Global fluctuations boost VN economy

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 16:31

HCM CITY — The price fluctuation of essential products like rice, steel and gold on the world market in recent days has had a positive impact on the domestic economy and for consumers.

The average export price of Viet Nam’s rice is US$247 a tonne, up $40 a tonne compared to last year. The country has exported 1.87 million tonnes of rice worth $466 million so far this year.

Although the export rice volume has only increased ten per cent over the same period last year, its export value has increased by 37.6 per cent.

Viet Nam rejects fabricated information at UN session

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 16:29

NEW YORK — A Vietnamese permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) has refuted fabricated information on Viet Nam’s situation provided by the Transnational Radical Party (TRP).

Nguyen Tat Thanh, the Minister Counsellor and Deputy Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the UN, said the TRP, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has allowed the Ksor Kok’s Montagnard Foundation Inc (MFI) to take advantage of UN forums to distribute fabricated information regarding Viet Nam.

US dancers take up residency in Ha Noi

HCM CITY — A New York City-based dance troupe is performing and teaching classes in HCM City and Ha Noi, as part of a series of cultural exchanges to mark the 10th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the US and Viet Nam.

Yesterday, the Battery Dance Company gave a presentation on International Collaborations in the Arts at the HCM City College of Culture and Arts.

The troupe will also teach a master ballet class and hip-hop class at the HCM City Dance School and a master modern dance class at the HCM City Theatrical Company.

Viettel, Ericsson sign deal to boost GSM network

Fri, 05/20/2005 - 16:26

HA NOI — Ericsson, the world’s leading mobile systems supplier, signed an agreement yesterday with Viettel, Viet Nam’s third-largest mobile phone company, to expand Viettel’s Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network.

The Swedish firm said that under the agreement it will provide Viettel, which is run by the Vietnamese military, with core and radio network access equipment, service layer platforms, network rollout and support services.

Information about the agreement’s value and timeframe for implementation was not revealed by Ericsson.

Vietnam mobile market heats up

Wed, 05/18/2005 - 16:27

16:21' 16/05/2005 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet – The mobile market in Vietnam is proving to be very lucrative, and is expected to have a high growth rate in future, according to experts at the second Mobile Vietnam Meeting.

In 2005, two additional providers were licensed to establish mobile phone services - the 092 network for Hanoi Telecom Corporation, and the 096 network for the Vietnam Power Telecom Corporation (VP telecom - bringing the number of domestic mobile phone service providers to six.

U.S. documentary portrays Vietnam’s next generation

A new documentary, to be broadcast on American TV station PBS in mid-May, sets out to answer the question of what Americans, who still remember the Vietnam War, know of those Vietnamese born in its aftermath.

The hour-long “Vietnam: The Next Generation,” produced by Sandy Northrop, profiles eight young Vietnamese — entrepreneurs and streets kids, farmers and students, artists and engineers — who were born in the final days of the war or in the decade that followed.

Disney goes on air in Vietnam

Wed, 05/18/2005 - 12:08

Starting May 19, Disney programs will be broadcast on the cable channel HCMC Television as part of the company’s plans to penetrate into Vietnam’s potential market, local newspaper Tuoi Tre reported.
Disney-owned TV channels Disney and Playhouse Disney will debut on HTV with the theme “Hello Vietnam.”

Vietnam builds first wind power complex

Wed, 05/18/2005 - 12:06

Vietnam is developing its first wind power generators at a cost of 820 billion dong ($52 million) to meet soaring demand for energy, officials said on Wednesday.

Construction of the wind power complex has begun in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh, 650 km (404 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City, officials from the Central Region Wind Power Development and Investment Co., the project operator, told Reuters.

Vietnam pumps nearly 25 bln VND to upgrade central port

Wed, 05/18/2005 - 12:04

Three Vietnamese groups have pumped nearly 25 billion VND to upgrade the major Ky Ha port in central Quang Nam province in order for the port to receive larger ships by the end of June.
After construction is completed, larger ships with loading capacity of up to 10,000 tons can dock at Ky Ha port in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone.

Since the middle of this year, the Vietnam National Maritime Bureau has invested 3.5 billion VND to dredge the waterway leading to the port to 6.5 meters deep.

Vietnam signs deal for construction of first oil refinery

Wed, 05/18/2005 - 11:53


An international consortium led by French group Technip signed a 1.5 billion USD deal May 17 to build Vietnam's first oil refinery, the biggest ever investment in the country, AFP reported.

Officials from Technip, Japanese engineering giant JGC Corporation and Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas signed the deal with state-owned giant PetroVietnam in Hanoi.

The long-awaited deal is seen as crucial to giving Vietnam energy autonomy as, despite being a major crude producer, the nation has to import its refined products.

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