Eight Provinces Report Bird Flu Outbreaks
The southern province of Vinh Long with the discovery of a new bird flu outbreak on February 23 has brought the number of the nation’s epidemic-hit cities and provinces to eight.
Health officials vaccinate chicken to prevent them from getting H5N1 virus
The report was delivered by the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) at a meeting of the National Steering Committee on Bird Flu Control on February 26. MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat rang an alarm bell against the fast spread of the epidemic on both poultry and humans.
He asked responsible agencies to boost information campaigns so as to increase public awareness about the lethal disease, tighten supervision over the epidemic developments, and focus on immunization against local poultry flocks and disinfection on the neighbourhood.
“The Veterinary Department has to facilitate epidemiology operations so as to release early warnings against possible epidemic outbreaks for effective control,” concluded the minister.
He also asked the Ministry of Finance to consider additional funds to help ease farmers’ financial difficulties in culling their poultry flocks and local efforts in epidemic control according to the market prices.
Other seven affected provinces and cities included northern Thai Nguyen, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong , Nam Dinh, Tuyen Quang and Ninh Binh and southern Long An.
Source: VNA
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Dang Thuy Tram Award and Scholarship to Be Launched
Dang Thuy Tram Award and Scholarship to Be Launched
Tuoi Tre Newspaper has announced scholarships and educational awards in the name of revolutionary martyr Dang Thuy Tram. These honors will be directed toward health officials and students in the colleges of medicine in ten central provinces and cities.
Revolutionary martyr Dang Thuy Tram
There will be ten awards of VND10 million each for health officials and 160 scholarships worth between VND2-5 million each for students. The presentation ceremony will take place in the central coast city of Nha Trang on 30 April 2008.
Ho Chi Minh City’s hospitals, including Tu Du, Hung Vuong, and Gia Dinh, will contribute to the event by give training courses for local health officials.
“The Dang Thuy Tram Awards and Scholarships will give health officials and students at the colleges of medicine a more favorable opportunity to study and improve their skills” said Duong Thanh Truyen, deputy editor in-chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper.
The program has a total capital of VND800 million and is supported by Imexpharm Pharmaceutical joint stock company.
Source TT – Translated by Kim Khanh
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Tuoi Tre Newspaper has announced scholarships and educational awards in the name of revolutionary martyr Dang Thuy Tram. These honors will be directed toward health officials and students in the colleges of medicine in ten central provinces and cities.
Revolutionary martyr Dang Thuy Tram
There will be ten awards of VND10 million each for health officials and 160 scholarships worth between VND2-5 million each for students. The presentation ceremony will take place in the central coast city of Nha Trang on 30 April 2008.
Ho Chi Minh City’s hospitals, including Tu Du, Hung Vuong, and Gia Dinh, will contribute to the event by give training courses for local health officials.
“The Dang Thuy Tram Awards and Scholarships will give health officials and students at the colleges of medicine a more favorable opportunity to study and improve their skills” said Duong Thanh Truyen, deputy editor in-chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper.
The program has a total capital of VND800 million and is supported by Imexpharm Pharmaceutical joint stock company.
Source TT – Translated by Kim Khanh
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Flying Eye Hospital to Fly Back to Offer More Eye Operations
Flying Eye Hospital to Fly Back to Offer More Eye Operations
The “Flying Eye Hospital”, operated by the US-based nonprofit humanitarian organization ORBIS, will make its second visit to Da Nang city from March 15 to April 5 to provide more ophthalmic surgeries to underprivileged patients.
ORBIS's Flying Eye Hospital
ORBIS has pledged to contribute US$183,686 to this project which was approved yesterday by the Prime Minister.
The “Flying Eye Hospital” will carry the team of 50 prestigious doctors form England, France, the US and other countries who will perform surgeries on 40 patients suffering from ophthalmic diseases. Another 15 patients will get laser treatments or injections.
During the visit, ORBIS members will train eye doctors, technicians and nurses in the central provinces about treating ophthalmic diseases and in the use of medical equipment.
ORBIS began working in Viet Nam in 1996 with its medical training and long-term blindness prevention programs.
It has given check-ups to more than 1.6 million patients and carried out 36,800 cataract operations and minor surgeries across Viet Nam.
ORBIS’ flying hospital first came to Viet Nam in 2006, providing free treatment to 100 local people.
ORBIS’s Flying Eye Hospital that first took off in 1982 is a hospital fitted inside a refurbished DC-10 jet aircraft which travels the world to eliminate avoidable blindness and restore sight in developing countries.
ORBIS has worked closely with local communities, Governments and hospitals to design programs that increase local skills, improve health care facilities and foster awareness of eye health.
By Q.Phuong – Translated by Yen Chuong
The “Flying Eye Hospital”, operated by the US-based nonprofit humanitarian organization ORBIS, will make its second visit to Da Nang city from March 15 to April 5 to provide more ophthalmic surgeries to underprivileged patients.
ORBIS's Flying Eye Hospital
ORBIS has pledged to contribute US$183,686 to this project which was approved yesterday by the Prime Minister.
The “Flying Eye Hospital” will carry the team of 50 prestigious doctors form England, France, the US and other countries who will perform surgeries on 40 patients suffering from ophthalmic diseases. Another 15 patients will get laser treatments or injections.
During the visit, ORBIS members will train eye doctors, technicians and nurses in the central provinces about treating ophthalmic diseases and in the use of medical equipment.
ORBIS began working in Viet Nam in 1996 with its medical training and long-term blindness prevention programs.
It has given check-ups to more than 1.6 million patients and carried out 36,800 cataract operations and minor surgeries across Viet Nam.
ORBIS’ flying hospital first came to Viet Nam in 2006, providing free treatment to 100 local people.
ORBIS’s Flying Eye Hospital that first took off in 1982 is a hospital fitted inside a refurbished DC-10 jet aircraft which travels the world to eliminate avoidable blindness and restore sight in developing countries.
ORBIS has worked closely with local communities, Governments and hospitals to design programs that increase local skills, improve health care facilities and foster awareness of eye health.
By Q.Phuong – Translated by Yen Chuong
Electricity price increase will kill anti-inflation goals
Electricity price increase will kill anti-inflation goals
16:35' 07/03/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – Experts have warned that if the electricity price is raised to VND917/kwh, as requested by Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), this will make the target of single digit inflation unreachable.
Several days after the Government announced that it would raise the petrol price, people began hearing news about EVN’s tentative plan to raise the electricity price to VND917/Kwh.
Under the plan on the electricity price increase, which was approved by the Prime Minister, the electricity price will be raised to VND890/kwh in 2008. However, EVN, reasoning difficulties in electricity production, including higher material prices, has proposed the State raise the retail electricity price to VND917/kwh instead.
Though Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh has reassured the public that the electricity price will only be discussed later, possibly at the end of the year, the news has been concerning people, especially those most affected by the commodity and service price increases.
EVN”s proposal to raise the electricity price, once again, is not applauded by economists and the public.
Nguyen Minh Phong, Head of the Socio-Economic Division under the Hanoi Economics Institute, said the factors that EVN has cited in its proposal to raise the electricity are unreasonable.
To date, electricity remains monopolized by EVN. Therefore, the State must control the electricity price. Once the Government approves the plan on the electricity price increase, EVN has the responsibility of following the plan, and cannot propose another price rise.
EVN complains that it has been incurring losses due to the continued material price rise. However, as Vietnam still does not have a competitive electricity market, it must not ask to float electricity prices.
Electricity is the input material for many industries and branches. EVN claims loss and demands for price increase. The higher electricity prices will lead to the price increases of many other products. As the prices of other products increase, this will affect the electricity production, and EVN, once again, want to raise the sale prices. This would be a vicious circle, said Phong.
According to Phong, there are two problems EVN needs to reconsider. First, it needs to check if the electricity loss level during the production and transmission is acceptable or not. And second, it has to control the electricity production cost strictly.
In fact, no one knows the real production cost of EVN to conclude if the production cost is at reasonable level, because EVN’s audited financial report has never been made public.
“We hear them complaining about loss all the time. However, I think that we should have an independent auditing agency which can verify if EVN makes loss as it says,” Phong said.
Nguyen Dinh Anh, Deputy Head of the Pricing Institute under the Ministry of Finance, said that the electricity price increase proves to be necessary, especially with the recent petroleum price increase. However, he said the Government should consider where and how high to raise the prices, in order to avoid shocks to the national economy.
“The two biggest tasks for the Government now are to develop economy and curb inflation. If it raises the electricity price at this moment, the task of curbing inflation below the economic growth rate proves to be unfeasible,” Anh said.
An official from the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) said that in the current circumstances, raising the electricity price spells the socio-economic uncertainties. The Government will face the latent uncertainties, as people’s and investors’ confidence will reduce.
“People’s worries about the petroleum price increases have not subsided yet when they hear the news about the electricity price increases. There is an important thing the Government needs to do now is to reassure the public,” he said.
The consumer price index (CPI) climbed to 6.02% in the first two months of the year. Experts said that in the context of bad weather, epidemics and global fuel shortage, the electricity price increase will deal another strong blow on the national economy, which will result in dramatic price fluctuations, stagnant production and many other consequences.
(Source: VNE)
16:35' 07/03/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – Experts have warned that if the electricity price is raised to VND917/kwh, as requested by Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), this will make the target of single digit inflation unreachable.
Several days after the Government announced that it would raise the petrol price, people began hearing news about EVN’s tentative plan to raise the electricity price to VND917/Kwh.
Under the plan on the electricity price increase, which was approved by the Prime Minister, the electricity price will be raised to VND890/kwh in 2008. However, EVN, reasoning difficulties in electricity production, including higher material prices, has proposed the State raise the retail electricity price to VND917/kwh instead.
Though Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh has reassured the public that the electricity price will only be discussed later, possibly at the end of the year, the news has been concerning people, especially those most affected by the commodity and service price increases.
EVN”s proposal to raise the electricity price, once again, is not applauded by economists and the public.
Nguyen Minh Phong, Head of the Socio-Economic Division under the Hanoi Economics Institute, said the factors that EVN has cited in its proposal to raise the electricity are unreasonable.
To date, electricity remains monopolized by EVN. Therefore, the State must control the electricity price. Once the Government approves the plan on the electricity price increase, EVN has the responsibility of following the plan, and cannot propose another price rise.
EVN complains that it has been incurring losses due to the continued material price rise. However, as Vietnam still does not have a competitive electricity market, it must not ask to float electricity prices.
Electricity is the input material for many industries and branches. EVN claims loss and demands for price increase. The higher electricity prices will lead to the price increases of many other products. As the prices of other products increase, this will affect the electricity production, and EVN, once again, want to raise the sale prices. This would be a vicious circle, said Phong.
According to Phong, there are two problems EVN needs to reconsider. First, it needs to check if the electricity loss level during the production and transmission is acceptable or not. And second, it has to control the electricity production cost strictly.
In fact, no one knows the real production cost of EVN to conclude if the production cost is at reasonable level, because EVN’s audited financial report has never been made public.
“We hear them complaining about loss all the time. However, I think that we should have an independent auditing agency which can verify if EVN makes loss as it says,” Phong said.
Nguyen Dinh Anh, Deputy Head of the Pricing Institute under the Ministry of Finance, said that the electricity price increase proves to be necessary, especially with the recent petroleum price increase. However, he said the Government should consider where and how high to raise the prices, in order to avoid shocks to the national economy.
“The two biggest tasks for the Government now are to develop economy and curb inflation. If it raises the electricity price at this moment, the task of curbing inflation below the economic growth rate proves to be unfeasible,” Anh said.
An official from the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) said that in the current circumstances, raising the electricity price spells the socio-economic uncertainties. The Government will face the latent uncertainties, as people’s and investors’ confidence will reduce.
“People’s worries about the petroleum price increases have not subsided yet when they hear the news about the electricity price increases. There is an important thing the Government needs to do now is to reassure the public,” he said.
The consumer price index (CPI) climbed to 6.02% in the first two months of the year. Experts said that in the context of bad weather, epidemics and global fuel shortage, the electricity price increase will deal another strong blow on the national economy, which will result in dramatic price fluctuations, stagnant production and many other consequences.
(Source: VNE)
Vietnam won’t let stock market to go down
Vietnam won’t let stock market to go down
16:44' 07/03/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – The recent moves by the State Bank of Vietnam of tightening the monetary policy has made some people think that curbing inflation is the top priority of the Government now, for which, Vietnam may sacrifice the stock market. However, people have been reassured that the Government won’t let the stock market to go down.
Le Thi Bang Tam, former Deputy Minister of Finance wrote on Dau tu chung khoan that she personally believes that the Government will not let the stock market to go down further, and it absolutely does not want the gloomy days in the first period of the stock market to come back.
Tam said that investors should keep calm with the share price falls. They should not think that the VN Index has to march towards the 1,100 point level after it reached 1,000 points already.
Le Dang Doanh, former Head of the Central Institute of Economic Management, Senior Economist, also said that the Government needs to take actions to recover and stabilize the stock market.
Doanh said that as the stock market remains fledgling, it needs support to develop in the right track. If the market bogs down, investors will flea from the market for ever, and it will take much time and efforts to restore the market.
The Government has to protect the stock market, because the stable stock market will help attract more investments and develop other markets, including the capital market, gold and real estate markets
The fact that Government’s officials and officials from relevant ministries these days sit together to discuss the solutions to rescue the stock market shows that the Government will not sacrifice the stock market to focus on curbing inflation.
However, experts said that the Government does not intend to rescue the market by violating market rules. It will not throw money to the market to buy shares or subsidise share prices, but it will use suitable financial tools.
Le Xuan Nghia, Director of the Banking Development Strategy Department under the State Bank of Vietnam also said that he does not believe that the Government will pump money into the stock market. Nghia said that in other countries in the world, governments never do that, because they believe that the national economy and investors will decide the health of the stock market.
A lot of measures have been released to rescue the stock market. Companies have been asked to reconsider the IPO and additional share issuance timetable in order to avoid the share dilution and oversupply of commodities. Besides, a cautious monetary policy is being applied in order to curb the inflation and support the stock market development.
(Source: Lao dong, SGTT, DTCK)
16:44' 07/03/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – The recent moves by the State Bank of Vietnam of tightening the monetary policy has made some people think that curbing inflation is the top priority of the Government now, for which, Vietnam may sacrifice the stock market. However, people have been reassured that the Government won’t let the stock market to go down.
Le Thi Bang Tam, former Deputy Minister of Finance wrote on Dau tu chung khoan that she personally believes that the Government will not let the stock market to go down further, and it absolutely does not want the gloomy days in the first period of the stock market to come back.
Tam said that investors should keep calm with the share price falls. They should not think that the VN Index has to march towards the 1,100 point level after it reached 1,000 points already.
Le Dang Doanh, former Head of the Central Institute of Economic Management, Senior Economist, also said that the Government needs to take actions to recover and stabilize the stock market.
Doanh said that as the stock market remains fledgling, it needs support to develop in the right track. If the market bogs down, investors will flea from the market for ever, and it will take much time and efforts to restore the market.
The Government has to protect the stock market, because the stable stock market will help attract more investments and develop other markets, including the capital market, gold and real estate markets
The fact that Government’s officials and officials from relevant ministries these days sit together to discuss the solutions to rescue the stock market shows that the Government will not sacrifice the stock market to focus on curbing inflation.
However, experts said that the Government does not intend to rescue the market by violating market rules. It will not throw money to the market to buy shares or subsidise share prices, but it will use suitable financial tools.
Le Xuan Nghia, Director of the Banking Development Strategy Department under the State Bank of Vietnam also said that he does not believe that the Government will pump money into the stock market. Nghia said that in other countries in the world, governments never do that, because they believe that the national economy and investors will decide the health of the stock market.
A lot of measures have been released to rescue the stock market. Companies have been asked to reconsider the IPO and additional share issuance timetable in order to avoid the share dilution and oversupply of commodities. Besides, a cautious monetary policy is being applied in order to curb the inflation and support the stock market development.
(Source: Lao dong, SGTT, DTCK)
Is market set to close up shop?
Is market set to close up shop?
14:36' 08/03/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge - The gloomy atmosphere in some Ho Chi Minh City real estate brokers and slight declines in prices are the first signs that the property market is about to slow down again.
The city’s property market is ready for a dose of reality This follows a series of tightening financial moves and the proposed introduction of progressive taxes.
“A large number of property traders in districts 2, 7, 9, Nha Be and Binh Thanh have recently sold out to pay off their bank loans, due to the fear of more direct and tougher government regulations. Nearly 90 per cent of speculators have loans from private banks,” said Nguyen Xuan Loc, head of Vinaland Company’s transaction centre in District 2.According to a source from the State Bank in Ho Chi Minh City, the credit for property in 57 commercial banks reached 38 per cent of the banks’ total credit in 2007, while the advisable rate was just 10 per cent.
“Most investors are not buying any more properties and are cautiously observing the market movements, after the government proposed progressive taxes that will be levied on property owners, making prices slide down slightly,” he said.The property prices in official transaction centres have fallen by about VND500,000 ($31.25) per square metre in Ho Chi Minh City and by about VND2 million ($125) in neighbouring provinces such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Vung Tau. “The recent increase in the cost of financing across new mortgages, refinancing facilities and holding costs and inflation are starting to impact on buyer behaviour patterns, particularly at the lower end of the market, which is the main cause of further downslides as the Vietnam’s realty market is sensitive and vulnerable,” said CBRE associate director Matthew Koziora.“The government does not want this market to stop completely, as it is the sector that is creating new wealth among Vietnamese population. The realty sector will not freeze in the near future as there is a structural imbalance in the marketplace, whereby there is a very low supply base and proven high levels of demand,” Koziora said.He said the decline in property prices would only affect the outlying areas that attract the low to medium-end market, and the high-end market would be unscathed Giant local investors such as FPT, Viglacera, Lilama and Bitexco, as well as certain foreign investors, had not been intimidated or deterred and were pushing ahead full-throttle with their development plans, so high-end properties will continue to soar, Koziora said.
(Source: VIR)
14:36' 08/03/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge - The gloomy atmosphere in some Ho Chi Minh City real estate brokers and slight declines in prices are the first signs that the property market is about to slow down again.
The city’s property market is ready for a dose of reality This follows a series of tightening financial moves and the proposed introduction of progressive taxes.
“A large number of property traders in districts 2, 7, 9, Nha Be and Binh Thanh have recently sold out to pay off their bank loans, due to the fear of more direct and tougher government regulations. Nearly 90 per cent of speculators have loans from private banks,” said Nguyen Xuan Loc, head of Vinaland Company’s transaction centre in District 2.According to a source from the State Bank in Ho Chi Minh City, the credit for property in 57 commercial banks reached 38 per cent of the banks’ total credit in 2007, while the advisable rate was just 10 per cent.
“Most investors are not buying any more properties and are cautiously observing the market movements, after the government proposed progressive taxes that will be levied on property owners, making prices slide down slightly,” he said.The property prices in official transaction centres have fallen by about VND500,000 ($31.25) per square metre in Ho Chi Minh City and by about VND2 million ($125) in neighbouring provinces such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Vung Tau. “The recent increase in the cost of financing across new mortgages, refinancing facilities and holding costs and inflation are starting to impact on buyer behaviour patterns, particularly at the lower end of the market, which is the main cause of further downslides as the Vietnam’s realty market is sensitive and vulnerable,” said CBRE associate director Matthew Koziora.“The government does not want this market to stop completely, as it is the sector that is creating new wealth among Vietnamese population. The realty sector will not freeze in the near future as there is a structural imbalance in the marketplace, whereby there is a very low supply base and proven high levels of demand,” Koziora said.He said the decline in property prices would only affect the outlying areas that attract the low to medium-end market, and the high-end market would be unscathed Giant local investors such as FPT, Viglacera, Lilama and Bitexco, as well as certain foreign investors, had not been intimidated or deterred and were pushing ahead full-throttle with their development plans, so high-end properties will continue to soar, Koziora said.
(Source: VIR)
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