One-door rules now apply across country

Mon, 09/08/2003 - 18:02



HA NOI — Regulations for one-door administrative management, already tested in some cities and provinces, have been approved for use throughout Viet Nam by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.

The regulations – to become effective in 15 days from their publication – are designed to: Reduce cumbersome procedures; Combat corruption and any authoritarian attitudes among State officials and employees; and Further improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the country’s administrative system.

Grip loosens on dong loans to SMEs

Thu, 09/04/2003 - 17:38



HA NOI — The State Bank of Viet Nam will loosen regulations which restrict the use of Vietnamese dong by foreign banks to give small-and-medium-sized firms a better chance of obtaining loans, the bank’s governor Le Duc Thuy said last Sunday.

"The loosening will create competition on the credit market so that banking services will be improved," Thuy told young entrepreneurs getting Vietnamese golden star awards at a meeting in Ha Noi last weekend.

President praises winners of international olympiads

Thu, 09/04/2003 - 17:31


(09/04/2003 -- 21:24GMT+7)

Ha Noi, Sept. 4 (VNA) - Viet Nam is looking forward to talented students as the country and humankind are now in the 21st century characterised by a knowledge-based economy and international integration, said President Tran Duc Luong.

Praising winners of this year's international Olympiads in Ha Noi on Thursday, he went on to say that the most important strategy for national development is to target human resources, improve people's intellectual standards and foster talents.

Anniversaries marked across nation

Thu, 09/04/2003 - 17:24



HA NOI — The 58th anniversaries of the August Revolution (August 19) and the National Independence (September 2) have been solemnly commemorated in Ha Noi and other parts of the country.

A high-ranking delegation of the Party, State, Government and Fatherland Front laid floral tributes at Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and the War Martyrs’ Monument in Ha Noi on Monday.

Party and State leaders receive Cao Dai representatives

Thu, 09/04/2003 - 17:23

(09/03/2003 -- 22:59GMT+7)

Ha Noi, September 3 (VNA)- Tong Thi Phong, Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam's Central Committee and Pham Gia Khiem, Deputy Prime Minister on Wednesday received on separate occasions dignitaries of the Cao Dai religious sect who are visiting Ha Noi.

Representatives of Cao Dai Executive Council’s Committee for Religious Reform and Cao Dai Bach y expressed their gratitude for the Party and the State for ensuring freedom of belief and for their care of the life of the Cao Dai believers.

Viet Nam's eight-month export value - US$ 13.3 billion

Tue, 08/26/2003 - 11:41


(08/26/2003)

Ha Noi, Aug. 26 (VNA) - Viet Nam's export value grew at 27.5 percent to 13.3 billion USD in the first eight months of this year, with the foreign-invested sector posting a 38.2 percent growth to nearly 6.7 billion USD and the domestic economic sector, 18.3 percent, said the General Statistics Office.

Coffee enjoyed the highest growing rate of 64.5 percent in export value, due to the hike in prices, while the volume of exports decreased by 6 percent year-on-year.

VN students win at International Olympiads in Informatics in U.S.

Mon, 08/25/2003 - 11:30

Eleventh-grade student Nguyen Le Huy won a gold medal at the Microsoft-sponsored 15th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI 2003) held at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from August 16-23.

Huy's other three contenders, all students of mathematics and informatics at the College of Natural Sciences of the Hanoi National University, won prizes - a silver by Cao Thanh Tung, and bronze by Phan Tran Duc and Dinh Ngoc Thang.

Domestic firms call for competition reforms

Fri, 08/22/2003 - 12:11



HA NOI — Business leaders are feeling the pressure from foreign competitors and have called on both Government and business to make substantial changes so Viet Nam’s economic integration will be a success.

The entrepreneurs sounded the warning at a symposium in Ha Noi on Sunday, where they gathered to suggest ways to stimulate a domestic economy they described as "not competitive and sluggish."

VN condemns UN blast

Fri, 08/22/2003 - 12:07


HA NOI — Viet Nam has sent its sympathies to the victims of a car bomb which tore through the United Nations’ headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday.

"We were very shocked at the bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Iraq on August 19, causing huge losses in life and property, and we strongly condemn this violent action," Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spokesman, Le Dung, said on Wednesday.

Ha Noi’s past gets a facelift

Wed, 08/20/2003 - 12:06

by Phuong Anh

An old postcard of Ha Noi’s Old Quarter would show a district that is worlds apart from today’s hustle and bustle, as the capital city’s trademark is quickly losing touch with its ancient features.

Leading historian Duong Trung Quoc is among the Hanoians who are getting homesick without leaving the city, as they feel out of touch with their own past.

"There is very little space of the Old Quarter left unchanged," he laments. "This is reflected in the architecture as well as the local spirit and culture."

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