Vietnam targets primary education universalisation in 2015

Vietnam targets primary education universalisation in 2015

QĐND – Friday, January 08, 2010, 19:0 (GMT+7)

Vietnam strives to achieve the national standard on the primary education universalisation for children of the right age group in all provinces and cities in 2015.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the nation also sets a target of providing full-day schooling to 50-60 percent of primary pupils and supplying free textbooks to all primary and secondary students who are policy beneficiaries and living in disadvantaged areas.

During the 2003-2008 period, 48 out of 63 provinces and cities obtained the standard of primary education universalisation for children of the right age.

The rate of primary pupils attended full-day classes reached 36 percent and 88 percent of junior secondary students enrolled in schools.

Over 9,000 community-based study centres were established in more than 10,700 communes, wards and towns nationwide.

Source: VNA

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Vietnam targets 4.5 million foreign arrivals in 2010

Vietnam targets 4.5 million foreign arrivals in 2010

QĐND – Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 21:43 (GMT+7)

The tourism sector sets a target of welcoming around 4.5 million foreign visitors in 2010, representing an increase of 20 percent over this year, said Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

To reach the target, Tuan said the VNAT will coordinate with relevant agencies to implement tourism promotion programmes, including a 25 billion VND (1.35 million USD) national action programme on tourism focusing on activities to develop tourism products and human resources and a national tourism promotion programme with an estimated investment of 25 billion VND.

Vietnam expects to receive about 400,000 foreign visitors in December, raising the total number of foreign arrivals to the country this year to 3.9 million, down over 10 percent compared to the previous year.

However, the number of domestic tourists is estimated to increase 19 percent to 25 million.

The country’s total tourism revenue in 2009 is expected to reach 68-70 trillion VND (about 3.7 billion USD), increasing 10 percent over last year.

Foreign arrivals to Ho Chi Minh City , the country’s largest economic hub, also fell 10 percent to over 2.5 million, equivalent to 84 percent of the city’s yearly plan.

The city strives to attract more than 3.5 million foreign visitors and 10 million domestic tourists in 2010.

Source: VNA

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Region targets tourism synergy

HCM CITY — The packaging and marketing of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia as a single tourism destination was a major topic of discussion at the International Tourism Investment Conference held in HCM City yesterday.

Leading tourism experts and government officials of the three countries argued that despite boasting different tourism potentials and strength, marketing and investment synergies could be achieved by combining them into one destination called 3CODe.

The two-day conference covered tourism master plans and key tourism investment opportunities in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

Case studies were also presented of niche destination marketing in the three countries highlighting adventure, ecotourism, heritage, vacation ownership, luxury travel, spa and cruise.

Nguyen Van Tuan, director of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, said that with its favourable geographical position and special historical and cultural characteristics, Viet Nam had many advantages to develop tourism.

He said tourism strategies deployed by the country had paid off with the domestic tourism industry achieving average annual growth rate of 10 per cent.

Tuan, however, stressed the need to set up a close co-operation between Viet Nam’s tourism industry and those of regional countries, particularly Laos and Cambodia, which, he said, shared many similarities.

“The Vietnamese tourism industry would develop more strongly if there are more and more regional and international enterprises investing in tourism projects, not only in Viet Nam but also in Laos and Cambodia,” he said.

He hoped the conference would help international enterprises to find several investment opportunities in the tourism sectors in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

Obstacles

Experts, however, also pointed out several difficulties that the three countries would face in materialising the 3CODe concept.

Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia did not have specific co-operation plans to realise this goal, they noted. Meanwhile, the transport infrastructure to tourism destinations in all these countries was still very poor.

So Mara, Secretary of State of the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism said, the three countries had different potentials that would be better used if they were developed together.

“However, the three countries have not yet had common co-operative programmes on developing tourism. Administrative procedures are also a big hindrance that prevents tourists from visiting within the three countries,” So Mara said.

He suggested a single visa for the three countries and a common marketing programme that will include brochures, magazines and DVDs of the three countries’ tourism.

Soukaseum Bodhisane, vice chairman of the Lao National Tourism Administration, said,”The three countries have different tourism development capacities; however these differences do not create competition but can supplement each other.”

The biggest problems facing the three countries’ tourism sectors were infrastructure and human resources, Soukaseum said.

“Laos plans to strengthen trade and investment activities with Viet Nam and launch several tourism promotion programmes in the country to attract more Vietnamese tourists as well as investors to Laos,”he said.

Pham Trung Luong, deputy director of the Viet Nam Institute for Tourism Development Research, also stressed the need to make a common co-operative plan to realise the 3CODe goal.

Luong also said that each country needed to seek ways to fully utilise their own tourism strengths as well.

“Viet Nam, for instance, must focus on exploiting sea tourism while Laos should promote its forests. Cambodia, for its part, should highlight its colourful and diversified cultural traditions,” he said.

Luong revealed that later this month, the Vietnamese tourism sector would submit to the Government for approval a border tourism development plan comprising Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

The conference was jointly organised by the Vietnamese ministries of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Planning and Investment, the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the HCMC Tourism Department, and IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd.

It attracted the participation of more than 100 experts from tourism and relevant sectors of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia and some other countries. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Agricultural exports to meet targets

Workers of the Dong Giao Foodstuff Export Co process pineapple for export. This year, the value of agricultural, forestry and seafood exports may reach a total of $15 billion. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

HA NOI — Agricultural export value is likely to meet Government targets for the year but will remain lower than last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development(MARD).

The ministry projected agricultural, forestry and seafood export value in 2009 to reach a total of US$15 billion, higher than the Government’s target of $12.5 billion but lower than 2008’s total of $16.2 billion, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ho Xuan Hung.

Enterprises were being urged to boost production and exports through the end of this year to ensure that targets would be met, he added.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that production capacity remained high and that demand in export markets was likely to increase between now and the end of the year due to the ongoing recovery of the global economy and increased consumption ahead of the holidays.

Likely to help spur exports to particular markets, the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement would take effect next month, bringing advantages in tax rates to 86 per cent of Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and seafood products imported into Japan, the ministry said.

Spain also announced its determination that Vietnamese tra and basa fish products reached EU food safety and hygiene requirements, creating favourable conditions for increasing exports to the Spanish market. Spain was already the leading importer of Vietnamese catfish in EU countries, with a yearly average of 40,000 tonnes.

In the first nine months of this year, the total national export value for agricultural, forestry and seafood products reached $11 billion, 12 per cent lower than the same period last year, according to figures from MARD, attributing the decline to falling global prices, as well as demand depressed by the economic downturn. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Seafood sector casts wide net, exceeds targets

by Mai Tram

HCM CITY — Viet Nam’s seafood industry has earned US$4.27 billion from exports so far this year, $0.7 billion higher than its original target, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP).

Despite the threat of the world financial crisis, the industry aims to reach $4.3 billion by this year’s end, according to statements made at a seminar held on Friday.

The seminar, hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, covered the development of Viet Nam’s seafood industry after the country joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) nearly two years ago.

Officials said the country had made steady leaps in becoming the eighth largest seafood exporter in the world, with a four-fold increase in export turnover over the last 10 years.

Since joining the WTO, Viet Nam has doubled its export markets for seafood.

The EU remains the largest overseas destination for Vietnamese seafood products, followed by Japan, South Korea and the US. In total, Viet Nam exports seafood to 120 countries.

This year, however, export earnings from some of Viet Nam’s traditional overseas seafood markets have decreased. Export revenue is down by as much as 11 per cent for Japan and 10 per cent for the US.

Luong Le Phuong, deputy minister of the Agriculture and Rural Development, said the global financial crisis had led to lower demand in some major markets.

He said the key element in the current difficult situation was to ensure good quality products and reasonable prices.

“The financial storm has affected our trading partners’ payment ability,” he explained.

Nguyen Ngoc Duc, director of De Khang Phu Thanh Seafood Processing Ltd Co, said that his company had sought more markets in the Middle East, with payment terms of up to 90 days to maintain trading in this period.

“Banks should lower interest rates for credit to us, small- and medium-sized businesses,” he added.

Meanwhile, Phuong recommended that seafood processors be economical in their production. Processors who maintain a tradition of good quality, for example, would not be inspected as often and therefore could avoid the corresponding fees.

Phuong added that there should be better coordination from seafood breeders, feed suppliers and processors to maintain sound quality as well as reasonable prices for their products.

“It is a matter of business conduct; and if they act separately, they harm themselves,” he stressed.

Tran Thi Hong Minh, Honorary Chairwoman of VASEP and former deputy minister of the then Ministry of Fisheries, also said that solidarity in the business community was essential in this era of integration. She explained that it would boost domestic companies’ competitiveness against foreign counterparts.

“The State should be more effective in linking relevant sectors in the industry to guarantee a firm structure of production,” Minh said.

And according to Phuong, seafood processors had not paid much attention to their domestic market, especially highland areas with high demand for seafood. —

Fashion fair targets domestic market

Hanoi (VNA) – More than 100 domestic and foreign businesses will showcase their products at the Vietnam International Fashion Fair 2008 (VIFF) to be held in Hanoi from Nov. 19-24.

Speaking at a press conference in Hanoi on Nov. 11, the Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex), Le Tien Truong, said that in addition to strengthening the relationship between domestic and foreign enterprises, the fair aims to achieve the garment and footwear sectors’ goals in the domestic market in the context of increasing competition in the global market.

The latest garment and footwear fashion products will be displayed at the fair’s 300 stalls. Of particular note is a new collection of designer spectacles showcased by the Global Optic JS Company.

A number of seminars regarding the development of the domestic market and solutions for the garment industry will be held during the fair, which takes place annually in Ho Chi Minh City in July and in Hanoi during November.

Garments have traditionally been considered one of the country’s key export staples with an average annual growth rate of 32 percent. In the first ten months of this year, garment export turnover reached 7.64 billion USD, representing a 20 percent increase over the same period last year. The figure is expected to reach 9.5 billion USD by the year-end.

In 2007, Vietnam was listed in the world’s top 10 garment exporters. The country has set a target of being named in the top five by 2015.

Experts, however, have warned that Vietnamese garment businesses are at risk of losing a share of the domestic market due to high-volume, low-cost imports from China and Thailand.-

Financial crisis cuts into tourism targets

Tourists visit Bat Trang pottery village in Gia Lam District, Ha Noi. The country will likely miss its target for tourism this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung

HCM CITY — Even though the peak tourism season is in full swing, the number of foreign tourists to Viet Nam has not increased, according to statistics by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Statistics show that the number of foreign tourists coming to Viet Nam from June to August decreased 15 per cent from the same period last year.

The trend continued in September, with only 315,000 overseas visitors in the country, 50,000 less than September 2007.

Most of the foreign tourists to Viet Nam in September came from China, Russia and Germany.

According to reports from several five-star hotels in HCM City and Ha Noi, not as many foreigners spent part of their summer holidays (from June to September) in Viet Nam as last year.

One director of a tourism company, who asked not to be named, said his hotel saw a 50 per cent drop in reservations from overseas travellers, even though booking a room there is now easier than in past years.

Experts blame the plummeting figures on the global financial crisis.

Moreover, climbing prices for tours to Viet Nam many also be behind the decrease of foreign tourists.

While tours to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore only increased 5 to 10 per cent, tour prices to Viet Nam jumped 15 to 30 per cent because of the skyrocketing cost of air tickets and hotel rooms in the country.

Moreover, a lack of advertising for Vietnamese tourism and services at tourist sites are also likely responsible for fewer international travellers.

According to Le Dinh Tuan from the Tan Hong Tourism Company, the tourism industry should replace media advertising methods with hosting various events to attract overseas tourists.

Vu The Binh, head of the VNAT’s Travel Department, said that tourism management agencies needed to established a direct relationship with overseas partners to publicise tourism in Viet Nam.

“However, tourism companies should not ignore the State’s role in establishing relationship with foreign partners,” he said.

Some experts believe that tourism to Viet Nam could see a boost in the remaining months of the year thanks to the number of business people attending meetings, incentives, conferences and events, also known as MICE in the tourism industry.

The strong development of the local export and processing industry could create an attractive market for overseas enterprises, especially from Nigeria and Italy, and bring in more guests.

Many Nigerians have recently come to Viet Nam for business. Over 200 Italian business people are expected in the country at the beginning of November. —

Apparel firms struggle to meet export growth targets

HA NOI — Apparel enterprises have some serious challenges ahead, as inflation and high materials costs are affecting profit margins, and the economic crisis cuts into key export markets.

Diep Thanh Kiet, chairman of the HCM City Association for Textiles, Garment, Embroidery and Knitting, said apparel enterprises are having difficulties maintaining the high export value growth rates that they saw in the first nine months of this year.

This will make it difficult to achieve the necessary monthly target of US$900 million needed to reach the industry’s annual target of $9.5 billion.

In the first nine months of the year, the industry achieved an export value of $6.8 billion, an increase of 20.2 per cent over the same period last year.

The Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) said that textile and garment exports would be tough following the US financial crisis, since the country was the largest export market for Vietnamese textiles and garments. Consumption in the US had already started to decrease.

Enterprises were also facing cuts in exports to the European Union, the second largest importer of Viet Nam’s textile and garments, the association said.

Many enterprises reported that their partners had already cut orders in recent contract negotiations.

Tran Thanh Lam, director of a company specialising in textiles and garments for export in Binh Duong Province, said last month that his company signed contracts with three partners in the US, UK and Canada to produce a total of 130,000 pairs of women’s trousers and 50,000 jackets. The company had already completed half of the orders, but two of the three partners had proposed to cut their orders by 30-40 per cent.

This would mean a huge loss for the company, as it had already bought all the materials to produce the initial orders, Lam said.

Lam said that many other garment firms were finding themselves in the same situation.

La Kien Ban, director of Dat Thanh Production, Trade and Garment Ltd, Co in HCM City, said that enterprises in the textile and garment industry had slowed down their operations, but their profit in recent months had only been enough to pay production costs and workers’ salary.

Le Ngoc Duc, director of Van Thanh Ltd Co in HCM City, said that newly-established enterprises with large investments and a large number of workers were in the most difficult situation.

Duc said many enterprises were turning to the domestic market, but local consumption had also declined.

In addition, the enterprises are facing other difficulties, including high inflation, high interest rates, high material prices and a lack of workers, according to Kiet. —

China sets development targets till 2020

Beijing (VNA) – The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has set a target to double the per-capita disposable income of rural residents by 2020 from the 2008 level.

The goal was part of the decision made at the close of the third plenary session of the 17th CPC Central Committee, which focused on issues concerning rural reform and development.

The Chinese government would also boost consumption of rural residents by a big margin and basically eliminate absolute poverty in rural areas by 2020, according to a communique issued on the four-day plenum’s conclusion on October 12.

Per-capita disposable income was recorded at 4,140 yuan (605.6 USD) in rural areas in 2007, a year-on-year gain of 9.5 percent in real terms.

Targets set at the plenum for rural reform and development till 2020 also included “improving the system of economic growth in the countryside and establishing a mechanism to integrate urban and rural areas in terms of economic growth and social development.”

The modernisation of agriculture will advance with major progress, and agricultural productivity will be elevated to a higher level, with national grain security and product supplies guaranteed, said the communique.

The plenum analysed the country’s economic situation, saying that the general situation in China was good, the economy had kept a relatively fast growth, the financial sector had been stable, and the basic trend of the country’s economic development had not changed.

However, the plenum held that the turbulence of the international financial market had intensified, and the global economic growth had slowed down. The number of uncertain and unstable factors in the international economic environment had increased, while the domestic economic operation also suffered from some contradictions and problems.

“Therefore, we had to be mindful of potential dangers, and be prepared to take challenges,” the communique said.

A total of 202 full members and 166 alternate members of the Committee attended the plenum, according to Xinhua news agency.-

Vinh Long targets major investments

HCM CITY — For the past two years, Vinh Long provincial authorities have focused on large-scale investment projects as a driving force for the area’s socio-economic growth, said a local investment official.

Pham Thanh Khon, deputy director of Vinh Long’s Department of Planning and Investment, said the province has succeeded in luring both domestic and foreign investment for higher growth.

In 2007, provincial authorities netted 20 domestic and foreign investment projects with a total registered capital of VND3 trillion (US$181.5 million).

Among them, major projects include the Sai Gon-Vinh Long Brewery, with an investment capital of VND1.2 trillion ($73 million), a Binh Minh satellite urban area project with a registered capital of VND800 billion ($49 million) and the My Thuan High-Tech Services Company worth VND350 billion ($21 million).

In the first eight months of the year, local authorities licensed nine investment projects including a high tech general hospital valued at VND500 billion ($30 million) and a marine product processing and aquaculture plant worth VND1.66 trillion ($100.4 million).

So far this year, 2,000 domestic businesses worth VND4.2 trillion ($254 million) and 14 foreign investment projects worth $66.7 million set up shop in Vinh Long, up 43 per cent over the whole of 2007.

The province’s effort to attract investment in building infrastructure for industrial clusters has paid off. Despite banks limiting credits, the province has attracted four investment projects to build infrastructure for the industrial areas to meet its 2008 investment goal.

In the next two years, the province plans to invite infrastructure investment in 13 industrial clusters covering 546ha.

In other efforts to attract investment in the coming years, authorities have teamed up with various agencies to introduce local economic potential to investors and offer incentive policies involving land, tax and licensing procedures. —