Thứ Sáu, 25 tháng 9, 2015

Social News 25/9


Chinese national gets 7 years in prison for robbery
The People’s Court of Hanoi on September 24 sentenced a Chinese man seven years in jail for “robbery”.
Fang Wen Zhong, born in 1972, entered Vietnam in 2004 and worked for a wood company operating in the southern province of Binh Duong.
Since 2009, he has had a relationship with Dao Thi Nga, who resides in Hanoi, and frequently visited her in the city.
On February 11 this year, he visited Nga and informed her about his intention to leave Vietnam.
As Nga was car-sick seeing him off and Fang had no money to buy fruits for her, he broke into a gold store in Hanoi’s Chuong My district and used a gas sprayer to attack the owner and rob a gold chain.
Being detected right after that, Fang Wen Zhong was arrested by local police.
UN conference spotlights Vietnam’s MDGs realisation effort 

 Chinese national gets 7 years in prison for robbery, UN conference spotlights Vietnam’s MDGs realisation effort, Vietnam strives to reduce number of new HIV cases, Hai Phong Highway section to open to traffic


Vietnam’s remarkable successes in realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were highlighted at a press conference in Hanoi on September 24.
The conference was hosted by the United Nations Office to inform about strategic goals for sustainable development that will be adopted in the United Nations (UN) Summit for the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in New York from September 24-28.
In her speech at the event, Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, said the Summit is part of series of global events, during which leaders from countries worldwide will adopt a new global development agenda, which is expected to lay a foundation and strategic orientations for sustainable development through 2030.
She emphasised efforts made by Vietnam in realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), saying the country should share experience with other countries.
Richard Marshall, Policy Advisor of the UN Development Programme in Vietnam said Vietnam reaped positive achievements in implementing MDGs, especially in poverty reduction, primary education universalisation, gender equality, and healthcare.
He, however, noted that Vietnam needs to hasten the fulfillment of unfinished goals of HIV/AIDS control and environmental protection.
Vietnam should concentrate on maintaining and promoting its achievements, advancing towards a sustainable growth model, focusing on economic growth and poverty reduction, and comprehensive, equal development, Richard Marshall stressed.
He praised the Vietnamese Government for issuing Decision 1557/QD-TTg dated September 10, 2015 on promoting the implementation of MDGs for ethnic minority people in connection with post-2015 sustainable development targets, saying that this practical move looks to realise the country’s unfinished MDGs.
Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals that will be approved at the Summit, which built on the basis of successes in the process of implementing MDGs, include “no poverty” , “zero hunger”, “good health and well-being”, “quality education”, “gender equality”, “clean water and sanitation”, “affordable and clean energy”, “decent work and economic growth”, “industry, innovation and infrastructure”, “responsible consumption and production”, “climate action”, “life bellow water”, “life on land”, “peace, justice and strong institutions”, “reduced inequalities”, “sustainable cities and communities”, and partnership for the goals”.
They are calls for a global action towards ending poverty & hunger; protecting from degradation; promoting sustainable consumption and production; managing natural resources; ensuring that all humans can enjoy prosperous & fulfilling lives; and building peaceful, just and inclusive societies, Richard Marshall said in his presentation./.
HCM City: Smart urban transport discussed
The Ho Chi Minh City Computer Association hosted the 2015 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) outlook seminar on September 24 to discuss solutions to urban transportation.
At the event, themed “Internet of Things-A converging base for smart urban transportation”, participants agreed that IT application is indispensable and necessary to resolve transport issues in large cities.
Businesses operating in the ICT field also introduced technologies for intelligent transport systems, traffic management and smart internet for modern cities.
According to Ha Hoang Huy from the Sai Gon Industry Corporation, a transport control system based on modern technologies and synchronised connections will contribute to removing current pressures on urban transportation.
Ho Chi Minh City is now home to 877 traffic lights and 383 surveillance camera systems, yet most are operated independently, negatively affecting the city’s transportation.
ActionAid International advances HCM City women’s livelihoods
Support activities from the non-governmental organisation ActionAid International (AAI) have helped more than 30,000 low-income women in Ho Chi Minh City improve their livelihoods over the last 14 years, revealed data released at a meeting on September 24.
The AAI’s first development assistance programme in HCM City was carried out in 2002 in Go Vap district, which houses a substantial number of businesses, production facilities and craft villages that employ local workers as well as migrants.
It has spent roughly 20 billion VND (889,200 USD) on supporting the impoverished, migrants and women in three wards of Go Vap. From 2002-2010, the programme provided assistance to people living with HIV and their families, less-privileged children and migrant women.
Since 2010, it has focused on helping impoverished women without farmland ownership and raising public awareness of human rights, women’s rights, the right to education and children’s rights while promoting women’s engagement in State management and social activities.
Two outstanding activities have been offering consultation services to local students and women suffering from domestic violence, encouraging students to continue their studies and substantially eliminating domestic violence. Basing on such encouraging outcomes in Go Vap, the two activities have been expanded to 24 women’s unions in other districts of HCM City.
Among the AAI’s activities in HCM City, the community fund initiative is also appreciated for offering non-mortgaged and concessional loans. Over 3,000 low-income women in Go Vap district have accessed such loans.
Vice Chairwoman of the Go Vap People’s Committee Le Thi Kim Hanh said the AAI’s practical aid over the past 14 years has contributed to local efforts to eradicate poverty and resolve socio-economic matters regarding the impoverished, migrants and children.
In its over 20 years of operating in Vietnam, the AAI has been present in over 20 provinces and cities nationwide and assisted some 100,000 families through community-based development programmes and projects in coordination with local organisations.
Can Tho to mobilise 300 trillion VND for socio-economic development
The Mekong city of Can Tho is striving to mobilise 280-300 trillion VND (12.45-13.34 billion USD) from 2016-2020 to invest in its socio-economic infrastructure.
The figure, a 1.5-fold increase compared to 2010-2015, will be sourced from the State and local budgets. It will be allocated to transportation and agriculture infrastructure, new-style rural building and tourism development, among others.
In addition, official development assistance (ODA) capital and corresponding local funds will be set aside to develop a city capable of responding to climate change, build the Can Tho Oncology Hospital as well as construct the Can Tho river embankment and flood-proof facilities.
According to Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, the city is speeding up adjustments to legal documents regulating investment preferences and socialisation for each sector and each field.
Relevant agencies will continue to revise infrastructure plans while prioritising public investment capital and ODA funds for key projects which stimulate municipal development.
The city needs to foster administrative procedure reforms, fine-tune suitable mechanisms and policies to lure investment, and effectively utilise public investment capital and ODA sources.
Vietnam strives to reduce number of new HIV cases
Vietnam will focus on keeping the rate of new HIV cases below 0.3 percent by 2020 while reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS on socio-economic development.
The information was released at a workshop held in Hanoi on September 24 to design an HIV/AIDS prevention plan for 2016-2020.
The plan includes national targets of 80 percent of the population aged 15-49 having adequate knowledge of HIV, 80 percent of the population not discriminating against people living with HIV, and 90 percent of people living with HIV understanding their condition and receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.
HIV/AIDS prevention will focus on providing sterile syringes for drug users, especially those in far-flung areas, expanding the use of new and traditional medicine in detoxification, studying and applying preventive measures against HIV and expanding the number of HIV testing clinics nationwide.
Director of the Ministry of Health’s Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Nguyen Hoang Long stressed the need for increased budget allocations for HIV/AIDS prevention in the coming years.
According to him, Vietnam detects around 12,000 new HIV cases and 2,000-3,000 fatalities connected to the virus each year.
As of June, there were 227,114 people living with HIV in Vietnam, 71,115 of which had progressed to full-blown AIDS.
From 2011-2015, the country helped 400,000 people avoid HIV infections and avoided 150,000 fatalities among people living with HIV.
Vietnamese tea firm director found dead in China
The Vietnamese director of a tea firm in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has been found dead for an unknown cause in mainland China, the provincial Association of Young Entrepreneurs said.
Ha Thuy Linh, a 43-year-old director of the province-based Ha Linh O Long Tea Company and vice chair of the association, died in mainland China on September 22 during her business trip, the association said September 23, citing her family.
Linh departed from Vietnam on September 19 to go to Guangzhou Province.
At about 10:00 am on September 22, the Chinese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City informed the company that Chinese competent agencies had discovered a body suspected to be Linh, lawyer Truong Quang Quy, the company’s legal advisor, said.
The consulate also described some characteristics of the corpse, along with the personal particulars shown in a passport found with the dead woman, lawyer Quy added.
Such information matches Linh’s personal details stored at the firm, the lawyer said.
He added the company has set up a temporary supervisory committee to operate and control all its business activities.
The Lam Dong Department of External Relations has contacted Vietnam’s diplomatic representative office in mainland China to seek more information on Linh’s death, according to Tran Thanh Hoai, deputy director of the department.
The department also asked its counterpart in Ho Chi Minh City to work with the Chinese Consulate General on granting visas to Linh’s relatives to go to mainland China as soon as possible, Hoai said.
“On September 23 afternoon, Linh’s relatives and her company’s representatives got their visas,” he added.
“We are waiting for an official notice about Linh’s death from Chinese authorities. The Lam Dong administration has asked the Consular Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with China’s competent agencies on her sudden death,” the official said.
Communal police suffer inadequate work benefits
Communal police, who are often the first to respond to criminal incidents in remote areas, are facing low wages and a shortage of supportive policies to encourage them to continue their jobs, a senior official of the Ministry of Public Security said.
Colonel Nguyen Viet Phu, head of the ministry's communal police management unit said that more than 134,000 police are working in communes in rural areas, directly handling up to 80 per cent of criminal incidents in their localities.
However, many are trying to transfer out of their positions or even switch jobs as work benefits are inadequate compared to their dangerous job.
The monthly income of most communal police is VND690,000 (US$30.6). The deputy head of communal police is a little bit better paid – about VND1.1 million ($48.8).
"This is such a low amount of money for them. When the income is not enough for daily expenses, they'll feel unmotivated to devote to their job," he said.
Moreover, communal police, apart from the head of the team, have not been given supportive policies such as health and social insurance. The financial support for those who get injured or die while on duty is insufficient, he said.
Phu said that police who got injured or died when stopping drivers without helmets or made a raid on gambling dens would not be recognised as martyrs or invalids and be given financial assistance for treatment.
Figures from 61 cities and provinces nation-wide showed that 55 communal police reportedly died and more than 420 injured while on duty since 2009.
Of which, only 35 was recognised as martyr and 130 others invalids who got monthly financial support of several hundreds of thousands of dong accordingly.
Chau Thuoc Anh, a communal police in southernmost Ca Mau Province, had his arm stabbed when trying to catch a thief in Tan Hung Dong Commune last December. With the support of a comrade, the thief was arrested, but Anh fainted and was hospitalised for treatment.
Truong Minh Can, head of the communal police said that the injury has caused difficulties for Anh. The unit has built up a file to require authorised agencies to approve financial support for Anh, but has not received replies.
The cost of the hospital fee was roughly VND10 million ($440), he added.
Colonel Tran Van Day, head of the PV28 Department of central Khanh Hoa Province said that since 1975, only two cases of deaths and one case of injury have received financial support.
A shortage of working tools is another problem. As regulated, communal police are only equipped with a rubber stick and a plastic whistle.
Lieutenant colonel Pham Tien Luong, deputy head of Hau Loc District Police Department in central Thanh Hoa Province said that this was ineffective and dangerous for communal police to approach criminals, who always had weapons such as knives or guns.
According to Phu, it was necessary to increase the income of police by allowing them to hold other positions. Regulations on those who devoted to the nation would be changed to make it easy for injured communal police to get support.
Decree mulls fines for firms that repair roads too slowly
The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has issued a draft decree calling for enterprises paid to fix damaged roads and make them safe. They will be punished if they do not complete the work on time.
The ministry is still collecting ideas from concerned organisations to complete the decree.
This is the first time it has attempted to punish incompetent enterprises for contributing to road dangers. It suggests a fine of VND3-5 million (US$130-220).
Under the decree, organisations running toll booths will be fined VND30-40 million ($1,300-1,700) if they cause long traffic delays.
If they do not speed up, they will be fined VND50-70 million ($2,200-3,100) and suspended from the collecting work for up to three months.
Nguyen Van Thach, director of the Traffic Safety Department which helped the MOT compile the draft decree, told Tien phong (Vanguard) newspaper that the new regulations were aimed at raising enterprises' responsibility and awareness in maintaining roads and ensuring traffic safety.
Nguyen Van Thanh, chairman of the Viet Nam Automobile Transportation Association, said that the new punishments were progressive.
However, some people are concerned about the new decree.
Nguyen Van Tuan, a driver for Thanh Cong Taxi Firm in Ha Noi, said that a fine of VND3-5 million (US$130-220) was not strong enough.
Thanh proposed raising the fine, especially for those who left roads in a dangerous state for far too long.
He said residents should also be able to inform the authorities about damaged roads.
Director of the Traffic Safety Department Thach, said that the compilation committee would consider the different ideas.
Hai Phong Highway section to open to traffic
A section of Ha Noi- Hai Phong Highway will be opened to the public on September 26, the Viet Nam Infrastructure Development and Finance Investment Joint Stock Company (VIDIFI) said.
The 52.5km stretch in Hai Phong City runs from National Highway 10 to National Highway 39.
As the stretch will be temporarily operational, the VIDIFI, which is the project investor, proposes to charge a fee of VND1,500 (US$0.7) per kilometre on each car or van.
The proposed toll would be the same as the toll collected on other highways, such as Noi Bai-LAo Cai, Ben Luc-Long Thanh and Cau Gie-Ninh Binh highways, General Director of VIDIFI Nguyen Van Tinh said.
The 105km Ha Noi-Hai Phong Highway is expected to open to traffic on December 6.
It will have a speed limit of 120km per hour.
A 22.7km section of the highway, extending from National Highway 10 to Road 353, opened to traffic on May 27.
The Ha Noi-Hai Phong Highway project was launched in 2008 with an investment capital of nearly VND46 trillion ($2 billion), sourced from Viet Nam Development Bank's borrowed funds.
Scholars debate role of French language
Local scholars gathered yesterday to discuss the role of French literature in Viet Nam's culture and history during a roundtable discussion co-organised by the French Institute and Nha Nam Publishing House.
The participants discussed their reverence for the language, as well as their concerns that younger generations are only interested in learning English.
Le Hong Sam, a veteran translator of French literature, recalled when Vietnamese primarily studied French literature during wartime. The curriculum was filled with French novels and poems, while students spent only one or two hours per week reading Vietnamese prose.
"It wasn't an exaggeration to say Vietnamese literature was a foreign subject at that time," Sam said. "However, rather than a compulsion, my friends and I exposed French literature with admiration and profound comprehension. We ended up loving French culture even though some of us had never been to France."
Sam referred to prominent poet Xuan Dieu as an example of a scholar who was heavily influenced by French literary works.
"We all feel like our heads were filled with the beauty of French culture and literature," she said.
Literary critic Pham Xuan Nguyen, who also attended the discussion, reminisced about the habit of placing books underneath furniture to prevent it from moving during transit.
"Furniture could be thrown away after some time, but I kept those books - mainly French ones – on my bookshelf until now," he said.
French literature has existed ­– and continues to develop – in Viet Nam for more than a century, and "it is undeniable that it gradually plays an organic role in Vietnamese literature", according to Sam.
Professor Dang Anh Dao, the daughter of leading intellectual Professor Dang Thai Mai, agreed that Vietnamese translations were heavily influenced by French literary works.
"Literary translation is to compare, relate to the origin and find the similarities among different countries' literature," she said.
According to Dr. Pham Xuan Thach, French literature gave him "a new world and a new mindset", even though French works were exposed to his generation through translations rather than the original literature.
"I still remember how Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) and Terre des hommes (Wind, Sand and Stars) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery struck me as if there was another world out there," he said. "They brought me a sense of diversity in our life. I feel grateful to French literature."
Dao said she is concerned about the popularity of English at present.
"The youth now are more interested in English translation than ever," she said. "Lots of Vietnamese poetry books that had been translated into French were only used as ... a gift within the local translation community."
Nguyen shared similar sentiments.
"It makes sense that young students have decided to focus on English due to globalisation," he said. "But I'm now wondering which is better: the former generation that had no choice but to study French literature, or the modern generation that is free to choose any language, rendering their minds like a ‘hotpot'," he said.
Sam, however, said the youth tend to view language learning differently.
"They (the new generation) don't necessarily learn the foreign language to be able to grasp the meaning of literary works," she said. "People don't need to learn Russian language to understand the novels of Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky or Vladimir Nabokov."
Thach said that even though the cultural world he was born into and adored no longer exists, "We have to accept the present".
"However much I love French literature, I cannot deny the fact that my kid is living with a different culture," he said. "He still prefers reading Doraemon (a Japanese comic book)."
Sam added, "The diversity itself is the only factor that helps us understand our character."
Optional vaccine price controlled by market demand, not by Ministry
After press published the hike in optional vaccine price due to scarcity, a representative from the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health yesterday said that the vaccine price is controlled by market demand.
Nguyen Tan Dat, deputy chief of the Administration said that the Ministry of Health has given permission to circulate many kinds of imported vaccines which have been sold as optional services, not belonging to the national expanded inoculation program; however, the Ministry has just granted permission but it can not ask importers to buy more vaccines from foreign vaccine manufacturers.
The shortage of optional vaccines is due to customers’ interest to use foreign vaccine and an abrupt leap in demand, said Mr. Dat.
Meantime, vaccines were manufactured in lots and it takes a long time to produce vaccines; accordingly, manufacturers in the world give priority to early orders.
Mr. Dat said that just foreign-made six-in-one vaccine Infanrix and five-in-one vaccine Pentaxim have been short of lately. With these two vaccines, people have to pay as optional vaccine; accordingly, the government can not urge importers to buy more. Importers just buy the vaccines relying on the market demand.
Nevertheless, the foreign manufacturers announced they are facing difficulties in supply  because they change production technology and venue and fluctuation of market. Worse, many vaccine batches turned spoiled; accordingly, it takes 6 months to replace the new vaccine batches.
Moreover, Vietnam has used Quinvaxem for its national expanded immunization program so producers do not give priority to the Southeast Asian.
The Administration said that no importers have announced to increase vaccine price recently.
It is expected that next month, around 16,000 dozen of vaccine Pentaxim will be imported into Vietnam. In addition, 50,000 dozen of Pentaxim are scheduled to import into Vietnam from now to yearend so as to reduce pressure of shortage of optional vaccines in the country.
Apparel firms bemoan formaldehyde content rules
Many apparel and footwear firms have voiced outcries over the situation they are in due to the temporary regulations on formaldehyde content.
The enterprises complained the regulations have cost them much time and money. The regulations were initially planned to be implemented for a short period of time but have been in force for six years, heard a seminar on simplification of testing procedures for formaldehyde content in apparel in HCMC on Tuesday.
The workshop was organized by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) and the USAID Governance for Inclusive Growth (GIG).
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is collecting comments on a draft circular intended to replace temporary provisions on formaldehyde content but, according to enterprises, the draft still contains troublesome procedures.
Pham Thanh Binh, consultant at the GIG Program, told the seminar that the ministry issued Circular 32/2009/TT-BCT in 2009 providing temporary provisions on the acceptable level of formaldehyde content.
According to Binh, Circular 32 sets out three categories of products subject to checks, including apparel for children, garments with directly dermal contact and clothing without directly dermal contact. However, most fabric and all kinds of garment and textile products must undergo checks except for a few outsourced products for export.
Registration files for formaldehyde content checks as required in Circular 32 are quite complicated as they consist of ten kinds of documentation, including seven compulsory ones for customs declaration, contract, bill of lading, certificate of origin, manifest, pictures or description of commodities.
Many enterprises said formaldehyde content is determined on the basis of lab testing results. Therefore, such file requirements are too time-consuming and unnecessary, as most of these documents do not contain information about the chemical constituents of the products.
The August 2015 survey of GIG shows a formaldehyde content check usually takes two days, five days in some cases, and even up to 15 days for special cases (for technical fabrics).
In addition, the examination fee is determined on the basis of the sample quantity with prices ranging from VND1.54 million per sample to VND3.5 million per sample.
Nguyen Cong Nghiem, who is in charge of exports and imports at Mai Son Co., said that if Circular 32 was not revised promptly, Mai Son would incur big examination costs even though the company did not have any products that had failed in tests in the past six years.
According to a representative of a company outsourcing Nike sport shoes based in Long An Province, the company has to meet Nike’s high requirements for quality and labor. However, when importing materials to make model shoes, the company has to pay a chemical examination fee of VND40-50 million per month as regulated by Circular 32.
Nguyen Ngoc Khiem from An Phuoc Co. said as such an examination was costly and affected the company’s production process, the drafting committee of the new circular was expected to cut examination time to prevent its impact on production activity at enterprises.
Dang Phuong Dung, vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said authorities should reduce pre-examinations and increase post-checks.
Dung said the draft allows enterprises to go through fewer examinations if they do not have any violations in ten consecutive checks in six months. Nevertheless, to benefit from this, enterprises have to make registrations.
However, Dung said regulations in the draft circular would not resolve the problems faced in the process of handling import and export procedures. In particular, they still had to wait for assessment, pay high costs for inspections and storage before customs clearance.
Binh cited information from the customs at Tan Son Nhat International Airport as saying that since Circular 32 came out in 2009, customs officers had examined around 8,000 shipments of apparel per year for formaldehyde content, but just six cases of non-compliance had been found.
Many enterprises said the percentage of their non-compliance cases had never reached 1% though their products had undergone such examinations for years.
Multiple transport projects ready towards year-end
The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has said around 40 transport projects will be completed and 15 new projects will be under construction towards the end of this year.
According to the ministry’s recent report on ongoing projects, the 40 projects scheduled for completion include the Hanoi-Haiphong Expressway, Phuoc Tuong-Phu Gia road tunnel on the National Highway 1A section in Thua Thien-Hue Province, Hanoi-Bac Giang Expressway in the north and upgraded Can Tho-Phung Hiep section of National Highway 1A in the Mekong Delta region.
In addition, the expansion of the National Highway 1A sections running through the provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa will be completed by the end of September.
The projects in the aviation sector are the expansion of the aircraft parking area at Tho Xuan Airport in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, and the construction of an air traffic control tower at Cat Bi Airport in the northern city of Haiphong.
In the final months of this year, the ministry will break ground for 15 transport projects, including two projects using official development assistance (ODA) loans, three projects funded by State budget and proceeds from Government bonds, six projects under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) formats and four projects financed by other sources.
Some major projects to get off the ground in the period are Lo Te-Rach road in the Mekong Delta, a new passenger terminal in Danang International Airport and Dai Ngai bridge project on National Highway 60.
According to the Ministry of Transport, 37 projects got off the ground and 77 projects were completed from early 2015 to the end of September.
Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang said the sooner transport projects are put into operation, the better they help spur economic growth and improve traffic.
VFA to hike floor rice export price
The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) will increase the FOB (free-on-board) floor export price of 25% broken rice by US$10 to US$340 per ton from September 25.
The association has made the decision more than one week after Vietnam won a government-to-government (G2G) contract at an international tender last Thursday to supply 450,000 tons of 25% broken rice for the Philippines.
Enterprises can decide the export prices of 5% and 15% broken rice themselves but their prices should not be lower than US$340 per ton.
This will be the fourth time the VFA has made such a floor price adjustment for rice exports since the beginning of this year. The association revised down the floor price of 25% broken rice from US$380 to US$360 a ton on January 12, US$350 a ton on June 1, US$330 a ton on August 12.
Speaking to the Daily, exporters in the Mekong Delta said the VFA had decided to raise the floor price as Vietnam’s rice exports have turned favorable, and the contract to sell 450,000 tons of 25% broken rice to the Philippines is clear evidence.
The leader of a rice exporting firm in the Mekong Delta said there have been more positive signs for rice export but the market is not as good as during the months from the end of last year to early this year.   
Lam Anh Tuan, director of Ben Tre Province-based Thinh Phat Co. Ltd., a member of the VFA, told the Daily earlier that with the contract to sell more rice to the Philippines, importers in other markets could not force Vietnamese exporters to lower the price.
Farmers have virtually harvested paddy of the spring-autumn crop. Rice yield of the autumn-winner crop is not big, so it will be used for domestic consumption. Therefore, pressure on rice sales in the coming time will not be high.
Oryza.com, a website specializing in research on and analysis of global rice markets, quoted a leader of Indonesia as saying that the Indonesian government may purchase more rice due to the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon.
Apart from 750,000 tons of rice imported from Vietnam and Thailand, the Philippines may purchase more as drought in that country would push rice output down sharply.
Tuan of Thinh Phat said of 750,000 tons of rice, 500,000 tons will be delivered to the Philippines in the first quarter of 2016, so the Philippines will not likely buy more rice towards the year-end.
Ministry mulls higher duties on imported trucks
The Ministry of Finance has publicized an import tax adjustment draft in which import duties on completely built-up (CBU) trucks and special-purpose vehicles would rise 2-40% from the current rates.
In the document, the ministry proposes hiking the import tax rates from 68% to 70% for under-five-ton trucks, from 20% to 25% for diesel trucks of 20-24 tons, from 15% to 25% and from 20% to 35% for gasoline trucks of 20-24 tons, from 50% to 70% for trucks of 5-10 tons and from 30% to 70% for trucks of 10-20 tons.
As for refrigerator trucks, the ministry wants the import tax revised to 20% from 15%, maintain the existing rate for three models at 20% and two models of more than 45 tons at 0%.
Besides, eight models of garbage trucks might see the tax rates up from 15% to 20%.
The proposed tax hike, according to the ministry, is made based on the request of TMT Automobile Corporation and the support of some domestic auto manufacturers.
According to TMT, domestic importers of components for auto assembly now shoulder huge manufacturing costs, taxes and fees, and need longer time to recover investment capital than importers of completely built-up cars.
Therefore, the company wants import tariffs on CBU trucks and completely knocked-down units to be revised, with taxes for components imported to assemble vehicles of 20-45 tons unchanged but those for CBU vehicles rising to 28-30%.
Data of the General Department of Customs showed more than 18,000 autos were imported from China in January-July with a combined value of US$696.1 million. Most Chinese autos imported into Vietnam in the period were trucks and special-purpose vehicles.
According to auto traders, auto imports from China have surged in the past years owing to higher demand for trucks in Vietnam. Many local transport firms favor Chinese trucks because their prices are lower than those imported from South Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, as explained by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in addition to increasing transport demand, Vietnam has imported many big-size trucks due to the strict load control policy backed by the Ministry of Transport.
Earlier, the Vietnam Association of Mechanical Industry wrote to the Prime Minister complaining about increased truck imports, especially from China.
Domestic auto assembling firms said they had to cope with unfair competition as import tariffs on CBU vehicles were lower than those of auto components.
Wastewater kills fish in Ba Ria-Vung Tau
The Environmental Police Department in this southern province has decided to fine eight fisheries processing plants for polluting local rivers.
These plants have discharged wastewater every day into Cha Va River in Tan Thanh District's Tan Hai Commune.
The wastewater pollution is one of the causes behind the mass deaths of fish in local fish breeding farms, police said.
Earlier this month, farmers had carried hundreds of dead fish to the local People's Committee's chairman, who is handling the case.
The farmers' losses were expected to reach VND5 billion (US$227,000), according to statistics released by the department.
The local authorities are continuing to study the land and environment at processing plants and are taking wastewater samples for testing.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed the People's Committee should request these plants to temporarily halt operations until investigations are completed and a conclusion is reached.
The eight plants were fined VND2 billion ($90,900).
Fish in the area have been dying en masse for many years, leading to major losses for some 193 family farms in the region.
Autumn travel booms in Viet Nam
Autumn tours offered by local travel firms are becoming increasingly popular, with companies announcing a rise in the number of bookings.
One of the main reasons for the increase in autumn tour bookings is the attractiveness of the season — pleasantly mild climate, a colourful display of flowers and trees, bright yellow rice terraces, hamlets blanketed by clouds, and limitless tea hills.
Homestay is growing popular, with Thua Thien Hue alone receiving over two million tourists in eight months this year.
According to Tran Tuan Anh, deputy director of Vietravel Ha Noi, his company has seen a 20 per cent increase in the number of tourists travelling to the north-west and north-east in August and the first half of September.
Mai Chau in Hoa Binh Province, Moc Chau in Son La, Sa Pa in Lao Cai and Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai are top fall destinations.
Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy general director of Ha Noi Redtours, said the company operates tours to the north-west and north-east for customers eager to explore the culture and beauty of the mountains. They are the most sought after in autumn-winter, he said, adding there are two tours each week.
Many companies are also offering tours to Northeast Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and China as well as to Europe and North America

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