Vietnam New Year shoppers defying central bank spurs inflation | Look At Vietnam

Vietnam New Year shoppers defying central bank spurs inflation

January 25, 2012

Consumer demand for holiday goods and transportation will grow 10 percent from last year, according to a government forecast that urged authorities to monitor and stabilize prices.

Asia’s fastest inflation is the last thing on Tran Hang’s mind as she jostles fellow shoppers at a street stall in Hanoi’s Old Quarter to snap up Belgian chocolates and Thai candies for Tet, or lunar New Year.
While Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and the central bank urged consumers to spend less to usher in the Year of the Dragon, the 25-year-old office worker said she plans to spend about $100 more than she did in 2011 for the country’s biggest festival.
“You can’t celebrate Tet by spending less than you did last year,” said Hang, who donned a white polka-dotted raincoat during a light drizzle to shop for presents she would take back to her hometown for the nine-day holiday. “It doesn’t feel right to cut back even if everything is more expensive.”
Consumer prices climbed more than 17 percent in January, the fastest among 17 Asia Pacific economies. A surge in spending on new clothes, preserved fruit and decorations threatens to derail efforts to curb price gains that triggered the dong’s biggest decline since 2008 and helped put an estimated one in 10 companies out of business last year.
Dung urged citizens to celebrate the holiday in a “frugal atmosphere,” according to a Jan. 14 statement on the government’s website. Central Bank Governor Nguyen Van Binh said he hoped modest Tet spending would help rein in inflation.
“We aim to change people’s spending habits,” said Binh at a press briefing Jan. 11. “People shouldn’t spend too lavishly for an extravagant Tet. I want to see people limit their spending as much as they can.”
Sales jump
Retailers and government officials say that’s not happening. In the capital, retail sales during the holiday were forecast to rise as much as 22 percent to almost $1.4 billion, according to Nguyen Van Dong, deputy director of the city’s Industry and Trade Service. That’s equivalent to about 1 percent of estimated gross domestic product last year for the country.
Consumer demand for holiday goods and transportation will grow 10 percent from last year, according to a government forecast that urged authorities to monitor and stabilize prices.
Saigon Beer-Alcohol Beverages Corp., the country’s largest brewer, said it will make 120 million liters of beer this month, 20 percent more than for last year’s holiday season. Kinh Do Corp., (KDC) the biggest bakery, expects demand to be up 15 percent, according to spokeswoman Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lien. The bakery’s holiday cakes and sweets are 10 percent more expensive this year.
“For food and beverage companies, Tet sales are critical,” said Hoang Huong Giang, a Ho Chi Minh City-based consumer analyst at Viet Capital Securities. “Tet contributes 30 to 40 percent of their full-year profit.”
Gold candy
Bibica Corp. (BBC), which sells pound cake and gold nugget-shaped candy, met its 30 percent holiday-sales growth target a week before the festival started, said Phan Van Thien, deputy general director of the Ho Chi Minh City-based company.
“Tet is a period where people feel they almost have to spend,” said Darin Williams, managing director of research company Nielsen Co. (Vietnam) Ltd. “The cultural tradition is so strong. There’s an obligation.”
Like most Vietnamese, taxi driver Tran Dinh Long and his wife have been saving up all year for this celebration, deferring spending to replace an aging air conditioner and stove in order to maintain, or exceed, last year’s holiday spree, he said. Their home is decorated with a new potted kumquat tree and a peach tree with blooming pink blossoms, symbols of wealth and happiness that are as ubiquitous in Vietnamese homes as Christmas trees during the winter holiday in the US.
Sticky cakes
Long said he would buy green tea, preserved kiwi, plums and apricots, along with steamed, sticky rice cakes to offer the numerous guests and family who will visit.
“It’s our long-standing tradition that Tet is a period for consumption,” said Long. “If your neighbors are buying trees and candy and new clothes for their children, you need to do the same.”
The fireworks and feasting are in marked contrast to the economic gloom in the past two years.
After the global financial crisis in 2009, Vietnam pumped fiscal stimulus, subsidized a loan program and lowered interest rates as export markets weakened. While the moves spurred growth, they also fed a credit expansion that resulted in a series of dong devaluations, including a record 7 percent weakening of the currency in February 2011. The currency was the worst performer in Southeast Asia last year, stoking inflation that reached 23 percent in August.
Labor strikes
While the nation isn’t alone in trying to battle price gains — central banks from India to the Philippines raised interest rates last year as global commodity and energy prices jumped — Vietnam has been hardest hit, with wage demands prompting strikes and demonstrations at companies such as Panasonic Corp. and Yamaha Motor Co.
Breaking that rising price-wage spiral may be even harder this year because a dragon year typically brings a spike in births, as many Vietnamese and other Asians believe dragon babies will be graced with intelligence, good looks, wealth and success.
That’s good news for consumer-related companies, according to Viet Capital Securities, which advised the nation’s biggest fuel supplier on selling part of the government’s stake to investors. The company’s 2012 Outlook report says this year will see an “exceptional” baby boom that will benefit producers of infant products. Viet Capital suggests investors consider Vietnam Dairy Products Joint-Stock Co. (VNM), which sells milk and infant powdered milk, and toymaker Duc Thanh Wood Processing. (GDT)
Dining out
Meanwhile, Vietnamese are celebrating, boosting sales at restaurant chains such as Al Fresco’s Group, which has 33 outlets across the country.
“We are not finding that people are spending less,” said Craig Jackson, Ho Chi Minh City-based general manager for Al Fresco’s. “They are spending more.”
For taxi driver Long, inflation is most obvious in the red li xi envelopes of money that Vietnamese hand out to relatives and friends at New Year. Last year he filled them with 20,000 dong ($1) bills. This year, he said, they will have to be replaced with 50,000 dong bills.

Bloomberg

Transsexual Flight Attendants Take Off on Thailand's P.C. Air | NewsFeed | TIME.com

Ladyboy’ Flight Attendants Begin Their Ascent with Thailand’s P.C. Air

By William Lee Adams | @willyleeadams | December 16, 2011 | 1

inShare3

REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

Transgender flight attendants pose for photographers at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

At Thailand’s P.C. Air, transsexual flight attendants are taking to the skies—and boosting acceptance of the country’s “third sex” while they’re at it.
Four transsexual flight attendants completed their inaugural flight over Thailand earlier today, serving drinks and snacks en route from Bangkok to Surat Thani province. That comes ten months after the recently-launched P.C. Air announced it would consider applications it had received from more than 100 transvestites and transsexuals. Four made the cut and joined a cabin crew that also includes 19 female and seven male flight attendants.
(MORE: Thailand Elects its First Female Prime Minister)
Peter Chan, the airline’s president, told Reuters that the new recruits faced the same stringent application process as applicants who were born female. Bosses judged them on criteria that included femininity, attractiveness and proficiency with English and Mandarin. They also had to demonstrate feminine posture and vocals. He believes that transgender flight attendants will prove more versatile than the airline’s more traditional recruits. “They might provide better services because they understand both males and females. And they’re well-trained according to the aviation standard,” he said. “I’m a pioneer, and I’m sure there will be [other] organizations following my idea.” (The airline doesn’t draw its name from its politically correct approach to recruitment: P.C. refers to Chan’s initials.)
Known locally as ladyboys or katoeys, Thailand’s transsexuals enjoy greater acceptance and visibility than their counterparts anywhere else in the world. Skilled surgeons have turned Bangkok into a capital for gender reassignment, and relatively low costs make procuring a sex change more realistic than in the United States, where fees can easily run into the six figures. The Miss Tiffany pageant—Thailand’s most prestigious beauty contest for male-to-female transsexuals—is broadcast nationally every year. And millions of tourists flock to transgender musical shows, like the Simon Cabaret in Phuket.
P.C. Air’s newest trolley dollies hope their work will allow other katoeys to explore careers off the stage and away from the beauty counter. “This is the beginning of the acceptance of transsexuals in Thailand, giving the opportunity for us to work in various fields,” 22-year old Tanyarat Jirapatpakorn told Reuters. “Maybe in the future we can get any job that transsexuals never did before, such as police, soldiers or even pilots.”
For now, though, they’re content to scratch flight attendant off the list. Twenty-three-year old Dissanai Chitpraphachin, a former winner of the Miss Tiffany pageant, told the Associated Press her new gig was a dream come true. “When I was young, I couldn’t take my eyes off those nicely dressed ladies in the airline commercials every time they came on the screen,” she said before starting her new career. Now, as you can see in the commercial below, Thailand has its eyes on her.

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/16/ladyboy-flight-attendants-begin-their-ascent-with-thailands-p-c-air/#ixzz1h5n2qfcb

Transsexual Flight Attendants Take Off on Thailand's P.C. Air | NewsFeed | TIME.com

Jury for Vietnam Film Festival announced | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Jury for Vietnam Film Festival announced

December 16, 2011 about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - The ongoing 17th Vietnam Film Festival in Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province, has revealed the jury for the feature film category.

Director Luu Trong Ninh.

Headed by famous director Luu Trong Ninh, the panel members include renowned actress Tra Giang, director Bui Thac Chuyen, screenwriter Trinh Thanh Nha, and cinematographer Dinh Anh Dung.
Director Ninh is known for war-related movies and recently “Thang Long Aspiration”, a historical drama representing Vietnam which will compete in the Oscar’s Best Foreign Film category.
Chuyen is widely known for “Adrift,” which was well-received at the 2009 Venice Film Festival.
Although the festival looks for the best of various film genres, from documentaries to animated works, its feature film category has traditionally been the center of both public anticipation and media attention.
The judges said they had watched the 17 nominated movies and arrived in Phu Yen on December 14 to start their work.
To Van Dong, a senior official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the main organizer of the festival, said that besides 17 feature films, it has received 91 other entries, including 62 documentaries, 8 scientific documentaries, and 16 cartoons.
Each category will have its own experienced judging panel, he said, adding that 999 local artists, filmmakers, producers and other professionals would join the event, which opens on December 15 at Sao Mai Theatre.

Director Bui Thac Chuyen.

The Golden Lotus award will be given to the best sound for all categories after a two-year interruption. The Vietnam Cinematography Association will also honor the best young director under the age of 30 for the first time.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first festival held in Hanoi in 1970. The festival’s opening and closing ceremony will be broadcast live on VTV1 and VTV2, tonight, December 15 and Saturday.
Festival highlights

Senior actress Tra Giang.

December 15: The exhibition Four Decades of Viet Nam Film Festival will take place at Dien Hong Park and April 1st Square; and opening ceremony, Sao Mai Theatre, 8pm.
December 16: Meetings between actors and fan clubs; discussion on cinema development policy at the Cendelux Hotel and outdoor movie screen at April 1st Square.
December 17: Discussion entitled Vietnamese Cinema – Situation and Measure; closing ceremony at Sao Mai Theatre, 8pm, and press conference.

New Low Cost Airlines joined Vietnam market

Private low-cost carrier set to take off in Vietnam 

December 6, 2011  about Business

The first private airline licensed in Vietnam four years ago officially joined the market Friday, introducing itself as a low-cost carrier.

 

With its “Save more, fly more” slogan, VietJetAir aims to make air transport accessible to all Vietnamese and foreign tourists including low-income earners through affordable and flexible prices, the VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Company said in a press release.

 

Nguyen Duc Tam, the airline’s deputy general director, said the low-cost model is very popular and successful in the world.

 

Tam said several low-cost flights in Vietnam have been operating with old airplanes, so VietJet “will change what Vietnamese people think about low-cost carriers” by using brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft.

 

The new aircraft will save energy, reduce maintenance costs and avoid technical problems that can cause unexpected flight delays, he said, adding that all 180 seats will be used to maximize the efficiency.

 

“The operation of new and renowned aircraft will be the key to VietJetAir’s future success,,” the press release quoted Tam as saying.

 

Initially, VietJetAir will operate four flights per day between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi starting December 24. The number will be increased to 14 in early 2012, when it will also begin flights between HCMC and central Vietnam’s Da Nang.

 

The airline also plans to launch flights to other destinations in Vietnam and Southeast Asia in the middle of 2012, the release said.

 

VietJet had initially planned on an all-Vietnamese crew, but that will not be possible for the inaugural flights.

 

Tam told the press during the launching ceremony that “it’s impossible to use only Vietnamese people, especially pilots and technical experts.”

 

But he said the airline will regularly train people and increase the Vietnamese component of its crew.

 

VietJet, with a registered capital of VND600 billion (US$28.56 million), has delayed its maiden flight several times.

 

Like other private carriers in Vietnam, the airline has been struggling with certification, financial and personnel problems.

 

Five of them have been licensed in the past four years but only Air Mekong is flying, and not very smoothly.

 

Earlier this year, Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia divested its 30 percent stake in VietJet after the companies did not reach an agreement on using the brand name.

 

They planned to name the joint venture VietJet AirAsia. But the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has banned local carriers from using brands and logos of foreign airlines.

 

Tam said at the launching ceremony that VietJet was “active” despite AirAsia’s withdrawal.

 

“We have very good foreign experts who can replace AirAsia in technical support. Without AirAsia, we’re still flying,” he said.

 

The deputy director said VietJet is prepared financially for five years of operation and there have been no plans to seek foreign investment in the future.
 

Thanh Nien News 

AirAsia, MAS close to sharing the spoils -24 November, 2011

AirAsia, MAS close to sharing the spoils

Malaysian Airlines and budget carrier AirAsia are expected to make an announcement on collaboration between the two airlines in the first week of December, according to Dow Jones Newswires. “We are looking at tremendous cost savings,” said AirAsia boss, Tony Fernandes. The deal in which a share swap would give AirAsia's parent a 20 percent stake in Malaysia's national airline has been under intense scrutiny within Malaysia. The alliance is expected to eliminate head-to-head competition on some routes, allowing each carrier to focus on core markets. AirAsia this week revealed that net profit slumped by more than half in the third quarter as fuel prices surged. It also warned that the next four months would also be challenging. The AirAsia announcement follows a third straight quarterly loss for Malaysian Airlines, which also suffered as a result of higher fuel costs.

Indian digestive tablet banned from shops | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Indian digestive tablet banned from shops

November 9, 2011 about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - Neopeptine, a
digestive aid, was recently suspended for sale by the Ministry of Health
because of its substandard contents.

The capsules,
which are imported from India
by Ben Tre Pharmacy JSC, were sold in southern central Phu
Yen Province
and southern Ben Tre Province.

The ministry’s
Drug Administration Department requested the importer and distributors of
Neopeptine to remove the medicine from the market and asked local authorities
to conduct inspections to deal with any stores that continued to sell the
product.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News



Indian digestive tablet banned from shops | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Festival of flowers in tourism city | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Festival of flowers in tourism city

November 10, 2011 about News, Travel

LookAtVietnam - Two highlights of the
Da Lat Flower Festival this year will be the floral parade, entitled Flower and
Light, organised by the provincial cultural centre, and a flower show by the Da
Lat Flower Association.

Photo: Internet

The festival
will be held from December 31 to January 3 in the highlands province of Lam Dong.

The parade will
take place in the district of Hoa Binh, in the city centre. It will combine
light, street art and flower decoration.

The flower show
at Da Lat golf course will feature the biggest exhibition of tulips in Viet Nam.

Other events
will include a flower market, an international ornamental plant exhibition,
drawing competition, scientific conference and a floral fashion show.

“Most of the programmes
will take place in open spaces to give visitors easy access,” Nguyen Vu
Hoang, director of the festival and Lam Dong province cultural centre, said.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam




Festival of flowers in tourism city | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

If you flight smells like McDonald’s, don’t sweat it-08 November, 2011

A Continental Airlines flight made history this week when it landed at O’Hare International Airport to become the first revenue passenger trip in the US pioneered by biofuel. One implication for passengers:  do not be alarmed if your aircraft begins to smell suspiciously like a fast-food restaurant.
Or pond scum either.
What is happening: wire services reported US airlines have been racing to demonstrate their clean energy credentials with flights powered partially by biofuels.
Continental Airlines Flight 1403 in a Boeing 737-800 was the first. It was painted in the new environmental “green jet fuel” made up partially of genetically modified algae that feed off plant waste.
Other airlines are following the same route.
Alaska Airlines, for example, announced it would operate 75 flights using a mix of 80 percent conventional jet fuels and 20 percent biofuels starting this week.
“We wanted to demonstrate the use of sustainable biofuels both on a transcontinental route and on a short haul that competes with ground vehicle traffic," Bobbie Egan, a spokeswoman for Alaska, said in an interview with the Guardian.
"We can use vegetable oil. We can use used cooking oil," said Robert Ames, vice president of Dynamic Fuels, which produces the products. He added McDonald’s used fryer grease is also a good ingredient.
Airline experts say the use of the biofuels mix cuts greenhouse gas emissions on those particular flights by 10 percent.
The cooking oil substitutes cost as much as six times more, experts say. Tyson Foods-owned Dynamic Fuels is the only producer so far, according to wire services.
More U.S. airlines are expected to join the effort to fly more cleanly — and eventually more economically — than the use of traditional, petroleum-based Jet-A fuel allows. That is based on a crude oil price of $100 a barrel or higher, experts told The Chicago Tribune.
But the paper added there are many questions about the potential for the fuel to become an economic alternative to traditional sources and what the cost will be.
By David Wilkening

If you flight smells like McDonald’s, don’t sweat it-08 November, 2011

Time to fly to Vietnam

Airlines discount fares for int’l routes

September 13, 2011  about News, Travel

A number of local and foreign airlines have announced to discount fares for their flights between Vietnam and other destinations in a move to beef up bookings after the summer holiday.
Qatar Airways has launched a three-day campaign for guests to save up to 25% on Economy-class return fares and up to 15% on Business-class two-way fares across the carrier’s worldwide network from Vietnam.
The discount fares, available at www.qatarairways.com or through its travel agency partners, enable customers to secure savings based on return fares and include taxes, and book their travel period until March 31 next year.
Qatar Airways now operates daily service from HCMC and four weekly flights from Hanoi, and connect the two destinations to the airline’s more than 100 destinations worldwide via its hub in Doha.
To attract passengers to its service to London in December, Vietnam Airlines offers return fares for VND12.5 million (some US$599) for bookings from September 15 to October 15 and for travel before December 31. The rate includes airport taxes and surcharges.
The national flagship said it would commence flights from Hanoi and HCMC to Gatwick Airport in London on December 8, using the Boeing B777. London will be the Sky-team member airline’s fourth destination in Europe after Paris, Frankfurt and Moscow.
On Friday, AirAsia will start to offer 20% off for all seats to all international and domestic destinations, with booking period valid until September 11 and travel period from September 12 till November 16, 2011. This promotion will be available at www.airasia.com.
AirAsia currently conducts flights from Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai international airports to Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur. Its member carriers, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia, have flights from Bangkok and Jakarta to the two airports of Vietnam and vice versa.
AirAsia applies the promotion to its service links in its hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia with over 160 routes stretching to more than 20 countries and territories.
SGT

Look at Vietnam-Beauty of Life

Beauty of life in central Vietnam

August 26, 2011  about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - Old temples, towers, young couples, young girls in ao dai… are beautiful moments captured by photographers which are introduced at the Photo Exhibition of the Central and Central Highland Regions.

Young girls and spring by Nguyen Dong from Khanh Hoa province. The photo wins the
 gold medal of the 16th Photo Festival of the Central and Central Highland Regions,
which opened in Quang Ngai on August 24.
A photo by Le Minh The from Quang Ngai province, which won the silver medal.

“Twin Tower Festival” by Pham Van Chai from Binh Dinh province.

“Crossing Waves” by Dang Ke Duc from Quang Nam province.

“Happiness” by Nguyen Quang from Da Nang City.

“Go Gang palm-leaf conical hat market” by Vo Chi Ha from Binh Dinh province.

“Happiness in new wind” by Tran Vinh Nghia.

“The rhythm in sedge field” by Le Chau Dao from Phu Yen province.

“My hometown” by Dieu Chinh from Kon Tum province.

The photo festival selects 150 photos by 80 authors out of 1,375 submissions by
 211 photographers for display.

China losing in Asia

China losing Asian popularity contest

August 24, 2011  about News, Politics

Though China purses a “good neighbor policy” in Asia, it faces increasing criticism from regional officials, media and populations. It seems the time is ripe for Beijing to review and improve its Asia strategy.

The latest challenge came from Japan. On August 10, chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said Japan would dispatch its Self-Defense Forces should a foreign country invade the (disputed) Senkaku Islands (called Diaoyu islands by China). “If other countries invade the islands, [Japan will] invoke the right of self-defense and remove them by making any sacrifice,” Edano said in Tokyo, apparently referring to China’s naval activities in the region.
Edano made the remarks after the publication of the 2011 Japan Defense White Paper, which had been approved by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s cabinet a week earlier. That paper described China’s stance in its maritime territorial disputes with its neighbors as “assertive”.
“Given the modernization of China’s naval and air forces in recent years, its sphere of influence is likely to grow beyond its neighboring waters … It is expected that China will try to keep expanding the area of activities, and to make naval activities a routine practice in waters surrounding Japan including the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, as well as in the South China Sea (East Sea).” China described the paper as “irresponsible”, rejecting the suggestion that its ongoing military modernization would impact on its regional neighbors.
Before the Japanese paper, the Philippines dispatched five congressmen and some military officials to Pagasa Island on June 20. As these officials landed on the island - some singing the national anthem with Filipino residents - China’s foreign minister was at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) forum in Bali, Indonesia, seeking ways to ease tensions in the East Sea.
Earlier, Vietnam and the Philippines strongly protested Chinese ships’ harassment of their ships in the East Sea.
Criticism has even come from Singapore, which has no territorial disputes with China and is considered to have a friendlier stance in Southeast Asia. Earlier this year, senior statesman Lee Kuan Yew said he would like the United States rather than China as a hegemon in Asia, because he saw the US as more benevolent.
Around the region, anti-Chinese rhetoric can often be found in government officials’ speeches and media commentaries.
No other big power like the US, the European Union or even India is subject to so many unfriendly or hostile accusations from its neighbors. Such remarks don’t reflect well on China’s efforts to build and enhance friendly relations with its neighbors under its “good neighbor policy” policy.
The diplomatic policy is based on four strategic principles: big powers are key partners, neighboring countries are primary partners, developing countries are the foundation of China’s diplomacy and multilateral institutions are important platforms.
In order to implement the strategy of making neighboring countries primary partners, Beijing adheres to the principles of “dealing with neighboring countries as partners and treating them with goodwill” and of “building an amicable, tranquil and prosperous neighborhood”.
In April at the Bo’ao Asia Forum, a regional platform for economic integration, Chinese President Hu Jintao said that to build a harmonious Asia, countries needed to respect the diversity of civilizations and promote neighborly relations.
“We need to transform the development pattern and promote all-round development … We need to share development opportunities and meet challenges together … We need to seek common ground while shelving difference and enhancing common security … We need to champion mutual benefit and deepen regional cooperation,” said Hu.
Under its “good neighbors policy”, Beijing naturally considers improving relations with ASEAN an important strategic task. China has built up a strategic partnership with the 10-member ASEAN since 2003, and also with some of its members, one after another.
Despite all China’s efforts to improve relations with its neighbors, especially those in Southeast Asia, it seems many mistrust a smiling Middle Kingdom. And it seems likely that as China expands its influence due to its growing economic and military strength, these neighboring countries will dislike China even more.
So why is China failing to win these countries over? There are several reasons: some may be traced to concerned neighbors, others derive from within China itself.
Firstly, there are historical reasons. Throughout ancient history, some Asian countries under the influence of Confucian civilization would pay tribute to China’s imperial courts, including in today’s Vietnam, Korea and Japan. Some other non-Confucianized Southeast Asian countries (including today’s Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand) also have a record of paying tributes to China as required by its emperors.
Some Southeast Asia countries were under the threat of China’s “export of revolution” in the 1950s and 1960s, and there was a border war between China and Vietnam in 1979.
Perhaps the biggest factor damaging mutual-trust and undermining efforts to build partnerships are bilateral disputes over territorial sovereignty. China has water and/or island territorial disputes in the East Sea or East China Sea with Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan.
For many East and Southeast Asian countries, China’s growing economic, military and political influence in Asia reminds them of the China-centered tributary system in history, in which vassals around the Middle Kingdom had to acknowledge China’s dominance in the region. Fears about the return of a new China-centered tributary system perhaps remain a psychological barrier for some countries when it comes to believing in Beijing’s good neighbor policy.
Poor relations between China and its neighbors also partially result from China’s domestic conditions. While China has long given up the “export of revolution”, it has yet to clarify its strategic intent of military modernization. For many neighboring countries, for such a big power to lack a clearly defined global strategy is dangerous.
Naturally, given China’s size and population, as well as its deep cultural influence, strong economic muscle and military power, any relatively smaller and weaker country in Asia is suspicious and frightened over what move the big dragon will take.
To address this, in addition to making verbal pledges, China has to make real efforts to show it will contribute to the benefit and stability of the region when needed. For instance, in the aftermath of the ongoing global financial crisis, China should have taken the lead to jointly build a sound regional financial system that stabilized the regional financial market.
China should honor its commitment to a peaceful rise with concrete measures to help safeguard regional security and ensure peace in the region.
As in China, nationalistic sentiments are growing across Asia, with economic reasons encouraging governments - backed by the US - to take more adventurous policy steps and challenge China.
Needless to say, Asia’s current political tensions, arms races, hostility and long-lasting disputes are not the ideal choice for the region. Because of the complex state of relations, China and its neighbors must devote more time and effort to building genuine partnerships.
China should act as a responsible actor that consistently adheres to shared principles; it should have a clear-cut, operational and pragmatic Asia strategy.
Under this policy, Beijing should function as a stabilizing economic power. This would require China to be more innovative in international finance areas, and more courageous in initiating reforms of existing financial systems.
China should help ensure regional public security with its growing military capability. Beijing should be broader-minded than its neighbors in regard to the use of its military to maintain regional stability by fighting piracy, terrorism and other international crimes in the Pacific Ocean. Instead of flexing its military muscle in territorial disputes, China should encourage political, economic and cultural integration in East and Southeast Asia.
All in all, China should reshape its Asia strategy with an aim to functioning as a stabilizing force, while maintaining its strategy to keep a balance with the influence of the US in this region.
China must show its goodwill and sincerity with words and deeds in carrying out these policies to the letter. Only in this way can it rise peacefully without causing alarm and be considered as a friend by its Asian neighbors.
China’s Asia strategy should go beyond only seeking mutual economic benefits and encompass the responsibility to help maintain financial, maritime and political stability.
Dr Jian Junbo/atimes
Dr. Jian Junbo is an assistant professor of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai, China, is currently an academic visitor at London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom

Gap opens in Vietnam, Guam

Gap's Global Push Brings Retailer to Vietnam, Guam

By Barbara Thau Posted 12:45PM 08/23/11 Company News, Retail

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Building on its ongoing mission to grab a bigger share of the $1.4 trillion global apparel market, Gap (GPS) will open its first stores in Vietnam and Guam through its franchise channel in the next few months.

This won't be the first time the retailer has done business in the Asia Pacific region. Gap made its products available in those countries last year online. The retailer is seeking to capitalize on Vietnam's growing economy, burgeoning upper-middle-class consumer base and young population, as well as Guam's robust tourism industry, which draws more than 1 million visitors annually.

Gap has signed a franchise agreement with Imex Pan Pacific, a Vietnamese conglomerate, to open its first two Gap stores in October in Ho Chi Minh City, that country's largest city, followed by additional locations in the capital, Hanoi, in 2012. Banana Republic stores will launch in 2012.

Building on an existing franchise agreement with Casual Clothing Specialist, Inc., which manages Gap locations in the Philippines, the retailer will open its first two Gap stores in Guam in January 2012.

The Gap stores will carry products from Gap, GapKids and babyGap, while Banana Republic will bring its take on affordable luxury apparel and accessories for women and men to the region.

As the Gap brand struggles stateside, and the company shutters many of its namesake stores in the U.S., Gap has added about 200 international franchise stores and expanded into 26 countries throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, Australia and Africa over the last five years. New Gap franchise stores are on tap for Chile, Serbia and Morocco in fiscal 2011.

The retailer has also been expanding globally with company-owned stores, such as a unit in Rome, which debuted in July. The retailer currently boasts nearly 200 company-owned stores overseas in countries such as the U.K., Ireland, France and Italy. It's also eying China for growth.

Renewable energy in Vietnam

Investing in renewable energy to save power

August 21, 2011  about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - Many families and businesses have
started using energy-saving products to cope with the soaring prices of
electricity, petrol, and gas. However, there remain certain snags in developing
renewable energy in Vietnam.

Innovations

Many innovations have been introduced in response to the
energy-saving campaign launched by the Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation.

The family of Nguyen Thi Ngai in Tan Binh district is one
of 800,000 families in Ho Chi Minh City who can now save nearly VND100,000 a
month after replacing the old incandescent lamps with compact light bulbs. Le
Thi Xuan in District 3 said her family has decided to use a solar-powered water
heater and turn off all light bulbs in the house at peak time in the evening
when necessary.

Nguyen Anh Vu, head of the Public Relations Department of
the HCM City Power Corporation, said his company recently launched a
communication campaign to raise public and business awareness of the need to
save energy and has received a positive response from many families and
businesses in the city.

In the first six month of 2011, the city saved as much as
198.59 million kWh of electricity (85.41 per cent of the annual target). Of the
total, 40.9 million kWh was saved in public lighting (21.6 per cent) 101.7
million kWh in daily lighting (51.2 per cent) and 34.2 million kWh in production
(17.2 per cent).

Hoang Minh Ba, director of the JSC Technical Services
Telecom - TST member Group Posts, says not a few businesses are still using
backward technologies which consume much power.

In addition, power waste in households remains a big
problem as they have no energy-saving equipment.

Challenges

In order to ensure the sustainable development of
businesses and improve their competitive edge, it is imperative for them to use
renewable energy such as wind, solar, and bio energy.

However, the cost of investment in renewable energy
projects is very high beyond the reach of domestic businesses.

Tran Anh Hao from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of
Industry and Trade cites another reason for low foreign investment in such
projects is the low price of electricity in Vietnam.

The department is sponsoring an energy-saving exhibition (Enertec
Expo 2011) in the hope that visitors will be able to gain access to
energy-saving technologies and products and contribute to implementing the
national strategy on energy efficiency and reduction of environmental pollution.

Source: VOV

Why sweat about China?

Why not to sweat about China

July 2, 2011  about News, Politics

LookAtVietnam - Its current row with two Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea (East Sea) has alarmed many observers. But a similar spat with Japan shows that conflict isn’t inevitable.

The past year has been a difficult one for the coastal states of the East Sea and there are number of indications that China’s decade long restraint is at an end. In 2010, rumours abounded that Beijing considered the East Sea  a ‘core interest,’ and China symbolically planted a flag on the seafloor. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi’s hysterical response to US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s restatement of US policy towards the dispute, meanwhile, seemed to be overkill.

The first half of 2011 has been similar. Chinese vessels, both civilian and government, have interfered with Philippine and Vietnamese survey activities in disputed waters, and Chinese vessels continue to fire at rival fishermen. This behaviour seems to confirm long-held suspicions about China’s posture towards the East Sea; that as soon as China developed the military capability to dominate the East Sea, it would. Now, following the latest developments, conflict in the East Sea seems imminent.

However, we’ve seen this Chinese behavior before, in the East China Sea, where China and Japan dispute the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands and the sea waters that surround them. Importantly, the escalation of tension in that dispute resulted in cooperation, not conflict. The dispute over energy resources began in earnest in 2004 after Japan discovered a Chinese drilling platform at the Chunxiao gas field, within 200 nautical miles of Japan’s coast, but just outside the median line that marked the limit of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone claim in its domestic law.

When it became apparent that commercially viable resources existed at Chunxiao, Tokyo insisted Beijing cease operations and jointly develop the field with Japan. To ascertain the extent of the undersea resources, Tokyo commissioned the Norwegian flagged Ram-form Victory to conduct a thorough survey of the median line area near the Chunxiao field. During this survey, the Ram-form Victory was stalked on several occasions by Chinese naval vessels and confronted on one occasion by a military vessel disguised as a research ship.

Furthermore, in September 2005 a highly advanced Sovereignty destroyer targeted a P3-C Orion patrol plane that passed over the Chunxiao field. As a consequence of these events, Japan galvanized its efforts to access resources in the East China Sea. Aerial patrols of the area increased and Tokyo backed away from its median line claim in favour of a full 200 nautical miles, awarded concession blocks adjacent to the median line to Teikoku Oil, and set about passing the laws required to protect Japanese oil companies working in the East China Sea.

Predictably, this resulted in histrionics from Beijing. Somewhat surprising however, was that as Japan set about preparing to drill for gas in the disputed area, negotiations between the two began to bear fruit. After the Diet passed the Law on Establishing Safety Areas for Maritime Structures in April 2007 – which permitted Japan to outline safety zones around drilling installations and tasked the coast guard with expelling vessels that violated these zones – negotiations occurred more frequently and yielded tangible results. Finally, in June 2008 the two sides announced a joint development arrangement that spelled out the sharing of resources at Chunxiao and outlined a joint development zone to the north that straddled the median line.

Of course, the agreement isn’t perfect. It hasn’t yet been implemented due to domestic political opposition in China, and Japan’s reluctance to surrender claims to ownership of the Chunxiao field. Maritime tensions also persist. Japan’s coast guard research vessel, the Shoyo was confronted twice by Chinese vessels in 2010, the latter incident coinciding with the collision of a Chinese fishing boat with a Japanese coast guard vessel. However, this shouldn’t detract from the lesson learned. States bargain over disputed maritime space as they would any other issue in international politics. States will posture, threaten and engage in low level demonstrations of military force to reinforce their claim and improve their lot. While dangerous, this behavior doesn’t mean that conflict is inevitable, nor does it prevent bilateral talks at the bureaucratic and official levels.

While some argue that resources drive maritime disputes, there’s little evidence to support the view that there is sufficient oil and gas in the East Sea to warrant a resource war. More likely, claimant states recognize that unilateral resource development by a rival state is damaging to their claim to the disputed area, not because it ‘steals’ resources, but because by ignoring such activity states could be accused of surrendering their claim to the area.

In fact, one could argue that it was the discovery of commercially viable resources in the East China Sea that led to the June 2008 consensus between China and Japan in the first place. So, too it will be in the East Sea, once the bargaining and posturing has finished. If China’s resource needs are as dire as some suggest, Beijing may in fact be pushing for cooperative development of offshore resources, rather than trying to stop production entirely.

The comparison does, however, raise some interesting questions about China’s relations with its neighbours. Why have Chinese vessels (allegedly) cut the sonar cables of Philippine and Vietnamese vessels while Japanese survey vessels have been left unharmed? Is it because recent Japanese surveys, have been conducted by government vessels, rather than civilian ones? Is it because Japan is a US military ally of the first order? In either case, this difference may support calls in Vietnam and the Philippines for the development of stronger survey capabilities, stronger naval capabilities and above all to seek closer defence ties with the United States. However, these too are bargaining tools. When Japan strengthened its position, China moved to cooperate, albeit in a limited form. The same may soon occur in the East Sea.

James Manicom (The Diplomat)

(The author is a visiting researcher at the Ocean Policy Research Foundation in Tokyo and a SSHRC postdoctoral fellow in the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Canada.)

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Rains flood HCMC

Seasonal rains flood HCMC streets

April 20, 2011 about Social

A flooded street in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. A heavy downpour on Monday night left local streets flooded and congested Tuesday morning.

A heavy downpour on Monday night left Ho Chi Minh City streets flooded and congested Tuesday morning.
Water did not recede in the low areas in Binh Thanh District, causing congestion in a number of its main streets. Vehicles on the Hanoi Highway that leads to HCMC’s neighboring provinces also lined up due to traffic gridlock.

Congestion also happened in the streets of Tan Binh and Tan Phu districts.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, officer of the Southern Hydrometeorology Station, told Thanh Nien heavy downpours to mark the start of the rainy season also fell on Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, Tay Ninh and Long An provinces.

The rainfall measured in HCMC areas ranges between 50 and 120 millimeters Monday evening. The rainy season for Ho Chi Minh City typically begins in May and ends in late November.

Professor Le Van Trung, director of the Geomatics Center of the Vietnam National University of HCMC, recently studied the flooding problems and identified 95 flood prone areas in the city.

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He highlighted many problem areas such as newly built streets not having drainage systems and rapid urbanization over rice fields that once surrounded Hoi Chi Minh City. Â

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Trung claims that flood prevention has been one of the biggest preoccupations of authorities and large-scale work has been carried out including construction of new sewers, repair of existing drainage systems, excavation of canals, Â and reinforcement of river banks.

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However, Vietnamese authorities may be fighting an uphill battle against Mother Nature.

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Vietnam is in the top five most affected countries by rising sea levels and some of the largest cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Vungtau are directly impacted.

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Reported by Tran Duy

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

Asi poised to become world's leading travel region

Abacus: Asia poised to become world's leading travel region




Asia is growing to become the top travel region in the world, as soon as 2015 in some travel categories, an Abacus International update forecasts.



Robert Bailey, Abacus International president and CEO, said Asia today “is an astounding force in the travel industry”.



“It has weathered the storm of the past few years and emerged at an all-time high, well poised to take over as the leading travel region.”



After a strong showing in 2010, Asia is on target to take its spot as the largest region in terms of air transport, travel destination, business travel, utilisation of ancillary revenue models and mobile usage.



According to Abacus data, the number of booking transactions for 2010 ended on a record high, even higher than the pre-recession period in 2007.



The booking numbers were up +11 percent year-on-year from 2009. This coincides with international arrivals into Asia, which were up by almost 13 percent in Asia.



Globally, international tourist arrivals were up seven percent after a four percent decline in 2009. Growth is expected to continue in 2011, but at a slower pace of 4 – 6 percent.



“Despite rising fuel costs and the recent recession, the Asian travel industry has shown its resilience in its quick recovery and strong growth years in both 2009 and 2010," said Bailey.



“I foresee that 2011 will continue to be a high growth year for Asia, albeit at a slightly slower pace."



by Ian Jarrett

- Dried Mekong River and countries’ responsibility | Dried Mekong River and countries’ responsibility

The water level in the Mekong River, the longest river in Southeast Asia, has dropped to the lowest level in the last five decades, causing worries among the affected countries.

Scarcity of fish in Mekong Delta’s flood season

Late flood sways farmers in Vietnam’s southwestern region

Chinese dams prevent flood in Vietnam’s southwestern region?

Dried Mekong River and countries’ responsibility


Plutocracy controls the Mekong River?

Mekong and the war of water


VietNamNet

Man attempts suicide by swallowing knife | Man attempts suicide by swallowing knife

Man attempts suicide by swallowing knife

VietNamNet Bridge – A 37-year-old man in the central province of Thanh Hoa attempted to commit suicide by swallowing a 15cm knife. The knife made a hole in the man’s oesophagus but it luckily didn’t thrust down the heart and major blood vessels so he was saved.

After swallowing the knife, the man was brought to a local hospital and then to the Vietnam-Germany hospital in Hanoi on November 1.

The scan showed a knife in the patient’s chest. Doctors conducted an operation in the morning of November 2 to take the knife out.

The knife and 500ml of blood which stagnated in the patient’s chest was taken out after a 4-hour surgery. The patient has recovered his senses but he still needs support from respiratory machine.

The Vietnam-Germany Hospital’s deputy director Nguyen Tien Quyet said that the knife thrust down the gullet. Luckily, the knife only cut down some sub-blood vessels, otherwise the man would have died before he was brought to the hospital.

Doctors said that they had treated patients who swallowed razor blades and this is the first time they saw one who swallowed such a long knife.

PV