VN news (June 5)

[Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>]

Australia Downer: Vietnam PM Says Admin. Reform Priority 
Cambodia's PM Hun Sen in Vietnam, says Hanoi 
Vietnam-U.S. Trade $1B So Far In 1997
Vietnam Airlines Traffic up Nearly Eight Percent in First Half
Australian Minister Urges Vietnam to Improve Business Climate
Australia Supports Vietnam's Bid to Join WTO 
Vietnam Produces 6.5M Tons of Coal In 1H 1997
Vietnam to ban steel imports 

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Australia Downer: Vietnam PM Says Admin. Reform Priority 

Hanoi (AP-Dow Jones)--Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, speaking
toward the end of a four-and-a-half day visit to Vietnam, said Saturday
he has received assurances from Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet
that simplifying the country's administrative procedures for foreign
investors is a top priority.

In recent months, foreign investment in Vietnam has fallen off, with
some companies withdrawing from the country amid complaints about its
high level of bureaucracy.

In one of the more recent high-profile cases, Australian energy and steel
company Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd (BHP) in June said it had
sold off its 43.75% equity in the Dai Hung oil and gas field to Malaysia's
Petronas Carigali (Dai Hung) Sdn Bhd., a subsidiary of the Malaysian
state oil company.

Downer called BHP's involvement in Dai Hung 'a substantial disappointment
to BHP.'

Downer said the 120 Australian companies invested in Vietnam will continue
their involvement but that the 'general concern of Australian business
is the complexity of the administrative arrangements and difficulties
encountered with customs at (local) ports.'

'The government is improving its administrative systems and these are
a priority,' Downer said he was told.

Australia ranks around number 11 in foreign investors in Vietnam, with
some US$800 million invested so far, mostly in the banking, telecommunications.
services, education and construction fields.

Downer also said Australia would welcome Vietnam's membership in the
World Trade Organization, but that Vietnam needs to demonstrate its commitment
to trade liberalization.

The WTO wants to 'make sure Vietnam and China don't just join the WTO
without making a commitment to its broader objectives,' Downer said.

He also said that by June 30, 1998, Australia will have given Vietnam
about A$210 million in aid over a four-year period and that it will renew
its aid pledge to the country.

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Cambodia's PM Hun Sen in Vietnam, says Hanoi 

Hanoi, July 5 (Reuter) - Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday
that Cambodia's Second Prime Minister Hun Sen was currently on vacation
in Vietnam.

"At the moment Mr Hun Sen is in Vietnam. This is a vacation, simply
a private trip," a ministry spokesman said in a statement.

Hun Sen was a senior leader in the Vietnamese-backed government in Cambodia
which took over from the Khmer Rouge in 1979. Communist-ruled Vietnam
invaded Cambodia at the end of 1978 and withdrew its forces in 1989.

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry gave no details of Hun Sen's whereabouts
and the Cambodian ambassador in Hanoi said he had not been informed of
any visit by the second prime minister.

Tension has been mounting in Phnom Penh between Hun Sen and First Prime
Minister Norodom Ranariddh who lead an increasingly shaky coalition government.

Ranariddh was also reported to be abroad.

Gunshots echoed across the outskirts of the Phnom Penh on Saturday as
rival government troops exchanged fire.

Cambodia's chief of general staff ordered forces loyal to Hun Sen to
take control of roads and clear what he described as "illegal checkpoints."

Hun Sen on Saturday repeated his accusation that Ranariddh was trying
to smuggle defectors from the dreaded Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement
into Phnom Penh but said Saturday's fighting did not signal civil war.

"I do not allow anyone in any position to destroy the country's future,"
Hun Sen said in a radio broadcast.

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Vietnam-U.S. Trade $1B So Far In 1997

Hanoi (AP-Dow Jones)--U.S.- Vietnam trade has reached $1 billion so far
this year, the state-owned Vietnam News Agency reported Saturday.

The agency said total trade between the two countries was $936 million
in 1996 - up from $450 million in 1995 - and that there are some 400
U.S. companies doing business in Vietnam.

With 61 investment projects and a combined investment capital of $890
million, the U.S. is the ninth largest investor so far this year, the
agency said.

The U.S. lifted its embargo on Vietnam in 1995.

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Vietnam Airlines Traffic up Nearly Eight Percent in First Half:
Report 

HANOI, July 5 (AFP) - Passenger traffic on Vietnam Airlines grew nearly
eight percent in the first six months of this year with the airline carrying
more than 1.3 million passengers, a report said Saturday.

The national carrier also transported 22,000 tonnes of freight in the
same period, the Lao Dong newspaper reported.

Vietnam airlines carried out a total of 17,300 flights in the first half
of the year, the report said.

The airline, one of Vietnam's most profitable companies, serves 22 destinations
inside Vietnam and 23 abroad.

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Australian Minister Urges Vietnam to Improve Business Climate

HANOI, July 5 (AFP) - Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said
Saturday he has called on Vietnam to improve its business climate during
talks with the country's leaders.

"Some of the difficulties that businesses have had in recent times ...
have brought negative publicity," said Downer, echoing growing complaints
among Vietnam's business partners.

"There are 120 Australian companies in Vietnam, all of them having difficulties
from time to time, mainly administrative," Downer told a news conference.

"The general concern of Australian business is the complexity of the
administrative arrangements. Investment should be facilitated," he added.

Downer said that Vietnamese officials responded favorably to his call
adding that Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet "has made it clear that the government
is improving its administrative system and that it is a priority for
his cabinet."

Australia, which for two years has ranked sixth as one of the top foreign
investors in Vietnam, fell to 13th place with approved projects worth
678 million US dollars.

The first Australian company, Broken Hill Protrietary (BHP), has recently
withdrawn from the southern offshore oilfields of Dai Hung after disappointing
drilling results.

Downer also said he raised the question of human rights during the talks
in Hanoi and was informed that five political prisoners who were part
of a list of 10 people "have been released or about to be released."
He refused to give more details.

Downer presented Saturday morning the new Australian ambassador to Vietnam,
after which he was to return to Ho Chi Minh City (south) in the afternoon.

On Sunday he will attend a groundbreaking ceremony at the My Thuan bridge
in the Mekong Delta, a 70 million US dollar project, of which 47 million
was financed by Australian aid.

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Australia Supports Vietnam's Bid to Join WTO 

HANOI, July 5 (Kyodo) -- Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
on Saturday expressed his country's support for Vietnam's efforts to
join the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"We would like to see Vietnam in the World Trade Organization," Downer
told the press during a conference in Hanoi on Saturday before heading
south to continue his five-day visit.

"Obviously, it is important that Vietnam joins (the organization) in
a way which is consistent with the objectives and the achievements of
the WTO," he added.

The minister said Australian aid to Vietnam over the past three years
has amounted to 210 million Australian dollars, exceeding by 10 million
dollars his country's pledged aid over four years ending next year.

"I told the government of Vietnam that we will renew the pledge, and
we will make a decision during the next year as to the amount of money
that will be provided," he said.

Downer also said that during his talks with his host, Vietnamese Foreign
Minister Nguyen Manh Cam, immediately after his arrival in Hanoi on Wednesday,
he touched upon the human rights issue and explained his country's commitment
to assist with the building of human rights institutions in Vietnam.

"We have in the last few months given financial support to the University
of Sydney to provide training for the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy on
human rights issues," Downer said, adding that he had presented the
Human Rights Research Center under the Academy with 450 books on international
law and human rights issues.

As for the accession to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
by Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar this year, the minister described it as
a "significant change" in the regional organization.

"That will, to some extent, change the character of the ASEAN and reinforce
the importance of the ASEAN to regional neighbors such as Australia,"
Downer said.

Downer met with Vietnamese Premier Vo Van Kiet on Thursday during his
second visit to Vietnam as Australian Foreign Minister, before making
a brief visit to Laos on Thursday and Friday.

His visit to Vietnam will also take him to the southern part of the country
to attend a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday for the Australian-financed
construction of My Thuan bridge crossing the Tien river, a tributary
of the Mekong, in Tien Giang province, about 130 kilometers southwest
of Ho Chi Minh City.

When completed and put into use in three years' time, the bridge, built
at a cost of 68 million dollars, two thirds of it from Australia, will
play a key role in communications in Vietnam's biggest rice-producing
area.

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Vietnam Produces 6.5M Tons of Coal In 1H 1997 

Hanoi (Dow Jones)-- Vietnam produced 6.5 million tons of coal in the
first half of 1997, including 5.4 million tons of commercial coal, the
state-owned Vietnam News Agency reported Saturday.

Citing figures from the Vietnam coal corporation VNACOAL, VNA said 3.3
million tons were sold on the domestic market with 1.6 million tons exported,
raising revenues of $160 million.

Coal exports were down 5.6% in the first half of the year from the first
half of 1996, the government's General Statistics Office reported recently.

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Vietnam to ban steel imports 

American Metal Market

Washington (June 03) -- The government of Vietnam has decided to close
its borders to a number of imports, including steel, according to Asian
press reports, The import ban, scheduled to take effect in July, was
undertaken to improve domestic production, which has been hurt considerably
by foreign competition. Current Vietnamese steel production of 400,000
tons is reportedly off 30 percent from last year.

The United States last year exported 24,337 net tons of steel to Vietnam,
according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

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