VN news

[Son Tran <stran@shrike.depaul.edu>]

>Saigon Times Daily
>Tuesday, June 17, 1997
>
>
>
>In brief
>
>
>q Power shortage turns serious in Northern Vietnam due to a
>longer-than-expected dry season. Feeding water sources for hydro -power
>plants are dwindling, resulting in a drop in generating capacity from
>2,800 MW to 1,800 MW. 
>
>
>q Power shortage turns serious in Northern Vietnam due to a
>longer-than-expected dry season. Feeding water sources for hydro -power
>plants are dwindling, resulting in a drop in generating capacity from
>2,800 MW to 1,800 MW. (See interview on page 2)
>
>
>q Russian President Boris Yeltsin on June 14 issued a decree conferring
>orders of the Federation of Russia to some foreign citizens. According
>to this decree, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Duc Luong was
>conferred the Friendship Order for his contributions to the
>consolidation of the economic, trading, scientific and technological
>ties between Vietnam and Russia.   
>
>
>q Vietnam Assistance Fund for Children has received VND322 million of
>donations from the postal sector, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and
>Industry, and ministries of Finance, and Planning and Investment. This
>will be spent on gratis orthopedic operations for handicapped children
>and providing scholarships for the children of war martyrs and invalids.
>
>
>q Vietnam International Heritage Center is organizing a training course
>on management, preservation, and development of Ha Long Bay in Ha Long
>City from June 10-23. The course is sponsored by UNESCO.
>
>
>q The authorities of Ngu Hanh Son District, Danang City recently cleared
>287 handicraft and refreshment shops causing disorder and damaging the
>scenery of Ngu Hanh Son (Five Mountains) showplace in the city. 
>
>
>q Saigon South Development Joint Stock Company will prepare documents
>for transferring land to people relocated in Tan Phong (District 7) and
>Phuoc Kieng (Nha Be) in the third quarter of 1997. 
>
>
>q The environment in the area of Ngan Nua Mountain in Thanh Hoa Province
>is being polluted by dust and wastes from Bicromat Plant, a JV for
>chromium exploitation operational in the area. 
>
>
>q State President Le Duc Anh decided to confer the Ho Chi Minh Order to
>bonze superior Thich Thien Hao, vice permanent chairman of the executive
>council of the Central Vietnam Buddhist Association, cum chief of the
>executive board of HCMC Buddhist Association for his contributions to
>the revolution for national salvation and reconstruction. 
>
>
>q Chief coach of the Vietnamese football team Tran Duy Long tendered his
>resignation to the General Department of Sports on June 14, following
>consecutive failures of the national team in the qualifying round for
>World Cup '98. 
>
>
>q The State has invested over VND180 billion in the information
>technology program in education and training. According to the Ministry
>of Education and Training, IT is now in the teaching program of 100% of
>colleges countrywide.
>
>
>q German technical cooperation agency (GTZ), in coordination with
>Vietnam's AIDS Prevention Committee and localities such as Hanoi, Lao
>Cai, Quang Ninh, and Ninh Binh, has worked out two Vietnam-Germany
>technical cooperation plans for AIDS prevention in 1998-2000. (SGT)
>
>
>
>Ministry drafts list of major exported items by 2020
>
>Trade Development Board under preparation
>
>(SGT-HANOI) The Ministry of Trade has prepared the list of key exported
>goods for development between now and the year 2020 and presented it to
>the Government for consideration.
>
>In the period 1996-2000, the country's processing industry will have to
>promote exports of such major products as textiles, garments, footwear,
>handicrafts, plastic items, electronic appliances, autos and motorbikes.
>
>Exports of rice, coffee, rubber, tea, groundnuts, cashew nuts,
>vegetables, aqua-forestry products, silk, crude oil, coke, tin and so on
>will be boosted. Software, tourism, import-export, insurance, finance
>and banking services will be promoted. 
>
>In the period 2001-2010, the country will concentrate on developing and
>exporting new products, including electrical appliances, liquefied gas,
>petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals, drugs, fertilizers, and
>electronic and telecom equipment.
>
>Meanwhile, exports of agricultural, forestry, aquatic and mineral
>products and foreign exchange services will be developed as in the
>period 1996-2000.
>
>In the next period from 2011 to 2020, Vietnam will give priority to
>development of sophisticated exports from such industries as automative
>technology, robots, mechanical engineering, new materials,
>bio-technology and metallurgy.
>
>As in the previous period, agricultural, forestry and aqua-product
>sectors and foreign exchange services will continue to be exported.
>
>* The Ministry of Trade has proposed a project for setting up a National
>Trade Development Board (TDB) to the Government for consideration.
>
>The TDB is a trade promotion organization under the ministry, with major
>functions of promoting trade across the country and assisting businesses
>to expand markets and develop products via trade promotion at home and
>abroad.
>
>This organization will conduct market research, organize information
>systems, and provide necessary information about trade operations,
>domestic and foreign markets, consulting service, training, exhibitions,
>fairs and advertising.
>
>The TDB will act as an adviser to the Ministry of Trade and Government
>agencies in drafting trade development policy and as a bridge between
>Government bodies and the business community.
>
>It will cooperate with international organizations with similar
>functions and will send resident representatives to major markets to
>promote trade. 
>
>The TDB is also entitled to establish trade points in Hanoi and HCMC to
>form data banks and electronic data exchange systems, and supply trade
>information and other necessary services.
>
>The State budget will financially support the operations of the TDB.
>
>
>
>* Last week ASEAN economic ministers finalized their recommendations for
>the group's economic strategy between now and the year 2020. They also
>discussed issues concerning realization of ASEAN investment by 2010 and
>promotion of a free investment flow by 2020.
>
>

>
>Donors for VN to meet in Tokyo
>
>(SGT-HCMC) The 5th Donor's Consultative Group Meeting for Vietnam will
>take place in Tokyo in December, an official of the Ministry of Planning
>and Investment said.
>
>This year, the Vietnamese Government and the World Bank decided to
>organize a meeting in Japan, the country's leading donor, after previous
>meetings held in Paris and Hanoi last year.
>
>The Vietnamese Government hopes  that this year the financial commitment
>of  the Japanese donor may increase or at least amount to over 30% of
>the total commitments of the international donor community for Vietnam.
>In the period 1993-1995, international donors committed to providing aid
>to Vietnam totaling US$6 billion, of which the top donor was Japan with
>over US$2 billion.
>
>Presently, in Vietnam the rate of aid disbursement has begun to pick up
>although delays on large infrastructure projects continue. In 1993 only
>US$372 million was disbursed but in 1996 the total official development
>assistance [ODA] disbursement was about US$800 million. However,
>economic experts in Vietnam said that  the rate of disbursement from
>Japan was extremely low compared with ODA resources from the World Bank
>or Asian Development Bank. In the first donors' conference held in Paris
>in November 1993, donor countries committed to provide Vietnam US$1.8
>billion, and the figure rose to US$1.9 billion in the Consultative
>Meeting in 1994, US$2.3 billion in 1995 and US$ 2.4 billion at the 1996
>meeting in Hanoi.
>
>
>
>Power shortage in North eased temporarily
>
>(SGT-HCMC) The supply of electric power in Northern Vietnam has begun to
>normalize as rains have arrived, alleviating the crisis of lack of water
>in reservoirs necessary to power hydroelectric plants.
>
>Power supply, however, has not yet matched demand. Mr. Bui Thuc Khiet,
>vice director general of Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), said the power
>output of generating plants in the North has increased considerably
>since June 11.
>
>The energy sector still has to use the North-South 500-KV transmission
>line to carry some 1.5 million kWh from the South to the North.
>Previously, it had to transmit more than 4.0 million kWh, but it was not
>adequate.
>
>According to forecasts, Hoa Binh Hydro-power Plant still lacks water in
>the reservoir.
>

>
>Central bodies recommend seven candidates for HCMC
>
>Thirteen of 61 cities, provinces present official lists 
>
>(SGT-HCMC) The HCMC Election Committee has received the list of
>candidates nominated by the Central Election Committee to run in the
>National Assembly (NA) general election in the city.
>
>The seven candidates are: 1/ Mr. Phan Van Khai, 64, member of the
>Party's Politburo and resident Deputy Prime Minister; 2/ Mr. Nguyen Sinh
>Hung, 51, member of the Party's Central Committee and Finance Minister;
>3/ Mr. Nguyen Dinh Loc, 62, Justice Minister; 4/ Bonze superior Thich
>Minh Chau, 77, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Vietnam
>Buddhist Association; 5/ Priest Phan Khac Tu, 56, Vice Chairman and
>Secretary General of the Vietnam Committee for Catholic Solidarity; 6/
>Superior monk Thich Tri Quang, 57, Vice Chairman of the Standing
>Committee of the Executive Board of the HCMC Buddhist Association; and
>7/ Mr. Tran Van Tan, 67, head of the Analytics Department in the
>Mathematics Faculty of the HCMC Education College.
>
>The HCMC Fatherland Front Committee, as covered by the Daily in the
>previous issue, finalized the official list of NA candidates during the
>third consultative meeting on June 14.
>
>The Election Committee of the city will distribute 39 candidates to nine
>polls throughout the city and present the lists at these polls to the
>Central Election Committee for approval.
>
>Election campaigns, as planned by the Election Committee, will take
>place in the city from June 26 to July 18.
>
>In addition to HCMC, 12 of the total 61 cities and provinces in the
>country have completed the official lists of candidates for the July 20
>election.
>
>Hanoi has 31 candidates; Quang Ninh, six; Nam Dinh, 15; Binh Duong,
>seven; Nghe An, 17; Can Tho, 19; Quang Binh, five; Thua Thien-Hue,
>eight; Ha Tinh, 10; Tuyen Quang, seven; Lao Cai, seven; and Phu Yen,
>five.
>
>
>IT industry attracts 19 FDI projects
>
>(SGT-HCMC) The country's information technology (IT) industry has so far
>attracted 19 licensed foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth
>over US$100 million, according to the Ministry of Planning and
>Investment (MPI).
>
>The MPI noted that some of them have pledged larger amounts of
>investment; actually, Japanese Fujitsu has increased its total capital
>in a printed circuit board plant at Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Park from
>US$78 million to nearly US$199 million.
>
>The MPI recently licensed Sanha Company Limited of Thailand to implement
>a US$1-million project in HCMC for providing services of computer
>skills, training and software development. The project has a duration of
>15 years.
>
>Most of the FDI projects concentrate on studying, manufacturing and
>developing computer software as well as providing related services. 
>
>Currently, there are 11 countries and territories engaging in Vietnam's 
>IT industry, namely France, the U.S., Germany, Japan, Russia, China,
>Singapore, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.
>
>
>
>First project committed to Noi Bai IP
>
>Viet Huong IP to undergo expansion
>
>(SGT-HANOI) NCI (Vietnam) Co. Ltd. became the first investor at Noi Bai
>Industrial Park (IP) following the Ministry of Planning and Investment's
>(MPI) decision last week to permit the firm to move to this IP from
>Nomura-Haiphong IP.
>
>NCI (Vietnam) is a 100% foreign-owned project with total registered
>investment capital of US$2.85 million and a duration of 30 years. The
>company specializing in making various auto and motorbike stickers was
>established in February.
>
>The relocation will help NCI (Vietnam) have closer access to its
>traditional customers, including Honda (Vietnam), Toyota (Vietnam) and
>Yamaha (Vietnam), said NCI (Vietnam) Director General Yasuo Inoguchi.
>
>Noi Bai IP, established in 1994 and located on a 100-hectare site
>adjacent to the Hanoi International Airport, is a Vietnamese-Malaysian
>joint venture (JV) with total investment capital of US$30 million.
>
>The developer is calling for investment as it has completed
>infrastructure for half of the IP. So far this year, 10 projects worth
>US$60 million have committed to the IP, said a source from the Hanoi
>Service of Planning and Investment.
>
>