Fisheries association aims to connect with fishermen

To establish a direct link between fishermen and associations of aquatic farmers and processors nationwide, is the main objective of the Vietnam Fisheries Association (VFA)'s development strategy for the 2006-2010 period.

VFA President Nguyen Huu Khanh said at the association's second conference in Hanoi on Jan. 6, that, to this end, the association will work to establish 35 chapters with 50,000 members nationwide by 2010. The VFA currently has 29 chapters with 27,000 members.

Deputy Fisheries Minister Nguyen Viet Thang said the association should strive to build a close cooperation among its chapters as well as with processing businesses in order to ensure materials supply for processing, thus boosting exports.

(CPV/VNA)

Pooling all resources to achieve economic growth rate of 8.5 percent

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasised the need to successfully implement the three major tasks of achieving an economic growth rate of 8.5 percent, reinforcing administrative reform and combating corruption and wastefulness in 2007.

A conference was held in Hanoi on January 8 to implement State budget plans for 2007 which drew the participation of Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung and deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Sinh Hung and Truong Vinh Trong.

Opening the conference, PM Dung highlighted the remarkable achievements in socio-economic development recorded in 2006.

Delegates to conference heard a report from Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc on the implementation of the plan for socio-economic development and the State Budge for 2006 and implementation solutions for 2007. Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen briefed them on a number of major guidelines and policies to help the national economy maintain its fast and sustainable development after Vietnam’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Minister of the Interior Do Quang Trung reviewed administrative reform programs and set tasks for 2007 while Chief Government Inspector Tran Van Truyen reported on the government’s action program on implementing the Anti-Corruption Law.

Minster of Planning and Investment Phuc said in 2007, the focus will be on seven key solutions for perfecting mechanisms of the market economy, improving the investment environment, raising the operation efficiency of the State apparatus, practicing thrift and combating wastefulness.

Minister of the Interior Do Quang Trung underscored the need to enhance administrative reform by effectively handling bureaucracy, ironing out snags in people and enterprises’ activities and removing unnecessary sub-licenses used by ministries and sectors at the central level.

Many delegates said it is essential to build a central anti-corruption agency and issue documents on implementing the Anti-Corruption Law and dealing with leaders of agencies involved in corruption. They also proposed some measures to coordinate with the Government in boosting production and business activities, reinforce administrative reform and combat corruption in the most effective way.

The conference will close on January 9.

(CPV/VOV)

US closer to building first nuclear warhead in 20 years

The US has been carrying out its plan to build its first nuclear warheads in nearly 20 years.

The New York Times reported that a hybrid design for the new weapon will be unveiled by the interagency Nuclear Weapons Council.

It will not add to but replace the nation’s existing arsenal of aging warheads.

If this plan is approved by US President George W. Bush and financed by the Congress, it will cost over 100 billion USD.

Exploratory research for the weapon was authorized three years ago, and has been financed since. Now the costs will begin to increase.

With a generation of more reliable arms, the military could abandon holding onto huge inventories of old weapons, and reduce the American arsenal from some 6,000 warheads to 2,000 or less.

However, the new weapon called the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) will combine elements of designs from two weapons laboratories in an approach that some experts argue is untested and risky, reported Xinhuanet.

Last week, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration said the government will not proceed with the RRW if it is determined that testing is needed.

Edited by T.H

A big New Year thanks from Thanh Nien

On the occasion of New Year, Thanh Nien would like to express heartfelt gratitude to its readers for contributing to its programs to help the poor and talented for the last 21 years.
Thanks to them Thanh Nien raised over VND17 billion (US$1.07 million) last year to help thousands of victims of destructive typhoons which devastated the country’s central and southern areas.

Part of the amount was also used effectively for the newspaper’s Nguyen Thai Binh Scholarship for poor students as well as the Thanh Nien-sponsored Funds for Vietnamese Talents.

Since the newspaper was founded 21 years ago, its readers have contributed over VND50 billion ($3.1 million) to help the needy.

Recently, thousands of people disregarded heavy rains to attend Thanh Nien’s Duyen Dang Viet Nam (Charming Vietnam) music show, which is held every year to raise money for the Nguyen Thai Binh scholarship.

Earlier, thousands others in Da Nang flocked soon after a typhoon devastated the city to see Thanh Nien’s under-21 football championship, a national event that has helped boost many talented footballers.

Thanh Nien pledges never to betray its readers’ trust.

We hope all Vietnamese, no matter where or who they are or what ideology they adopt, give utmost priority to national interest and join hands to help develop our country.

We would also like the government to have a transparent mechanism in exchanging information with the media and a balanced view on the role of the media in society.

In the past, the media has raised questions about many controversial issues like major construction projects and corruption scandals. And in many cases, there have been no answers from the authorities.

There were even instances in which media reports blowing the lid on corruption were condemned as attempting to “befoul” society.

Only the government’s balanced attitude and frank exchange of information with the media can ensure a strong media that can play an effective role in building and protecting our country.

Written by Editor-in-Chief Nguyen Cong Khe

Fitch affirms ratings of Sacombank

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Vietnam-based Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank)’s Individual and Support ratings of 'D' and '5', respectively.
The ratings reflect Sacombank's adequate balance sheet strength and good profitability.

The bank has grown rapidly over recent years, registering a 237% growth in its balance sheet over the three years to end-2005.

Its loan book is split 40:60 between consumers and private businesses, reflecting its niche focus in the retail business segments which has been considerably neglected by Vietnam's larger state-owned banks.

Despite its rapid growth, Sacombank has maintained good asset quality, with a very low reported NPL ratio of 0.6%, down from 0.9% a year prior thanks to loans growth and very few new NPLs.

Additionally, almost all loans are tangibly secured on a low/conservative loan-to-value basis, although this provides only limited comfort in a country where foreclosure is a time-consuming and uncertain process due to a relatively inefficient legal system.

Meanwhile, profitability has been good with the bank achieving a RoAA of 1.8%, thanks to strong margins from its retail deposit-taking/lending focus, good fee income and limited credit costs.

Sacombank's capital strength is also sufficiently adequate, with an end-2005 equity/asset ratio of 13.0%, up from 9.3% at end-2004 due to capital injections and to a lesser extent retained earnings.

Such substantial capitalization, however, is unlikely to remain over the longer term if the bank continues to grow so fast. In this regard, the bank advises that it plans to retain all of 2006's earnings and further boost its equity base by 5% to 10% through a public share issuance over 2007.

Sacombank was formed in 1991 through the consolidation of four credit institutions in Ho Chi Minh City.

The bank has three foreign strategic shareholders, ANZ, the IFC and Dragon Financial Holdings (a Vietnam-based, UK-owned asset management company). It was listed mid-2006 with management holding a 34% share and the public 29%.

Source: The Asian Banker

Vietnam oil joint venture reports profitable year

Vietsovpetro, a Vietnamese-Russian oil and gas joint venture, announced revenues topped US$5 billion last year, a 16 percent jump, despite lower output.
Net profit was $836 million, a year-on-year jump of 18 percent and 21 percent higher than earlier projections.

Its output was around 9.8 million tons of crude oil, some 850,000 tons less than the previous year, due to a production cut in some wells.

However, its bottom line benefited from consistently high global oil prices last year.

Vietsovpetro was set up by the state-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation and Russia’s Zarubezheft over two decades ago when it became the first international JV to explore for oil off the Vietnamese coast.

The JV has generated $33 billion in revenues, turning it into one of the country’s most successful joint investments, and also contributed $20 billion to the state coffers over the past 25 years.

Last year it contributed around $3.55 billion to the state budget a rise of $530 million over a year earlier.

The company has produced nearly 161 million tons of crude oil to date from Bach Ho (White Tiger), Rong (Dragon) and Dai Hung (Big Bear) fields, and has acquired 16.8 billion cu.m of liquid petroleum and other gases.

It makes up 80 percent of the oil and gas output of Vietnam which is the third largest producer and exporter in Southeast Asia.

The JV plans to expand operations in Vietnam and to other countries.

By Dong Ha

Vietnam stocks hit new high

Vietnam’s stock market index soared 3.51 percent to close at a new lifetime high on Friday as blue chips made all-around gains.
The VN-Index rose 28.57 points to 817.39, beating the record of 809 set on December 20, with 67 gainers and 20 losers.

Trading volume jumped by 2 million shares to 7.9 million shares. Total value rose to VND898 billion (US$55.5 million) from VND668 billion.

Hanoi-based infrastructure developer SJS became the first stock to cross the VND600,000 mark, hitting the 5 percent ceiling to close at VND604,000.

IT developer FPT also rose 5 percent to close at VND495,000.

Other heavyweights to gain 5 percent were REE which closed at VND326,290, GMD which closed at VND396,720, and VNM which closed at VND632,890.

Analysts attributed the sharp rise to positive news about the future of the market.

Nguyen Van Dung, director of the Hanoi Securities Trading Center, added that foreign portfolio inflows into the market had jumped because of optimistic forecasts on the country’s economy and stock exchange by international financers like Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse.

But he warned that a steady market needed experienced investors who were not driven by the “herd instinct”.

Compiled by Dong Ha

Vietnam’s largest container port targets top 50 status globally

Ho Chi Minh City’s Cat Lai port, run by the Saigon New Port Company, has set a target to become one of the world’s 50 leading container ports by 2010.
To achieve the goal, the Saigon New Port Company and the Saigon Customs Bureau Region No1 have agreed on stronger collaboration to better serve importers and exporters.

After Vietnam entered the World Trade Organization (WTO), experts forecast that there would be a fresh wave of imports and exports at the nation’s ports.

Leaders of Cat Lai port, whose construction was started three years ago in District 2, are striving to satisfy the imminent boom in goods.

The company is investing in more advanced equipment so that by 2008 it can handle some two million TEU (twenty-foot-equivalent units) of cargo, roughly 28 million tons of commodities.

Cat Lai port currently transports some 60 percent of import/export containers in Ho Chi Minh City and over 40 percent in Vietnam.

Reported by Tran Hung – Translated by Tuong Nhi

Tapping Vietnam’s coastal tourism, the right way

Vietnamese coastal attractions should develop in separate and distinct ways, to diversify the overall view of travel and put the developing nation on the global tourism map.

The enormous potential for tourism of Vietnam’s over 3,200 kilometers of coastline has remained mostly untapped with the coastal provinces’ major earnings coming from seafood, transportation, and crude oil and gas.

Yet it has been said that many sites along the coastline, such as Vung Tau, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Phan Thiet, and Ha Long, are not less, or even more, attractive than those well known in other Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand’s Pattaya, Phuket, Ko-samui, or Indonesia’s Bali.

Increasingly aware of that, many Vietnamese coastal provinces have considered developing tourist sector their top priority, expecting it to be the motive force to boost the whole economy.

The need to diversify coastal tourism has grown with Vietnam’s recent admission to the World Trade Organization.

As the local market is now open to foreign travel agents, Vietnam expects to welcome more foreign tourists, including those on boards cruise vessels, to visits its coastal attractions.

Besides conventional tourism, there have been increasing demands for MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions/conferences, exhibitions/events) trips, as well as trips to learn about Vietnam’s history and culture.

In the rush to cash in on their coastal attractiveness, however, many provinces have based their tourist development on unsustainable strategies which failed to promote their characteristics and to protect local environment and culture.

The strategies often overlap, undermining their effectiveness and long-term vision.

For example, Vung Tau could focus on organizing beach events, such as sports, cultural or entertainment activities. Con Dao and Phu Quoc Islands are most suitable sites for luxury beach resorts. Meanwhile, Nha Trang and Phan Thiet could develop meeting/convention and shopping facilities.

Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Hoi An and other provinces lining the northern central coast, studded with UNESCO-recognized heritage sites, could be the best place to organize trips to learn about the Vietnamese history and culture.

In the north, besides the world-acclaimed Ha Long Bay, tourists could also be lured to other attractions, such as Sam Son, Cua Lo, and Do Son.

Coastal tourism with due focus on MICE and history/culture-learning trips should be parlayed into an advantage for Vietnam, especially if the country can achieve its plan of a 3,200km tourist road that would run the length of the coastline, and boost investment for advertising and promotional activities.

Diversifying tourism would help elevate awareness of Vietnam’s bountiful coastal attractions to draw travelers worldwide.

Appec 2006

General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and President George W. Bush

Two Italian cruise ships dock in Vietnam central hub

Two Italian cruise vessels arrived in the central Da Nang city in the last few days carrying tourists seeking to celebrate New Year in Vietnam.
The Costa Allegra arrived at Tien Sa port Wednesday with around 800 passengers on board. On Monday another Italian deluxe vessel, the Costa Marina, docked with 1,000 European tourists.

The visitors stayed in Da Nang for one day and visited popular tourist sites.

The Costa Marina and the Costa Allegra are scheduled to visit Vietnam another two and 18 times respectively this year.

Besides making a stopover in Da Nang, they will take tourists to the world-acclaimed Ha Long Bay in the north and southern hub Ho Chi Minh City.

Danang will receive some 30 international cruise vessels this year.