times Daily reported.
   
   Observers said more revelations involving larger sums were expected in
   coming days.
   
   "This has the potential to be 10 times as big as Tamexco," the
   businessman said, referring to a notorious corruption case involving
   losses of 40 million dollars at a state-owned trading company. Four
   people were later condemned to death.
   
   Documents said the two were apprehended Monday for "abusing confidence
   to appropriate socialist properties," police said.
   
   Both companies are private concerns believed to have defaulted on
   letters of credit to foreign and domestic banks.
   
   The EPCO case is the latest revelation of problems which have beset
   the domestic banking industry.
   
   According to one estimate there is close to one billion dollars in
   deferred letters of credit, a huge amount for a country whose total
   imports are expected to reach only 2.72 billion in the first quarter
   of this year. Minh Phung is one of Vietnam's largest garment
   manufacturers with more than 9,000 employees. Like many high flying
   private joint stock companies it has diversified into property
   development and import-export.
   
   EPCO, which has trade offices in Sydney and San Francisco, is a big
   exporter of fertilizer and coffee with turnover exceeding 150 million
   dollars last year.
   
   Officials at both EPCO and Minh Phung have refused to comment.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday - Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines 
   
   [INLINE] Vietnamese police launch hunt for escaped judge on drug
   charges 
   
   Hanoi (dpa) - Vietnamese police have launched a nation-wide hunt for a
   provincial judge who was recently caught with six kilograms of opium
   but who escaped from jail, a local newspaper reported Wednesday.
   
   Mua Nenh Thong, a district court judge in north-central Nghe An
   province, escaped one hour after he was arrested feigning a headache
   that required him to get some fresh air, the Tuoi Tre reported.
   
   Thong, a member of an ethnic minority, served as a judge in Ky Son
   district, an opium-growing area which lies on the border with Laos.
   
   Ky Son lies along Highway 7 which is considered to be a main route for
   traffickers bringing drugs from the Golden Triangle to Vietnamese
   ports or for increasing domestic consumption.
   


------------------------------

Topic No. 13

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 11:03:29 -0800 (PST)
From: Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>
To: vnsa-l@csd.uwm.edu, viet-khsv@is.aist-nara.ac.jp
Subject: VN Business News (Mar 26, 1997)
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.91.970327110224.16050B-100000@fermi.phys.washington.edu>


   Mar 26: Vietnam: Gamble on Oil 
   Mar 26: ADB Vietnam Loan to Upgrade Highway 
   Mar 26: Vietnam-Canada: Exploration Program on the Coi Ky Project 
   Mar 26: Vivant Acquires Majority Interest In Vietnamese Joint Venture 
   Mar 26: PetroVietnam CEO: Still In Refinery Talks With LG, Petronas 
   Mar 26: Vietnam moves to tighten press controls to protect banking 
           secrets 

                                      
   Wednesday, Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines
   
   [INLINE] Vietnam: Gamble on Oil 
   
   By ELIZABETH PISANI, Asia Times
   
   Oil and engineering companies from five countries will come together
   to build Vietnam's first refinery on a storm-buffeted beach miles from
   anywhere. Though many involved concede privately that the project is
   financially dodgy, they all have ulterior motives.
   
   An official from Vietnamese partner PetroVietnam gave details of the
   proposed shareholding structure for the first time in a report
   published in Tuesday's Saigon Times Daily. He said the project would
   be divided into four shareholding blocks.
   
   State-owned PetroVietnam would itself hold 30 percent. A similar share
   would go to two other consortiums, the first consisting of Malaysian
   national oil company Petronas and US giant Conoco, the second of
   Korean conglomerate LG Group and US engineering company Stone &
   Webster. Two Taiwanese companies, Chinese Petroleum and China
   Investment and Development, would share the remaining 10 percent
   block. The official, whom the paper did not name, was quoted as saying
   that the shareholding plan had been submitted to the government for
   approval and that construction was expected to begin this year.
   
   When the refinery project was first mooted, Western oil companies,
   riding a wave of enthusiasm about oil industry prospects in Vietnam,
   bid energetically. A joint venture, formed in 1991, including Total
   and the two Taiwanese companies still involved in the project won the
   bid.
   
   But the wave broke on the shores of Vietnam's difficult geological,
   regulatory and business environment. Oil finds turned out to be
   smaller than anticipated. The government, ignoring the negative
   results of a feasibility study by the French oil company, insisted the
   project be built in Dung Quat in Quang Ngai province, several hundred
   kilometers from the nearest source of oil and further still from the
   market for petroleum products.
   
   Total pulled out last September, saying there was no way it could make
   the project pay. The companies which replace Total have put on a
   braver public face about the location.
   
   Petronas president Hassan Merican said last week that the companies
   involved thought the project was viable despite its location. "We
   looked at it and decided that locating at Dung Quat bay would not have
   a major impact on the economic viability of the project," he said.
   
   Petronas executives in Hanoi are less sure. The expected returns based
   on the figures they have crunched do not include investment in the
   basic infrastructure that will be needed to make the project viable.
   The World Bank estimates the bill for all of this will add up to
   US$500 million. The Vietnamese government has said it would come up
   with a fifth of that amount.
   
   Petronas, which is likely to be left holding the baby after other
   partners have helped out with financing and construction, talks loudly
   about its A to Z approach to Vietnam's oil industry. Yet tales of
   political pressure ring truer than Petronas' A to Z posturing.
   Industry sources say Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has put
   the screws on Petronas to keep up its profile in Vietnam, regardless
   of the project's short-term prospects.
   
   US company Conoco, a unit of DuPont, has been brought along for the
   ride by Petronas, its partner in the Malacca refinery in Malaysia.
   "The Vietnamese were very keen to have a big US oil firm involved,"
   commented a US trade analyst.
   
   While the LG Group has protested that it is interested in operating
   the refinery, it is widely acknowledged that its real interest lies in
   the construction. "The truth? Of course it is easier to build, get
   paid and run," an LG manager said privately. That inclination seems
   confirmed by LG's association in the shareholding with Stone &
   Webster, an engineering company which has no pretensions to operate
   the refinery.
   
   Industry sources say that the two companies stand to pick up a
   veritable feast of infrastructure projects that will be needed to go
   along with the refinery.
   
   The Taiwanese partners, who have waited throughout the squabbling, are
   principally investors, according to those involved.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday, Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines
   
   [INLINE] ADB Vietnam Loan to Upgrade Highway 
   
   HANOI (Xinhua News) - The Asia Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday signed a
   120 million U.S. dollar credit agreement with Vietnam to help upgrade
   the trans-Vietnam highway.
   
   The loan will be used to upgrade the backbone highway's stretch
   between the capital city, Hanoi, and Lang Son city, the local press
   reported.
   
   The ADB is now the second biggest international financial institution
   to provide preferential loans to Vietnam.
   
   It has granted Vietnam 13 interest-free loans worth a totyal of 937
   million dollars, with terms of 40 years including a 10-year grace
   period.
   
   Over the 1997-2000 period, the ADB pledged to provide 1.7 billion
   dollars to Vietnam, of which 40 percent will be used in upgrading
   infrastructure facilities, including the trans-Vietnam highway.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday, Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines
   
   [INLINE] Vietnam-Canada: Exploration Program on the Coi Ky Project
   Update 
   
   Canada NewsWire CALGARY /CNW/ - Loren Komperdo, President of Tiberon
   Minerals Ltd. (TBR.ASE) is pleased to announce the initial results
   from the exploration program on the Coi Ky project.
   
   The exploration program consisted of exploration mapping and sampling
   over the entire property, followed by a detailed mapping, sampling,
   and a ground based magnetic survey over the Coi Ky Lead-Zinc-Silver
   deposit.
   
   Detailed mapping of the ore deposit has confirmed the Coi Ky deposit
   is strata bound partially within a silicified envelope of host shales
   and slates, trending 130 degrees and dipping at 70 to 75 degrees
   Northeast. The mineralized zone has been extended to a strike length
   of approximately 2000 metres. The style of the mineralization is
   considered to be sedimentary exhalative lead, zinc and silver with
   later remobilisation. In addition, the area contains narrow cross
   cutting faults in which gold appears to be concentrated. Generally
   gold assays in the cross cutting faults are less than 1 g/t but can be
   up to 15 g/t.
   
   Soil sampling to the north of the main showing has outlined a
   geochemical anomaly following the hill tops. This zone trends almost
   north - south for over 300 m, and is 75 to 100 metres wide. The
   anomaly remains open at both ends. Average values are 101 ppm Cu, 907
   ppm Pb, and 70 ppm Zn, with 0.34% Pb high.
   
   Tiberon and its joint venture partner, Vietnam Resources Corporation
   Ltd. (VRC), will initiate a diamond drill program at Coi Ky in the
   first week of April. The first hole will be 300 meters in length and
   is expected to intercept the mineralization at a depth of 200 meters
   below the old workings conducted by the French in the 1950's.
   
   On the Nui Phao Tin-Copper project, Tiberon and VRC are conducting a
   gravity survey along strike of the open pit tin mine currently being
   operated by our Vietnamese joint venture partners. This survey is
   expected to be completed in 4 to 6 weeks.
   
   Following the gravity survey the drilling rig will be moved from Coi
   Ky to Nui Phao to drill an initial three holes around and under the
   open pit mine. The results will confirm and establish the grade width
   and tenor of the mineralization currently being mined.
   
   Tiberon and VRC are also reviewing a bulk tonnage gold prospect in
   Vietnam. Initial exploration over this area consisted of 48 chip,
   channel and grab rock samples over three target areas. The average
   gold value of the samples is 2.3 g/t Au, with high value of 16.1 g/t
   Au and 26 samples greater than 0.5 g/t Au. If further work warrants,
   an exploration license will be applied for over the prospective area.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday, Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines
   
   [INLINE] Vivant Acquires Majority Interest In Vietnamese Joint Venture
   
   Canadian Corporate News
   
   CALGARY, ALBERTA--VIVANT IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE that it has acquired
   72 percent of the issued and outstanding shares (subject to the
   Alberta Stock Exchange approval) of AmViet Development Corporation
   (AmViet), the operating company that owns 70 percent of the shares of
   AmViet Mineral Water Company with the remaining 30 percent owned by
   the Quang Tri Beer Factory. AmViet Mineral has an existing
   infrastructure in place to bottle water and beverages in Vietnam.
   Additionally, Vivant retains the option to acquire the remaining 28
   percent of AmViet stock at a price equal to the greater of $784,000
   and 3 times the net income before taxes, depreciation and amortization
   and Vivant's management charges. The option exercise price can be
   satisfied by cash, notes or shares; the determination of which is at
   Vivant's discretion and subject to ASE approval.
   
   Vietnam is a rapidly emerging business center in Southeast Asia with
   its proactive governmental business focus, and essentially untapped
   natural resource base. Vietnam has a highly educated and skilled
   workforce, and an economically-improving population benefiting from
   increased foreign investment and tourism. Fusing this backdrop with
   the need for the country to import the vast majority of its purified
   drinking water, management sees an excellent opportunity for growth.
   Additionally, domestic producers are exempt from tariffs and this
   acquisition fills this requirement.
   
   Vietnam, however, remains a socialist country with its commensurate
   risks including a challenging and at times tedious bureaucracy; a
   legal and accounting system that is inconsistent and not up to Western
   standards; an unsophisticated financing methodology that favors hard
   currency over credit notes and payment schedules; an underdeveloped
   distribution and infrastructure system; and a complex tax regime.
   
   AmViet is a holding company designed to capitalize on emerging
   business opportunities within Vietnam through an experienced,
   professional and entrepreneurial management team including Mr. Richard
   Hensel (President of Construction Management Group, Inc.). Gerald
   Jensen (Chairman of Croff Oil Company), Brian Dubey (Director of Plans
   & Review Office, Maryland State Dept. of Health), and John Troha,
   (Director of Vietnam Operations) living full time in Vietnam for the
   past 3 years. This team has over 100 years of business management and
   project development.
   
   For the 72 percent interest Vivant is responsible for the following:
   
   a: to issue 3,000,000 common shares (subject to applicable hold
   periods and escrow provisions) of Vivant at a value of $0.24 for an
   effective sum of CDN $720,000.
   
   b: to further fund the water bottling operation with CDN $540,000 over
   the next quarter; proceeds of which will come from a future private
   placement.
   
   At the core of AmViet's operations are three licensing arrangements.
   It should be noted that the granting of licenses is restricted to
   those companies passing stringent government scrutiny and possessing
   appropriate relationships. Vivant and AmViet have passed those
   requirements. The first, is the granting of a water license for an
   onsite natural source for bottling water for domestic market and the
   exclusive distribution channels for the product for an estimated 10
   million litres. As well, there is a license in place for Natural
   Mineral Springs off-site as a separate water supply. Secondly, a PET
   license is also retained for full PET plastic bottle production within
   the water and beverage plants with total volumes of 44 million
   bottles. PET technology allows the production of preforms which are
   the first stage of a two-stage process in the manufacture of finished
   reheated, molded plastic bottles. Plastic bottle production will be
   implemented as product sales increase in order to provide on-site
   supply of empty bottles. Thirdly, and perhaps most significantly is
   the exclusive license rights for the production of American based
   Monarch brands (i.e. Dad's Root Beer, Bubble-Up, Kick-A-Poo Joy Juice,
   to name a few).
   
   Vivant is excited about the competitive advantage that AmViet holds
   over competitors due to the recent discontinuance of any new beverage
   licenses being granted by the Vietnamese Government. Vivant believes
   that there is for considerable upside potential from the realization
   of congruent opportunities including tapping plastic bottles sales
   within the central region of Vietnam and expanding plant capacities if
   demand warrants.
   
   The Vivant Group is a global food and beverage company actively
   involved in exports and overseas production and consulting/project
   management. Vivant intends to be a fully integrated company
   concentrating on domestic and overseas plastic container manufacturing
   and the marketing of Vivant's proprietary and joint venture brands.
   
   FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
   
   Vivant Group Inc., The John Burdiga Senior Vice President (403)
   974-0370 or Vivant Group Inc., The Gary Churchill Investor Relations
   Dept. (403) 266-5331
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday, Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines
   
   [INLINE] PetroVietnam CEO: Still In Refinery Talks With LG, Petronas 
   
   HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam -- Vietnam Oil & Gas Corp. (PetroVietnam)
   continues to discuss with South Korea's LG Group (Q.LGG) and
   Malaysia's Petroliam National Bhd (Petronas) (P.PET) about building
   the nation's first oil refinery, PetroVietnam President and Chief
   Executive Officer Ngo Thuong San told reporters Wednesday.
   
   Despite the recent collapse of the second foreign consortium that had
   planned to build the refinery, LG and Petronas 'say they are always
   interested' in continuing to investigate the project, San said.
   
   But he noted that LG and Petronas still 'want to have privileges to
   increase the rate of return' on the project from the level Vietnam is
   now prepared to offer. He specifically mentioned tax breaks and the
   right to sell refined products domestically as two of the benefits the
   companies are seeking.
   
   LG and Petronas both had participated in the second failed consortium
   of foreign companies that had discussed building the refinery. That
   consortium was formally terminated in February.
   
   PetroVietnam says it would like to open the planned $1.3-$1.5 billion
   refinery in 2000. The refinery is intended to have an annual capacity
   of 6.5 million metric tons and is scheduled to be located in Dung
   Quat, a remote fishing village on the central coast about 900
   kilometers north of Ho Chi Minh City.
   
   Separately, San said PetroVietnam expects to award drilling rights for
   offshore Block 15-1 'soon.' He said PetroVietnam is waiting for a
   consortium led by Conoco Inc. of the U.S. to merge with Geopetrol SA
   of France.
   
   The Conoco consortium and Geopetrol had submitted separate bids for
   15-1, but PetroVietnam wants to work with both of them, San said.
   
   Asked why PetroVietnam wants the two bidding entities to form one
   consortium, San replied, 'We want to cooperate with all companies.'
   
   The other participants in Conoco's consortium are South Korea's Korea
   Petroleum Development Corp. and South Korea's Yukong Ltd. (C.YUK).
   
   Two other foreign consortia had also been short-listed for Block 15-1.
   The block is regarded as the most promising that Vietnam has yet to
   award.
   
   Meanwhile, San said PetroVietnam is waiting for the Ministry of
   Planning and Investment to formally approve a proposal that would make
   Petronas the operator of the Dai Hung oil field.
   
   Petronas has agreed to take over the 43.75% stake of the current
   operator, Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary Co. (BHP).
   
   San said Petronas will have the same production-sharing agreement as
   BHP. He also said PetroVietnam is discussing lifting its stake in the
   field from its current 15% level.
   
   San said Petronas will need to develop the field further than has
   occurred already.
   
   BHP has said it is pulling out of the field because the
   production-sharing contract with PetroVietnam isn't attractive, given
   the field's lower-than-expect output.
   
   Turning to what is probably Vietnam's most promising oil or gas
   project, San said he expects natural gas production from the Nam Con
   Son basin to begin in 1999. The British Petroleum Co. PLC (BP), which
   will lead the development of the basin, has estimated recoverable
   reserves of 58 billion cubic meters in Block 06-1 and has also
   reported a 'significant' gas find in nearby Block 05-2.
   
   BP is also leading the development of the 365-kilometer pipeline that
   will bring gas from the field onshore, where it is expected to be used
   by several power and fertilizer plants. San said the 1999 goal for
   starting production 'isn't only BP's target, it is also ours.'
   
   Returning to the Dung Quat refinery, San said PetroVietnam is prepared
   to put a large portion of its annual profits from the VietSovPetro
   joint venture toward the construction of the refinery. He said more
   than $120 million a year of VietSovPetro profit can be directed to the
   refinery project.
   
   A Russian-Vietnamese joint venture, VietSovPetro produces about 90% of
   Vietnam's crude oil.
   
   The comment is notable because since the Vietnamese government
   indicated in February that it is prepared to build the refinery
   itself, questions have swirled about how the nation would fund the
   project.
   
   San made his comments following the opening of PetroVietnam '97, an
   oil and gas industry exhibition, which began Wednesday and continues
   through Friday.
                    ___________________________________
                                      
   Wednesday, Mar 26, 1997 ... Back to headlines
   
   [INLINE] Vietnam moves to tighten press controls to protect banking
   secrets 
   
   Hanoi (dpa) - Vietnam has moved to tighten state control over the
   domestic press coverage of the scandal-ridden banking sector,
   according to a new government ``guidance'' document that came into
   effect Wednesday.
   
   Protecting the ``state's secrets'' in the banking sector is a
   particular objective of the new ``inter-ministerial circular'' which
   was issued earlier this month by the central bank and the ministry of
   information and culture.
   
   State secrets are not defined in the circular, which itself has not
   been made public.
   
   Both the central bank and state comercial bankers have come under
   sharp criticism recently over revelations that the banking sector is
   saddled with a worrying amount of bad loans through lax management and
   corruption.
   
   The ministry of culture and information supervises the local press - a
   function it shares with Communist Party organs - but the circular is
   also likely to make it more difficult for the foreign press to report
   on the banking sector as well.
   
   The circular exposes the already cosy relationship that exists between
   the state-controlled press and government authorities and directs that
   this propagandistic coordination be made even closer.
   
   Any press organization that wishes to use ``secret information'' about
   the banking sector ``has to get approval from the head of the bank who
   directly manage those secrets'', instructs the document.
   
   The central bank is responsible for informing the press about the list
   of state secrets and to alert them to any changes so as to make them
   ``correctly comply'' with the regulations, the document added.
   
   It also directs that newspapers that want to reveal ``highly
   professional information. .. should consult'' with the relevant bank
   or the central bank.
   
   The document says ``good press'' organizations will be rewarded and
   that other ``settlement'' will be made with those who do not
   cooperate.
   
   The circular also appears to direct state banking authorities to adopt
   a more pro-active press approach by making them responsible for
   ``accurate, quick and timely supply of information''.
   
   ``As the banking system has is own unique social characteristics, all
   information related to its operation in the mass media effects not
   only the banking service, the stability of the state's monetary
   system, but also the Vietnamese banking status in the international
   arena,'' said an unofficial translation of the document.
   
   Officials recently revealed that state banks in Ho Chi Minh City were
   carrying overdue loans of 64 million dollars and that more than half
   of those were more than one year overdue.
   
   Vietnam's banking sector was rocked last month by reports, first
   published by Asia Times newspaper - that VP Bank, a private bank which
   was the first to have foreign shareholders, had defaulted on a
   deferred letter of credit worth nearly three million dollars.
   

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End of VNSA-L Digest 308
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