Smoking ban and capital crimes among new 2010 regulations in Vietnam

Smoking ban and capital crimes among new 2010 regulations in Vietnam

QĐND – Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 21:45 (GMT+7)

A smoking ban on public sites and the abolition of the death penalty for eight crimes are among new regulations that will take effect as of January 1, 2010. 

Other legislation includes raising the minimum salary, collecting personal income tax from securities traders and issuing new health insurance cards. 

According to the amended penal code, eight crimes will no longer be potential capital crimes – rape, swindling to appropriate assets of others, counterfeiting cash, false bonds, using drugs, hijacking aircrafts and ships, bribery and damaging weapons and military equipment. 

In the health sector, many changes will be brought in from January 1, 2010. Current health insurance cards will be replaced by new design ones. During the time taken to change the cards, patients can still use the old ones. 

Smoking at public sites will be banned as of the same day. However, many are already saying this ban is unfeasible because there are not enough staff available to supervise public site. According to new regulations, smokers at public sites will have to pay a fine of between 50,000 and100,000 dong. 

The increase in minimum salary in the New Year is good news for workers. The new minimum salary will be divided into four regions. The region 1 (local enterprises) will receive 980,000 dong per month, region 2 880,000 per month, region 3 810,000 per month and region 3 730,000 dong per month. Thus, workers will earn an additional increase of between 80,000 and 180,000 dong per month. 

As of January 1, 2010, securities investors will have to pay personal income tax at the rate of 0.1 percent of the total value of transaction. 

Source: VietNamNet/Tien Phong

 

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Capital gymnasts dominate contest

HA NOI — With several stunning performances, Hanoian Pham Phuoc Hung brought home two golds to help his team top the medal tally, with six gold, eight silver and six bronze medals at the National Gymnastics Championships yesterday.

Hung, who placed second with 81.5 points in the men’s all-around event on Wednesday, won gold in the men’s bar and parallel events with 13.925 points and 15.125 points, respectively.

Ha Noi beat Hai Phong who came in second with four gold, two silver and one bronze medals. The Army team placed third with two gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

After winning the silver medal in the women’s all-around event on Wednesday, Hanoian Do Thi Ngan Thuong bounced back to grab gold in the women’s uneven bars event with 12.125 points.

Thuong is back from a one-year ban from competition after being suspended by the International Olympics Committee for testing positive for drugs at the Beijing Olympics last year.

“Although Thuong wasn’t allowed to compete for one year, she still trained hard during that time and her achievements today reflect that. She dominated the uneven bars,” said head of gymnastics section of the National Sports Administration Nguyen Kim Lan.

After the Gymnastics Championship, athletes nation-wide will compete at the  Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship at the Quan Ngua Sports Palace. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

ANZ Viet Nam doubles charter capital

HA NOI — The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) will double ANZ Viet Nam’s charter capital this year by adding VND1 trillion (US$56.2 million).

ANZ Viet Nam made the announcement late last week, after the State Bank of Viet Nam approved the raising of the foreign bank’s charter capital to VND2 trillion ($112.4 million). The decision will help ANZ Viet Nam expand its loans and business activities.

“In the face of the global financial and economic crunch, commercial banks operating in Viet Nam continue raising charter capital, most notably foreign banks. This proves that Viet Nam is still regarded as a safe destination for foreign investors,” said the SBV.

ANZ Viet Nam is one of three leading wholly foreign-invested banks in Viet Nam, along with HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank.

The bank with the headquarter in Ha Noi and a branch in HCM City, also has six transaction agencies in the two cities and a representative office in the southern city of Can Tho.

The ANZ Group, the fourth largest bank in Australia, plans to double its net profit in the Asian region, which will account for 20 per cent of the group’s total profit.

Group CEO Mike Smith said he believed in the development potential of the Vietnamese, Malaysian and Indonesian markerts. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

New eco buses churn out less pollution for capital

HA NOI — Buses conforming to European Emission Standards for passenger vehicles are put into operation in the capital for the first time today.

The Ha Noi Transport Service Corporation (Transerco) said the buses were designed to reduce traffic pollution, provide more comfort and make access more convenient for the disabled.

Corporation deputy general director Nguyen Trong Thong said it had spent VND200 billion (US$11 million) replacing 132 of its 800 buses.

Of that number, 101 buses would meet the emission standards and 15 of them, which had been domestically manufactured, would be put into a pilot operation on Route 3 from Gia Lam to Giap Bat coach stations.

“We will use buses reaching the standards on our main bus routes as soon as they are built,” Thong said, “hopefully by the end of the year.”

He said the corporation was looking to raise funds to replace all of its 800 buses on 45 routes to meet the emissions standards, just as all newly manufactured cars and motorbikes had been required to do since July 1 last year.

Thong said the corporation would also develop two modern bus routes operated by buses equipped with global positioning system, digital maps and automatic information system. Bus stations and stops on these routes would be redesigned and rebuilt.

Nguyen Huu Tri, head of the Viet Nam Register’s Department of Verifying Engined Vehicles, said under the new emission standards, petrol vehicles were not allowed to emit more than 4.5 per cent of carbon dioxide, 1,200 parts per million in case of four-stroke engines, 7,800ppm in case of two-stroke, and 3,300ppm in case of special engines.

Diesel vehicles are limited to a maximum of 72 HSU (Hartridge Smoke Unit), which measures the darkness of smoke. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Capital city bustling with Christmas cheer

– A festive atmosphere has invaded all of the streets in the nation’s capital, as Christmas is no longer just for Christians.

Walking along Hanoi ’s major streets, the familiar images of Christmas are everywhere, from pine trees laden with gifts and pine wreaths, festooned with red bells, hanging on doors to snow flowers painted on glass windows.

But a more animated atmosphere has been seen along streets selling toys and gifts, such as Luong Van Can, Hang Ma, Hang Can and Ba Trieu or in large shopping centres like Trang Tien Plaza and Vincom Towers .

Nguyen Thi Tuyet, the owner of a toy shop in Hang Ma street , said that, as in previous years, pine trees are still the first choice of consumers, even though their prices have increased by 30 percent since last year. Currently, the cost of a pine tree with three branches ranges from 200,000 VND to 750,000 VND.

According to Tuyet, this festive season’s decorations, mostly produced by southern manufacturers, are more beautiful, yet cheaper than those imported from China .

Toy and gift companies are making the most of this seasonal business opportunity by offering products for Christmas featuring a range of diverse designs. As well Santa Claus and Snow White costumes for children, selling for 40,000-60,000 VND each, customers can choose from many other festive treats, including models featuring Santa Claus riding on a sleigh, Santa Claus hats or humorous Christmas cards.

Confectionary producers have also released various new products as gifts for Christmas. Haiha-Kotobuki is renowned for its Santa Claus-shaped chocolate cakes, while Nguyen Son Bakery offers Santa Claus stockings and tree-shaped cakes.

It is not just the streets and trade centres that are overflowing with Christmas spirit, families are also being overwhelmed with Christmas cheer. Nguyen Thi Ninh, an elderly parishioner in Hang Khay Street in Hanoi , said that Christmas is her family’s happiest day, when all of his family members gather together after a hard-working year.

Around 40,000 Catholics and Protestants in Hanoi are expected to attend this year’s Christmas celebrations in the city’s churches. The Hanoi Grand Cathedral will be conducting a Christmas service on Christmas Eve (December 24).-

Capital assured of plenty of veggies for Tet celebration

After flooding, a farmer take to his struggling soyabean plants in Quang An Ward in Ha Noi’s Tay Ho District. — VNS Photo Ngoc Long

HA NOI — Sufficient domestic vegetables would be available at a reasonable price to meet the city’s demand for Tet, the Lunar New Year, Ha Noi Agricultural Promotion Centre deputy director Vu Thi Huong said.

The assurance was issued because of public fears that domestic vegetables would not be available following the record rain of early November that destroyed most crops.

A shortage would mean buying imports from China that are subject to few checks so that the amount of preservatives and chemicals they carry is unknown.

The quick-growing vegetables had been harvested to supply the city’s markets and slower growing varieties, including kohlrabi and tomato, were expected to be harvested in the days before Tet, said the deputy director.

New Year’s Day falls on Monday, January 26.

Municipal Agriculture and Rural Development deputy director Dao Duy Tam said that more than 8,650ha of vegetables, including kohlrabi and colza, were flourishing in Me Linh, Thanh Oai and Chuong My districts.

And farmers in Tu Liem, Long Bien, Phuc Tho and Thach That districts had managed to replant crops of maize, potato and soybean.

A Long Bien Market Management Board representative said the amount of domestic vegetables collected from the city’s suburbs had increased 45 per cent against last month.

Long Bien is the city’s biggest wholesale produce market.

“The first crop of slow-growing vegetables will be harvested in the middle of January,” said Tien Phong Commune’s People’s Committee chairman Hoang Cong Dan.

The commune is in Me Linh District, the city’s major source of vegetables.

“More than half the district’s total vegetable growing area was replanted after the local agricultural authority provided farmers with 374kg of seed to overcome the consequences of the flood,” said Tien Phong Commune’s People’s Committee deputy chairman Luu Van Lien.

Price is right

Although agricultural authorities say farmers have always had enough seed available to replant their fields, in addition to 10,000kg provided by the municipal agricultural department, farmers forecast their prices will be double this year.

“I will sell my kohlrabi for at least VND5,000 (over $0.3) a bulb, VND2,000 more than usual, in the next few days,” said Quang An Commune farmer Vu Thi Thanh.

But few households in her Tay Ho District will be able to do the same; their fields are still waterlogged.

Tien Phong Commune farmer Dang Van Chin said he would sell his kohlrabi for VND4,500 (nearly $0.3) for each bulb as it takes about two months to have the cabbage, tomatoes and cauliflower ready for harvesting.

The commune is in Me Linh District.

But Tien Phong Com-mune’s People’s Committee chairman Luu Van Lien forecast the price would gradually reduce by the Tet holidays as more vegetables were harvested. —

Tower blocks, wells threaten capital city

HA NOI — The over-use of underground water and the construction of high-rise buildings are likely to cause more structures in Ha Noi to collapse, warns the Northern Water Resource Planning and Survey Federation.

On Monday, more than 100 people living in Quoc Oai, west of the city, had to be evacuated when the ground around a new household well sank.

Drilling was at 50m when the walls of three nearby houses cracked and the buildings titled.

“Our research shows the rate of subsidence in Phap Van – about five kilometres south of the city centre – is up to 3cm per year,” said federation chairman Nguyen Van Dan.

The rate in Thanh Cong (Ba Dinh District), Ha Dinh (Thanh Xuan District), Tuong Mai (Hoang Mai District), and Van Dien (Thanh Tri District), was 2cm a year.

The Ha Noi Municipal Construction Department estimates that the earth is sinking at 4cm each year in some places.

The Ha Noi Science Technology and Construction Economics Institute reports that most of Ha Noi’s water is drawn from underground.

The volume now totals 700,000cu.m each day but the figure is forecast to double by 2020.

Apart from underground supplies exploited by water utilities, the city has about 100,000 private wells.

Limestone

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry’s Resource Management Department director, Nguyen Thai Lai, attributes the Quoc Oai subsidence to the limestone on which it stands.

Quoc Oai Township stands on carbonated rock,and it weathers easily to form limestone caves, accoding to him.

“The collapse was the third to result from residents drilling for water since 2006. All occured where the earth had been shaped by carbonated rock.”

The local authorities should persuade residents to stop using the underground water and complete a water supply system for the town.

A project to build a water supply system for Quoc Oai was approved 10 years ago but so far only two wells have been sunk and a single pumping installed.

The Ha Noi People’s Committee plans to exploit more surface water to curb the use of undergound supplies.

But a plant, built in northern Hoa Binh Province to tap the Da River, supplies only the city’s southwest. —

Capital to crackdown on violators

Hanoi authorities have started a campaign to crack-down on the environmental violations in 68 establishments in the capital city.

In the 24-day effort, inspectors from the Hanoi Natural Resources and Environment Department, officials from the Environment Protection Department and environment police will check local hospitals, hotels, restaurants and factories.

Earlier this month, another delegation from the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment checked waste treatment in 14 units in the districts of Tay Ho, Hoan Kiem and Ba Dinh, which exploit water resources for their use and release waste water in the city.

The delegation found the majority of the units, mostly hotels and hospitals did not pay attention to environmental protection and violated environmental laws, polluting the surrounding environment with their waste.

According to Tran Trong Binh, chief of the environment police office, they recently caught Van Dao Company in Ha Dong City red-handed, release mud and oil sludge into the local Day River.

The police said that though the company had released their waste on a small scale, it was seriously toxic as the river is one of the main rivers in the Red River Delta.

The delegation will keep checking other suspected violators in the city until the end of next month.

Last month, officials found a floating restaurant and a beer producing factory illegally releasing untreated waste and waste water into the West and Truc Bach lakes.-

Shipbuilder plans $582 million bond issuance to up capital

Work is under-way on a 6,500 DWT ship of Pha Rung Shipbuilding Co, an affiliate of Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin). Vinashin plans to issue nearly US$582 million worth of bonds next year. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Ton

HA NOI — Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin), the largest shipbuilder and industrial conglomerate in Viet Nam, plans to issue nearly US$582 million worth of bonds next year.

The country’s general director Nguyen Quoc Anh said the bonds would raise capital for its projects; VND3 trillion ($181.8 million) would be issued domestically while $400 million would be mobilised internationally. The issuance was approved in principle by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung last month.

The company is having its 2007 and 2008 accounts audited in preparation for the bond issuance. KPMG Limited, one of world leading auditing and advisory firms, signed a contract to do the audit last Friday, said Anh.

Chairman of Vinashin, Pham Thanh Binh, could not be reached yesterday for further comments.

Vinashin’s total production value reached nearly VND26.3 trillion ($1.6 billion) in the first nine months of the year, up 69 per cent over the same period last year. Nine-month turnover attained was more than VND19.6 trillion ($1.18 billion), increasing 71 per cent year-on-year.

At the end of last year, Vinashin reported that it had VND81 trillion ($4.9 billion) in total assets and VND6 trillion in ownership capital.

The wholly State-owned group now represents over 80 per cent of Viet Nam’s domestic shipbuilding capacity. It offers a diversified spectrum of products including shipbuilding, ship repairs, shipping and logistics, civil and offshore construction and financial and research services. —

Capital city expects 14 more luxury hotels

According to the municipal Service of Culture, Sports and Tourism, investors have pledged the completion of an additional 14 luxury hotels in Hanoi by 2010.

Currently, the capital city boasts eight 5-star hotels, as well as six 4-star hotels and 20 three-star hotels. With the upcoming millennium anniversary and the ongoing increase of Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exposition (Mice) tourism, Hanoi is facing a rapidly growing demand of high-quality accomodations.

Over the last nine months alone, the municipal administration licensed 10 four- and five-star construction projects. It is considering six other applications for investment in this industry.-