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VN news (June 27)
U.S., Vietnam Sign Copyright Agreement
Albright Praises Vietnam MIA Help
U.S. Secretary of State urges Vietnam to step up reforms
Albright Vietnam Message Not Seen Pleasing U.S. Cos
Vietnam protests over killings in Cambodia
Nike supervisor jailed in Vietnam for worker abuse
Vietnamese workers compensated for the Gulf War
Highlights of Vietnam's daily newspapers June 26
Vietnamese army chief visits Burma
P&G in lawsuit over redundancies in Vietnam
Vietnam says Mekong River bridge project to begin
Joint British-Singaporean business mission to Vietnam
Vietnam May Export 1.8 Mln Tonnes Of Rice In H1
Vietnam To Set Up Second Insurance JV Company
Vietnam's Lack Of Capital Slow Transport Construction
Japan beat Vietnam in Asian Pacific Cup volleyball
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U.S., Vietnam Sign Copyright Agreement
HANOI, Vietnam (Reuter) - The United States and Vietnam signed a copyright
agreement on Friday that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called
an important advance in normalizing economic ties between the two countries.
The agreement "will provide protections for intellectual property ...
It is an important step in the normalisation of U.S.-Vietnamese relations,"
she said after signing the pact with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen
Manh Cam.
"I look forward to its vigorous enforcement," she of the accord whose
coverage includes literary, musical, dramatic and choreographic works
as well as movies.
Cam also praised the accord as a reflection of both countries committment
toward "the further advancement of our bilateral relationship in the
time to come."
It is a move toward building a legal framework for a multi- faceted U.S.-Vietnam
relationship, he added.
Albright is on a two-day visit to Vietnam, then heads for Hong Kong where
Britain will hand over the territory to China at midnight on June 30.
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Albright Praises Vietnam MIA Help
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) _ After hearing today about efforts to account for
missing American servicemen, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said
she was pleased with Vietnamese cooperation.
Albright received a briefing from Col. Jonathan Chase of the U.S. MIA
office here, who said Vietnam was making a "full faith effort" to provide
an accounting. But he said that at times, bureaucratic delays and a lack
of Vietnamese personnel to handle U.S. requests are hampering the effort.
A key part of the overall effort includes joint excavations by U.S. and
Vietnamese personnel at sites where Americans were believed to have been
killed.
Albright spent the morning here and planned to fly on to Ho Chi Minh
City, the former Saigon, in the afternoon.
She had a morning appointment with U.S. Ambassador Pete Peterson, a former
Vietnam war prisoner, who presented her with a plaque attached to a brick
from the building where American POW's were held until there release
in 1973.
"It's a symbol of what we've been through and, more importantly, where
we are going," Albright said.
After the briefing by Chase, Albright said, "The message is that Vietnam
is in fact cooperating in this project (the MIA search) very well."
Some 1,000 Americans are unaccounted for in South Vietnam and 584 in
North Vietnam, Chase said.
He said priority is being given to cases in which the missing American
was last seen alive. There were 196 such cases in 1992 and all but 48
have since been accounted for, he said.
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U.S. Secretary of State urges Vietnam to step up reforms
Hanoi (dpa) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in Hanoi to
sign a copyright agreement, told Vietnamese leaders Friday that they
need to move faster in pursuing the policy of economic reforms, known
as "Doi Moi".
Now Vietnam needs "Doi Moi-2", Secretary Albright told a press briefing,
expressing disappointment with recent slow pace of economic reforms in
Vietnam.
"I raised quite strongly the human rights issue, including Vietnam's
reluctance to permit free press, opposition, freedom of religious expression,
and to release prisoners of consciousness," she said.
However, Albright described the dialogue with her Vietnamese counterpart
Nguyen Manh Cam as "excellent" and welcomed Vietnam's steady movement
to greater openness to outside world in recent years.
She confirmed that the MIA-POW issue is central in U.S. relations with
Vietnam, and underlined Washington's willingness to spend an estimated
ten million dollars a year until the fullest possible account of missing
American servicemen is compiled.
When asked about adverse consequences of Agent Orange, a toxic defoliant
widely used in Vietnam by the U.S. military during the war, Albright
said, "We are aware of this problem, and this issue has to be tackled
on the basis of scientific facts, not emotions."
Earlier Friday, Albright and her counterpart Foreign Minister Nguyen
Manh Cam held talks and signed bilateral agreement on establishing copyright
ties.
The U.S. secretary of state described the agreement as an important step
in normalization of bilateral economic relations, based on the rule of
law, and expressed hope that the deal would be vigorously enforced.
Nguyen Manh Cam said that the agreement contributed to establishment
of legal framework of bilateral ties.
U.S. trade negotiators concluded the copyright agreement in Hanoi April
16 after roughly two years of talks, and the deal will come into effect
six months after Friday's signing.
Albright met with Vietnam's Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet in Hanoi before
flying to Ho Chi Minh City Friday afternoon where she is to meet Vietnam's
Communist party leader Do Muoi.
She will officiate Saturday at the ground-breaking ceremony for a new
American consulate.
While in Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, Albright will also attend
a reception with the American business community Saturday before heading
to Hong Kong for the ceremony marking the handover of the British crown
colony Hong Kong to Chinese rule.l
The U.S. Secretary of State was originally scheduled to visit Cambodia
Saturday, but the visit was cancelled Wednesday because of security concerns
in Phnom Penh, according to U.S. officials.
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Albright Vietnam Message Not Seen Pleasing U.S. Cos
Hanoi (AP-Dow Jones)--Secretary of State Madeleine Albright came here
to deliver a message to this country's leaders: More progress is needed
on issues like refugee resettlement before closer economic ties with
the U.S. can be attained, reports Friday's Wall Street Journal.
That's not what U.S. companies doing business here want to hear. They
want some quick support from the Clinton administration, especially the
waiver of a legal restriction known as the Jackson-Vanik law. That would
make Vietnam projects eligible for U.S. Export-Import Bank financing
and assistance from the Overseas Private Investment Corp., which insures
or guarantees U.S. investments.
But Albright said she would have to look at how much progress is being
made on refugee problems 'in order for there to be a waiver (and) I'll
be explaining to them what more needs to be done.'
When former Secretary of State Warren Christopher visited here two years
ago, his top priority was formal resumption of diplomatic ties. With
that accomplished, Albright's mission is to 'lay greater stress on normalization
and moving forward on our economic relations,' she said Thursday.
U.S. businesses are pushing for commercial moves they believe can be
taken relatively quickly. In a letter to President Clinton last week,
some 50 U.S. corporations urged action on Jackson-Vanik this summer.
'The inability of U.S. companies to utilize the Export-Import Bank or
OPIC places them at a serious competitive disadvantage,' the letter said.
The signers included Bechtel Group, Caterpillar Inc., Exxon Corp. and
International Business Machines Corp.
A similar message was delivered recently to Treasury Secretary Robert
Rubin by several congressmen who are actively promoting steps toward
normalization with Vietnam.
Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) and Vietnam War veteran, said Hanoi took
a significant action in April when it agreed to pay the U.S. a $145 million
debt incurred by the former South Vietnam, the U.S.'s war-time ally.
But Sen. Kerry says, 'It seems to me that we've been slow to respond.'
Meanwhile, business executives and investors here are growing frustrated
by the slow pace of economic reform in Vietnam. Tony Foster, a partner
with a U.K. international law firm, Fresh Fields, warns that many big
companies that have been here for the past three years may re-evaluate
their commitment.
Albright agreed that the Vietnamese government 'needs to give more impetus
to the economic reforms so there is in fact a good climate for investors.'
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Vietnam protests over killings in Cambodia
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, June 27 (Reuter) - Vietnam said on Friday
that it had protested to Phnom Penh over the murder of three Vietnamese
living in Cambodia and demanded their killers be brought to trial.
The Communist Party daily Nhan Dan said the three, a man, his pregnant
teenage wife and elder brother, were attacked 10 days ago by five armed
men while fishing on the central Tonle Sap lake.
The killings follow three attacks several weeks ago on Vietnamese in
eastern Cambodia which left 12 dead and 16 wounded.
The bodies of the latest victims were found in the lake. The men's hands
and legs had been bound and the 17-year-old woman's clothes torn, leading
police to suspect she had been raped.
Nhan Dan said Vietnam had sent letters to the Cambodian foreign and interior
ministries and the U.N. human rights centre in Cambodia strongly condemning
the killings.
"Vietnam's embassy to the Kingdom of Cambodia once again requests the
Cambodian royal government to carry out effective measures to ensure
the safety and security for Vietnamese emigrants living in Cambodia against
all actions conducted by terrorists and murderers," it said.
Ethnic Vietnamese -- some living for generations in Cambodia -- have
long been the target of attacks, most believed to be at the hands of
Khmer Rouge guerrillas.
In 1993, thousands of Vietnamese fled the Tonle Sap lake area after a
series of killings in which about 100 people died.
Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in 1978 to oust the Khmer Rouge and
install a government which faced a three-party resistance coalition spearheaded
by the Khmer Rouge.
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Nike supervisor jailed in Vietnam for worker abuse
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, June 27 (Reuter) - A Taiwanese supervisor
of a factory in Vietnam that makes shoes for the U.S. sportswear giant
Nike Inc (NKE.N) was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday for
physically abusing workers, a court official said.
The official said the woman, who was sentenced after a one-day court
hearing in the southern province of Dong Nai, had 15 days to appeal against
the verdict.
The woman, Hsu Jiu Yen, was accused of forcing 56 of her workers at the
Pou Chen Vietnam Enterprise Limited plant to jog twice around the two-km
(1.2-mile) factory perimeter in the heat of the day for failing to wear
regulation footwear.
According to local newspaper reports, 12 of the workers fainted and were
taken to hospital.
The factory is one of five plants -- three South Korean and two Taiwanese
-- producing shoes for Nike in Vietnam that were named in March by Vietnam
Labour Watch for abuse of workers.
Officials at Nike, which has refuted the allegations, were not available
to comment on the trial of the supervisor.
An independent review by former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
Andrew Young, released this week, found that workers at Asian Nike factories
are well-treated, but many are unaware of their rights and are often
supervised by people who don't speak their language.
Young, who championed human rights while U.N. ambassador during the Carter
administration, described the 12 factories he visited in China, Vietnam
and Indonesia as "clean, organised, adequately ventilated and well-lit."
But he said confidential audits by an international firm found that religious
holidays and days off were regularly denied to certain workers, that
workers on one shift were made to work overtime against their will, and
some workers were paid "training" or "probationary" wages beyond
their actual training period.
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Vietnamese workers compensated for the Gulf War
Hanoi, June 27 (AFP) - Nearly 400 Vietnamese workers who were forced
to leave Iraq during the Gulf War have received compensation from the
United Nations Compensation Committee, the official Vietnam News daily
reported Friday.
The 378 people were the first recipients of compensation among the 15,992
workers who were working in Iraq under labour contracts signed with the
Iraqi government between August 1990 and March 1991 and were forced to
leave the country because of the Gulf War.
The first batch of workers received 2,500 dollars in compensation, less
1.5 per cent of the amount said to be used for covering payment procedures.
The dossiers of all Vietnamese workers who had to end their labour contracts
earlier than expected because of the outbreak of war were sent by Vietnam's
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to the United Nations.
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Hanoi, June 26 (VNA) - Highlights of Vietnam's daily newspapers today:
NHAN DAN:
- The Management Board of the export processing and industrial zones
in Ho Chi Minh City announced that as from July 1, 1997 the granting
of licences to direct investment projects to be capitalised at below
US$10 million would be within 10 days.
VIETNAM NEWS:
- Vietnam's tallest skyscraper, the 33-storey Sai Gon Trade Centre in
downtown Ho Chi Minh City was inaugurated yesterday with 15 percent of
its total space leased.
- The Bien Hoa Sugar Company will equitise its three workshops in July
this year. The company is expected to sell 70 percent of its stock to
workers, with 20 percent to be held up by the Bien Hoa Sugar Company
and the rest sold to 170 company agents across the country.
HANOI MOI:
- Vietnam's maritime industry has earned export turnover of US$366.6
million for the first half of the year, an increase of 25.4 percent over
the same period last year.
(VNA)
26-06 1415
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Vietnamese army chief visits Burma
BANGKOK, June 26 (AFP) - Vietnam's army chief arrived in Rangoon Thursday
for talks with Burmese military leaders, state-run Radio Rangoon reported.
General Pham Van Tra, who is also vice minister of defence, is leading
a high-ranking military delegation on an official goodwill visit, the
report said in a broadcast monitored here.
Shortly after arrival, the delegation held a meeting with the Deputy
Commander-in-Chief of Burmese Armed Forces, General Maung Aye at the
military headquarters in Rangoon, the radio said.
The talks were also attended by commanders of the Burmese army, navy
and air force, as well as Rangoon-based Vietnamese military attaches,
according to the radio, it did not indicate the subject of the discussion.
General Maung Aye is also the Vice Chairman of the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) -- the official name of the ruling Burmese
military junta.
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P&G in lawsuit over redundancies in Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, June 27 (Reuter) - Two former employees of
Procter & Gamble's joint venture in Vietnam have filed a lawsuit over
a redundancy plan, a senior company official said on Friday.
He said the action had been brought to the labour court of the southern
province of Binh Duong, where 68 workers had been offered voluntary redundancy
and a severance payment.
"Two of them have not agreed to the voluntary separation," said the
official, who declined to be named. "The payment was significantly better
than required by law."
He declined to put a figure on the payments, but another official at
the venture -- which is 70-percent owned by the U.S. toothpaste-to-detergent
giant -- said they ranged from 20 million to 65 million dong ($1,715-5,570).
He said the court would send a delegation to the company next Tuesday
to examine the case.
The senior official said the company had reduced its workforce in Vietnam
to between 375 and 400 from 451 because of lower-than-expected demand
for its products.
P&G started operation in Vietnam in July, 1995.
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Vietnam says Mekong River bridge project to begin
HANOI, June 27 (Reuter) - Vietnam said on Friday that construction work
on a $66.4 million Australian-funded bridge spanning the vast Mekong
River would begin on July 6.
The official Vietnam News Agency said the 800 metre (2,625 foot) My Thuan
Bridge -- a cable suspension structure -- would take three years to build
and would replace ferry crossings, currently the only means of traversing
the river.
The bridge will be built about 150 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of
Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam.
Up to 300 Australian and 1,200 Vietnamese workers are expected to be
involved. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is due to visit
early next month and is expected to officiate at a groundbreaking ceremony
for the project.
The bridge is two-thirds funded by Australian government
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Joint British-Singaporean business mission to Vietnam
SINGAPORE, June 26 (AFP) - Singapore and Britain are to send a joint
mission to Vietnam to scout for investment opportunities, especially
in ports and other infrastructure projects, officials said Thursday.
The mission by the Singapore-British Business Council would take the
opportunity to seek clarification from the government over reports of
uncertainties among foreign investors on decision-making and policy reforms
in Vietnam, they said.
"This joint mission is an important, practical and innovative step forward
in the work of the council. Vietnam was chosen because of the potential
for rapid economic development," British High Commissioner Gordon Duggan
told reporters.
Senior executives from 23 British and Singapore companies will take part
in the eight-day mission beginning on Saturday and covering the cities
of Hanoi, Haiphong, Halong, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.
Major participants include British giants Rolls Royce International,
banking giant HSBC and British Petroleum and Anglo Dutch oil company
Shell and Singapore firms Sembawang Engineering and Construction Pte.
Ltd., state-linked Temasek Holdings and Overseas Union Bank Ltd.
Sembawang Corp. executive director Cheong Quee Wah said the main focus
of the mission would be on ports and infrastructure development. It would
also cover other general industrial activities and related sectors such
as environment consultancy, legal services and project finance.
Officials said the mission would also seek first-hand information from
government officials on alleged investment and bureaucratic difficulties
faced by foreign investors.
Questions have been raised recently over Vietnam's ability to honour
its financial commitments in the face of growing short-term trade debt
and dwindling foreign reserves.
Some foreign investors are reportedly disillusioned with the reform progress
and the high degree of bureaucratic obstruction that they must overcome
on almost a daily basis.
In Hanoi, the mission would call on top officials of the planning and
investment, transport and communication and construction ministries.
There will also be meetings with the Asian development Bank and the World
Bank.
Singapore is the largest cumulative foreign investor in Vietnam, with
investments totalling 5.1 billion US dollars as at May, according to
the Vietnamese ministry of planning and investment.
British investment figures in Vietnam were not immediately available.
The Singapore-British Business Council was set up in 1993 on the joint
initiative of the prime ministers of the two countries
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Vietnam May Export 1.8 Mln Tonnes Of Rice In H1
Hanoi, June 26 (VNA) - The export volume of rice is expected to reach
1.7 or 1.8 million tonnes by the end of June, Vietnam Courier weekly
quoted sources from the Ministry of Trade (MOT).
MOT officials said they are optimistic that rice exports may reach 2.5
million tonnes by the end of September.
It is significant that Vietnam achieves this export volume at a time
when demand on the world market is dropping.
The MOT is now accelerating the purchase of rice, especially in the Mekong
delta. To date, MOT businesses have bought nearly 3.75 million tonnes
from the delta.
Also in the first six months, the gap in the rice prices between the
north and the south was narrowed due to price drops in northern provinces
and price hikes in southern provinces. In the Mekong delta in the first
week of June, the price of rice ranged between 1,300 VND and 1,400 VND/kg
or an increase of 100-200 VND/kg. The price hike is good news for rice
farmers, who have been annoyed for months by drops in the rice purchase
price.
Trade experts said they expected this price hike to continue in the next
months.
The banks have lent State trading companies about VND 2,000 billion to
purchase rice from farmers for export.
MOT officials predict that the autumn-summer rice crop in the Mekong
delta may be another bumper crop.
At present, Vietnam is exporting mostly medium-grade rice. But the Government
has committed to making more investment in rice-husking and polishing
facilities with a view to further increasing the value of exported rice.
(VNA)
26-06 1417
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Vietnam To Set Up Second Insurance JV Company
Hanoi, June 26 (VNA) - A joint venture company will be set up by the
Ho Chi Minh City Insurance Company (Bao Minh) and Mitsui Insurance Co.
and Yasuda Insurance Co. of Japan, according to Bao Minh Director Nguyen
Nam Cuong.
The company to be called United Insurance Company will be the second
joint venture in Vietnam's insurance industry. Bao Minh will contribute
51 percent of the total investment capital of US$6 million of the JV
which has a maturity of 25 years.
It will provide, non-life insurance and re-insurance policies with clients
mainly being Japanese invested projects and enterprises.
Vietnam's first insurance joint venture company, named Vietnam International
Assurance, was established in August 1996 by Vietnam Insurance Corporation
(Bao Viet), Commercial Union Assurance of Britain, and Tokyo Marine and
Fire Assurance of Japan. Fifty-one percent of the ventures US$6 million
investment capital was from Bao Viet.
There are five domestic insurance companies and 31 representative offices
of foreign insurance companies operating in Vietnam with State-run Bao
Viet standing for 80 percent of the insurance market.
(VNA)
26-06 1419
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Vietnam's Lack Of Capital Slow Transport Construction
Hanoi, June 26 (VNA) - The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport and
Communications (MTC) said that although the transport is a Government
priority in infrastructure construction, shortage of capital is hindering
progress in this field.
Vietnam Courier weekly quotes sources from the Ministry of Planning and
Investment (MPI) as saying that the investment capital for transport
construction of the 1996-2000 period is planned at US$4 billion, accounting
for 25 percent of the whole public investment plan for the period. More
than half of this investment is slated to go into land road projects.
An MTC official said that the land road projects of the 1996-2000 are
likely to cast VND 18,600 billion, of which about VND 15,000 billion
will have to be drawn from foreign sources.
Over the past years, international financial organisations such as the
World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Overseas Economic
Cooperation Fund of Japan (OECF) and other foreign donors have provided
Vietnam with substantial funding for upgrading its key land routes. These
projects include the 106-km Highway No. 5 from Hanoi-Hai Phong-Quang
Ninh (VND 3,500 billion) and the Highway No. 1 (VND 4,240 billion for
the first stage).
Many other projects with foreign investment are also underway in various
parts of the country.
At present, MTC and the Ministry of Finance are jointly proposing the
Government to adopt more attractive policies to encourage foreign investment
in this sector.
(VNA)
26-06 1432
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Japan beat Vietnam in Asian Pacific Cup volleyball
KURUME, Japan, June 26 (AFP) - Five-time defending champions Japan powered
past Vietnam in three sets for their second straight win in the Asian
Pacific Cup men's volleyball tournament on Thursday.
The Japanese spikers rallied to a straightforward 15-5, 15-7, 15-8 victory
at the Kurume Sports Centre Gymnasium in Fukuoka, western Japan, to remain
unbeaten with Indonesia and Thailand.
Thailand, runners-up last year here, defeated Malaysia 15-7, 15-6, 15-12,
while Indonesia outclassed the Philippines 15-11, 15-8, 15-10 earlier
in the day.
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