Billions dollar worth of jewelries exported to Switzerland | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Billions dollar worth of jewelries exported to Switzerland | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "VietNamNet Bridge –

Billions dollar worth of high-grade jewelries have been exported in the last

two years from Vietnam to Switzerland,

where the jewelries are smelted to get gold.

The Financial

Times has reported that there has been a growing tendency over the past two

years that Vietnamese businessmen have been trying to export high-grade gold

jewelry to Switzerland

as a trick to “dodge” the current laws which prohibits bullion gold exports.

In Switzerland,

the jewelries are smelted and then cast into bullion gold. Vietnamese

businessmen want to export jewelry to Switzerland

because the country in the north of Europe is

famous for the smelting industry which can turn all gold-made products into

gold bullions with international standards.

Statistics

showed that before 2008, Vietnam

only exported a small amount of gold of 3.2 tons of jewelry to Switzerland,

earning 71 million francs or 77.5 million dollars. However, things have changed

in the last two years, as Vietnam

has become a big source of imported gold products for Switzerland.

Most of the jewelry from Vietnam

has come to the furnaces of big manufacturers such as Argor-Heraeus, Metalor,

MKS Finance and Valcambi.

The newspaper

has quoted Cameron Alexander, a senior analyst of GFMS precious metals

consultancy as saying that in Vietnam, enterprises are not allowed to export

high grade bullion gold. The ban has prompted Vietnamese enterprises to process

bullion gold into jewelry with high title of gold and export the jewelryfor

dollars. The problem is that Vietnam

prohibits businessmen from exporting bullion gold, but does not prohibit them

from exporting jewelry. This is a big loophole of the laws and many businessmen

have exploited it.

In 2010

alone, Vietnam exported

nearly 61 tons of precious metals to Switzerland, mostly under the mode

of gold-made products, reaping 2.6 billion francs, or 2.8 billion dollars,

according to the Swiss Federal Customs Administration. The figures were 54 tons

and 1.9 billion francs in 2009 (the figures do not include the exports of

bullion gold). Especially, the exports to Switzerland

increased sharply a few times when the gold prices in Vietnam were

lower than the prices in the world market.

Local

newspaper VnExpress has quoted a representative from an enterprise which is a

member of the Vietnam Gold Business Association, as saying that “Vietnamese enterprises

have to take a roundabout to export gold, when the domestic prices are much

lower than the world’s prices”. The executive said that in 2009 and 2010,

enterprises must be granted quotas to be able to export bullion gold.

Meanwhile, quotas were granted a few times and with limited export volumes.

Therefore, enterprises decided to export jewelry because it was much easier to

export jewelry, while the exports were not imposed tax. And the enterprises

turned bullion gold into jewelry to export.

The

executive has revealed that Swiss importers pay for the jewelry the same prices

as they pay for bullion gold. “As such, exporters could not earn money for the

processing into jewelry. However, they still could earn fat profit, when the

domestic prices were lower than the world’s prices,” he said.

“The strict

control over the gold exports has forced enterprises to play such a trick,” he

added.

In Vietnam,

bullion gold is considered “monetary gold”, therefore, the government has

decided that bullion gold imports and exports must be strictly controlled and

have quotas.

He also

said that he knew a gold company which exported 7-8 tons of jewelry at once in

2009-2010, and that he thinks the statistics released by the Swiss agency can

truly reflect the real exports.

In fact,

Vietnamese management agencies have realized that enterprises played tricks to

circumvent the laws. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance decided to impose the

tax rate of 10 percent, starting from January 1, 2011, on material gold and

high grade jewelry instead of the zero tax rate that was previously applied.

According to the General Department of Customs, in 2010, Vietnam imported 1.1

billion dollars worth of precious stones, precious metals and products, an

increase of 124.7 percent over the last year. Meanwhile, Vietnam exported 2.82

billion dollars worth of products, up by 3.4 percent. Meanwhile in 2009, the

export turnover of the products was 2.73 billion dollars, while the import

turnover was modest at 492.1 million dollars.

Source:

VnExpress

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Jungle of Rock Tombs

LookAtVietnam - Thousands of rock poles are pitched around tombs in a jungle in the ancient Dong Thech cemetery of a Muong ethnic minority mandarin in Vinh Dong commune, Kim Boi district, the northern province of Hoa Binh.
The cemetery is the home to hundreds of rock tombs and thousands of rock poles, which are nearly 400 years old. This site is still a great secret to even local people.
Local residents said that they didn’t know much about the cemetery but they call this cemetery as “Jungle of rock tombs”.
All tombs have three big marble rocks at the head, three smalls at the foot of the tomb. The biggest rock is placed at the middle of the tomb. The marble rocks were brought from the central province of Thanh Hoa. The biggest rocks are over 1m wide and 4m high, weighing tons.
There are many ghost stories about the ancient cemetery, which prevent locals from visiting the site.
According to Bui Van Hung and Bui Minh Loi, local officials, there is a legend about the Dinh family, the richest mandarin family in Hoa Binh in the ancient time. The cemetery is the “holy land” of this family.
Tombs in the cemetery are the tombs of members of the Dinh family and their female servants. Each tomb has several blocks of marble carving the name and position of the deaths, in Chinese scripts, as well as animal pictures.
Four areas of Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province had cemeteries for Muong mandarins but only the Dong Thech cemetery still exists.
Before 1945, the cemetery was untouched and it was protected by thrilling stories. In 1946, liberation troops came to this land and local people followed soldiers to visit the cemetery.
In the 1980s, local people suffered from poor crops so they excavated some tombs to seek valuable items that were buried with the death. Since then, many antiques smugglers came there to look for antiques, resulting in the disappearance of many rock tombs.

Low percentage of tourists want to return to Vietnam

ietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has gained a high ranking in the world’s tourism map. However, analysts have warned about the unsustainable development of its tourism industry.

The latest report released by World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that Vietnam’s tourism competitiveness has jumped by nine rankings to 80^th out of 139 countries and territories. Prevailing over other countries in terms of the number of cultural heritages and natural landscapes, which are evenly distributed in different areas, and in terms of cheap rates, Vietnam’s tourism is inferior to other countries in terms of ability to exploit the market. Vietnam ranks behind some rivals such as Singapore (10^th), Thailand (41^st), Indonesia (74^th) and Malaysia (35^th). Meanwhile, Vietnam has more world’s cultural heritages than the countries: it has nine, while Indonesia has eight, Thailand three, Malaysia has two and Singapore does not have any world’s heritages.
Vietnam slow in adapting to new circumstances
Nguyen Minh Man, a senior executive of Vietravel, said that though Vietnam has great potentials to develop tourism, it has not paid appropriate attention to attract travelers. According to Man, Thailand proves to be more professional in promoting tourism. It organizes tours for journalists from many other countries, who come for excursions and give opinions about every shopping or entertainment opportunity. The opinions, plus the surveys it conducts, can give suggestions about how to design tours to target different groups of tourists. Meanwhile, Vietnam always organizes tourism promotion campaigns in a large scale, with little specific focus.
Regarding the tourism infrastructure, Man believes that Vietnam is not inferior to any other regional countries, but it still unclear about the re-investment level. That explains why only a low percentage of tourists want to return to Vietnam. “A lot of natural destinations do not receive appropriate re-investment, and even domestic travelers do not want to return, let alone foreign travelers,” Man said.
WEF considers Vietnam a country that is really safe for tourists, but it has warned tourists about the beggar problem, street vending and traffic congestion.
The WEF’s report mentioned the way Malaysia followed in the crisis period in 2008-2010 to promote tourism, showing how the country quickly adapted to the new circumstances in the crisis. For a short term, the nation attracted Chinese tourists with cheap rates, while it pursued a long term program to popularize its cultural diversity and eco-tourism.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has been very slow in adapting to the new circumstances and it has been relying too much on traditional travelers from North America and Europe.
Competing with cheap rates?
According to WEF, cheap rates prove to be the competitiveness of Vietnam’s tourism. Vietnam ranks the 16^th among the 139 countries in terms of low rates. However, according to Nguyen Van My, Director of Lua Viet Travel, this should be seen as a supporting factor, while low rates cannot play the decisive role in attracting travelers. Man agrees, saying that tourists always consider the service quality and destinations’ quality before considering the rates.
Dr Pham Trung Luong, Deputy Head of the Tourism Research and Development, also thinks that Vietnam has not paid reasonable attention to preserving environmental landscapes and therefore make natural landscapes less attractive in the eyes of foreign travelers.
Though Vietnam has jumped nine places in the ranking, it still has many things to do. According to WEF, problems still exist in the programming for infrastructure development and in the investments to develop tourism complexes. The transportation infrastructure still cannot meet the requirements of the national economy, including the tourism sector. This has led to the low quality of tour routes and prolonged excursion times, thus making the destinations less attractive.
Man from Vietravel believes that Vietnam should apply necessary measures to re-invest in tourism destinations. “It is necessary to set up a regulation, forcing travel firms to extract their profits to reinvest in the destinations, or we will not be able to retain travelers,” he said.
Source: SGTT

Bob Dylan’s simple requests to come to Vietnam | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

LookAtVietnam - No
big welcome, just a normal hotel room with two windows, no filming or direct
broadcasting the show are among the requests of Bob Dylan when for when he
comes to Vietnam to sing in HCM City
on April 10.

Apart from the above simple requests, the famous singer
posed two important requirements: the quality of sound must meet international
standards and the seats cannot be classified as VIP or economy seats.

Accordingly, all audiences will sit on the grass at the
stadium of the RMIT International University
in District 7, HCM
City to enjoy Bob Dylan’s
songs.

Before the 2-hour show by Bob Dylan, Vietnamese well-known
singers – My Linh, Thanh Lam, Uyen Linh, Quang Dung, Duc Tuan and Tran Manh
Tuan - will perform songs by Trinh Cong Son.

Dylan said that he knew a lot about the life and music career
of Trinh Cong Son so Vietnam
is a significant destination in his tour to Asia and Australia.

Bob Dylan’s show in Vietnam is organized by Saigon
Sound System, Thanh Nien Media Company and Trinh Cong Son’s family.

Ticket prices are VND900,000 and VND2.5 million.

Bob Dylan’s tour to Asia-Pacific includes 25 shows, starting
on April 3 in Taiwan, to China, Vietnam,
Hong Kong, Singapore,
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland,
the UK, Switzerland, Germany,
Denmark and finishing in the
US
on July 20.

Seven years ago, it was announced that Dylan would come to Vietnam to attend the World Peace Music Awards
but the event was finally organized in the US.

Bob Dylan, 70, has been a major figure in music for five
decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an
informal chronicler, and an apparently reluctant figurehead, of social unrest.
A number of his songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The
Times They Are a-Changin’” became anthems for the US civil rights
and anti-war movements. His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political,
social and philosophical, as well as literary influences.

Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed
by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s
on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a
recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his
greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.

Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and
paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a
songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years
including Grammys, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and
Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, a Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the
singer’s honor in his birthplace of Duluth,
Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize
jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for “his profound impact on
popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of
extraordinary poetic power.”

Time Magazine ranks him among 100 most influential people of
the 20th century.

PV

Vietnam remains an unknown and hidden charm to foreign travelers.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars to show its beautiful landscapes on famous television channels CNN or
BBC, or to advertise on taxis in London.
However, Vietnam
remains an unknown and hidden charm to foreign travelers.

The arrow
that failed to reach the target

In recent
years, Vietnam
has been paying more attention to promoting tourism. However, the result
remains modest. In the second half of 2010 alone, Vietnam spent 5.3 billion dong to
run advertisement campaigns on CNN, which gobbled up 12 percent of the total
budget for the yearly national tourism promotion program.


A mini survey conducted by the Vietnam Economic Forum conducted on 200 foreign
travelers showed that 77 percent of foreign travelers have never seen
information about Vietnam’s tourism in mass media, advertisements or at tourism
trade fairs. Ninety-three percent of polled tourists said they never see the
advertisement pieces on BBC and CNN.

Vietnam also spent money to place advertisements on 27 taxis
out of 10,000 taxis in London in the UK for six
months. However, local dwellers said they never see the advertisements.

Vu Huy Vu,
Deputy General Director of Saigon Tourist, said Vietnam
needs to do many more things to popularize Vietnam’s tourism in the world. “Vietnam needs to have more and more publications
introducing Vietnam’s
tourism potentials. It needs to set up tourism representative offices in other
countries to promote tourism,” he said, adding that other regional countries
like Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines all have representative offices in
Europe and the US for tens years.

Meanwhile,
a cheap but effective communication channel – Internet – has been ignored.

Ben Chua is
a Singaporean person who builds and runs vietnam720, an website that uses
interactive products like videos, audios to introduce attractive destinations
in Vietnam.

“If you
access to yoursingapore.com, you will find everything about Singapore. For
example, if you type “art”, the website will show all the information about
arts, from the events to places for excursions or the hotels near art centers,”
he said.

Ben Chua
said he has an account on Twitter to listen opinions from people about Vietnam. There
is a tweet posted in every 10 seconds, which means 36,000 opinions come every
hour. However, no official agency has replied to the opinions.

What is a new
image for Vietnam?

In mid
January 2011, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism VNAT officially
announced the result of the logo creation competition for the new period. The
slogan “Vietnam
– a different Orient” has won the competition. However, after two months, the
slogan has not been approved to become the new slogan of Vietnam’s
tourism in the new period.

It seems
that foreigners still see Vietnam
as a war torn country, rather than an attractive destination in peacetime. It
is because Vietnam
is still busy looking for a new suitable slogan to be introduced to the world.

“Vietnam is a
friendly, joyful country, where the prices are reasonable. However, the images Vietnam
introduces to the world do not reflect these things,” said Tim Russell,
Managing Director of Come & Go Vietnam travel firm.

He believes
that since Vietnam cannot
build up a reasonable tourism brand, only five percent of tourists return to Vietnam for the second time, while 50 percent of
tourists come to Thailand
for the second time.

He went on
to say that Vietnam
only has been trying to attract the tourists who are interested in the culture
and discoveries, while it has not been trying to attract holidaymakers.
Meanwhile, tourism does not only mean discovery, but also means relaxing, sunbathing,
playing golf and water sports, meals, nightlife and anything that is a part of
a comfortable life.

He believes
that Vietnam
should look for professional consultants and should carry out surveys in many
places in order to build up a professional marketing strategy.

Lan Huong

Photographers who gave their Lives in Vietnam

Elizabeth Taylor laid to rest

Flowers, photographs and notes from fans adorn the Hollywood Walk of Fame star of actress Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood, March 23

Actress Elizabeth Taylor was given a small private funeral service in the Los Angeles area Thursday, a day after she died of congestive heart failure, police said.
The Oscar-winning actress, 79, was laid to rest at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, outside Los Angeles – the same place where her close friend, singer Michael Jackson, was buried in 2009.
Glendale police spokesman Tom Lorenz told media waiting outside the cemetery that the service was for family only, with about three dozen people attending.
Taylor, who married eight times, is survived by four children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Her representatives did not return calls for comment. They said Wednesday that details of a public memorial would be announced at a later date.
Forest Lawn is also the burial place of many Hollywood celebrities, including Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Walt Disney.
Lorenz said Taylor was being interred in the Great Mausoleum, but not next to Jackson.
Taylor was a prominent activist for AIDS victims and raised millions of dollars for research into the disease.

Source: Reuters

Radioactive cloud will come to Vietnam March 25

LookAtVietnam - A
radioactive cloud will come to Vietnam
on March 25 but it will not affect human’s health, according to the Agency for
Radioactive Nuclear Safety.

Chief of the Agency for Radioactive Nuclear Safety, Dr. Ngo
Dang Nhan said that according to Norwegian scientists, a radioactive cloud from
Japan will come to southern Vietnam
on March 25 but it will not harm people’s health.

Responding to worries of radioactive infected foods from Japan, Nhan said that foods imported from Japan
would be tested for radioactivity.

“If we discover any signal of danger, we will release
warnings,” he said.

A radioactive cloud from Japan’s
Fukushima I plant moved south over the Pacific
and reached the north of the Philippines
on March 22.

By yesterday, no radioactive dispersion was found in Vietnam,
Ministry of Science and Technology reported.

The nuclear incident at the Fukushima I plant has remained under the
control of the Japanese Government, the ministry said.

The cooling of the plant’s reactors with seawater pumped in
from specialized fire engines has paid off, with the temperatures of the
reactors having gone down, the ministry added.

PV

Vietnam favorite destination of French & European

LookAtVietnam -
Four Vietnamese tourist companies - La Palanche Voyages, Luxury
Travel, Vietnam Originale and Cle Voyage - joined in the 2011 Le Monde à Paris
(MAP) International Tourism Fair from March 17-20.

Photo: Vietnam+

MAP is one of the biggest tourism fairs in Europe , together with the annual Top
RESA Tourism Fair which is held in September.
This year’s fair highlighted special festivals from different countries
throughout the world, such as carnivals of Brazil, Belgium and the northern
region of France; harvest festivals of Croatia, Spain, Turkey, and Greece; and
water festival of Myanmar.
More than 100,000 visitors flocked to the four-day fair, which featured over 500
booths of well-known travel firms, hotels and restaurants worldwide.
Director of La Palanche Voyages Nguyen Xuan Hai said his company has considered
France a strategic market to directly introduce its services to French as well
as European holidaymakers.

Vietnam has been a favourite destination of French and European tourists thanks
to its political and security stability well as its cultural diversity, he said.

* Queen Mary brings tourists to Nha Trang

The
world’s largest cruise liner, Queen Mary 2, with over 2,430 tourists aboard,
visited Nha Trang Bay in the southcentral province of Khanh Hoa on March 21.

The tourists, mostly from the United Kingdom,
Australia, the United States and Canada, came to see scenic and relic sites and
enjoy having special food and shopping in the locality.
On the afternoon of the same day, the cruise
liner left Nha Trang Bay for Thailand.
Statistics from the Khanh Hoa tourism sector show
that in the first three months of this year, Nha Trang Bay welcomed 13,000
arrivals on 12 international cruise liners.

VNN/VNA/VOV

Vietnam favorite destination of French & European

LookAtVietnam -
Four Vietnamese tourist companies - La Palanche Voyages, Luxury
Travel, Vietnam Originale and Cle Voyage - joined in the 2011 Le Monde à Paris
(MAP) International Tourism Fair from March 17-20.

Photo: Vietnam+

MAP is one of the biggest tourism fairs in Europe , together with the annual Top
RESA Tourism Fair which is held in September.

This year’s fair highlighted special festivals from different countries
throughout the world, such as carnivals of Brazil, Belgium and the northern
region of France; harvest festivals of Croatia, Spain, Turkey, and Greece; and
water festival of Myanmar.

More than 100,000 visitors flocked to the four-day fair, which featured over 500
booths of well-known travel firms, hotels and restaurants worldwide.

Director of La Palanche Voyages Nguyen Xuan Hai said his company has considered
France a strategic market to directly introduce its services to French as well
as European holidaymakers.

Vietnam has been a favourite destination of French and European tourists thanks
to its political and security stability well as its cultural diversity, he said.

* Queen Mary brings tourists to Nha Trang

The
world’s largest cruise liner, Queen Mary 2, with over 2,430 tourists aboard,
visited Nha Trang Bay in the southcentral province of Khanh Hoa on March 21.

The tourists, mostly from the United Kingdom,
Australia, the United States and Canada, came to see scenic and relic sites and
enjoy having special food and shopping in the locality.

On the afternoon of the same day, the cruise
liner left Nha Trang Bay for Thailand.

Statistics from the Khanh Hoa tourism sector show
that in the first three months of this year, Nha Trang Bay welcomed 13,000
arrivals on 12 international cruise liners.

VNN/VNA/VOV

Field of Kites Vietnam

LookAtVietnam - Every afternoon, hundreds of people rush to the field along the National Highway 22 in Hoc Mon district, HCM City, to fly kites.

The hobby attracts not only youngsters but also the elderly and Buddhist monks.

The field stretches for nearly one kilometer and is around 30 meters wide.

Going to the field on the afternoon, one will see hundreds of kites.

Source: VNE

Vietnam’s first nuclear power plants to be protected by 15m dike

VietNamNet Bridge – The two nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuan province will be able to resist quakes of 7-8 Richter scales and will be protected by dikes which can prevent tsunamis of up to 15 meters.

Dr. Tran Van Luyen from the nuclear power plant project preparation board in Ninh Thuan province said that the strongest quake in Vietnam occurred in the northwestern region – 6.1 Richter scale.
Luyen said that the two nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuan will be designed to resist quakes 15-30 percent stronger than the strongest-ever quake in Vietnam so far. For tsunamis, the highest wave recorded in Ninh Thuan was 8 meters but the dike designed for the two plants will be 15 meters.
Dr. Nguyen Nhi Dien, director of the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute, said that the reactor in Da Lat can sustain quakes of 6-7 Richter scales and can automatically shutdown in emergencies.
After the nuclear crisis in Japan, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute have asked the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute and the Hanoi Nuclear Science and Technology Institute to perform environmentally radioactive observation at their two national stations.
According to Dien, the reactor in Da Lat is for research so its capacity is low, only 500KW thermo, while the reactor No.1 in Fukushima is 1,500MW. The third reactor, which exploded recently, is over 2,000MW.
“We should not be so worried because the safety of the Da Lat reactor and Fukushima reactor is different,” Dien said.
He confirmed that environmental observation was performed weekly and monthly. After the crisis in Japan, it is performed every few hours.
Dien said that after the nuclear crisis in Japan, the top priority in building nuclear power plants in Vietnam is choosing the right technology. There are nearly 450 reactors in the world, which use different technologies, and Vietnam needs to choose the best of them.
On March 17, the Ministry of Science and Technology organized an urgent meeting to discuss issues related to Vietnam’s first nuclear power projects.
On March 16, National Assembly Chair Tran Dinh Dan said that the NA approved the nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuan and at this moment there is no change to that plan.
PV

Vietnam Travel tours increase price 15-20%

LookAtVietnam - Many travel companies in the country plan to increase the price of local tours by 15–20 per cent, following the rise in prices of many tourist services such as transport and accommodations.

Pham Duc Hoa, deputy manager of the HCM City-based Saigontourist, said prices for his company’s local tours would increase by 15–20 per cent in April.
According to many travel companies, the price of transport services has been soaring.
For example, the price for hiring a 45-seat coach from HCM City to Phan Thiet City for two days rose to VND7-VND7.5 million (US$350-$375), up from VND5-VND5.5 million ($250-$275) before the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.
The prices of meals and accommodations have also gone up by 15–20 per cent.
However, many travel companies are trying to maintain prices to be more competitive and encourage people to travel.
Cho Lon Travel Company said it would work with tourist service providers to negotiate prices on meals, transport and accommodations.
For some tour contracts signed in advance at former prices, which will depart in April and May, travel companies will have to face a loss.
Local promotions
According to the United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the Asia-Pacific region has recovered from the global financial crisis and led the world in tourism growth in recent years.
In 2010, Viet Nam’s tourism sector posted a growth of 30 per cent in international tourists.
The country welcomed 5 million international tourists and 28 million local tourists last year.
With this growth, the Viet Nam tourism sector expects to welcome about 5.3 million foreign tourists and 30 million local tourists this year with total revenue of VND11 trillion ($523 million).
Tran The Dung, deputy director of The He Tre (Young Generation) Travel Company, said during the last two years, the national carrier Vietnam Airlines had offered many inexpensive tickets for travel businesses that participated in a consumption-stimulus programme, which helped attract a large amount of tourists.
Though facing some difficulties at the beginning of the programme, many travel businesses last year co-operated with the airline to offer cheap tours with prices 30-35 per cent lower than market prices.
Travel firms have welcomed a total of 33,000 local tourists with cheap tours through tourism promotions.
In addition, the airline has agreed to continue another programme to stimulate local tourism this year.
It will introduce a programme to offer cheap tickets for travel businesses that participate in the stimulus programme later this month.
The airline will also operate more flights and offer more promotions for flights to Phu Yen Province and south-central provinces where there will be many cultural and tourist events for the tourism year festival to be held in the province.
Source: VNS

Radioactive cloud, acid rain rumor rejected | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Radioactive cloud, acid rain rumor rejected | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "VietNamNet Bridge – Hydro meteorological experts rejected the rumor that “radioactive clouds and acid rains” from Japan would come to Vietnam.


They said that radioactive clouds and acid rains could not reach Vietnam.

The rumor was spread very fast on March 15 through Yahoo Messenger (YM) and mobile text messages after the fire at the reactor No.4 of Japan’s Fukushima had been reported.

After lunch, Thang, manager of an information technology company in Hanoi, received a phone call from his wife, asking him to pick up their child at kindergarten early because “I have heard that there will have radioactive clouds and acid rains in Hanoi on the afternoon”.

“Actually, I had received YM messages warning about radioactive clouds and acid rains in the morning but I didn’t believe in them. But, so many people told me about it so I decided to pick up my son early,” Thang said.

Teachers were also worried about the rumor. A teacher from the foreign-invested Dream House Primary School in Tay Ho district, Hanoi, said the school asked teachers to not allow pupils to play outdoors when it rained. Outdoor morning exercises were performed inside classes.

“We didn’t want to scare them, so they only told them to play indoors, not the true reason,” the teacher said.

Phan Dinh Son, Director of Bao An Computer and Supermarket Equipment Company in Hanoi, permitted his staff to go home early to avoid “acid rains” in the afternoon.

Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Center for Hydro meteorological Forecast, said that “the rumor was false.”

“No wind can bring radioactive dusts from Japan to Vietnam. There is no wind from Japan to China and then to Vietnam. There is only wind blowing from Vietnam to Japan. The current rain is caused by monsoon, not acid rain,” he said.

According to research, radioactive dust of the Chernobyl explosion in Russia in 1986 was blown to Vietnam. Hai said “that wind can blow from Russia to Vietnam, not from Japan to Vietnam.”

A scientist from the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong confirmed that the rumor is false and doesn’t have any scientific ground.

“Acid rains are caused by the greenhouse effect of industrial factories. Nuclear power plants are built to prevent this phenomenon. It is completely wrong to say that explosions at nuclear power plants cause acid rains,” he explained.

He also said that the institute had been keeping track of the explosions and fires at Japan’s nuclear power plants, but it didn’t detect radioactive dust in Vietnam.

“Radioactive gases from explosions in Japan are at low levels, and Vietnam is very far from Japan. Certainly, we will still keep an eye on the situation,” he said.

Vuong Huu Tan, chief of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute, also confirmed that his institute will keep track of the situation in Japan and the change of environment to give timely warnings to the people.

International experts say that it is very difficult to see a similar disaster like the Chernobyl in Japan.

The worry over radioactivity spreading is increasing in Japan after four of six reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plants were on fire or exploded.

Japan has evacuated people in a 20km diameter from the plant. Those who live in the diameter of 20-30km around the plant are requested to stay home.

The radioactive content in Tokyo, around 240km from Fukushima, is 40 times over the normal level but officials said that this level is not dangerous for human.

PV

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Ha Noi set to demolish 550 ‘super skinny” residences | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

LookAtVietnam -
Ha Noi authorities say they are determined to wipe out a total
550 deformed and super-slim houses in the city this year.

Deformed and super skinny houses along Ha Noi’s Dao Tan Street. The city is determined to demolish houses like these as they potentially pose a threat to local people and disfigure the urban environment. (Photo: VNS)

Deputy
Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phi Thai Binh has asked districts
to prepare plans to do this and submit them to city authorities for approval
before April 30.

“With strong instructions from the committee, the city will have no more super-slim
houses by October or not later than the end of this year,” said deputy director
of the Ha Noi Construction Department Nguyen Khac Tho.

The
decision to tackle the issue does not concern the tens of thousands of thin
houses that have become a feature of Vietnamese architecture in recent years.
While strange and unappealing to foreign eyes, these buildings have grown from
three to four metre wide village houses.

The Law on Construction, which became effective in 2004, stipulated that land plots
smaller than 15sq.m should not be built. But many small houses were built in
preceding years, some of them so skinny it is hard to believe people live in
them.

To promote the law, the city issued Decision 26 in 2005 on guidelines to eliminate
deformed and super skinny houses - and pay compensation for those destroyed.
decision permitted district People’s Committees to withdraw land plots of under
20sq.m or plots above 20sq.m with odd or deformed shapes. It had the power to
integrate them into a bigger block for public use.

However, the decision was not strictly executed. To make matters worse, the number of
super-slim and deformed houses has risen to 553, of which 186 were built after
Decision 26 was issued.

“The actual figure could be higher,” said Tho. “This proves that district authorities
haven’t done their duty.”

The weakness of local construction inspectors and authorities have been given as
reasons for the problem.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News

Snowfall in Sapa, Vietnam

LookAtVietnam -
A strong cold spell brought rare falls
of snow to hills in northern Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Cao Bang provinces early
yesterday morning, March 16, creating a winter wonderland.

Making snowmen in Viet Nam is a rare event. Snow started falling for the first time in 10 years in Sapa yesterday. Tourists are flocking to enjoy the scene. (Photo: VNS)

In
places the snow was 15cm deep - and it was still falling yesterday afternoon!

Le Minh
Hai, deputy director of Lao Cai’s Hydrometeorology Centre, said it was unusual
for snow to fall at this time of year, which is classed as late spring or early
summer.

“Snowfalls normally occur from December to February,” he said. Lower down the
slopes, the snow was replaced by biting wind and rain.

Viet Nam
News Agency on-the-spot correspondents said the snowflakes stirred excitement
among locals and tourists in Sa Pa town and Dong Van stone plateau, where
covered roofs and trees.

Despite
freezing temperatures, flocks of tourists are heading to the hills to watch the
event, creating congestion on several roads.

A
65-year-old local resident Sung Thi Mai in Ha Giang Province’s Dong Van district
said that although the plateau was 1,600m above sea level, this was the first
time snow had ever fallen.

The last
time snow was recorded in Sa Pa, which is 2,000m above sea level, was in January
2003, but it was only a light fall.

Hai said
as the weather was predicted to warm up in coming days, it was likely that there
would be no more snow.

The
temperature in Ha Noi today may drop to between 9 and 11 degrees Celsius with
highs of 12 to 14 degrees.

Nguyen
Lan Chau, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological
Forecasting, told Viet Nam News that temperatures were expected to rise after
Friday.

This
weekend, Ha Noi expects weather of up to 25 degrees Celsius, followed by a
milder cold spell.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News

The bags are packed. It's time.

ED NOTE: I've been following Chris for over 3 years now. He hits a home run almost every time for me. He has inspired and gave me vision and courage to.......well just read the post. 

Once the bags are packed, a lot of decisions have already been made. The night before, you had to think through what to pack and what to leave behind. The morning of departure, you check again and again for the essentials: passport, wallet, journal, tickets, bus fare.

Your itinerary, chosen from among countless options, is at least partially settled by now. You're going to _____, and as far as you're concerned, all of _____ is waiting for you.

The road ahead may not be easy, but you have already overcome one big challenge as you carry those bags out the door.

Next stop, the airport. You take the bus or the train or the cab or the ride from your friend. One way or another, you will soon be deposited in front of the revolving doors that lead to air world.

But first, you look around at the home you're leaving behind one last time. When you return from the trip, what will have changed here? What will have changed with you?


Most trips begin with a to-go-or-not-to-go dilemma. If you're looking for a reason to stay home, you'll find plenty: money is tight, work is busy, people need you. But you evaluated these concerns and decided to forge onwards. Bravo, traveler!

As you venture to new lands, change is inevitable. When you return to your point of departure, objects might be in the same places, but they will contain different meanings. Surprise! That's just how it works. To avoid this reality, don't walk out the door.

Soon you'll be entering into traveler's limbo, with the strange blend of foreign and familiar. Be careful: this sensation is a powerful intoxicant, with no known cure. In traveler's limbo, you are the same person you were at home (or are you?) but the setting is different (or is it?). You have no choice but to follow the journey and see where it leads.

Fret as you will over the did-I-leave-something-behind and the what-will-happen-when-I-get-there jitters, you can rest assured that the biggest decision has already been made: the decision to go.

The bags are packed. It's time.

Radiation fears spark panic buying, evacuations in Tokyo | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Commuters stand in line to board other trains at Yokohama Station, southwest of Tokyo, March 14, 2011

Radiation wafted from an earthquake-stricken nuclear power plant toward Tokyo on Tuesday, sparking panic in one of the world’s biggest and most densely populated cities.
Women and children packed into the departure lounge at an airport, supermarkets ran low on rice and other supplies and frightened residents, tourists and expatriates either stayed indoors or simply left the city.
"I’m not too worried about another earthquake. It’s radiation that scares me," said Masashi Yoshida, cradling his 5-month-old daughter Hana
The nail-biting eased in the afternoon after Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano appeared on national television saying radiation levels at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex had fallen dramatically since morning.
But confidence in the government is shaken and many decided not to take chances, especially after radiation levels in Saitama, near Tokyo, were 40 times normal – not enough to cause human damage but enough to stoke fears in the ultra-modern and hyper-efficient metropolis of 12 million people.
Many hoarded food and other supplies and stayed indoors. Don Quixote, a multistory, 24-hour general store in Tokyo’s Roppongi district, was sold out of radios, flashlights, candles, fuel cans and sleeping bags on Tuesday.
At another market near Tokyo’s Yotsuya station, an entire aisle was nearly empty on both sides, its instant noodles, bread and pastry gone since Friday’s earthquake and tsunami killed at least 10,000 people nationwide and plunged Japan into a twin nuclear and humanitarian crisis.
At Haneda Airport, hundreds of young mothers lined up with children, boarding flights out of Tokyo.
"We are getting out of Tokyo and going to our home town because of the situation. For the time being we have bought a one way ticket and will wait and see what happens," said a Japanese woman with an eight-month-old baby and four-year-old son, who declined to be identified by name.
Tourists such as Christy Niver, of Egan, Minnesota, said they had enough. Her 10-year-old daughter, Lucy, was more emphatic. "I’m scared. I’m so scared I would rather be in the eye of a tornado," she said. "I want to leave."
Winds over the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex, about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, blew slowly southwesterly toward Tokyo for much of the day before shifting westerly later, a weather official said.
Some scientists, however, urged Tokyo to stay calm.
"Radioactive material will reach Tokyo but it is not harmful to human bodies because it will be dissipated by the time it gets to Tokyo," said Koji Yamazaki, professor at Hokkaido University graduate school of environmental science.
"If the wind gets stronger, it means the material flies faster but it will be even more dispersed in the air."
University of Tokyo professor of bioengineering Hiroyuki Takahashi added: "If the nuclear fuel remains contained, there will be very little health risk."
Leaving Tokyo

MORE INFO
more info --->>>Radiation fears spark panic buying, evacuations in Tokyo | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Man dies from silicon in his butt

LookAtVietnam - Being disparaged by his
friends for having flat buttocks, Tri, 21, bought 500 cc of liquid silicon to
inject into his buttock. The man died at a HCM City’s
hospital last weekend.

Doctors of the Trung Vuong
Hospital said the young
man was brought to hospital with a swollen buttock and he was in a coma.

“We immediately
performed a surgery to remove the silicon but a large volume of silicon had
absorbed into his blood vessels and adipose tissues so the treatment was
helpless. The patient got weaker due to respiratory failure and died,” a doctor
said.

Doctors said that
the large volume of silicon injected into the patient’s body caused lung
failure.

They warned people
to not self “upgrade” their faces, lips, busts or buttocks by silicon because
the risk of fatality is up to 50 percent.

“Making a body part
bigger is not simple as someone thought that they only need to inject silicon
into it,” a doctor said.

PV

Chiang Mai proge Deaths of 6 tourists

Chiang Mai deaths probe identifies causes

The revelation of a sixth fatality and the results of an investigation by Thailand's Department of Disease Control has shed new light on the series of mysterious deaths of tourists in Chiang Mai. The sixth death involved a Frenchwoman - one of two who fell sick, a media release from the department seen by the Phuket Wan newswire says. It highlighted the exceptional nature of a complaint that appears to have struck down six young women aged 23-33 between January 9 and February 4 this year, killing three of them. These three deaths - the unnamed Frenchwoman, New Zealander Sarah Carter, 23, and a 33-year-old American - have been linked by the media to three other deaths, British pensioners George and Eileen Everitt, and Thai guide Waraporn Pungmahisiranon, 47. The investigation ''found four clinically confirmed cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and another two patients with mild symptoms. The media release says autopsies on two of the dead patients (American and French) were done by forensic medical experts from Chiang Mai University. ''The autopsies found nothing abnormal except for inflammation of the heart muscle,'' it says. The results will be studied by the World Health Organisation and health authorities in the US, France and the UK. The report carefully distinguishes between the cases involving the six young women and the other cases. ''In a separate episode, since 3 February, there were three other deaths in the same hotel where the three New Zealanders stayed,'' it says. ''This included an elderly British couple and a 47-year-old Thai woman. ''As these three deaths occurred outside the hospital, the police took charge of the investigation. ''The autopsies of the two elderly Britons found a high degree of coronary occlusion while the examination of the Thai woman found no inflammation of the heart muscle or any other clear evidence to explain the cause of her death,'' the report found.

Bob Dylan April 10 in Ho Chi Minh City

VietNamNet Bridge - Legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan Legendary American country singer and songwriter Bob Dylan has announced on his website he would perform in Ho Chi Minh City on April 10.

The show, to take place at Loretta Grounds at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT), is part of an Asian tour that includes a visit to Beijing on April 6 and Shanghai on April 8.
Dylan said he would devote an hour of his performance at RMIT to celebrate Trinh Cong Son, one of Vietnam’s greatest songwriters who inspired many of his anti-war songs.
Pham Dinh Thang, Vice Director of the Bureau of Performance Arts Department which was processing a license for Thanh Nien Media Corp. to organize the show, said he couldn’t give any detail just yet.
Seven years ago, it was announced that Dylan would come to Vietnam to attend the World Peace Music Awards but the event was finally organized in the US.
Bob Dylan, 70, has been a major figure in music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler, and an apparently reluctant figurehead, of social unrest. A number of his songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’” became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements. His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical, as well as literary influences.
Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.
Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years including Grammys, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, a Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the singer’s honor in his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for “his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.”
Time Magazine ranks him among 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
Source: Tuoi Tre

HP to launch R&D facility at HCMC software park | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

HP to launch R&D facility at HCMC software park | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update: "VietNamNet Bridge - Technology giant HP will open a software research and development center at Quang Trung Software City (QTSC) next week.

Chu Tien Dung, chairman of Quang Trung Software City Development Company, said at a press conference on Wednesday on QTSC’s 10th anniversary celebration ceremony slated for March 16 that HP had completed the investment procedure and QTSC had also finished technology infrastructure for the company.

The software R&D facility will be up and running on March 16, the day QTSC turns 10, said Dung, and HP mainly invests in software R&D for the corporate segment. The corporation will have an initial work force of 50 software developers in Vietnam.

“In the future, HP will expand its team to 1,000 developers,” he said. Explaining HP’s decision to set up such a facility in QTSC, he said HP saw local employees meeting high requirements for technology skills.

For HP, local labor cost is more competitive than in China and India, he said.

Dung forecast Vietnam would be able to attract more foreign IT companies to set up shop in the next few years.

To attract these companies, QTSC will revise its investment portfolio by allowing enterprises to expand into green technology which supports software, digital content and information technology.

The company is also seeking the green light from the HCMC government to turn QTSC into a holding company or set up a joint venture to effectively seek more capital.

QTSC is now home to 101 information and communication technology companies with total investment pledges of over US$78 million, and 43 of these enterprises are from other countries.

Last year, the companies at QTSC reported total domestic revenue of over VND763 billion and software export turnover of US$34.8 million.

The biggest revenue generators include TMA Solutions with VND207 billion, GlobalCyberSoft with VND130 billion and GHP Far East with VND45 billion.

Source: SGT

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Vietnam first to have Tsunami early warning stations

Da Nang will become the first region in Vietnam to have tsunami early warning stations.
Of all the stations, the two installations at Man Thai in Son Tra District and Hoa Hiep Nam in Lien Chieu District will have the highest antennas of 30-35 meters and high powered sirens.
Setting up tsunami early warning stations in Da Nang is part of a project to install stations to warn of tsunami alerts across the country.
At the first sign of any tsunami alert, the stations will send out warning alerts with high powered sirens to people, boats and residents in the beach areas and hence be able to minimize loss of lives.
The stations in Da Nang are expected to be completed by March 2011. There are expected to be 100 tsunami early warning stations to be installed in the central region alone.
Source: SGGP/TN

Ha Long Bay Raw

Car sales increasing, contractionary policy not applied to rich people | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

LookAtVietnam - Contrary to all predictions that cars would sell more slowly due to higher sale prices caused by the dong devaluation, and the high inflation rate, cars still have been selling very well.

Bad news thought to badly affect car market…
In general, February is a time when automobile dealers launch sale promotion campaigns to boost sales in the low season which comes after the Tet holiday. However, the economic law cannot be applied this year. Car dealers have even raised sale prices, and justified their actions with the dollar price increases.
In mid February 2011, right after the State Bank of Vietnam announced the 9.3 percent dong devaluation, Toyota Vietnam pioneered the sale price increase movement by raising the sale prices by 34-174 million dong per car. The new prices became effective on March 1.
Following the move, other automobile manufacturers, including GM Daewoo (Vidamco), Truong Hai (Kia), Ford Vietnam and Honda Vietnam also announced the increases of sale prices of their products. The price increases are relatively sharp from tens of millions dong to hundreds of millions dong.
The sharp price increases are believed to make people who dream of owning cars rethink their purchase plan.
While the news about the dollar appreciation was still shocking car dealers and people, they received another shocking news: the petrol price has been raised by 2900 dong per liter. This means that car owners will have to pay 300,000 dong more for every 100 liters of petrol used. The petrol price increase has been described as pushing the dream of purchasing cars farther away from many people, because it will be more costly to “feed” the cars.
Meanwhile, people have been warned that the petrol price may increase further in the future, because the latest 2900 dong per liter increase proves to be nothing if compared with the price increases in the world market, and that petroleum distributors need to raise the prices further to cover their expenses.
Another difficulty believed to be keeping people away from purchasing cars is that banks are tightening credit and they do not intend to increase consumer credit or fund car purchases. Commercial banks have been told not to expand loans to non-production sectors. Even when banks’ doors are open to people, they will not be able to access loans, because the lending interest rates have become overly high, reaching 22-23 percent per annum.
…but cars still selling well
Believing that the demand for cars would drop sharply as a result of the bad news, car dealers decided to reduce the numbers of imports in February. The General Statistics Office GSO released a report showing that the import revenue of cars under the mode of complete built units (CBU) in February 2011 dropped sharply in comparison with the previous month and with the same period of last year.
In February 2011, only 4500 cars were imported which had the total import turnover of 76 million dollar. The figures represent a sharp reduction of 1600 cars in comparison with January and a sharp reduction of 27 million in import turnover. Meanwhile, if compared to the same period of 2010, the number of imported cars and import turnover decreased by 17.8 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively.
As such, in the first two months of the year, the number of imported cars only reached 10,600, while the import turnover only reached 179 million dollar. Analysts believe that the imports will decrease further in the next few months.
However, contrary to all predictions, the demand for cars remains very high despite sale price increases.
The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association VAMA on March 9 released a report showing that the association’s members sold 7889 cars in February, an increase of 56 percent in comparison with the same period of 2010.
According to VAMA, the sales showed a 24 percent decrease in comparison with January 2011. However, experts said that it is unreasonable to compare the sales in February with the sales in January. In principle, the demand in the month before Tet month (January) is always higher than the month after Tet (February).
The sales increases can be seen in all the three main types of products. Especially, the sharpest increase was seen in the sale of sedans, at 63 percent, while trucks and buses have increased 54 percent and SUVs 49 percent.
Toyota and Truong Hai are still leading in the numbers of cars sold. Toyota sold 2223 cars, just 300 cars higher than Truong Hai’s.
The third position in car sales belonged to Vinamotor (887), followed by Vidamco (666), Ford and VInaxuki (550) and Honda (371).
C. V

Car sales increasing, contractionary policy not applied to rich people | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

LookAtVietnam - Contrary to all predictions that cars would sell more slowly due to higher sale prices caused by the dong devaluation, and the high inflation rate, cars still have been selling very well.

Bad news thought to badly affect car market…

In general, February is a time when automobile dealers launch sale promotion campaigns to boost sales in the low season which comes after the Tet holiday. However, the economic law cannot be applied this year. Car dealers have even raised sale prices, and justified their actions with the dollar price increases.

In mid February 2011, right after the State Bank of Vietnam announced the 9.3 percent dong devaluation, Toyota Vietnam pioneered the sale price increase movement by raising the sale prices by 34-174 million dong per car. The new prices became effective on March 1.

Following the move, other automobile manufacturers, including GM Daewoo (Vidamco), Truong Hai (Kia), Ford Vietnam and Honda Vietnam also announced the increases of sale prices of their products. The price increases are relatively sharp from tens of millions dong to hundreds of millions dong.

The sharp price increases are believed to make people who dream of owning cars rethink their purchase plan.

While the news about the dollar appreciation was still shocking car dealers and people, they received another shocking news: the petrol price has been raised by 2900 dong per liter. This means that car owners will have to pay 300,000 dong more for every 100 liters of petrol used. The petrol price increase has been described as pushing the dream of purchasing cars farther away from many people, because it will be more costly to “feed” the cars.

Meanwhile, people have been warned that the petrol price may increase further in the future, because the latest 2900 dong per liter increase proves to be nothing if compared with the price increases in the world market, and that petroleum distributors need to raise the prices further to cover their expenses.

Another difficulty believed to be keeping people away from purchasing cars is that banks are tightening credit and they do not intend to increase consumer credit or fund car purchases. Commercial banks have been told not to expand loans to non-production sectors. Even when banks’ doors are open to people, they will not be able to access loans, because the lending interest rates have become overly high, reaching 22-23 percent per annum.

…but cars still selling well

Believing that the demand for cars would drop sharply as a result of the bad news, car dealers decided to reduce the numbers of imports in February. The General Statistics Office GSO released a report showing that the import revenue of cars under the mode of complete built units (CBU) in February 2011 dropped sharply in comparison with the previous month and with the same period of last year.

In February 2011, only 4500 cars were imported which had the total import turnover of 76 million dollar. The figures represent a sharp reduction of 1600 cars in comparison with January and a sharp reduction of 27 million in import turnover. Meanwhile, if compared to the same period of 2010, the number of imported cars and import turnover decreased by 17.8 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively.

As such, in the first two months of the year, the number of imported cars only reached 10,600, while the import turnover only reached 179 million dollar. Analysts believe that the imports will decrease further in the next few months.

However, contrary to all predictions, the demand for cars remains very high despite sale price increases.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association VAMA on March 9 released a report showing that the association’s members sold 7889 cars in February, an increase of 56 percent in comparison with the same period of 2010.

According to VAMA, the sales showed a 24 percent decrease in comparison with January 2011. However, experts said that it is unreasonable to compare the sales in February with the sales in January. In principle, the demand in the month before Tet month (January) is always higher than the month after Tet (February).

The sales increases can be seen in all the three main types of products. Especially, the sharpest increase was seen in the sale of sedans, at 63 percent, while trucks and buses have increased 54 percent and SUVs 49 percent.

Toyota and Truong Hai are still leading in the numbers of cars sold. Toyota sold 2223 cars, just 300 cars higher than Truong Hai’s.

The third position in car sales belonged to Vinamotor (887), followed by Vidamco (666), Ford and VInaxuki (550) and Honda (371).

C. V