VN Dpt. Trade Minister And VN Ambassador to the US On Vietnam

Vietnam has made breakthrough progress in multilateral negotiations on its admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO's Working Committee on Vietnam also highly valued the results of bilateral negotiations Vietnam have conducted with a number of countries, said Deputy Minister of Trade Luong Van Tu.

Vietnamese Buddhism Is Thriving, Remarks Top Buddhist Dignitary

The Vietnamese Buddhist community has expanded by ten times since the establishment of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS), remarked a top VBS dignitary in his article run by the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) on Nov. 3.

Vietnam coffee festival to feature trading on London market

The Central Highlands coffee festival will be held in Daklak - Vietnam’s coffee heartland - from Dec. 2 to 5, where companies can trade coffee on the London market.
Computers with Internet access will be ready at the festival to facilitate transactions on the London futures (terminal) market, said Daklak chairman Nguyen Van Lang at a press conference in HCMC Tuesday.

The province will officially unveil the Buon Ma Thuot coffee trademark at the festival, aimed to expand markets and attract investment into processing, said Mr. Lang.

Vietnam, ”Far East's best tourism destination”

sapa-305-05_1.jpgVietnam was selected as the best tourism destination in the Far East region in 2005 at the Viaggiatori international tourism fair held in Switzerland from Oct. 28-Nov. 1.
The Vietnam News Agency quoted the fair organizers as saying that Vietnam was a “beautiful, friendly and safe place for holidaymakers” at the awards ceremony.

US Veterans Want Organized Tours to Vietnam War and Other Sites

Several US veterans who fought in the Vietnam War are calling for the launch of well-organized theme tours to Vietnamese sites where they operated, an ex-interpreter during the War has informed Thanh Nien.

Le Thanh Giai, in an e-mail to the newspaper, said many US veterans, inspired by the story of a young North Vietnamese doctor’s diary they read on Thanh Nien’s English-language website, www.thanhniennews.com, were hoping to return to Vietnam.

Vietnam - The Hidden Charm: New Tourism Symbol

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has introduced its new official logo and slogan for the 2006-2010 period. viewanh_n.gif

The new logo and slogan, Vietnam - The hidden charm, was created by the Dat Viet Advertising Company. It will replace the present slogan - Welcome to Vietnam - accompanied by a logo of a woman wearing a traditional ao dai (long dress) on the VNAT's publications, products and souvenirs.

Vietnam's Annual Inflation At 8.3 Pct In Oct

Vietnam's consumer price index (CPI) is estimated to have risen 8.3 percent in October from a year earlier, the General Statistics Office said on Monday.
That compares with an increase of 7.8 percent in September and 7.3 percent in August.

The government last week forecast that inflation would be around 8 percent in 2005, higher than its initial target of keeping it below 6.5 percent.

Vietnam, reliant on oil product imports and hard-hit by bird flu outbreaks that reduced food supplies, saw inflation reach 9.5 percent last year.

Vietnamese and American Photographers Show Vietnam Images

A photography exhibition, “Vietnam: A Decade in Images”, celebrating the beauty and vitality of the country will be held in Ho Chi Minh City November 1-15.
The show, consisting of 60 black and white photographs taken between 1993 and 2004 by Nguyen Hoai Linh and Peter Steinhauer, is part of a series of cultural events held this year to commemorate 10 years of normalization of diplomatic relations between the US and Vietnam.

An opening reception will take place November 1 at the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum.

Vietnam Eases Foreign Currency Controls

Vietnam has decided to loosen restrictions on the use of foreign currencies in the country. ngoaite_199.gif

In a decree issued October 18, the government said Vietnamese and foreigners were now free to pay in foreign currencies and send foreign currencies within the country’s territory without permission.

Citigroup Vietnam Launches New Product

Citigroup Vietnam introduced a new product, Accounts Receivable Finance Program (ARFP), at a seminar last Friday.

Speaking at the seminar, attended by over 60 foreign and local companies, Charly Madan, Citigroup country officer in Vietnam, said with the country's integration into the world economy, ARFP could become one of the most effective instruments in a market that relied heavily on collateral.

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