Chuck Kuhn Painting Digital

Many promotions for low season

From now till the end of September is the "low season" for Vietnam's hospitality industry. Consequently a variety of special promotions have been launched for this season to attract tourists, especially in the Central and the South, where most of Vietnam's deluxe hotels and resorts are located.
A corner of Melia Sunrise Nha Trang in Nha Trang City.The promotions are also an opportunity, according to some hoteliers, to express appreciation to their customers, which is possibly why some promotions last until December, the "peak" time of Vietnam's hospitality.
From the Central
Hoi An Beach Resort (0510.927015) in the coastal central province of Quang Nam is launching the 'Cham Island Discovery' summer package from May 3 till the end of September. The special rate of only US$218 for two people includes a three-day and two-night stay, a half-day tour to Cham Island by speed boat including snorkeling and a seafood set lunch, one candle-lit Asian set dinner at Cua Dai Riverside Restaurant with lanterns floating on the river and piano and guitar music.
Melia Sunrise Nha Trang (058.820999) in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province is offering a special promotion available only when booking through the Internet. There are three options, the One Nighter for one-night stay, the Quickie for minimum two-night stay, and the Five Nighter for five-night stay. For the last one, guests only pay for four nights. All of the offers are applicable until June 30 and include complementary pick-up from the airport and welcome drinks in the room.
Novotel Ocean Dunes Golf Resort (062.822393) in Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan Province is offering a Summer Weekend Meeting promotion which will run until December 31, 2008.

Vietnam considers joining OPEC-style rice cartel

Vietnam can join a rice cartel whose model is similar to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) if the future organization ensures the harmonization of interests of both Vietnam and the international community, local newspaper Labor on Tuesday quoted a local official as saying.
To join an organization of rice exporting countries (OREC), Vietnam should answer some questions: "Can OREC's orientations satisfy the viewpoint of the Vietnamese government? Does OREC share with us the same viewpoint about the international responsibility? Can Vietnam fulfill its responsibilities when joining the organization?," said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu.
Vietnam should ensure national food security, economic development, and interests of rice growers, while helping ensure the world's food supply and prevent food crises, he said.
On April 30, in response to spiraling rice price, Thailand highlighted an idea to establish OREC. But he idea was criticized by the Philippines, a major rice importer.
On Tuesday, Thailand's foreign minister said his country was dropping plans to create a Southeast Asian rice cartel.
The rice exports of Thailand and Vietnam account for some 40 percent of the world's total annual export of rice. If Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are also included in the future OREC, the percentage will rise over 50 percent, according to reports of the five countries.
Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand last year exported a total of 16 million tons of rice: Cambodia 1.5 million tons; Vietnam 5 million tons; and Thailand 9.5 million tons.
Thailand and Vietnam alone control more than 40 percent of world rice exports, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Body of drowned US tourist found in Sapa

Three divers from northern coastal Quang Ninh province on May 4 noon found the body of a US tourist who drowned in Ca Nhay water fall two days ago in Ban Ho village, Sa Pa district of northern Lao Cai province. An official from Ban Ho village, Dao Van Son, said that the body of Cottr Hnolivev was found about five metres under the rock’s chink, not far from the site where he swam and fell into a whirlpool on the afternoon of May 2. He was touring the village with two other visitors, an American and a British, and two Vietnamese guides. The local rescue forces could not find his body as they lack special diving equipment, so divers had to be sent in from Quang Ninh. Ca Nhay Fall in Ban Ho is a beautiful place located at the foot of Hoang Lien Son mountain. There are many deep caves and whirlpools in the area. This is the first accident for foreign visitors at the tourist spot. Earlier, two Vietnamese were drowned when they were swimming under the fall.

Empty houses litter city as real-estate skyrockets

While limited land funds are making it difficult for Hanoi to keep up with public works projects and ensuring enough accommodations, hundreds of villas in many urban areas are sitting half finished and abandoned.
Half-finished and abandoned houses in the new Linh Dam residential area in Hanoi.In new urban areas, such as in Xuan La Ward of Tay Ho District, unfinished buildings covered in moss and pathways overgrown with grass sit next to beautiful apartment buildings.
A similar view can be seen in Van Quan Urban Area in Ha Dong City. Dozens of villas are unoccupied and covered with weeds. The area is littered with injection needles thrown out by drug addicts.
The situation is even worse in Me Tri Urban Area. Weeds, garbage, injection needles and condoms are piling up in unused villas.
Hoang Ngoc Thanh, who owns a house in the urban area, said many houses around his seem abandoned, although they were only built several years ago.
"I never see the owners of these houses," said Thanh.
Thanh said he bought his house from his cousin, who bought it from another acquaintance.
The fact that many houses in these urban areas are left abandoned is evidence that many houses have been sold to people purchasing the houses only for speculation. This has led to a huge waste in funds.
These abandoned houses provide a platform for socially vulnerable groups to carry out illegal activities, and is harmful to the surrounding environment.
Citizens from Me Tri Urban Area said they were worried about their safety, with drug addicts in the area.
A security guard from the same area said they had difficulty keeping an eye on the drug addicts and prostitutes staying in the abandoned houses.
The situation so far has no solution in sight.
A land consultant said these houses were unaffordable for the average buyer and would be difficult to sell.
"These houses keep waiting for their owners," said the consultant.
Even with empty houses littering the area, land and house prices have yet to go down.
Nguyen Chi Si, the director of Ha Noi No 2 Construction Investment Company, said the prices keep rising because of speculation.
While some policies have been implemented to prevent speculation, they have proven ineffective because the houses and land are being traded illegally, according to Si.
"If this keeps up, home ownership will be unreachable for most of the population," said the land consultant.
Nguyen Manh Ha, head of the House Management Department, said that houses must be bought by people intending to live in them.
The State should prevent speculation by collecting tax on land usage and on the house, said Ha.

Number of foreign tourists shoots up

More than one million foreigners came to Ho Chi Minh City in the first four months of 2008, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent, according to the city’s tourism department.

Foreign tourists visit the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: Viet Dung)In consequence, the local tourist industry raked in VND9,315 billion in the period, a year-on-year increase of 25 percent. The number for April was 230,000, a rise of 15 percent on the corresponding period of 2007, mostly from the US, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Korea, China, France, Singapore, Malaysia and Britain.At this rate Ho Chi Minh City is on track to meet the target of three million international visitors in all of 2008.It hasn’t been all one way either. So far this year 270,000 Vietnamese people have traveled abroad from the city’s Tan Son Nhat Airport to China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and elsewhere. Tourism department director Mrs. Dong Thi Kim Vui says her people have come up with several promotional ideas like reviving the magazine “City Guide”, and publishing a calendar of events and a useful map of the city with notes in several languages besides English, for example Korean, Russian, Chinese and French.Among the big events planned for this year, she adds, are the Southern Fruit Festival in June and the International Travel Expo in September.In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, who heads the national steering committee on tourism, has assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism to come up with a plan for encouraging more international arrivals by road and another for luring more tourists from China, Korean and Japan.

Vietnam’s tourism likely booming

The UK’s “The Economist” magazine has run an article, saying that Vietnam’s tourism may be “booming.”“Like its industry, agriculture and diplomacy, its tourism is now firmly on the map,” the magazine commented.The magazine quoted the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) as saying in the latest annual survey that Viet Nam moved up from sixth to fourth place in the league table of the world's fastest-growing destinations. Last year it had 4.2 million foreign visitors, 16 percent more than in 2006. After the backpackers and a few nostalgic American war veterans, tourists with fatter wallets are now arriving in large numbers.A fair chunk of the foreign investment currently pouring into Vietnam is going into new hotels, resorts and golf courses, many aiming at the top end of the market, the magazine added.It attributed the country’s attraction not only to endless stretching and untouched beaches, but also to ancient civilisations such as the vanished Hindu Champa culture; quaint tribal villages with wooden stilt-houses, colourful festivals and craftwork, historic cities and churches from French colonial times; war sites like the Cu Chi tunnels and the grisly but informative museum on the site of the My Lai massacre; and enormous potential for ecotourism, with many new species still being discovered in the remote forested mountains.

Cambodia panned over its policy on foreign marriages

TransAsia Sisters Association Taiwan (TASAT), an organization for immigrant spouses from Southeast Asian countries, is worried that a recent suspension in Cambodia of marriages between Cambodians and foreigners may make life worse for Cambodian women already married to Taiwanese and living in Taiwan.
A press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said the Cambodian government decided last month to stop issuing marriage certificates to Cambodian nationals who marry foreigners.“The government has temporarily suspended all [paperwork] for Cambodian women marrying foreigners,” You Ay, secretary of state with Cambodia’s Women’s Affairs Ministry, was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying last month.“This suspension is to prevent human trafficking through marriage,” she said. “Cambodia is working to strengthen its laws on marriage.”After the ban was announced, “a union between a [Taiwanese] national and a Cambodian will no longer be issued a marriage certificate, which makes it impossible to proceed with the process of registering the marriage in Taiwan and granting the Cambodian spouse residency,” the ministry’s statement said.TASAT condemned the Cambodian government over its decision.“Marriage is one of a person’s fundamental rights and the Cambodian government is taking that right away from its citizens,” said Chen Hsueh-hui (陳雪彗), a department director at the organization.Chen also expressed concern that such a suspension may make it worse for Cambodian women who are already married to Taiwanese and living here.“The Cambodian government is very hostile toward Cambodian women who are married to foreigners,” she said.The Cambodian government has been refusing to issue certificates for people renouncing Cambodian citizenship, which are required if Cambodians wish to obtain Taiwanese citizenship.To resolve the problem, the ministry has made an exception by lifting the requirement for a certificate for Cambodians married to Taiwanese.“With the new ban, we’re worried that it will become another barrier for Cambodian women who are married to Taiwanese but have yet to be naturalized and obtain [Taiwanese] citizenship,” Chen said.

Understanding the Global Rice Crisis

Understanding the Global Rice Crisis
What's behind the current food shortages: Is the increase in ethanol production to blame or is hoarding the problem?

Farmers harvest rice in Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter. Unlike other exporters like India and Vietnam, Thailand has not announced curbs on rice sales.

As world rice prices set new records daily, the World Bank has warned that the crisis could further impoverish 100 million people (BusinessWeek.com, 4/25/08). What's behind the current food crisis and what can the world do to dig itself out from the problems? Here are a few of the key issues to consider.
Has the increase in corn cultivation for producing ethanol in the U.S. and Europe affected the price of rice?
Yes, indirectly. As farmers in the U.S. and Europe plant more corn in place of wheat to produce ethanol, the price of wheat has risen as supplies have tightened. Faced with higher wheat prices, people are substituting rice in their diets, particularly so in Africa. And, of course, the demand for ethanol as an alternative fuel is linked directly to the soaring price of oil. Moreover, the cost of rice production has increased significantly because fertilizer, transportation, and processing costs have shot up along with skyrocketing oil prices
And how did that spill over to Asia?
India and Vietnam, the world's second- and third-largest rice exporters, saw the prices of soybeans, wheat, and corn skyrocket. In an attempt to keep a lid on domestic inflation, in late March both countries announced export restrictions. The idea was to ensure plenty of domestic stock of rice so prices wouldn't rise. But it backfired, because as soon as international prices shot up domestic traders jacked prices up at home anyway, leading to panic buying and hoarding.
But is there a worldwide shortage of rice?
No, there is an artificial shortage because of measures taken by governments of rice-exporting nations.
Who is doing the hoarding?
It's happening at several levels throughout the supply chain by traders, millers, wholesalers, and retailers. The appeal of rice for speculators is that it is easy to store and transport. However, this kind of speculation is extremely risky because the futures market in rice is not very liquid, so it it's difficult to hedge one's bets. There are 15 different benchmark prices for rice depending on quality, and the market is far from transparent.
How is Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, faring in all this?
At first blush, Thailand appears to be sitting pretty. The spot price of Thai fragrant rice is about $1,100 per ton, compared with about $320 at the end of last year. However, exporters make their contracts several months in advance of delivery, and Thai Rice Exporters Assn. President Chookiat Ophaswongse says several exporters face huge losses because they are buying rice from traders at today's prices but delivering that rice to buyers at prices from early in the year, before the latest price spiral started. Some exporters have renegotiated, others have defaulted on their deliveries. Chookiat says higher prices will cause exports to fall 20%-25% in the second quarter, to about 780,000 tons per month, compared with the first three months of the year.
If this is mostly speculation and government interference in trade, will prices fall eventually?
Up to a point. Once the price spikes, speculators and hoarders will try to unload their stocks, pushing prices down, but there is a lot of pent-up demand from major importers such as Iran and Indonesia that have not purchased any international rice in 2008.
Why don't farmers just plant more rice?
Because they can't. The majority of rice farmers consume most of what they grow already and plant rice on every available acre of land. What's more, rapid urbanization and, in China, desertification has led to a decrease in the available supply of farmland. The increase in biofuels has encouraged palm oil plantations instead of rice paddies. Also, as incomes rise in the region, people substitute more meat for rice in their diet, which requires more land to raise livestock and produce the same amount of calories.
more info->>Understanding the Global Rice Crisis

Temporary halt on rice exports until end of June

Despite high rice export prices and the Mekong delta experiencing a bumper winter-spring rice crop with more than 9.3 million tonnes of rice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will temporarily halt rice exports until the end of June.

MoIT Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Bien said enterprises nationwide have so far this year exported more than 1 million tonnes of rice for almost 403 million USD. The average rice export price was 400 USD per tonne, accounting for 57 percent of the current price. However, the deputy minister says postponing rice exports until the end of June is an export management measure to reduce quantity and increase value while ensuring national food security and the State’s interest. Deputy Minister Bien forecasted that world rice prices will continue rising from now until 2010, saying Vietnam recently made a record rice export price to the Philippines at 1,200 USD per tonne. He predicted the price may hit 1,500 USD per tonne next month. To ensure the interest of export businesses and farmers, the government has instructed banks to provide financial assistance to businesses to buy rice for storage.The measure is expected to keep unprocessed rice prices at 4,550 VND per kilo and processed rice prices at between 8,300-8,500 VND per kilo.

Will HCMC’s soul survive the urbanization process?

In all the discussion about Ho Chi Minh City’s planned transformation into a super metropolitan area, not much thought seems to have gone into protecting the city’s image.
The city’s top scholars on Thursday gathered for a conference titled “Analyzing urbanization in Saigon-HCMC from historical and cultural viewpoints,” organized by the HCMC Institute of Social Research and Nguoi Do Thi (City Dwellers) magazine.
Nguyen Huu Nguyen, an expert from the institute, joked that “HCMC looks like a big mess if you take a look from the plane during a clear day.”
“A mess” isn’t too far from reality though.
At the conference, the scholars kept bringing up the same old bugbears: unfinished construction sites, uncontrolled traffic, constant flooding and air pollution.
Le Van Thanh, from the HCMC Institute for Economic Research, said most experts were unable to develop a zoning plan that would preserve the city’s unique essence.
According to Thanh, some cities around the world have gone through major transformations but following certain themes – such as making their cities green, touristy or global.
Assistant professor Phan Xuan Bien, head of the city’s Committee for Ideology and Culture, said when transforming a city, officials needed to heed how the essence of the city will be altered by urbanization.
Mai Thi Que, from the HCMC Institute of Social Research, said HCMC was already undergoing changes as huge numbers of migrants from other provinces flock to the former Saigon.
Most experts at the seminar said city officials need to do more than focus on approving the zoning plans.
They also need to consider programs to educate residents about behaving well in public and preserving the city’s green outlook.
News of Vietnam’s major metropolitan areas being expanded, provinces being merged and new housing centers and hotel complexes being built constantly hit the headlines.
In the process of economic development, all major cities must go through major transformation.
It’s up to the people of HCMC to decide whether the transformation will merely upgrade the city or whether it will alter the residents in the process.

Vietnamese official discredits US criticism of adoption system

A senior government official Saturday rejected a US embassy report criticizing the Vietnamese adoption system.
Vu Duc Long, director of the Justice Ministry’s Department of International Adoptions, said the allegations in the US Embassy report were “groundless” and “unreliable.”
US authorities “did not cooperate with their Vietnamese counterparts in its investigation,” Long said.
The report, released Friday, claimed the Vietnamese adoption system was riddled with corruption and fraud.
The report, written after a review of hundreds of adoptions by US citizens since 2006, said there was evidence of baby-selling in Vietnam.
The two countries agreed to resume the practice of inter-country adoptions in 2006.
In the 18-month period ending March 31, Americans – including actress Angelina Jolie – adopted more than 1,200 Vietnamese children.
A bilateral agreement on adoptions, which was signed in 2005, will expire on September 1.
Long said the US would use the report as a reason for not extending the adoption agreement.
The Associated Press (AP) quoted Long as saying bribery of orphanage officials may occur but serious offenses such as baby-selling or kidnapping were not a problem.
US adoption agencies active in Vietnam told AP that most adoptions in the country were ethical.
Already, the US embassy’s concerns “have left scores of Vietnamese adoptions in limbo,” the AP report said.

Central region becoming investor drawcard

Central Vietnam is emerging as an attractive investment destination with a series of million-USD projects currently underway or slated for construction.Construction of an ecological resort worth 1 billion USD will begin on April 30 at the Chan May-Lang Co Economic Zone (IZ) in Thua Thien-Hue province.

Phong Nha CaveFunded by Singapore ’s Banyan Tree Group, the resort will feature 10 five-star hotels, an international conference hall and a modern entertainment centre when it opens in 2014. It is the largest of its kind in the province.VinaCapital recently broke ground for the central region’s biggest trade complex in neighbouring Danang city. The 325-million-USD complex is the group’s fourth project in the city. The first three projects, currently under construction, are worth 800 million USD in total.Moves to invest in the central region are seen as clear evidence of the strong appeal of the area, which also features pristine beaches and world cultural and natural heritage sites including Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park , the former imperial city of Hue , ancient Hoi An town and My Son sanctuary .VinaCapital Managing Director Brook Taylor said the central region has great potential for development and has experienced rapid change that has created vast opportunities for foreign investors, particularly in information technology, health care and tourism infrastructure.Local firms are also jostling for their place in the race to invest in the region, with Hanoi-based Finance and Business Development Joint Stock Company (FBS) emerging as a strong competitor. FBS has prioritised the region in its investment strategy with a special focus on real estate in project areas.In addition to Chan May-Lang Co Economic Zone, other regional industrial zones have also enticed investors at home and abroad. The Dung Quat Industrial Zone in Quang Ngai province topped the list with 90 projects capitalised at 4.4 billion USD. The industrial zone is followed by Vung Ang in Ha Tinh province, Quang Nam province’s Chu Lai, as well as Nghi Son and Nhon Hoi in Binh Dinh province.Statistics released by the Ministry of Planning and Investment show that since the introduction of the Foreign Investment Law in 1988, the region has licensed 631 foreign-invested projects with a combined registered capital of more than 10 billion USD, accounting for around 10 percent of the country’s total amount. In 2007 alone, foreign investment injected 4.2 billion USD into regional provinces and cities, comprising 20.6 percent of Vietnam ’s total volume.Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Bich Dat says that to make full use of the region’s potential, it should focus on developing infrastructure and human resources, expanding inter-provincial tourism and trade cooperation, and building a strong legal framework to create more opportunities for foreign investors.

Temporary halt on rice exports until end of June

Despite high rice export prices and the Mekong delta experiencing a bumper winter-spring rice crop with more than 9.3 million tonnes of rice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will temporarily halt rice exports until the end of June.

MoIT Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Bien said enterprises nationwide have so far this year exported more than 1 million tonnes of rice for almost 403 million USD. The average rice export price was 400 USD per tonne, accounting for 57 percent of the current price. However, the deputy minister says postponing rice exports until the end of June is an export management measure to reduce quantity and increase value while ensuring national food security and the State’s interest. Deputy Minister Bien forecasted that world rice prices will continue rising from now until 2010, saying Vietnam recently made a record rice export price to the Philippines at 1,200 USD per tonne. He predicted the price may hit 1,500 USD per tonne next month. To ensure the interest of export businesses and farmers, the government has instructed banks to provide financial assistance to businesses to buy rice for storage.The measure is expected to keep unprocessed rice prices at 4,550 VND per kilo and processed rice prices at between 8,300-8,500 VND per kilo.

Vietnam’s inflation rises 21.4% as food costs surge

Vietnamese consumer prices rose 21.4 percent in April, the fastest pace since at least 1992, as surging global demand for commodities drove up the cost of food.
Inflation was the steepest since Vietnam was struggling to stabilize prices after failed economic policies of the 1980s. The General Statistics Office released the figures in Hanoi today. Accelerating inflation will make it more difficult for Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to meet growth targets for the year, and is eroding the living standards of Vietnam’s 85 million population. Controlling inflation has become more challenging for the government as Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization last year opened up the economy, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said a report last week. “Inflation is a serious problem for Vietnam,” said Adam McCarty, chief economist at Mekong Economics Ltd. in Hong Kong. “Most of the big policies they've done to try to curb inflation have only been implemented in the past month, and it takes some time to feed through.” Prices increased 2.2 percent from last month. Higher food and energy costs are stoking inflation across the region. Singapore’s prices jumped the most in 26 years in March, Japan’s rose at the fastest pace in a decade, and inflation in Australia topped 4 percent for the first time in seven years. The government this year increased benchmark interest rates, told banks to raise the amount of money they have to keep on reserve, and sold more bills and bonds in an attempt to reduce money supply and slow inflation. ---------------------Stock slump The VN Index of stocks has slumped more than 44 percent this year, the worst performance of any global measure, on concern the government will curb lending. The benchmark five-year bond yield increased to the highest in almost two years as inflation quickened for 15 months. The increase in the consumer-price index was the biggest since at least 1992. The GSO declined to release comparable figures for 1992 and 1991, and the highest inflation rate in 1993 was 15.8 percent. In December 1990 Vietnam’s inflation was 67.1 percent, according to government data. “They had a hyper inflation crisis in the late 80s,” McCarty said. “In 1989 they implemented proper macro policies, and since the early 90s they’ve managed to keep it under control.” The increase this month has been worsened by rising global commodities prices, McCarty said. The jump was driven by food prices, which rose 38.2 percent from April 2007, and a 22.6 percent increase in housing and construction materials.
more info-> : Vietnam’s inflation rises 21.4% as food costs surge

Hanoi expansion plan slammed by Fatherland Front

The Hanoi government neglected public opinion when drawing up its plan to create a mega-metropolis in the north, state officials said Friday.
Under the expansion plan, Vietnam’s capital city – currently 920 square kilometers in size – will merge with Ha Tay Province, Vinh Phuc Province’s Me Linh District and four communes in Hoa Binh Province’s Luong Son District to become a 3,300 square kilometer behemoth.
At a meeting in Hanoi Friday, Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee (VFFC) Deputy Chairman Cu Hoa Van slammed the endorsement of the mega-city plan by the Hanoi People’s Council, the local legislature.
The VFFC is the umbrella organization for Vietnam’s social and political groups.
Van said the resolution had gone against the law and did not reflect public opinion because the council had failed to consult the people on the matter.
Nguyen Tuc, a member of the VFFC executive, said the timetable for adopting the Hanoi expansion blueprint was too short, as it was due to be implemented in July.
VFFC General Secretary Vu Trong Kim said he doubted the plan would be a long-term proposition as Hanoi had undergone similar mergers seven times since 1947.
Delegates to the meeting also voiced concerns over the administrative personnel restructure that would follow the merger, saying it would be an enormous task for authorities concerned

Thai rice hits new record

RICE prices in Thailand, the world's top exporter, surged to $1000 a tonne today as concerns about food security first triggered by a handful of Asian export bans spread as far as the United States.This week's five per cent jump takes prices to nearly three times their level at the start of the year, intensifying fears of social unrest in Asia as millions of the region's poor find themselves struggling to pay for staple goods.The surging price of fuel and food, which some analysts attribute to panic buying by both consumers and governments rather than a dire shortage of supply, has so far sparked riots in Africa and Haiti, but not Asia. Having started with India's imposition of export curbs to protect domestic supplies last year, the crisis was felt in the United States this week, with major retailers saying they had started to notice signs of panic buying. Sam's Club, a unit of retail giant Wal-Mart, said it was capping sales of 9kg bulk bags of rice at four bags per customer per visit to prevent hoarding. The previous day, rival Costco Wholesale Corp said it had seen increased demand for items such as rice and flour as customers, worried about global food shortages, stocked up. "Everywhere you see, there is some story about food shortages and hoarding and tightness of supplies," said Neauman Coleman, an analyst and rice broker in Brinkley, Arkansas.
ed note:->amazing Costco, Sam's Club capping sales in USA

Unsanitary food stalls shut down in Hanoi

The Ministry of Health has temporarily closed down dozens of food stalls in Hanoi over the past week due to substandard levels of food hygiene and safety.
It is reported that common violations include dirty food processing areas, mixing cooked and uncooked food, and the failure of staff to wear gloves.
Outlets that had imported food from other provinces were found to be selling food that had been contaminated during transportation.
Local markets, meanwhile, were found to have insufficient drainage systems, causing flies, mosquitoes and worms to flourish around the food.
One local newspaper reported that the city’s health department used to suspend such shops from operating, but they would soon resume operations when the department failed to do follow-up inspections.
According to the Hanoi Department of Health, around 60 percent of local food stalls have yet to be granted food safety and hygiene certificates.
Inspections are currently being conducted by five mobile inspector teams set up by the ministry last Tuesday in an effort to tighten the control of food safety and hygiene since an acute diarrhea epidemic broke out in March.
Each team is required to inspect and test food samples on-site and inform the shop owner of the results immediately.
In addition, those found in violation of the health codes will have their results published in the media.
Since the diarrhea outbreak began on March 5, more than 1,800 people in 19 provinces and cities have been hospitalized.
Around 326 have tested positive for cholera, with 44 cases reported in Hanoi.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium vibrio cholerae.

Majority of helmet brands will fail crash test

Up to 80 percent of crash helmets sold in Ho Chi Minh City do not meet safety standards, the Vietnam Standard and Consumer Association (Vinastas) said Wednesday.
Vinastas said it had conducted two surveys of 70 brands of crash helmets last month.
The consumer watchdog bought nearly 100 helmets from 10 large retailers around HCMC and sent them to the HCMC Quality Measure Standard Bureau for testing.
The first survey found 70 percent of helmets were substandard, the second survey found 80 percent of helmets failed to meet safety standards.
Vinastas’ first survey also revealed 73 percent of crash helmets with quality control stickers didn’t meet the safety standards.
In the second survey the rate was 83 percent.
The watchdog called on authorities to crack down on helmet manufacturers that produced fake and substandard products.
Vinastas said a better system to manage helmet quality was required.
The compulsory motorbike helmet law, which came into effect on December 15, 2007, states all motorbike riders on all roads must wear a helmet at all times.

ed note: I would like to see the survey on How many are actually wearing the helmets, probably less than 1 percent

Towering land prices, investors disheartened

Foreign capital is flowing into the tourism real estate market of Vietnam but international experts say Vietnam hasn’t removed barriers for foreign investors so some investors intend to turn their backs on the Vietnamese real estate market.

According to Phan Huu Thang, Head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, there are 8,737 projects investing in the tourism real estate market, worth around $104 billion. Capital flows from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia and some North European countries are pouring into this market because they think it has potential. Yet, many barriers still exist.

Vietnam and its own price policy

Marc Townsend, Executive Manager of CBRE Vietnam, an estate service and consulting group, said Vietnam, thanks to its geographic advantages and a long coast, is one of the alluring destinations of tourism real estate investment in Asia. Nevertheless, land prices in Vietnam are too high compared to neighbouring countries and this is one of the largest hindrances for the growth of the tourism real estate market and the foreign capital flows in this area.

“If our company plans to invest in Vietnam, we will carefully study this market and compare land prices in Vietnam and those of nearby countries. Many investors have made comparisons and if land prices stay at the current high levels, I’m afraid that the competitiveness of the Vietnamese tourism estate market will decrease and some investors will turn their backs on Vietnam,” said Marc Townsend.

Sharing this point of view, Kenneth Atkinson, Executive Manager of Grant Thoron Vietnam, said real estate prices in Vietnam are too “tense” now and Vietnam has its own prices.

“To have land for construction, investors have to pay huge sums. There are a handful of local investors who are able to join the market. Most of them are doing business by banking loans. Meanwhile, to achieve its goal of controlling inflation, the Vietnamese government is tightening credit for real estate traders. By chance, this easy prey runs to the pockets of some foreign groups,” Atkinson warned.

A lot of challenges

At a recent forum on opportunities for investment in tourism real estate held by Phu Quoc Land company, many investors expressed their expectation that land prices would become reasonable and more competitive thanks to the current fall of the real estate market. However, they are still afraid that poor infrastructure and complicated administrative formalities will obstruct the development of the tourism real estate market.

A foreign investor said he had been interested in tourism projects on Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang, but after some surveys he decided to quit because of difficulties in travelling. There is only one flight every three days to Phu Quoc Island.

Marc Townsend said to have land, investors need 3-4 years. Then they need around 3 years more for site clearance. Investors are too tired after such a long time to get “clean” land in Vietnam and that time can cost them business opportunities.

Let’s have a look at the neighbours!

“Your country is very beautiful! Vietnam is very charming and rouses my curiosity. But I have been to Vietnam only one time and I don’t want to return. Everything in Vietnam is so expensive. Many people love to stay in five-star hotels, but I don’t because it is too expensive,” a foreign visitor said.

The director of a private real estate consulting company said hotel rates in Vietnam are too high compared to the region and the world. One night at a five-star hotel in Vietnam is around $200/room and up to $230-250/room at some hotels. Meanwhile, the best hotels offer $129/room/night, for example, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The situation should not be blamed on the high number of visitors or the modest number of hotels. Vietnam has more than 9,000 hotels at present and by 2010, the country will have around 13,500 hotels with a total number of up-to-standard rooms around 270,000, he said.

According to specialists, most hotels and resorts in Vietnam allege improved service quality to push up room rates, without looking at neighbouring countries. This year Vietnam expects to welcome around 5.5 to 6 million foreign visitors but this volume is equivalent to that of Thailand in 1983.

High prices are not for hotel or resorts but also for offices and apartments for lease. It is very difficult to find apartments for lease at reasonable prices in some districts in HCM City. Meanwhile, the charges for leasing retail shops have risen highly in central areas in big cities like Hanoi and HCM City. Many multinational groups can’t afford to hire one sq.m of land at $50.