Indonesia to host environmental ministers’ meeting

Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia plans to invite 18 environmental ministers to a ministerial meeting ahead of a climate summit in Poland later this year, a senior official said.

“President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has taken the initiative to invite 18 environment ministers present at the just- concluded G-8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan, to attend a ministerial meeting prior to the climate summit in Poland at the end of 2008,” Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

Indonesia would extend official invitations to the 18 environment ministers at the UN General Assembly in New York in September, he said on July 11.

The meeting would reiterate Indonesia’s call for greenhouse gas emitting countries to set their mid-term target of reducing their gas emissions, he said.

At the climate summit held in the Indonesian island of Bali last year, the world’s major greenhouse gas producers agreed to a roadmap calling for a reduction of gas emissions by 50 percent in 2050.-

Cambodia’s election campaign runs smoothly

Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia’s ongoing campaign for the national assembly election is going smoothly nationwide, the National Election Commission (NEC) said.

According to the NEC, there has been no political violence during the election campaign.

The NEC said it has to date received nearly 150 complaints from political parties, mainly the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP). The number of complaints during this year’s campaign was lower than that in the previous campaign.

Koul Panha, Chairman of the Committee for free elections in Cambodia (NICFEC) said that the NEC timely handled more complaints during the campaign as compared to the previous event.

The one-month election campaign will last till July 25 and July 26 is a day of calm before the July 27 vote.

A total of over 8.1 million Cambodians are registered to vote at more than 15,000 polling stations this year. Cambodia holds general elections every five years.-

Singapore Petroleum begins drilling well off Cambodia

Phnom Penh (VNA) - Singapore Petroleum Company Ltd (SPC) has begun oil and gas exploration activities offshore Cambodia, according to local media.

The well is the first in Block B, about 160 km southwest of Sihanoukville. Drilling to test the hydrocarbon potential is expected to take about 15 days since July 8, the company said in a statement.

In March, US energy giant Chevron announced oil in Block A offshore the Sihanoukville after conducting six exploration drillings. The Cambodian National Petroleum Agency estimated oil reserves in the well of up to 500 million barrels.

Cambodia’s oil reserves are estimated up to 2 billion barrels and gas to 10,000 cubic metres, according to the World Bank, Harvard University and prestigious organistions.-

Brunei firm to build 4.3 billion USD tourism complex

– The People’s Committee of central Phu Yen province has licensed New City Properties Development Co. Ltd. from Brunei to build a high-grade tourism complex to the tune of 4.3 billion USD.

The project will feature luxury resorts, 4,300 five-star and 8,900 four-star hotel rooms, 160 high-grade villas, a 36-hole golf course and many other service facilities.

Covering 565 hectares in Tuy Hoa city, the project is scheduled for completion in 2017.

On the occasion, Phu Yen province also granted investment licences to three new and two expanded projects with a combined capital of 64 million USD.

These projects are expected to create jobs for more than 33,000 workers.-

Vietnam helps Laos build house for athletes

– Work started in Laos ’ Vientiane city on July 12 on a Vietnamese-funded building for athletes.

A ground-breaking ceremony for the building was attended by Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Trong Hy.

The building will be built at a total cost of 19 million USD, including 4 million USD in non-refundable aid and 15 million USD in non-interest loan provided by Vietnam ’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group.

The building, which will consist of 1,000 rooms, is scheduled for completion in 10 months to accommodate around 4,000 athletes who will join the 25 th Southeast Asian Games.

Laos will host this event in December 2009.-

Ford provides driving skills

– Ford Vietnam on July 10 launched the “Driving Skills for Life” program for local car divers in a bid to reduce the number of traffic accident in Vietnam .

The program, held in conjunction with the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation and the Vietnam Government’s National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), will provide free training to more than 200 taxi drivers and inter-provincial bus drivers.

It will begin in HCM City from July 17-20 and expand to other cities at a later stage.-

Dong Nai province targets more export growth

– Local authorities in the southern province of Dong Nai want to increase export revenue and restructure the local economy by focusing on its competitive industries.

Priorities will be given to food and foodstuff processing, beverages, consumer goods and exports as well as to the high-tech sector and bio-technology.

The province wants to create more jobs and raise incomes. Total value of key industrial sectors during the first half of the year reached 35.7 trillion VND, a 20.7 percent increase year-on-year.-

Ministry approves first low-income apartment

– The Construction Ministry has given the go-ahead to Dat Lanh Real Estate Co. Ltd. to build two apartment blocks for low-income families, with each unit measuring 30-40sq.m, the first of its kind in the country.

Dat Lanh Co. will build the 500 apartments in District 12’s Dong Hung Thuan Ward and Go Vap district.

These units come under the scope of the Law on Housing for the poor and disadvantaged, which range from 30-60sq.m in size.

Construction on the two buildings will start in the third quarter of this year with completion in 2010.-

Acer appoints new distributor

– Computer provider Acer appointed the Petrosetco Distribution Company as an authorised agent in Vietnam on July 11.

Petrosetco was established last October to distribute telecommunications and IT products. Its network covers eight cities and provinces, including Hanoi , Hai Phong, Da Nang , HCM City and Can Tho.

According to a recent survey by IDC and Gartner, the growth rate of the global computer market is expected to surpass 12 percent this year.

Dao An Khanh, general director of Acer Vietnam, said Vietnam might enjoy a higher rate. Last year Vietnamese bought some 250,000 laptops and consumers are expected to buy 60 percent more this year.-

Personal-computer market grows steadily

– The personal computer market grew 210 percent in the first quarter against the same period last year, with laptop sales especially strong, a survey by International Data Corporation (IDC) of Vietnam shows.

Imported laptops showed a growth of 64 percent and represented 15 percent of the total units in the personal computer market.

The commercial computer market also showed a 19 percent growth in sales, compared to last year’s first quarter.

Nguyen Thi My Phuong, a market research analyst at IDC, said the computer market would remain stable due to strong demand, especially from the home user market.

Except for Dell, Toshiba and NEC, the number of imported desktop and laptop computers shipped for sale in the consumer market declined in the first quarter. Hewlett-Packard (HP) led in market share, followed by Acer, with Lenovo in third place.

IDC predicts that for the rest of this year, the computer market will not experience the dramatic growth of previous years because of economic concerns.

However, it expects the market to make a turn-around toward the end of 2008 on the back of price reductions on foreign-made personal computers and spare parts. Increased foreign direct investment is also feeding a need for computers in the business sectors.

Nguyen Lam, director of IDC Vietnam, said the high inflation rate and other economic challenges were affecting the computer market.

‘With better governance and record growth in foreign direct investment during the first half of this year, we believe that the personal computer market can make a turnaround by the end of the year,” he said.-