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Published: November 29, 2010

City bent on thwarting seasonal price hikes

HCM CITY — The municipal administration has pledged it will ensure sufficient supplies of essential commodities and no “pricing fever” during the year-end festive season.

The commitment was made by the HCM City People’s Committee at its monthly meeting held late last week.

The administration and related agencies would strictly penalise speculative actions, and implement other measures to stabilise prices, officials said at the meeting.

There are now 2,200 sales points participating in the price stabilisation programme launched on June 21 that are located all over the city, including rural areas.

The Department of Industry and Trade proposed at the meeting that the People’s Committee add fisheries products to the eight essential commodities listed in the programme and ensure their sales at all participating outlets.

Officials of the city’s Finance Department said there were some obstacles that could reduce the effectiveness of the price stabilisation programme.

Many shops participating in the programme did not have enough commodities to sell, while there were signs some of them were hoarding goods and waiting for an opportunity to increase prices, they said.

The department said it would strengthen inspections of participating establishments and impose severe punishments for any violation found.

Deputy Chairman of the People’s Committee Le Minh Tri asked departments and branches, as well as inter-sector inspection teams in urban and rural districts not to stop the price stabilisation programme after Tet (Lunar New Year). They should continue the programme even after the holiday season, Tri said, adding that usually there was a scarcity of commodities around that time.

In December and during the Tan Mao Tet festival, relevant agencies should strengthen its monitoring tasks, particularly at open markets and retail outlets, to make sure that there would be no shortages of commodities and no price fluctuations during these times, Tri said.

Speaking at the meeting, Ho Huu Hanh, director of the State Bank of Viet Nam’s HCM City branch , said sharp increase in deposit interest rates had seen lending rates go up to as high as 21 per cent in some places.

Enterprises in the city dared not borrow at such rates because of concerns their profits would be insufficient to cover borrowing costs.

A representative of central enterprises in the city suggested the Government tell city-based banks to offer support policies for enterprises.

This would be an indirect measure to support local consumers, the representative said. — VNS

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By admin

Published: November 29, 2010

HCM City to build on HIV success rate

![CDATA[ ]]HCM CITY — HCM City planned to reduce the rate of new HIV infections to less than 1 per cent in 2015 and maintain it in the following years, health officials said at a conference last Saturday.

Since 2008, the number of new HIV infections, those who contract AIDS, as well as those who die of the disease had reduced consistently, they said.

Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu, who chaired the conference that reviewed 20 years of struggle against the pandemic, praised the city for its unstinting efforts to contain and prevent the pandemic.

Lauding the achievements recorded in curbing the spread of the virus and disease, he said: “Compared with other localities, HCM City, with 25 per cent of the nation’s new HIV cases, has always taken the lead in fighting AIDS.”

Dr Le Truong Giang, deputy head of HCM City AIDS Committee, expressed confidence that the city could build on its achievements so far to vastly improve results in the fight against HIV/AIDS over the next five years and beyond. He estimated the rate of new HIV infections among those above 15 years of age at 1.27 per cent for 2010.

He said the number of newly infected HIV persons above 15 years of age would grow from 6,152 in 2011 to 7,102 in 2015, adding that if the city maintained the same HIV prevention campaign, it would have more than 33,000 new HIV infections five years from now.

Customers of sex workers were most vulnerable to the pandemic, while drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men would also form a significant part of new HIV infections in coming years, Giang said.

He warned that HIV transmission among men who have sex with men could spread very quickly during the years to come. The rate of infection within the group could double in five years, from 9.38 per cent in 2010 to 18.64 per cent in 2015. Until 2007, HIV infections had increased sharply in the city, with 10,515 new cases and about 700 people dying of AIDS that year, the conference heard.

The city’s first HIV case was diagnosed in 1990. The situation had improved a lot from 2008 onwards and the number of fatalities from new infections had reduced dramatically, Giang said, adding that several HIV/AIDS prevention programmes implemented by the city had taken effect.

Awareness campaigns had received strong support from peer educators, officials said at the conference. There are currently 58 groups of HIV peer educators in the city and they work hard to educate street youth, particularly those who are more vulnerable to contracting the virus.

The city’s programme on free HIV consulting, treatment, awareness on mother-to-child HIV transmission and others has contributed to the city’s success in curbing the pandemic spreading.

Every year, the city provides consultancy services and HIV tests to at least 100,000 pregnant women, of whom about 600 are found HIV positive. It has been able to save 150 children from contracting the virus. During the past five years, about 800 children have been saved.

The city’s provision of free ARV treatment for HIV positive individual has reached half of the city’s people living with the virus, it is estimated. According to the AIDS committee, the city currently has been offering free treatment to around 40,000 HIV patients.

The free anti-retroviral treatment offered to every HIV/AIDS patient had also been very successful, helping save an estimated 10,000 patients from death, Giang said. — VNS

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By admin

Published: November 29, 2010

Nine to be tried for embezzlement

![CDATA[ ]]HA NOI — The Supreme People’s Procuracy is prosecuting nine people for embezzling more than VND3.4 billion (US$173,400) in a bridge project in Quang Ninh Province funded with Japanese Official Development Assistance.

Leading figure among those arrested is Bui Tien Dung, ex-executive director of Project Management Unit 18 (PMU-18), a Ministry of Transport unit in charge of construction of roads and other infrastructure.

Dung and seven senior Transport Ministry officials have been charged with of embezzling public property.

The Bai Chay Bridge Project was funded by Japanese credits and Vietnamese budget money. The Transport Ministry was the Government designated investor.

The suspects are accused of making ghost payments to consultants to appropriate VND1.6 billion, or almost half of the embezzled amount, and misspending the remainder.

Dung was involved in another bribery and gambling scandal three years ago. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Two years later, he was given another three-year sentence for abuse of power. — VNS

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Published: November 29, 2010

Tissue paper demand to rise

HCM CITY — Paper tissue consumption in Viet Nam is expected to increase annually at a rate of 12.5 per cent until 2015, reaching 150,000 tonnes, according to speakers at a conference on paper consumption held recently in HCM City.

Nguyen Hoang Nam, sales director for the Sai Gon Paper Joint-Stock Company, said by then per capita tissue consumption would reach one kilo a year.

Per capita tissue consumption in Viet Nam in 2007 was about 0.48 kilos, while in Japan it was 14.25 kilos, Taiwan-13.62 kilos ,and Thailand -x1.08 kilos.

With the economy growing, demand for higher grade tissue will increase, and, as a result, a shortage could occur in the next five years, he said.

The market for consumer paper, including toilet tissue, napkin tissue and facial tissue, has great diversity in design, type, brands and original source.

According to the latest statistics compiled by Nielsen, a market research company, there are about 432 consumer paper brands on the domestic market.

They vary in quality and many are made from materials or by technologies that do not ensure hygiene and safety, especially for children.

Dr Vu Ngoc Bao, general secretary of the Viet Nam Paper and Pulp Association, said that many small businesses still use chlorine during their production process.

In addition, fake and imitation goods are another issue, said Nguyen Lam Vien, deputy chairman of the High-Quality Vietnamese Goods Club.

Many large tissue brands have complained of the increasing number of goods that copy their products.

To ensure consumer health and more transparency for the market, the Government should develop regulations on the paper-tissue market so that agencies can better control the market, many delegates at the conference said.

Currently, only Vietnamese standards are applied in classifying consumer paper products, Bao said.

Cao Tien Vi, director of the Sai Gon Paper Joint-Stock Company, said Decree 97 issued last August on fake goods contains stiff provisions that punish violators, but many violators had not been charged because of a lack of inspection staff.

Phan Thi Viet Thu, general secretary of HCM City’s Consumer Protection Association, said consumers should boycott poor quality paper products.

In addition, she suggested that consumers use toilet tissue for its proper function, and avoid using it to clean tables, household appliances or mouths and hands after eating.

To avoid buying fake paper, Vi said customers should buy products at reputable supermarkets or distributors of paper products. — VNS

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Published: November 29, 2010

Fund enters venture with Japan partner

HCM CITY — CapitaLand Viet Nam Investments Pte Ltd (CVI) has entered into a US$200 million joint venture with Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate Asia Pte Ltd (MEA) and an affiliate of GIC Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, to invest in prime real estate development projects in HCM City and Ha Noi.

CVI, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand (Viet Nam) Holdings Pte Ltd, will take up a 50-per- cent stake in the joint venture, while the balance will be held in equal proportions by MEA and the affiliate of GIC Real Estate.

MEA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Estate Company Limited.

CVI will inject a pipeline of projects into the joint venture, while CapitaLand will undertake project management for these projects.

The first project will be an approximately 34,000sq.m site located in HCM City’s Thanh My Loi Ward in District 2.

The first phase of this project will be a residential development that will offer 962 apartments supported by approximately 7,700sq.m of retail space.

CVI has also identified an approximately 14,000sq.m site in the Mo Lao New Urban Area in Ha Noi’s Ha Dong District that the joint venture will undertake when the land is acquired. The project will comprise four residential towers with about 960 apartments.

“CapitaLand is confident of the growth prospects of the real estate sector in Vietä Nam as the country’s real estate sector is supported by strong economic growth, stable government, rapid urbanisation and a young and growing population,” said Chen Lian Pang, CEO of CapitaLand (Viet Nam) Holdings.

“As the country’s urbanisation gathers pace and its middle class grows in tandem with the improving economy, demand for housing in major cities is set to rise. We will continue to explore new opportunities to further expand our presence in other real estate segments here and target to grow our business in Viet Nam from the current total assets base of US$336 million to around $1.68 billion over next three to five years.”

Currently, CapitaLand Group has projects in HCM City, Ha Noi, Hai Phong and Da Nang, with over 4,500 apartments for sale in the development pipeline, plus another 1,300 serviced units. — VNS

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