Donors pledge $3.4 billion in ODA for Vietnam in 2005

Thu, 12/02/2004 - 22:46

 
International donors on Thursday pledged to provide Vietnam with $US 3.4 billion in official development assistance, or ODA, in 2005 at the World Bank-chaired Consultative Group meeting in Hanoi.

About $US 2.14 billion was pledged by individual nations, with $100 million coming from international non-governmental organizations and another $1.2 billion from multilateral institutions like the World Bank.

Up to $170 million of the increased pledges for 2005 were to compensate for changes in foreign exchange rates.

Foreign airlines spark ticket price war in Vietnam

Thu, 12/02/2004 - 22:41

Foreign airlines in Vietnam have slashed their prices on international routes in an aggressive attempt to boost their share of the country’s aviation market.

Although United Airlines will officially launch its first flight from Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco via Hong Kong in 10 days, it completed a discount campaign offering promotional fares of $US 720 on the same route two months ago.

Int’l donors to discuss Vietnam’s development at WB meeting

Tue, 11/23/2004 - 16:55

Around 50 bilateral and multilateral international donors to Vietnam will meet for two days in Hanoi next month to debate the country’s socioeconomic development, the World Bank (WB) said recently.

The meeting of the WB-chaired Consultative Group (CG) for Vietnam will discuss measures to improve the country’s competitiveness, its socioeconomic situation from 2001 to 2005 and the effectiveness of the official development assistance (ODA) that Vietnam has already received, according to the WB.

Hanoi People’s Procuracy compensates wrongly convicted citizen

Tue, 11/23/2004 - 16:53

The Hanoi People’s Procuracy agreed for the first time to compensate a man wrongly convicted of forging legal papers and documents to help foreigners adopt Vietnamese children, said a court officer on Tuesday.

Hoang Huu Phuong, a resident of the northern province of Bac Giang, was awarded 29 million Vietnamese Dong (VND) for the time he spent in jail, the officer said. Mr. Phuong had originally demanded 393 million VND in compensation, he added. One million Vietnamese Dong is equivalent to about $US 66.

Vietnam holds counter-terrorism seminar

Tue, 11/23/2004 - 16:52


Vietnam has set up hotlines and shared intelligence with many countries worldwide in the fight against terrorism, according to an anti-terrorism seminar in Hanoi on Nov. 22.
The seminar, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with assistance from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, attracted representatives from a number of relevant ministries and agencies, and United Nations experts on international crimes and terrorism.

Vietnam set to get $2.8 bn in aid next year

Tue, 11/23/2004 - 16:51

International donors are likely to pledge about $2.8 billion in development aid to Vietnam in 2005, similar to this year's amount, the World Bank said on Tuesday, Nov 23.
"There is no reason to expect any drastic decline in aid," director of the World Bank in Vietnam, Klaus Rohland told a news conference ahead of a donor meeting in Hanoi next week.

Last December, international donors, including the Asian Development Bank, Japan and the European Union, agreed to provide nearly $2.84 billion to Vietnam in 2004.

FDI shows positive signs

Tue, 11/23/2004 - 16:26

Sai Gon Times Daily,

By QUOC HUNG - HCMC

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is getting more active in the country, with disbursements in the year to date having risen to a record high since the Asian financial and economic crisis in 1997-98.

Over the past 10 months, foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) have disbursed US$2.37 billion, up 5.3% year-on-year and equivalent to 85% of the year’s target, says Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Foreign Investment Department of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Overseas Vietnamese flock to Vietnam to make movies

Fri, 11/19/2004 - 11:11

With low production costs and a desire to tell stories about Vietnam, two more overseas Vietnamese film directors have decided to return to their homeland to shoot their film projects.
The overseas Vietnamese film directors have followed the footsteps of many other fellow directors in choosing Vietnam to produce their films and the increasing trend is expected to breathe new life into the country’s film industry.

Vietnam asks China not to place oil rig in its waters

Fri, 11/19/2004 - 10:59

(VNA) Vietnam has called on China not to install an oil rig in Vietnam's territorial waters, announced a Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Friday, Nov. 19.

According to China's Sanya Marine Radio, China’s Kantan offshore drilling rig 3, towed by the Nanhai ship 215 from Shanghai, is to be installed at a site on the East Sea 63 nautical miles from the Vietnamese coast and 67 nautical miles from China's Hainan island, the spokesman told Vietnam News Agency.

Vietnamese National Assembly passes competition law

Wed, 11/10/2004 - 16:00

Vietnam's National Assembly (NA) passed the new Competition Law with 77.89 percent voting in favor on Nov. 9, the fourteenth day of the month-long National Assembly session.

Many of the NA deputies' suggestions during the ongoing session were added to the bill, according to the NA lawmaking group.

One such recommendation is that when imposing fines on organizations and individuals who violate the competition law, the government should also cancel their business licenses.

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