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Sanctions against Iran avoidable: Clinton

    Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has described sanctions against Iran as not inevitable and urged Iran to work with the international community.
    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at a news conference after she met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov(R) in Moscow, capital of Russia, on Oct, 13, 2009. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia and the United States have made considerable progress on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty.(Xinhua/Lu Jinbo)
    Clinton was answering questions on international action over Iran's controversial uranium enrichment program at a press conference here on Tuesday.
    The RIA Novosti news agency quoted her as saying: "We are not at that point (when sanctions are inevitable); it is not the conclusion to which we have already come."
    She also reiterated the United States preferred that Iran work with the international community, represented through the format of "five plus one" (the five permanent United Nations Security Council members of the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany).
    Iran had every right to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy program, but it had no right to have nuclear weapons, said Clinton, adding that Russia agreed with the United States on that, according to the Interfax news agency.
    Iran held talks with envoys from the "five plus one" group in Geneva on Oct. 1. During the talks, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili promised that Tehran would soon open its newly disclosed uranium enrichment facility near Qom to UN inspectors.
    Western powers suspect Iran of attempting to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran says its nuclear program is aimed at generating nuclear energy for civilian purposes.
    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the press conference that Russia and the United States "coincided" their views on the Iranian nuclear issue.
    "We are not asking for anything from each other in the Iran issue because it would be ridiculous to ask for anything in an issue on which our positions coincide," said Lavrov.
    In principle, Russia is "very reserved on sanctions, as they rarely produce results," said Lavrov.
    Moscow has been calling for a diplomatic approach over further sanctions concerning Iran's nuclear program.
    However, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said during his trip to the United States in late September that "sanctions are not the best way to deal successfully with Iran, but if we run out of all other options, we could launch sanctions based on international law."
    Prior to the meeting between Clinton and Lavrov, some media reports cited a senior U.S. State Department official under condition of anonymity as saying that the United States demanded Russian support for pressure on Iran should talks in the format of "five plus one" end in vain.
    "The secretary (Clinton) will want to speak to Foreign Minister Lavrov and President Medvedev about what specific forms of pressure Russia would be prepared to join us and our other allies in if Iran fails to live up to its obligations," said the official.
    Clinton also said at the press conference that Washington had no intention to either soften or harden sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and she appreciated Russia's cooperation on the DPRK nuclear issue.
    The U.S. secretary of state, who is on a two-day visit to Russia, is scheduled to meet the Russian president later on Tuesday.
    VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

EU Commission wants to keep dumping penalties on Chinese, Vietnamese shoes

09:55' 13/10/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge — The European Commission has proposed to extend penalty taxes on Chinese and Vietnamese shoe imports by another 15 months, according to Agence France Press.

The French newswire reported on 12 October that an internal EC document recommends renewal of anti-dumping duties, essentially fines for exporting goods below production cost, on footware from China and Vietnam.  The penalties were first applied in October 2006 and have so far cost manufacturers with operations in those countries hundreds of millions of euros.

The provisions were set to expire at the end of the year but according to the document the Commission will recommend that they are renewed, saying that the European footwear industry would suffer "in the short and medium term" if the tariffs were scrapped immediately.

The proposed 15 month extension still needs the approval of the EU's 27 member states before it can come into effect and the measures have regularly been a source of conflict between them.  The main vote faultline, says AFP, has run between Europe's economically liberal north, hostile in principle to anti-dumping measures, and the more protectionist south, sympathetic to fears that cheap Chinese imports could undermine EU producers.

Bigger manufacturers that make their shoes in Asia, such as Diesel, Adidas or Puma, are also fighting against the renewal of the shoe tariffs.  EU anti-dumping measures levy import duties of 16.5 percent on Chinese shoes with leather uppers and 10 percent on the same kind of shoes from Vietnam.

EC data shows that Chinese and Vietnamese shoes make up 30 percent of the EU footwear market.

AFP/VietNamNet

Four percent loan subsidy to continue through 2010

11:14' 13/10/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The State Bank (SBV) has announced that it will extend a subsidized-lending program that is widely credited with enabling Vietnam to maintain a positive growth rate in 2009 despite world-wide recession. 

SBV said on its Web site October 12 that the policy extension will support businesses and individuals requiring medium to long-term capital.

The subsidized-lending program shaves four percentage points off interest rates on loans that preferred enterprises take from commercial lenders. Since it was introduced in February as part of the government's multibillion dollar stimulus measures, domestic banks have made loans totaling 409.4 trillion dong ($22.9 billion), the central bank said.

Banks will be able to offer the subsidized loans up to the end of 2010.

Whether or not to extend the subsidized loans has been a matter of considerable debate among economists.  Some have argued for letting the program terminate at year end, expressing concern that as demand for Vietnam’s exports revives, easy credit could overheat the economy and possibly trigger a new bout of high inflation. 

The Government this month forecast 6.8 percent year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter and five percent growth for all of 2009 -- lower than the 6.18 percent recorded in 2008.  Vietnam's economy reportedly expanded 5.76 percent from July through September from a year earlier.

"The SBV is moving in a right direction because banks in Vietnam are still offering loans at interest rates that are much higher than those in other countries," Nguyen Hoang Hai, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors, told the Wall Street Journal, an American business newspaper.

SBV reported on October 9 that altogether, some 410 trillion dong (approximately $22.9 billion) in subsidized loans have been made since the programme was introduced in February as part of the Government’s economic stimulus package.  The bank said that 17 percent of the loan amount went to state-owned companies, 67 percent to private enterprises, and the remainder to individual borrowers.

SBV, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, VNNB

Cheap housing shortage hits lower incomes

15:22' 13/10/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Demand for low-cost housing has skyrocketed in major cities but supply is insufficient, according to a recent survey conducted by the Vietnam Report Joint-Stock Company.

For every 100 people who buy real estate, 40 per cent want to buy low-cost apartments, and 23 per cent want luxury apartments.

For every 100 people who buy real estate, 40 per cent want to buy low-cost apartments, and 23 per cent want luxury apartments, according to the report.

The Ha Noi and HCM City People's Committees said developers in those cities were required to either set aside 20 per cent of their land or 20 per cent of their apartment buildings for low-income families.

Millions of people are eligible to buy low-cost housing, but a shortage of land is hindering development.

Pham Sy Liem, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Construction Association, said the high demand for low-cost housing was partly due to the overbuilding of luxury apartment buildings in recent years.

Families with below-average incomes were priced out of the market, he said.

Adding to the problem is the shortage of low-income housing, which drives the price up even higher.

The UN Human Settlement Programme said it had estimated that 9 million out of 26 million people in Viet Nam's cities were living in slums.

According to reports from provinces and cities nationwide submitted to the Ministry of Construction, 263 low-income housing projects will be completed by 2015.

They will provide 217,230 apartments with an area of nearly 11 million square metres that can accommodate 870,000 people.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 13/10

17:45' 13/10/2009 (GMT+7)

WB lends 1.9 mln USD to Ca Mau power project

The World Bank has recently provided an additional loan of 1.9 million USD (42 billion VND) to Vietnam ’s southern-most province, Ca Mau, for a rural electrification project.

According to the Director of the Ca Mau Department of Industry and Trade, Le Minh Khoi, the financing will be spent to build an electricity grid spanning six communes of Khanh Hoa, Phu Thuan, Rach Cheo, Phu My, Vien An Dong and Dat Mui.

Once completed in September 2010, the project will provide electricity to a total of over 4,300 households.

The project will have a significant impact on people’s lives, helping thousands of households in remote and far-flung areas escape from the blurry light of oil lamps and thereby greatly improve their lives, said Nguyen Van Khai, head of the electricity management office at the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

The total cost of the project is estimated at 52.6 billion VND, with the majority (42 billion VND) being funded by the WB and the remainder coming from the provincial budget. The WB’s no-interest loan has a 40-year period with a 10-year grace period.

This is the second loan that the bank has given to Ca Mau’s rural electrification project, following a previous grant of nearly 2 million USD in 2006.

Securities investors on trading floor

Construction firm expected to stir up IPO market

The Song Hong Corporation under the Ministry of Construction will make an initial public offering (IPO) of 30 million shares via the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) on November 5.

Experts say with an initial price of 14,000 VND, shares of the Song Hong Corporation – a construction giant of a great number of realty, industrial and energy projects – are expected to stir up the gloomy IPO market.

Although the HNX-Index and the HOSE-Index are on the increase with the traded value of each session reaching trillions of VND, only 20 businesses have made their IPOs through the HNX and the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) so far this year.

Of the figure, HOSE organised six IPOs, a sharp drop from 16 last year. The number of IPOs organised by the HNX was also equivalent to one-third of last year’s total.

Securities experts said that without the participation of big businesses with strong trademarks, IPOs fail to attract investors, leading to unsuccessful IPOs or low IPO share prices.

In addition, sluggish transactions on unlisted markets prevent investors from pouring their investment into IPO to focus on the listed market.

Cassava exports double this year

Cassava has been listed as a key agricultural export, with the industry exporting 158,000 tonnes, worth a total value of 36 million USD in September.

“While other agricultural and forestry products have witnessed a down turn, the cassava industry has recently seen growth in both value and volume,” said Duong Long Tri, deputy head of IT and Statistics Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Tri said that total cassava export volume in the first nine months of the year totaled 473 million USD, double the number in the same period last year.

Demand for cassava from importers has increased as it can be used to process feed and produce ethanol-blended petrol.

“As the third biggest ethanol-blended petrol producer in the world [following US and Brazil ], mainland China has huge demand for cassava. This market its recovering, so demand has increased,” said Tri.

It was estimated that China needs to import about 6.5 million tonnes of cassava per year, he said, adding: “ China is the biggest importer of Vietnamese cassava. It imports about 90 percent of Vietnamee export cassava volume.”

The other big importers of Vietnamese cassava include Taiwan and the Republic of Korea .

As demand has recently increased, cassava export prices have sharply risen.

In 2008, the average price of cassava was 3 million VND (165 USD) per tonne. It declined at the end of 2008 and at the beginning of 2009 it rose to 2 million VND (111USD) per tonne.

However, with the global economy recovering, cassava price has risen. At Sai Gon Port , cassava prices are now running at 180 USD to 195 USD per tonne.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country can harvest about 8.1-8.6 million tonnes of cassava this year, a 0.3 million tonne improvement on last year.

Business strapped by tight banks

Companies and individuals in HCM City continue to face difficulties in accessing bank loans, even though many of them are willing to pay a higher interest rate.

Many local commercial banks have increased interest rates on some types of loans, and others have temporarily suspended offering of new loans.

Nguyen Thu Hien, who works at a major commercial bank’s transaction office in district 6, said that all loan applications were being considered carefully by bank managers.

“We give priority to old customers but we also are reducing their credit limit. We have to refuse applications for new loans,” Hien said.

Independent market watch-dogs said that local banks were restricting new loans because the central bank had asked them to ensure credit growth to no more than 30 percent to help ensure the security of the banking system and help prevent inflation.

In addition, under another new central bank policy, local financial institutions were asked to limit the use of short-term mobilised capital for medium-and long-term loans to ensure credit quality and reduce risks.

In particular, commercial banks can use only 30 percent of their short-term deposits for medium-and long-term loans.

Under the previous regulation, the banks could use up to 40 percent of their short-term mobilised capital for long-term loans.

The Vietnam Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (Vietbank) has increased its lending interest rate from 14.5 percent annum to 15.5 percent.

The Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) has a new interest rate of 13.47 percent instead of 12.75 percent for real estate loans.

One bank customer, Huynh Thi Kim Hoa, said that she was waiting to hear from Vietbank about a 300 million VND (16,853 USD) loan to buy an apartment.

“At first, I was told that the new interest rate was 15.57 percent a year instead of last month’s 14.5 percent, and then I was required to wait for three days,” Hoa said.

Vietnam, China look towards 25 bln USD in trade by 2010

A delegation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade led by Minister Vu Huy Hoang is on a working visit to China from Oct. 11-14, to discuss measures to raise two-way trade to 25 billion USD by 2010.

The visit is to implement agreements signed in Hanoi last month at the first meeting of the Vietnam-China trade cooperation working group under the economic-trade cooperation committee, and discuss detailed measures to reach the goal laid out by the two countries’ leaders of raising two-way trade to 25 billion USD by 2010 as well as finding ways to overcome obstacles and facilitate two-way trade.

At the talks with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming, the Chinese side agreed with Vietnam’s proposals on issues such as bilateral and multilateral trade, regional and bilateral cooperation in industry and investment, and the two ministries’ joint participation in Vietnam-China Friendship Year 2010 as well as all-around cooperation.

While in China, the Vietnamese delegation made a tour of Chinese companies managing projects which are involved in electricity, construction, metallurgy and paper in Vietnam.

VIB meets yearly targets ahead of schedule

The Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) racked up a nine-month, pre-tax profit of 124 percent of its yearly plan and double last year’s figure, fulfilling yearly targets three months before schedule.

VIB also made headway in capital mobilisation and granting loans. The bank’s total capital mobilised during the period was more than 44 trillion VND or 99 percent of its yearly target, representing a year-on-year increase of 38 percent.

Its total loans outstanding were 25.5 trillion VND, equivalent to 103 percent of the yearly plan and up 29 percent compared to 2008’s correspondent period.

The rate of controlled bad debts was kept low, about 1.5 percent of the total.

In October, the bank plans to offer 20 million shares at a face value of 10,000 VND per share in order to increase its chartered capital to 2.4 trillion VND from the current 2.2 trillion VND.

Early last month, VIB kicked off its overall business strategy in the 2009-2013 period through the launch of a trademark strategy and a new logo with the “Devoted Bank” slogan.

Under the overall strategy, in the next five years, the bank will offer new products and services to clients with focusing on products for individuals and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

As one of the leading commercial joint stock banks in Vietnam , the bank has performed well in recent years, doubling its growth annually.

VIB was ranked second among four leading Vietnamese banks in Moody’s August assessment of banks’ financial strengths.

VietNamNet/VNA

Big C and Dutch Lady duke it out over box milk price

VietNamNet Bridge – Alleging that a Big C ‘buy some, get more free’ promotion violates a marketing agreement, Friesland Campina Vietnam has stopped delivering its ‘Dutch Lady’ milk to the supermarket chain. The ‘gift’ of the retailer On October 7, the first day of of a two week sale featuring ‘never before seen low prices,’ customers crowding into the Big C supermarkets were surprised by a notice at the entrance: “Dutch Lady refuses to provide products to us.” Big C had distributed leaflets promising customers who bought two packages each of four 180 milliliter boxes of Dutch Lady Milk for 16,400 dong would receive a kid-sized 110 milliliter package of milk gratis. Further, they could present their cash register receipt showing purchase of two cartons and later receive yet another kid-sized milk package. One of the free packages was provided by Big C, not Dutch Lady. Duong Quynh Trang, Big C’s external affairs director of Big C, told Tuoi Tre newspaper that the supermarket has prepared for the sale promotion programme for several months, negotiating with suppliers in order to get the best prices. However, a few days before the promotion campaign was launched, Friesland Campina Vietnam (FCV) suddenly refused to provide products for sale, saying that the supermarket’s plan amounted to ‘dumping’ its products. According to Tran Quoc Huan, in charge of marketing for FCV, Big C had agreed with his company not to sell the four-box packages for less than 16,200 dong. FCV agreed also to give one 110 ml box free to those customers who purchase eight cartons of Dutch Lady milk. “Big C’s unilateral decision to give away one additional 110 ml box of milk makes the cost of the Dutch Lady Milk to the customer even less than the price Big C pays us for it. That violates the contract it signed with FCV.” That, Huan emphasized, would cause FCV difficuty with other retailers. Elsewhere, every four box package of Dutch Lady milk is selling at 16,400-16,800 dong. The Big C promotion would induce customers will rush to Big C to purchase milk, to the disadvantage of FCV’s other partners. Friesland Campina Vietnam said it will only resupply Big C when it commits to uphold the negotiated resale price or after the promotion campaign ends. Meanwhile, Big C insists that it has respected the agreement between the two parties. To provide the second 110 ml ‘free box,’ Big C said, it was using its marketing fund to ‘give a gift’ to customers. “We clearly point out that the gift is given by the supermarket. Therefore, it cannot be construed to mean we’re reducing the sale price,” a Big C representative said. On October 9, Dutch Lady milk on the shelves at Big C was seen quoted at 16,800 dong per four cartons, the ‘normal price.’ Who is right? Both sides lose in such a situation, points out a marketing expert. When the supplier refuses to provide products, it will see sales fall. The retailer’s reputation will be hurt when it cannot fulfill an advertising promise. He said that in this case, Big C can’t be accused of breaking its commitment. Technically, at least, it did not try to sell the milk at a price below its promise to the supplier. (The expert conceded that giving gifts is a way of reducing the de facto sale price.) A lawyer consulted by Tuoi Tre agreed that that it is impossible to accuse Big C of dumping products, because the two parties agreed on the sales price and Big C does not violate its commitment on the sales price. According to Vietnamese law, in a sales promotion the price of a good may be reduced to as low as 50 percent of its pre-sale price. No good may be offered ‘on sale’ for more than 90 days each year, and no ‘sale’ may last more than 45 days. VietNamNet/TT

Retail premises get more expensive with Tet sale season coming

17:06' 13/10/2009 (GMT+7) VietNamNet Bridge – Small businesses have begun preparing for the Tet sale season and despite the economic downturn rental costs continue to escalate। Nguyen Thi Hoa, the owner of a stall at Ben Thanh Market in HCM City, said market merchants are already looking for retail premises to lease। During the end-of-lunar-year Tet sale season, a small stall isn’t big enough to display all products. In order to attract buyers, retailers have to think big. Hoa says that as the hunt for retail premises intensifies the rents have slowly increased. Hoa’s stall, for example, just three square metres, now can be rented for $800 instead of $700 a month as it was just three months ago. But that’s nothing compared to the most expensive stalls which boast the best positions and can cost up to $1,500 a month. Merchants now claim they need larger areas to display and souvenir stalls are now growing and encroaching on the ‘territory’ of more traditionally popular products. Minh Phuong, a seller of ready made clothes at Pham Van Hai Market, said she is discussing a cooperation plan with the owner of the next kiosk. “Stallholders here all want to expand areas to display more products. Therefore, they are competing with each other and are pushing the rent up. “The rent at the market sometimes is higher than the rent for street shops.” The first floor of An Dong Market is now over full. The market’s management board is trying to upgrade the second floor to get more areas for displaying goods. However, salesmen say they only want to rent nearby stalls and do not want to relocate to the second floor. “We have to stay here or potenitally lose loyal customers. That explains why the first floor is crowded but the second floor is deserted,” one clothes seller said. To date, the rent of retail premises at markets like Ben Thanh, Tan Dinh, Hoa Binh and An Dong has increased by 5-15 percent. Hoa from Ben Thanh Market says she can only earn some 300,000 dong (less than $20) per day, or $500 per month. Therefore, she finds it more profitable to lease the stall to somebody else at $700-800. However, most merchants don’t want to rent stalls to anybody else and prefer to continue running their own business. Traders still believe that with the bargains they offer compared to larger stores, customers will continue to flock and enable them to be able to afford the high seasonal rents. VietNamNet/SGTT

Processing plants fear shortage of African raw cashews

17:18' 13/10/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – At a cashew industry conference in Abijan (Ivory Coast), the buzz was about African plans to develop processing plants at home, rather than export raw nuts to processors in, for example, Vietnam.

Africa aims to climb the value chain

African cashew producers have decided that it is time to follow Vietnam’s example and strive to export processed products instead of raw materials, says a report in the farm industry newspaper Nong Nghiep. The Africans are probably right, but this is really bad news for Vietnam, because Africa is a principal supplier of raw cashews to Vietnamese processing plants

Though the number of cashew nut processing plants has been increasing in Vietnam, domestic nut production has been decreasing. This has forced Vietnamese cashew processors to rely on imported nuts.

For many years, Vietnamese processors have had to import 40 percent of the raw nuts needed from Africa, or about 300,000 tonnes, worth $180 million a year. The figure is expected to increase in coming years, because Vietnamese farmers have chopped down cashew plants to grow rubber, coffee and other more profitable crops.

Where will Vietnam get raw nuts?

Some 14 African nations grow and export cashew nuts. In East Africa about 25 percent of the production is processed locally, but in West Africa the processing rate is only five to ten percent. These countries, members of the African Cashew Alliance and with advisory assistance from the Gates Foundation (US), are now making serious plans to boost local processing capability.

Nong Nghiep comments that the most practical way for the Vietnamese cashew industry to avoid being squeezed would be to make direct investments in Africa. There Vietnamese enterprises could do preliminary processing, then export semi-processed nuts to Vietnam, where Vietnamese processing plants could make finished products to be launched into the world market.

In other words, the Vietnamese cashew industry would imitate many industries in advanced countries by ‘going up the value chain.’ They would make finished products and get higher added value instead of making semi-processed products as at present.

However, Vietnamese businessmen hesitate to invest in African facilities. A problem lies in the fact that Vietnamese processors are now only halfway up the ‘value chain’ themselves, exporting semi-processed nuts to Chinese, European and US processing companies that roast and market the nuts.

Be quick or die

Oltrema, an Indian company, was at the African cashew conference, offering cashew nut processing equipment and taking many orders. The Indians have been aware of the changing viewpoint of the African cashew producers who provide them 80 percent of the raw nuts they use.

Already several Indian cashew processing and export groups have established processing plants in Africa which can serve as the ‘springboard’ for a lot more. In this case, the big Vietnamese processing plants that have contracted to Indian companies are likely to be ‘orphaned.’ They will have to find their own way to survive.

Nong Nghiep comments that it is high time for Vietnamese enterprises to start investing in African plants, for while Vietnamese enterprises have vacillated, the Indians have cemented their firm positions in the market.

VietNamNet/NNVN

Specialist shortage hampers battle against blindness

VietNamNet Bridge – Director of the Viet Nam National Institute of Ophthalmology Do Nhu Hon spoke with Tap chi Doi song va Khoa hoc (Life and Science magazine) about plans to reduce blindness in the country.

The percentage of blindness remains high despite the ophthalmology sector’s efforts in providing care for communities. Please elaborate about the situation of blindness in the country?

According to a survey conducted in 2007, Viet Nam had about 380,000 blind people and 1,671 people living with poor vision. The main causes of blindness were cataracts (66.1 per cent) and post-segment pathologies of the eyeball (10.4 per cent). Blindness rates were reduced from 0.63 per cent in 2002 to 0.43 per cent in 2007.

However, blindness caused by serious refraction errors such as short-sightedness, far-sightedness and other sight defects remains a burning issue. There are between 2 and 3 million people suffering from refraction errors nationwide.

What is your assessment of the ability of eye care staff in the country, especially those working at grassroots clinics?

This is a big issue. The whole country has merely 1,188 ophthalmologists, 1,516 ophthalmologic nurses and 15,000 health staff members at villages. Their qualifications remain low. Most eye staff are working in the delta, in big cities and provinces. There is a severe shortage of these staff in underprivileged communes and districts. It is in these localities where blindness prevention is still facing a lot of difficulties. There are only 225 ophthalmologists in districts nationwide. Of this number, only 47.5 per cent have received training to provide initial health care services.

There is a backlog of patients at the Viet Nam National Institute of Ophthalmology. How can you explain this situation?

This is a common issue at central-level hospitals nationwide. The reasons are varied. They include an increase in the number of new, complicated diseases and people contracting eye diseases due to an ageing population, disbelief in the qualifications of ophthalmologists at communes and districts, freer transportation and improved living standards. All of the reasons above are causing an overload in the number of patients at the institute.

What measures must be enacted for sufficient eye care staff to meet the increasing demand for eye care?

The Viet Nam National Institute of Ophthalmology has helped the Ministry of Health put forward a Viet Nam blindness prevention strategy during 2009-13, with a vision to 2020.

Under the strategy, priority will be given to reducing cataracts, controlling blinding trachoma and xerophthalmia and reducing Vitamin A deficiencies.

To this end, it is necessary to train eye care staff at all levels and build up eye care centres nationwide. Viet Nam has set a target to have enough ophthalmologists at district levels by 2015.

As the nation’s leading eye hospital, what is the role of the Viet Nam National Institute of Ophthalmology in training eye care staff?

The institute will continue providing eye care techniques to hospitals and clinics, helping cities and provinces implement blindness prevention activities in their localities.

It will also train eye care staff and develop new eye care techniques. The institute has been implementing a project designated to improve eye care quality. Facts have shown that an increasing number of patients are now receiving better eye care services.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

BIDV secures loan for $200 million from Austrian bank

(VNS) The Bank of Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) signed a US$200 million term loan with the Austrian Raiffeissen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG (RZB) bank in Vienna, Austria, on Monday.

BERLIN (8 Nov 2006) — The Bank of Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) signed a US$200 million term loan with the Austrian Raiffeissen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG (RZB) bank in Vienna, Austria, on Monday.

The deal marks the largest-yet foreign commercial loan won by a Vietnamese bank, an important milestone in the co-operation between RZB and BIDV.

BIDV will use the five-year loan to adjust the structure of its capital sources and assets before the first phase of its equitisation begins in late 2007.

The RZB’s loan will also help BIDV expand its scope of investment and provide medium- and long-term loans for the country’s economic activities. — VNS

Rare ice and snow excitedly sparkles

VietNamNet Bridge – Due to the record setting winter cold, the tourist town of Sapa in Lao Cai province was covered in ice. Meanwhile, My Cang Chai in Yen Bai province was covered in snow. Thousands of tourists have flocked to these two destinations for a glimpse of the winter wonderlands.



VietNamNet captured the beauty of these extremely rare winter blessings in pictures:

100 stock market millionaires in 2007

VietNamNet Bridge – The net worth of the 100 stock market millionaires in 2007 is much higher than in 2006 as they now have more shares, or enterprises have higher profits.

100 stock market millionaires in 2006

2007’s list of 100 stock market millionaires includes the names of many owners of newly listed companies.

In 2006, the database which VnExpress newspaper relied on to select the 100 stock market millionaires were the prospectuses of nearly 150 companies. The total assets held by 650 individuals listed on the prospectuses were valued at VND37.2tril ($2.325bil), or 4% of Vietnam’s GDP.

This is the second year the newspaper conducted this survey and announced the 100 richest shareholders. The surveyors used reports made public by 237 of 253 companies listed on the Hanoi and HCM City bourses by December 31, 2007.

2,900 individuals have been listed in said companies’ prospectuses, who have total stock assets totaling VND86.4tril ($5.4bil), or 7.6% of GDP.

The assets of the 100 richest shareholders reached VND72tril ($4.5bil), of which 65 males hold VND49tril ($3.06bil) and 37 females hold VND21tril ($1.4).

Dang Thanh Tam, Chairman of Saigon Investment Group (SIG) tops the list. In 2006, when only one member of SIG, the Tan Tao Industrial Zone Development Company (ITA) listed, Mr Tam ranked 35^th among the 100 richest; at the time he held VND375.1bil ($23.43mil) of Tan Tao’s shares.

In 2007, Mr. Tam’s assets increased considerably as another member of SIG, Kinh Bac Investment Company (KBA) also listed. With 30mil Kinh Bac and 4.2mil Tan Tao shares, Mr. Tam now has VND6.3tril ($393.75mil), 2.5 times higher than 2006’s number one spot.

The assets of Mr. Tam’s family have also increased considerably over the last year. Mr Tam’s younger sister, Dang Thi Hoang Phuong, jumped from 52^nd in 2006 to 11^th this year, her assets up by 8 times (VND1.4tril or $88.93mil). Dang Thi Hoang Yen, the older sister, though she did not make capital contribution to Kinh Bac Company, has also seen her assets increase from VND371.7bil ($23.23mil) in 2006 to VND1.3tril ($78.25mil) in 2007, jumping 36^th to 15^th.

The year 2007 saw the appearance of new names on the list of 100 stock market millionaires. Vincom, Hoa Phat and Nam Viet only listed on the bourse in the second half of the year, but this still put their owners in the ranks.

There are 29 new names total. These include Pham Nhat Vuong, member of Vincom’s management board who ranks second with total assets of VND3.8tril; Chairman of Hoa Phat Group ranks third as he his holding VND3.5tril worth of HPG shares; and Doan Toi, Chairman and General Director of Nam Viet, a seafood company, who ranks fifth with VND2.6btril.

29 names on the 2006 list said ‘bye bye’ this year. Some sold stakes, others bought more shares, but their assets have reduced because of share price decreases. In some cases, their assets have seen increases in value, but rivals have seen even higher increases.

Top 20 stock market millionaires in 2007:

Grades	Names	Listing Companies	Assets (VNDbil)
1	Dang Thanh Tam – Chairman and General Director of KBC, Member of ITA’s Management Board	- KBC - ITA	6,293.400
2	Pham Nhat Vuong, Member of Management Board	Vincom	3,750.926
3	Tran Dinh Long, Chairman	Hoa Phat Group	3,476.200
4	Nguyen Duy Hung – Chairman and General Director of SSI, founding shareholder of PAN, Member of Management Board of VSH	- SSI - Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydropower Plant - PAN	2,801.181
5	Doan Toi, Chairman and General Director	Nam Viet	2,635.600
6	Tran Kim Thanh, Chairman of NKD, KDC	- Kinh Do Food Processing Company/KDC - Northern Kinh Do Food Processing Company NDC	2.153,740
7	Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh – Chairman and General Director of REE, Member of Management Board of STB	REE Sacombank	1,785.100
8	Truong Gia Binh, Chairman and CEO	FPT	1,701.985
9	Dang Ngoc Lan – wife of Nguyen Duc Kien, Deputy Chairman of Management Board	ACB	1,701.109
10	Nguyen Duc Kien - Deputy Chairman of Management Board	ACB	1,553.329
11	Dang Thi Hoang Phuong – Members of Management Boards of KBC, ITA, sister of Dang Thanh Tam	- KBC - ITA	1,423.350
12	Nguyen Phuong Anh – daughter of Chairwoman Dang Thi Hoang Yen	ITA	1,366.400
13	Tran Hung Huy – Member of Management Board – Son of Tran Mong Hung, Chairman of ACB	ACB	1,365.150
14	Tran Le Nguyen – Deputy Chairman, General Director	Kinh Do Group	1,300.538
15	Dang Thi Hoang Yen - Chaiwoman	ITA	1,252.391
16	Dang Hong Anh – Member of Management Board – daughter of Chairman Dang Van Thanh	Sacombank	1,172.211
17	Tran Mong Hung – Chairman	ACB	1,129.530
18	Truong Thi Le Khanh – Chairwoman and General Director	Vinh Hoan Company	1,113.830
19	Vu Thi Hien – wife of Tran Dinh Long, Chairman	Hoa Phat Group	1,050.596
20	Nguyen Hong Nam – member of PVD’s management board, Deputy General Director of SSI	- PV Drilling - SSI	968.800

(Source: VNE)

Gaza sinks into darkness amid rockets attacks on Israel

Mohamed Nasrallah joined in a long queue outside a Gaza bakery to buy a package of breads worth 2.5 U.S. dollars on Sunday, as Israel has closed all Gaza Strip crossings and barred fuels, basic food supplies and medicine into the poor and densely populated enclave.

The sun sets behind the main Palestinian electricity company, Al-Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip. Gaza's only power plant shut down for lack of fuel on Sunday as Israel kept up a blockade of the Hamas-run territory in retaliation for rocket fire. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

Nasrallah, a 45-year-old father of four, exchanged anger with his countrymen in the queue over the ongoing deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip amid a major severe humanitarian crisis expected within the coming hours, due to the shortage of fuel, electricity and food.

Gaza's only electrical plant announced on Sunday that it would shut down later in the day after an Israeli border closure blocked the entry of fuel that powers it.

In coordination with the Israeli government, Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided on Friday to close all Gaza Strip crossings, barring fuels to operate the Gaza power plant, fuels for gas stations as well as major food products and medical supplies.

"We were told that there will be no fuels for Gaza at all, and we don't know what to do," said Nasrallah, adding "this means that life will completely stop in every house, every factory, every street and every hospital."

The Palestinian Union of Gas Stations announced that around 180 gas stations all-over the enclave had closed down due to shortage of fuels, while the Palestinian Council of Industry said that 3,900 factories closed down "because they don't have electricity or fuel to operate their electric generators."

Chief of the Palestinian Committee to Confront Closure, Jamalal-Khudari, expected that Gaza Strip would witness the first ever humanitarian crisis "if Israel continues closing the Gaza Strip and barring fuels for operating the main Gaza power plant."

"We call on the world, on the Arabs and Muslims to do whatever they can in order to exert pressure on Israel to stop this policy of punishing and eliminating 1.5 million Palestinians," said al-Khudari.

He said that the whole life in Gaza will stop, "if there are no fuels for Gaza power plant and for vehicles. Consequently, Gaza Strip will sink into darkness, where hospitals, clinics, factories, bakeries ... everything will stop."

Gazans have been living with fuel cutbacks, power and supplies shortages for months. The power plant provides a third of the electricity for the territory's residents, thus the shutdown would largely affect the 400,000 people in Gaza City, which houses the territory's main population.

Palestinian Radio stations in Gaza quoted Israeli army officials as saying that the decision to keep Gaza under strict and full closure "is political, and the army has nothing to do in order to change the decision."

Al-Quds Radio station based in Gaza reported that the Israeli army said that the closure was one of the painful means to pressure on the Palestinians to revolt against militants who fire rockets at Sderot and Ashkelom round the clock to stop it."

Barak's decision came after a week-long of makeshift rockets attacks carried out by Islamic Hamas movement and other minor militant groups against Israel, which launched raids into Gaza since Tuesday and left 37 people dead.

Hamas on Sunday said it had fired over 200 homemade missile weapons, including 160 Qassam rockets, into southern Israel in six days as part of its response to an Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinians, however, are divided over the rocket attacks.

Acting Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the rockets "are useless and had only brought disasters to the people." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held that the rockets attacks were "absurd and an Israel excuse to block any progress in the peace negotiations."

Their remarks induced criticism from different militant groups which said that "the rockets are fired to express the status of anger at the Israeli aggression practiced round the clock against our people."

Abu O'beida, spokesman of al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas movement's armed wing, said that "rockets are fired at Israel can't be an excuse for Israel to punish 1.5 million people, whether we fired rockets or we didn't fire, Israel is determined to continue its aggression on our people."

Hamas spokesman in Gaza Sami Abu Zuhri said "if the occupation wants to stop rockets attacks from Gaza at Israel, it should first stop its escalation and its massacres against the people."

"Israel doesn't need excuses in order to escalate its aggression against our people. Israel has been always carrying out aggressive policy and imposing closure on our people for years and years," said Abu Zuhri.

Ordinary Palestinians in Gaza said that both Israel and the militant groups "are responsible for the suffering of the people."

"The useless rockets, which had never killed any Israeli, had just brought us darkness and miserable life," said Husam Abu Fool, a Palestinian taxi driver who said the fuel in his car would only be sufficient for another day or two.

"Each side is convinced with what it does, the militants or the Israeli side. The only side, which really suffers and pays the price, is the poor civilian," said Abu Fool.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

U.S. actress Suzanne Pleshette dies at 70

Suzanne Pleshette, the famous and husky-voiced actress best known for her role as Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on television's long-running "The Bob Newhart Show," died Saturday at her home in Los Angeles at age 70, media reports said Monday.

Pleshette, who underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2006, died of respiratory failure, said her attorney Robert Finkelstein, who is also a family friend. Born Jan. 31, 1937, in New York City, Pleshette began her career as a stage actress and was often picked for roles because of her beauty and her throaty voice. Since her movie debut in the 1958 Jerry Lewis comedy "The Geisha Boy," Pleshette appeared in numerous films and is best remembered for playing as a Chicago psychiatrist surrounded by eccentric patients in "The Bob Newhart Show," which ran from 1972 to 1978. Her role as Emily earned her two Emmy nominations. Four years after the show ended in 1978, Pleshette went on to the equally successful "Newhart" series in which she was the proprietor of a New England inn populated by more eccentrics. She married Troy Donahue, her co-star in "Rome Adventure," in 1964 but the union lasted less than a year. In 1968 she wed Texas oilman Tim Gallagher, a marriage lasted until his death in 2000. In 2001 she wed Tom Poston, her long-ago Broadway co-star, who died last year. VietNamNet/Xinhuanet