Dak Nong to get waste treatment plant

Dak Nong – A rubbish treatment facility, covering more than 12 ha will be built in Gia Nghia Town in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong , said local authorities.

The rubbish facility is expected to be completed by the end of next year at a cost of about 1.8 million USD.

At present, thousands of tonnes of rubbish in the town was deposited at a temporary rubbish dump without any treatment, seriously affecting the quality of life in the town.

Vinaphone signs deal to expand GSM network

Washington - Motorola yesterday signed contracts worth 28 million USD with Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) for the expansion of Vinaphone’s GSM network across 12 northern provinces in Vietnam .

Motorola Vietnam ’s General Director Ray Owen and Vinaphone’s CEO Hoang Trung Hai signed the contracts in an official ceremony marking another milestone in the collaboration which started more than 12 years ago.

Under the agreements signed during the ongoing visit to the US by Vietnam ’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, more than 1,000 cell sites will be deployed in northern Vietnam , according to Motorola.

Motorola said it will deliver its GSM infrastructure and solutions as well as a range of comprehensive services, including network optimisations, operations and maintenance in order to expand the cellular network and mobile services of Vinaphone, a subsidiary of VNPT, in suburban and rural areas of the country.

This is Motorola’s second GSM network expansion project with VNPT in six months. Shipment of the equipment will begin later this year and the project is expected to be completed in 2009.

”Motorola is committed to providing leading communications technology to meet the growing demand of Vinaphone in providing high quality and reliable voice and data communications services to subscribers,” said Owen.

“Motorola is an industry leader and we are pleased to work with them in GSM network deployment. The contracts aim to expand our GSM network deployed in the northern provinces of Vietnam last year. It will enable us to provide better coverage, capacity and user experience in rural and suburban areas,” said Hai.

Motorola and Vinaphone signed contracts December 2007 to expand and enhance Vinaphone’s GSM network in Vietnam ’s major cities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City . Beside GSM networks, the two companies are also cooperating in expanding GPRS coverage and providing EDGE services in Vietnam .

Vinaphone currently provides coverage in 64 provinces and cities in Vietnam and has links with mobile operators in more than 60 countries and governed territories.

ASEAN commodities to enjoy preferential import tax

Hanoi – The Finance Ministry has released a list of thousands of imports from ASEAN countries which will enjoy tax reduction during the 2008-13 period.

The move is made within the country’s commitment to implementing the Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) of ASEAN countries during the five-year period.

Thousands of goods imported from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including art works, antique, furniture, optical equipment, live animals and fruits and vegetables, will be subject to a tax rate of between 0-5 percent during the period.

Meanwhile, import taxes on a number of commodities will be reduced to 5 percent by 2013, including rice, eggs and pomeloes (from current 30 percent), and products meat (from current 40 percent).

Lam Dong boots agricultural training

Lam Dong – Over 290,000 people have received training in faming and animal husbandry technologies in the past five years, according to the Farmers Association in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong .

The association held its sixth congress last weekend to review its activities between 2003 and 2008.

In the period, nearly 30,000 farmers got bank loans totaling 431 billion VND (26,9 million USD).
The association plans to provide job training and create jobs for thousands of farmers in the next five years.

Daiwa Securities Corp to buy into SSI

Hanoi – Japanese brokerage Daiwa Securities Group Inc will become a strategic shareholder of the Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) by owning at least 10 percent of its shares.

Under a strategic cooperation agreement signed between the two sides on June 23, Daiwa committed to providing its Vietnamese partner with technical assistance, technology and personnel training, and to help diversify its products and get access to the Japanese stock market.

The Japanese brokerage will send a member to join SSI’s board of directors.

According to SSI, Daiwa will buy more than 11.68 million shares of SSI which are listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, bringing the total number of SSI shares owned by Daiwa to 18 million, equivalent to 13.17 percent of the Vietnamese brokerage’s charter capital.

Apart from Daiwa, ANZ has also become a foreign strategic partner of SSI, holding 17.08 million shares or 12.5 percent of SSI’s charter capital.

Japanese securities company to raise stake in Saigon Securities

Tokyo – Japan ’s Daiwa Securities Group Inc. will raise its equity stake in Saigon Securities Inc. of Vietnam to around 10 percent from about 4.75 percent at present.

The second-largest securities group in Japan said on June 24 that the two companies agreed on the matter under a newly signed accord to strengthen their capital and operational ties so as to work more closely on business in the country.

”By establishing a strong alliance with Saigon Securities, which has a broad business network and expertise in the securities business in Vietnam, Daiwa Securities Group will be able to enhance its business in Vietnam , where economic growth is expected in the long run,” it said.

Daiwa Securities and Saigon Securities signed a basic tie-up accord in July last year. In April this year, Daiwa bought an additional 3.5 percent stake to raise its stake to 4.75 percent.

OTC market trading band falls

Hanoi – The trading band for the over-the-counter market (OTC) could be 10 percent, rather than the 20 percent originally planned by the Hanoi Securities Trading Centre, when the OTC market comes into operation under the centre’s control.

The Finance Ministry, State Securities Commission, and Hanoi Securities Trading Centre late last year laid out plans for a managed OTC market, aiming to reduce risk for investors and raise the liquidity in this non-official market.

Vu Bang, chairman of the State Securities Commission, said that the tighter trading band in the OTC market was in response to the recent rough period in the official stock market.

Bang also said that the narrow band would help investors enter the OTC market in a stable way even during this difficult period for securities investment.

According to the commission, foreigners could buy a total 40 percent of the charter capital of an unlisted firm on the OTC market. This cap is less than the originally planned 49 percent.

The limitation was higher than the present cap for the official market of 30 percent. This gives foreigners greater opportunities to trade in unlisted shares.

Having no policy to manage the indirect foreign capital, the limitation of a foreign cap for investment in unlisted firms was essential, said Bang.

According to the Hanoi Centre, the major manager of the controlled OTC market, about 11 firms registered to trade on the market, among which eight were banks and the rest were brokerages.

Nguyen Vu Quang Trung, deputy director of Hanoi Centre, said the firms were among 40 candidates selected to trade on the newly-managed market, of which all were already in the financial sectors.

Electricity on way to Khmer families

Soc Trang – The Vietnam Electricity Corporation (EVN) plans to spend more than 490 billion VND from now until 2011 to bring electricity to over 40,000 Khmer ethnic households in the Mekong delta provinces of Soc Trang and Tra Vinh.

The project, approved by the Prime Minister, aims to reduce poverty and improve the living conditions for the Khmer community in the two provinces who account for more than half of the total Khmer population nationwide.

At present, only 87 percent of Khmer ethnic households in the two provinces are connecting to the national power grid, but the rate will be raised to 93.5 percent when the project completes by 2011.

Singaporean group expands investment in Thua Thien-Hue

Thua Thien-Hue - The Banyan Tree group of Singapore has been licensed to triple its investment in a tourism and services project in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue .

The 875 million USD project, covering 300 ha in Chan May-Lang Co economic zone in Phu Loc district, is the largest ever tourism development in the province. The group plans to build seven luxury hotels with 2,000 rooms, a conventional area, and a trading centre.

The construction work will be carried out in four phases and is expected to be completed by 2014.

Chairman of the Phu Loc People’s Committee Cai Vinh Tuan said that the locality has invested 18 billion VND in building infrastructure and clearing site for the project.

Int’l construction and building exposition opens

HCM City – The Vietnam International Construction and Building exposition (VICB 2008) kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on June 25.

The three-day exhibition draws nearly 150 domestic and foreign businesses which are showcasing their latest machinery, equipment, products, services and technologies with the aim of finding investment and trading opportunities in Vietnam.

The VICB 2008 also incorporates several specialised exhibitions on air conditioning and ventilation, safety and security systems and fire equipment.