Telecoms ministry proposes independent arbitration agency

Vietnam’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) has recently proposed to the government the set up of an independent arbitration agency that would resolve trade disputes among telecoms service suppliers.
“Experiences from other countries show - and as suggested by the World Trade Organization – that it is necessary to establish an independent telecoms management unit in Vietnam," said Mai Liem Truc, deputy telecoms minister.

Overseas community-support fund strengthens national unity

(VNA - 12/7/2004) The Government-invested Fund in Support of the Overseas-Vietnamese Community has over the past year spent almost VND 1.4 billion in 13 projects to increase the sentiment towards the nativeland among the young generations of overseas Vietnamese, said a senior official.

Donors pledge $3.4 billion in ODA for Vietnam in 2005

 
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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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.

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