Cross-cultural relationships | Look At Vietnam

Cross-cultural relationships 

July 10, 2012

 
A young couple pose for their wedding photo in Da Nang. Most modern Vietnamese weddings incorporate both Western and Vietnamese traditions. Photo: AFP
Relationships between men and women are complex and problematic under the best of circumstances, and when you mix cultures as different as Western and Asian it can really get muddled.
And the fact that Vietnam is still coming out of a long period of difficult circumstances, both socially and economically, further contributes to the problem.
This can be seen even in relationship situations between Vietnamese couples. For example; young women are increasingly expressing a reluctance to follow the marital patterns of their mothers and grandmothers. It used to be that a girl who was unmarried after she passed into her mid-twenties was considered too old to attract a husband and was the object of sympathy among her family and peers. No more! Girls are delaying marriage into their thirties while they pursue education and careers, and some seem not to care if they never get married if a suitable mate has not put in an appearance.
Like all cultures, Vietnam has its social levels and levels of educational attainment. Depending on the background of the expatriate this may or may not be important. At the risk of sounding snobbish, for me it was. My first Vietnamese romance was with a young woman who was half my age, had no education and spoke no English. But she was lovely and promised to learn English, so things became serious and we talked of marriage. I envisioned making a brief visit to my former town and watch the envy of my aging friends with their equally aged wives! Foolish me!
Over time it became obvious that she was not very serious about English, saw me as a way out of relatively modest circumstances and we had absolutely nothing to talk about when we did have the benefit of someone to translate… in other words there was no common ground for us to meet on. In addition, I discovered that she had threatened a friend of hers that was helping her by translating for us, with physical violence, for being “too attentive to me” (a fallacy!) Not a young lady of good character, it would appear. After giving it a reasonable effort, I bade her goodbye!
I subsequently met a number of very lovely women of varied ages but none of them could speak much English, although several were engaged in a serious effort before I met them. I had determined that being married to someone with whom you cannot have a conversation is not very appealing, at least to me, and my feeble efforts at learning Vietnamese were coming to naught.

more info--->>>> Cross-cultural relationships  | Look At Vietnam

Da Nang City to host ‘Miss Sports 2012’ | Look At Vietnam

Da Nang City to host ‘Miss Sports 2012’

June 22, 2012

The final round of Miss Sports 2012 will take place at the Ba Na Hill Resort in the central coastal city of Da Nang on August 5 in which 35 young girls selected from 200 contestants from across the country will take part.

Nguyen Thu Huong, Miss Sports 1995 and second runner
up at the Mrs World 2011 pageant (C) is deputy head of
the organization board of Miss Sports 2012.

 
The 35 beauties will showcase their talent by performing sports related exercises such as aerobics, martial arts, belly dancing, yoga and silk dances and compete in rounds of evening gown, swimsuit, sportswear, and a Q&A session.
The winning beauty queen will receive a cash prize of VND550 million (US$26,000). The organizers will also award titles in other categories such as Miss Perfect Skin, Miss Fashion, Miss Perfect Body and Miss Talent.
Launched in 1993, the beauty contest returns after a five-year break.
SGGP

TRAVEL IN BRIEF 15/6 | Look At Vietnam

TRAVEL IN BRIEF 15/6

June 16, 2012

Resort earns second Agoda award
The five-star Furama Resort Da Nang was awarded the Agoda Gold Circle Award on Monday. It’s the second time in a row that the resort has won the award, which was introduced in 2009 by the worldwide travel bookings company Agoda.
The Da Nang-based luxury resort was among 381 hotels worldwide to receive the award.
Da Nang holds tour promotion

Photo: Internet

The tourism promotion centre of the central city of Da Nang is holding a nine-day tourism promotion programme during June 22-30 at East Sea Park and My Khe Beach, featuring street music, folk music performances, bar tender contest, triathlon race, swimming competitions and beach football.
My Khe will also host parasailing and painting contests for children. During the programme, the city’s travel agencies will also promote their tours around the city as well as the nearby cities of Hoi An and Hue.
Phu Quoc named eco-tourism centre
Kien Giang Province’s tourism development strategy for 2011-20 seeks to develop Phu Quoc Island into an eco-tourism centre.
The 574sq.km island is set to welcome 1-1.2 million visitors per year by 2015, with foreign tourists accounting for 35 per cent, and earn US$209 million from it.
The island, which offers exploration, ecological, and cultural tourism, is hoping to attract travellers from markets like Northeast Asia, North America, Western Europe, and ASEAN.
Chinese tour firms spur price war
Many Chinese travel agencies bringing tourists to Viet Nam via the Huu Nghi Border Gate in Lang Son Province are forcing local
partners to lower tour prices.
The price of a four-day trip to Viet Nam has been forced down from 500 yuan to 300 yuan (VND1 million), forcing a drop in the quality of services. Local tour operators are complaining about this, saying it affects the image of Viet Nam as a tourism destination.
From the Huu Nghi Border Gate, Chinese tourists are usually taken to Ha Noi, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh. These tours have recently been expanded to take in the central region.
China is the biggest source of tourist arrivals for Viet Nam with more than 1.4 million coming last year. Chinese tourists can enter Viet Nam using passports or laissez-passers via the inland border gates in Lang Son and Lao Cai or by sea.
Agencies promote travel services
Travel agencies from Da Nang, Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue provinces launched a tourism promotion programme last week at the International Tourism Forum in Yaroslavl, Russia, where representatives from the central region provinces provided travel and tour information to 900 Russian travel agencies.
The Vietnamese travel agencies will continue the promotion programme at the Leisure Tourism Fair in Russia in September.
New resort to open in Da Nang City
The international standard InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is set to open its doors to the public this weekend.
Featuring 200 rooms, the resort is situated on an area of 250ha at 500m above sea level on Son Tra peninsula in Da Nang City.
The resort’s managing board is also offering cuisine parties every night to serve tourists during the summer holidays.
VNN/VNS

Vietnam begins to produce fuel by recycling plastic waste | Look At Vietnam

Vietnam begins to produce fuel by recycling plastic waste 

April 29, 2012

A worker gathers oil produced by recycling plastic bags April 20 at Vietnam’s first such plant in Da Nang

Vietnam’s first factory to recycle solid waste into fuel and bricks has begun operations in Da Nang.
The factory, built by the Vietnam Environment JSC, produced the first batch last Friday, generating oil from plastic bags and environment-friendly coal and bricks from other kinds of garbage, news website VietNamNet reported Monday.
Nguyen Van Tuan, the company’s director, estimated that three tons of plastic bags can be recycled into one ton of oil.
“With plastic bags accounting for 8 percent of the 650 tons of waste generated every day in Da Nang, the factory can produce around 17 tons of oil a day,” he said.
The VND520 billion (US$25 million) factory is producing nine tons of oil a day from bags obtained from Khanh Son, the city’s major garbage dump located next door.
Tuan said the project would use 90 percent of the garbage from the dump, leaving the city only 10 percent to bury, unlike now when it has to bury all of it.
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Thanh Nien News 

New hotel development tendency: owned by Vietnamese, managed by foreigners | Look At Vietnam

New hotel development tendency: owned by Vietnamese, managed by foreigners

April 17, 2012

LookAtVietnam – A lot of well-known big hotels in Vietnam have changed
hands recently. However, they would not change their names.

A real estate expert said that he does not think Daewoo hotel would change its
name after it has a new owner, because Daewoo is a well-known strong brand in
Hanoi. The value of the merger & acquisition deal has not been revealed, but he
is sure the Vietnamese new owner had to pay for the brand as well. Besides, the
experts think it would be not a wise move if the new owner uses another name,
because this means that he would have to start the business from the very
beginning.
In most of the hotel and resort transfer deals made recently, the old brands
developed by the previous owners have been retained in accordance with the
provisions on branding which have not been made public.
BRG bought the Hilton Hotel several years ago, but the name “Hilton” still has
been associated with the hotel after it fell into the hand of the new owner.
Sovico has bought all the stakes of Furama Resort Da Nang, but it has not
intended to change its name. Similarly, Victoria, the name of the chain of
hotels and resorts, has been maintained by Thien Tourism Company after it bought
from Hong Kong’s EEM Victoria.
The expert said that the value of the material facilities of the hotels could
not be as high as the value of the brand. Meanwhile, Vietnamese enterprises now
still cannot develop new brands for their hotels. Especially, many of the new
owners do not have experience in the hotel management field; therefore, it would
not be an easy task to develop the hotels under the new names.
Besides, the foreign previous owners might have set up strict requirements in
the transfer deals to be sure that their names would not be influenced. Most of
the new investors have been keeping the same staff, especially the high ranking
management posts held by foreigners.
Analysts have commented that Vietnamese businessmen have made good bargains when
buying back the hotels which have been operating for many years and bringing
stable source of income. They believe that the businessmen would be able to
recover the investment capital just after 9 or 10 more years.
It’s easier built than managed
The strong development of hotels and resorts recently in Vietnam has caught the
attention of many management companies. A series of well-known hotel management
groups in the world have been present in Vietnam, including Six Senses, Accor or
Marriott.
To Nhu Tung, Director of a four star hotel, said that most of the hotels and
resorts belonging to Vietnamese businessmen, have still been managed by
managers. It is because Vietnamese people still lack the management skills.
There are very few 100 percent Vietnamese owned hotel management companies,
while most of them are managing the hotels built by their parent groups.
Tung’s resort has also been managed by a foreign company, even though the resort
owner has to spend a big sum of money to hire the manager.
In Vietnam, Accord Group with Sofitel and Novotel brands is managing more than
20 hotels. Meanwhile, Six Senses Resorts and Spas, which has been in Vietnam not
for a long time, is managing the big resorts in Nha Trang, Con Dao, Da Lat and
Phu Quoc island.
Ninh Van Bay, a Vietnamese tourism real estate firm also signed a contract with
the brand on the management of a resort in Khanh Hoa province. Sixsense Ninh Van
Bay, the high grade resort with 58 villas has become famous. The firm has
continued cooperating with the brand in the Six Senses Saigon River project.
Not only managing 4-5 star hotels, the brands have also reached out to three
star hotels as well. Accord, after tens of years focusing to develop Novotel
brand (4 star) and Sofitel (5 star), has decided to bring Pullman (5 star),
Mercure (3 star) and Ibis (3 star) to Vietnam through franchising contracts.
Duy Anh

Responsible travel gets more popular to Vietnamese | Look At Vietnam

Responsible travel gets more popular to Vietnamese

April 12, 2012

LookAtVietnam – The concept “responsible travel” has become more popular to
Vietnamese people, though this kind of tourism has just existed in a small
community and in few localities.

Responsible travel is a kind of tourism that binds businesses and the local
communities together which build the tourism products associated with the
environment protection, help local residents exploit tourism potentials on the
principle of mutual benefit and responsibility.
Responsible tourism has been strongly promoted to become a new tendency in the
world. Every year, the week of responsible tourism is organized on the biggest
websites of the world with the topics put on online discussions lasting seven
days.
In Vietnam, responsible travel has also been popularized under the active
support of non-government organizations, such as The Netherlands Development
Organization, the European Union, the International Fund for Nature Conservation
in Mekong Delta.
The message of responsible tourism has been conveyed to a part of domestic
travelers, especially young travelers. More and more travelers want their
journeys to become less invasive to the daily life of local residents and the
nature of the land where they come to, and wish to bring more benefits to the
local communities.
Travelers nowadays wish to learn more about the culture instead of simply doing
the sightseeing.
A recent survey conducted by SNV, a Dutch organization, on five tourism sites,
including Hanoi, HCM City, Hoi An, Ha Long and Hue City, shows that 97 percent
of interviewed people would agree to spend more money on a responsible tour and
bring benefits to the poor people.
The survey showed that every international travel would be ready to spend 47
dollars, if the tours comprise responsible tourism services. The figure would be
27 dollars for Vietnamese travelers. Meanwhile, there would be no limitation on
the sums of money to be spent additionally, if the tours’ main goal is charity
activities.
In some localities such as Hue and Da Nang Cities, or Hoi An ancient town,
responsible tourism groups, comprising of small and medium tourism firms have
joined forces to build up the products with high sustainability have formed up.
A lot of eco and cultural tours have been designed, including the ones to the
vegetable village of Tra Que in Hoi An, tour My Son holy land, to craft villages
and ancient villages in the ancient capital city of Hue.
However, Pham Trung Luong, Deputy Head of the Vietnam Institute for Tourism
Development, said that a lot of problems need to be settled when developing this
kind of tourism
Luong said in some localities, while local authorities have good knowledge about
providing tourism products and protecting the natural environment, travelers do
not have necessary knowledge on the issue. A recent survey by the institute at
the Phong Nha- Ke Bang Cavern showed that 70 percent of the community joins the
tourism services, but more than 72 percent of travelers have not been informed
the issues relating to the natural and socio-cultural environment.
An opposite thing is occurring in the northwestern region of the country such as
Ha Giang, Cao Bang and Son La. The localities have been attracting a lot of
trekking travelers and international tourists who have high demand for
discovering and learning about the local culture. However, the increase of the
number of tourists to the areas has created a lot of unwanted changes to the
local people’s lives.
The Khau Vai Love Market in Ha Giang province, for example, now bears some
features of the modern times, while some original beauties have been lost.
Phung Quang Anh, a tour operator, said that the impatience of local authorities
to develop local tourism and the low awareness of the sustainable tourism, may
lead to the disappearance of the special indigenous cultural features.
Source: To Quoc

French painter finds love and art in Hoi An

French painter finds his art on do paper

March 30, 2012

LookAtVietnam – Evergreen rice fields, friendly people and the quiet life in UNESCO recognised Hoi An have inspired Jean Cabane to paint on traditional do (poonah) paper over the past six years.

Au naturel: Paintings on do paper with natural ink. (Photos: VNS)

Cabane, 63, from Nimes in France, has exhibited his work at a gallery on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street in the ancient city since 2009, three years after settling in Cam Thanh Village.
The moustached Frenchman has shown his favourite 30 paintings at the French Cultural Centre on Le Hong Phong Street in Hue City till April 7 to promote the Hue Festival 2012 from April 7-15.
Following a 12-year job at a gallery in Nimes, Cabane only begun studying painting at 40, focused mainly on watercolours.
“Although painting has been a passion since childhood, it took me a while to get into it. I only started painting while teaching psychology to handicapped and underprivileged children at a primary school in Nimes,” he explained.
“I first painted on normal paper, but found that Vietnamese do paper and ink, made by Duong O Village locals, suited me better,” he said.

“In my search for dark colours I was impressed with Duong O ink, made from bamboo leaves, ash and charcoal soaked in rice-washing. The fermented mixture created a special dark pigment, despite its terrible smell.”
Cabane added that while he used to also draw with Chinese ink, he no longer used chemical products.
Lost in love
Volunteering as a French teacher at Da Nang University in 2005, Cabane met and fell in love with Duong Thi Hoa one year later while searching for pigments.
“I saw him wondering down a crowded street and offered to help him find painting materials. We talked about art and life in both French and English. We ended up getting married and settling in a Cam Thanh villa, surrounded by paddy-fields,” Hoa said.
“My knowledge of art and literature fuelled my love for Jean [Cabane]. We opened a gallery in Hoi An to display his art,” she added.
Images of farmers working in rice fields, street vendors and romantic riverbanks are only some of the main topics in Cabane’s work.
“His paintings depict the peace and beauty of life. There is little gap between him and nature,” Hoa noted.
Cabane expressed his love for Vietnamese food and coffee in Hoi An.
“I can eat almost every type of local food, even shrimp sauce. My wife and I travel a lot and I often bring home sketches of landscapes from all corners of the country. It’s a never ending topic of my work,” he said.
“I love this country and spending time with its people. My Vietnamese is not so good, but I find that there are few barriers between me and Hoi An locals,” he added.
“The city may be the best place I’ve ever lived. I would devote everything to art and life here.”
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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 

Tiger street Football held in Can Tho & Da Nang

Tiger street festival to run wild in southern VN cities

August 7, 2011 about News, Sports

LookAtVietnam - The VND400 million (US$19,000) fourth leg of the Tiger Street Football tournament will be held in the southern cities of Can Tho and Da Nang next week.

The first qualifying round of this international football festival will be held in Can Tho city on Monday. It will draw the participation of around 100 children’s football teams from the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta River.
The top four teams in Can Tho will play friendly matches against Street Legends from the Netherlands and Boom Boom FC from Australia on Wednesday for the $4,800 bonus.
The second qualifying round will be held in the central coastal city of Da Nang on August 17-18. The best 32 teams will then play in the final in Da Nang on August 20-21. The winner will represent Viet Nam at the international finale in Malaysia in September.
Boom Boom FC and Street Legends will be in Viet Nam tomorrow in preparation for the event.
Boom Boom FC team are led by overseas Vietnamese Cao Anh Tuan. The five-member Street Legends team were set up by a former player of the Dutch national football team, Edgar Davids, five years ago.
Edgar often takes the team to France, Britain and African countries such as Senegal, Kenya and Ghana for friendly games.
The first and second leg of the Tiger event were played in Singapore and Bangkok, Thailand in April and May, respectively, before the third was held in Guangzhou, China last month.
The adrenaline-filled international grand finale in Kuala Lumpur will see the top team from each local leg fight it out to be the Tiger Street Football Champion and win the coveted $30,000 top prize.
Last month, Vietnamese representative Thai Son Bac won a silver medal in the third leg of the Tiger Street Football tournament in China.
The team lost to the Netherlands’ Street Legend by a goal during extra time in the final.
Source: VNS

Vietnam first to have Tsunami early warning stations

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

Hanoi real estate investors marching towards the central region | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

VietNamNet Bridge – As real estate prices in Hanoi become “toweringly high”, many
investors in Hanoi think that they should no longer limit themselves to local
investments, and Da Nang in the central region has become their new destination.

Though the
price of land in Da Nang has been escalating, the city remains an attractive
location for real estate investors. The coastal villas and coastal land plots
along the “golden” land strip of Son Tra-Dien Ngoc that links Da Nang and Cua
Dai sea in Quang Nam province are being hunted by the wealthiest millionaires.

Coastal
land areas attract investors

An officer
at Cuong Hung Thinh real estate trading floor, one of the biggest trading floors
in Da Nang, said that the small land plots in the coastal areas and along Han
River have been attracting many investors, especially from Hanoi. The investors
are drawn to the high profitability from the land, about 30 percent after three
quarters of investment.

Nguyen Thi
A, who lives on Le Trong Tan street in Hanoi, related that in late April 2010,
she purchased a plot of land for a big project on the east bank of Han River at
5.5 million dong per square meters. In early December, A decided to sell the
plot of land at 8 million dong per square meter for other investments .

Especially, the prices of real estate in coastal areas have been rapidly
escalating. In June 2010, the land on Nguyen Tat Thanh road, near My Khe sea was
priced at 10 million dong per square meter. However, the price has jumped to 15
million dong per square meter. Now it is nearly impossible to buy land in the
area because landlords do not want to sell at a time when prices are expected to
rise further.

Meanwhile,
the prices of land plots near the central areas of the city, the square and the
public beach, have also increased from 30 million dong per square meter four
months ago to over 40 million dong now.

The prices
of land plots on Son Tra - Dien Ngoc route are escalating everyday. According to
Nguyen Thanh Son, an investor from Hanoi, since the prices of land in the
central areas have become higher, investors tend to seek less expensive areas.
Therefore, the contiguous areas between Da Nang City and Quang Nam province,
where land prices are lower, at 5-10 million dong per square meter, have caught
the eyes of investors.

Now
investors are hunting for land plots in resettlement areas located on
advantageous positions near Son Tra-Dien Ngoc road. The land plots here are
located near public beaches and high-end resorts. “The biggest advantage of the
land plots is that the they all have a “red book “ (the land use right
certificates), on which people are allowed to build high-rise buildings.
Meanwhile the prices remain reasonable at 5-7 million dong per square meter.

Multi-million dollar villas also targeted

While the
investors who do not have much money, are eyeing the land plots with reasonable
prices, wealthier investors are targeting high-end villas.

Deputy
Director of Cuong Hung Thinh real estate trading floor said that 5-star resorts,
such as Ocean Villa invested by VinaCapital, Hyatt by Indochine land, or The Sun
Villa and Vinpearl Da Nang have been specifically attracting investors. A large
volume of coastal villas has been launched onto the market with a sale price
relatively high at over one million dollar, but despite the price there have
been many successful transactions reported.

According
to CBRE Vietnam, a real estate service provider, by the third quarter of 2010,
Da Nang had had 29 high end apartment-villa projects under construction along
the Truong Sa coastal route. The launching of the 15 villas by Dune Residence
and 39 villas by Vinpearl Da Nang has heated up the market.

CBRE
believes that the strong development of infrastructure and the market
diversification of the city both have brought a specific attractiveness to Da
Nang. It is estimated that 80 percent of investors come from Hanoi and HCM City.

Song Minh

Vietnamese people “addicted” to mobile phones | Vietnamese people “addicted” to mobile phones

More and more Vietnamese become addicted to mobile phones, as the service providers continue to lower the fees and the prices of luxury phones with many entertainment functions are also decreasing.

Vietnamese people are faithful to mobile phones

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, it is estimated that Vietnam will import one billion dollar worth of mobile phones in 2010. The ministry believes that the mobile phone imports account for a big proportion of the total import value and this is one of the main reasons behind the high trade deficit. Therefore, it has been trying to restrict the imports, especially of luxury/expensive products.

Most recently, people in Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang had to queue up in front of mobile phone distribution shops to purchase iPhone 4. A lot of people said they had to queue up from 5 am to be able to buy one.

Statistics showed that more than 10 million mobile phones were sold in 2009 in Vietnam. This means that one out of every eight Vietnamese people purchased a new phone. Experts have forecast that 12 million mobile phones would be sold in 2010, which means that one out of every seven people would purchase a new phone. Five years ago, no one could imagine that the number of mobile phone users would be so high.

Analysts say that Vietnamese people do not change their phones as frequently as people in Hong Kong, Taiwan or South Korea. However, the number of Vietnamese people using two or more mobile phones at the same time, or who buy new phones every six months or one year has been increasing significantly.

The lower the service fee, the bigger the number of mobile phone users

In the past, high fees were a big obstacle for mobile phone users. However, nowadays, with the stiff competition between the service providers, the fee has been decreasing sharply.

The current market is now controlled by three biggest service providers, Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone. Any move made by any one of them will have big impacts on the market.

For a long time, Viettel led the race of reducing service fee. However, since 2009, MobiFone and VinaPhone have joined in by continuously lowering their fees so as to ensure that theirs are always lower by 10 dong/minute than the fees offered by Viettel. After the latest fee reduction, the inner-network call charge set by MobiFone has reduced to 880 dong per minute (down by 10.24 percent), while the intra-network call charge has reduced to 980 dong per minute (down by 9.28 percent).

Most recently, Frost & Sullivan, the firm specializing in surveying telecom market, said that Vietnamese telecom companies are providing services at 4 cent per minute (800 dong), because there are too many ongoing promotion campaigns. Frost & Sullivan believes that the price war between the service providers will negatively impact Vietnam’s market, because the revenue growth will slow down, while service providers will not get enough money for re-investment. However, it is clear that the stiff competition of service providers will bring benefit to customers.

Thu Phuong - Buu dien

Hanoians rushing to Da Nang to purchase high grade villas, apartments

Nearly 80 percent of the customers who buy high grade villas and apartments at real estate projects in the central city of Da Nang come from Hanoi, according to Savills, a real estate service provider. Meanwhile, clients from HCM City account for 13 percent, and the other buyers are foreigners, Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese), and residents from other provinces and cities.

Da Nang: Coastal real estate market bustling

Da Nang gets aggressive with real estate

Da Nang: 96.5% of FDI pours into real estate

Though the real estate market in Vietnam remains gloomy, the Da Nang market remains bright. Located in the central region, the city has beautiful beaches and landscapes that offer good opportunities for investors.

According to the Da Nang Statistics Office, about 2,100 new businesses got operating licenses in 2009, an increase of 23 percent over 2008. The number of businesses established in the last five years has increased rapidly. The increasingly high investment from Viet Kieus is also an important factor that leads to high demand for business offices in the city.

In 2009, the volume of kieu hoi (overseas remittance - or money sent by Viet Kieus to their relatives in Vietnam) to residents in Da Nang City was $94.6 million. In 2009, the city received 4,715 Viet Kieus who returned to visit their homeland.

Viet Kieus now own 57 businesses in Da Nang City, which has received a total of $500 million in investment capital. This has had a large impact on the trade and real estate market in Da Nang City, especially for leasing offices, villas, and apartments.

Recent surveys show that all the luxury villa projects are located in the areas along Da Nang’s beaches. In the second quarter of 2010, two new villa projects were launched, including Dune Residence and Vinpearl Da Nang.

At the same time, two apartment projects were marketed, Bau Thac Gian and Vinh Trung Plaza. Now Da Nang Market has eleven apartment projects with 2,300 apartments on sale.

All the apartments at Indochina Tower and Da Nang Plaza have been sold. The apartments for sale are now mostly located in four districts, Hai Chau, Thanh Khe, Ngu Hanh Son, and Son Tra.

The villa sale prices in Da Nang City are between $800 and $3900 per square meter, while the prices for apartments are between $750 and $3000 per square meter.

The most interesting characteristic of real estate in Da Nang is that sale prices do not depend so much on the area of apartments and villas, but rather on the positions and the views of the apartments and villas. Most buyers will prioritize the purchase of villas with a view of the sea, or villas near the sea.

According to Savills, the main buyers of the luxury real estate products in Da Nang are not foreigners or Viet Kieus with dollars in their pockets, but Vietnamese high-income earners. The majority of buyers are from Hanoi (80 percent) and HCM City (13 percent). Meanwhile, the other eight percent of buyers include foreigners, Viet Kieus, and residents from other provinces and cities.

Source: Dan tri

Da Nang casino closed

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told Da Nang authorities to temporarily close the casino ran by Silvershore Hoang Dat JV Company to address the firm’s violations.

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Illustration photo from Wayfaring.

The casino can only reopen once Silvershore Hoang Dat meets the conditions requested by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI).

Da Nang authorities were told to review management of Silvershore Hoang Dat and to closely work with relevant agencies to instruct and supervise this company to deal with violations previously defined by the MoPI.

The Ministries of Finance, Public Security, Labour-War Invalid-Social Affairs, Culture-Sports-Tourism and Foreign Affairs will cooperate with Da Nang to consider and solve the issues related to this casino and hotel.

The Silver Shores International Tourist Site was inaugurated on January 26, 2010 in Da Nang, consisting of a five-star hotel and Vietnam’s largest casino. This was also the largest foreign-invested project in Da Nang in 2006, at $86 million.

Previously, the MoPI asked Da Nang to inspect and supervise the Silver Shores project. According to MoPI, the firm’s license allowed it to have 8 card tables, but it had over 10. The investor also employed a large number of unskilled foreign workers, while Vietnamese law only permits use of foreign experts when the domestic labor market can’t provide workers.

PV

Vietnam welcomes First flight from Japan

"The first flight from Kansai, Osaka Province, Japan on March 18 landed in the central city of Da Nang , bringing 161 tourists and representatives of 17 travel agencies.

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During their visit, the travel industry professionals will conduct an informational tour of Da Nang golf course, Hoang Dat casino, and the Ba Na tourism site and work with municipal officials to explore the tourism potential of the city in particular and of the central region of Vietnam in general.

First visitors from Japan arrive at the Da Nang International Airport, Vietnam on the first flight from Kansai, Osaka Province, Japan on March 18.
Da Nang will have more chances to welcome Japanese visitors thanks to the direct air route from Osaka , which used to be served only by sea.

The city plans to open Japanese language courses for tour guides to serve the increasing number of visitors from Japan .

On the same day, the Seabourn Odessey cruise liner arrived with 352 holiday makers, mostly from the UK and the US , raising the total number of foreign tourists to Da Nang province in the first two months this year to 6,477.

The city plans to receive 70 thousands visitors on the occasion of the international fireworks display on March 27 and 28."

Da Nang opens Casino Vietnam

The Silver Shores JV Company has opened its international tourism centre, including a casino for foreign visitors, in Da Nang’s Ngu Hanh Son District on January 26.

This centre consists of a five-star hotel and an entertainment area, including the biggest international casino in Vietnam. It also has 52 villas and a 1,000-seat national conference building.

The entertainment area covers 15,000 square meters, capable of providing baccarat, blackjack, Sic bo, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker and other games for hundreds of foreigner visitors at the same time.

Photo: Tuoi Tre

The whole project is estimated to worth a total of $160 million.

Typhoon Kills at Least 41 in Vietnam

DA NANG, Vietnam — Typhoon Ketsana headed west toward Laos on Wednesday after battering central Vietnam with powerful winds and heavy rain, leaving behind blue and sunny skies but dangerously rising floodwaters. The official death toll in Vietnam was placed at 41, but officials said that number was expected to rise as more reports came in and as the floodwaters threatened further destruction.
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A view of a street in the flooded Vietnamese town of Hoi An on Wednesday. More Photos »
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Typhoon Ketsana Batters Vietnam

“The rain was heavy and the wind was like crazy,” Nguyen Trong Tung, a photographer, said. “Right now the sun is beautiful, there are white clouds and the sky is blue, and the streets are already clear.”

The clear weather is deceptive and the danger has not passed, said Andrew Wells-Dang, a representative of Catholic Relief Services, who called Ketsana “the most serious typhoon that’s hit here in four or five years.”

“The casualty figures will get worse over the next days as more reports come in and also as the river levels rise from rain up in the mountains that will cause more flooding,” he said in a telephone call from the capital, Hanoi.

The floods could reach the historic highs of 1964, said Le Van Duong, a relief and disaster mitigation coordinator for World Vision International, a Christian aid organization.

The storm was already weakening as it headed toward Laos, weather stations reported.

“The system is expected to completely dissipate over land within the next 12 hours as it continues to track to the west,” the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

The damage in Vietnam was far less than in the Philippines, where the typhoon was reported to have caused 246 deaths and inundated the homes of nearly 2.3 million people. More storms were reported to be heading toward the Philippines on Wednesday.

In Cambodia, at least 11 people were killed Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. “We’re used to storms that sweep away one or two houses,” Nam Tum, governor of Cambodia’s Kampong Thom Province, told The A.P. “But I’ve never seen a storm this strong.”

Official reports said some of the worst damage in Vietnam was in the central highlands, where flash floods and mud slides took at least 13 lives and caused serious damage to the country’s coffee growing industry. Flooding receded Wednesday in the ancient capital of Hue and the preserved town of Hoi An, which are popular with tourists.

Many foreign visitors had been trapped in Hoi An, some doubling up in hotel rooms as water rose on the lower floors. Others were sequestered in luxury hotels on China Beach in Da Nang. Vietnamese television showed Westerners in rain coats wading through the waist-deep water in Hoi An, taking pictures of each other.

“I had to jump from the second floor of a hotel to get into a boat,” said Mr. Trong, the photographer, who visited Hoi An Wednesday. “People were trapped in their homes and the police and army were bringing them instant noodles and water.”

Hardest hit were the provinces of Quang Nam, Thua Tien Hue and Quang Tri, according to the government. Four other provinces were also affected, including Kon Tum in the central highlands.

The storm damaged nearly 170,000 homes as well as crops and irrigation systems, the government said. It said 350,000 people had been evacuated ahead of time in a well-practiced drill in this disaster-prone region. The most destructive flooding in central Vietnam in recent years came in late 1999 when 750 people were left dead or missing.

In recent years Vietnam has experienced more frequent and powerful typhoons and floods, the United Nations Development Program said in a report last year.

After Tuesday’s typhoon passed in central Vietnam, some areas shown on television looked like vast brown oceans with rooftops and trees poking above the water. Technicians were shown struggling to repair power lines and power stations to restore electricity. Officials waded knee-deep through water to inspect the damage.

In Da Nang, the country’s fourth-largest city, damage appeared relatively light given the force of the storm, with fallen trees scattered on the streets and electric lines down but with houses and roofs intact, according to witnesses and television footage.

Much of the damage came along the coastline, where many houses were washed away and thousands of people were forced to shelter in schools and public buildings, said Mr. Duong, the World Vision coordinator. He said thousands of people were evacuated along the coast, and many of their houses were swept away.

Television stations broadcast images of uniformed officials delivering food supplies to people huddled in damp and darkened homes, their faces lighted by flashlights as they thanked the government for its help.

Hit by typhoon, Vietnam rivers swell to historic levels

The typhoon that ravaged the Philippines on Saturday is now ripping through central Vietnam and Cambodia, where it has killed dozens, left hundreds of thousands homeless, and unleashed torrential rains that could cause some of the worst flooding in decades.

Authorities in Vietnam say the typhoon, packing 90 mph winds, killed 38 people before heading further inland into Cambodia and heading toward Laos and Thailand. The storm has since weakened, but Cambodia’s province of Kampong Tham has been hard hit, with as many as 11 people reported dead and nearly 80 houses destroyed.

Vietnam has been left reeling from the devastation. The typhoon, which set down on Tuesday, destroyed nearly 300,000 homes and forced 357,000 people to evacuate, reports Reuters.

Some 50,000 acres of agricultural land have been affected. Waters have also flooded the ancient palace city of Hue, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, adds Agence France-Presse.

The worst may not be over. By Wednesday, rivers in Vietnam appeared ready to swell beyond levels not seen since 1964, reports Vietnam’s Thanh Nien news:

In fact, with the rainfall measuring up to 1,300 millimeters in some localities like Thua Thien – Hue on Tuesday evening, water levels in the Tra Bong River reached 5.58 meters, 0.19 meters higher than the historic flood peak in 1964.

Authorities were struggling Wednesday to reach areas cut off due to power outages and blocked roads, such as the Nhon Chau Island in Binh Dinh Province, where 2,000 people cannot be reached. Authorities say that, as river waters continues to rise, the biggest challenge is getting food to isolated populations and stopping the spread of diseases, Thanh Nien adds.

Prior to the typhoon touching down in Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen made an urgent appeal to “authorities at all levels to take all necessary measures to protect the people who might be affected by the typhoon,” reports China’s Xinhua news service.

The BBC adds that international aid organizations and local government authorities in Cambodia were sending tents and food supplies to the affected province, which is about 80 miles north of the capital, Phnom Penh.

By Wednesday, the typhoon had downgraded to a tropical depression as it passed into Laos, where no casualties were reported, and was expected to make its way to Thailand, where residents were on alert for flash floods, according to MCOT English news.

As Southeast Asia feels the impact, the Philippines is still staggering to its feet from the devastation wrought there. Some two million people have been affected and 246 killed. Many in the capital, Manila, have been reduced to waiting on excruciatingly long lines for food, reports Bloomberg.

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Tour companies compete for cheap domestic airline seats

Tourist companies that joined the Impressive Vietnam promotion say they are facing difficulty buying low-priced airline tickets for domestic tours from June to August.
Prices for flights between Ha Noi and Nha Trang from June to August are not included.Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of Ha Noi Red Tours, said flights from Ha Noi to Hue and Ha Noi to Da Nang were not available at low prices.
The company at times has had to buy tickets at higher prices or shifted to tours by train for the Ha Noi - Da Nang tour.
Although Vietnam Airlines (VNA) committed to offer special discounts until September under the promotion, only some routes apply.
Prices for flights between Ha Noi and Nha Trang from June to August are not included.
Tran The Dung, deputy director of HCM City-based The He Tre tourist company, said tickets for southern companies were especially hard to buy because of the high demand.
VNA said it had increased the capacity of flights, but demand for domestic, rather than international, flights had led to overbooked local flights.
Dung said tour operators should be flexible in booking tickets for their customers, and if tickets for day flights were sold out, tour operators should ask travellers to fly at night.
The 30 companies that joined the Impressive Vietnam promotion have cut fares between 30 and 50 per cent for domestic tours.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News