Buddhist monk creates orchid kingdom in Central Highlands

Tue, 12/07/2004 - 11:16

After setting eyes on the exquisite cymbidium orchids in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat almost 15 years ago, a Buddhist monk was inspired to create an orchid kingdom.

Buddhist Monk Thich Hue Dang started collecting cymbidium orchids in the late 1980’s when the mania for them began to subside and growers were selling them off.

Ten years later, Monk Thich Hue Dang was the owner of the largest and most beautiful cymbidium orchid farm in the city, thus gaining the love and respect of local growers as well as orchid lovers across the country.

Vietnam to raise $2.1 billion via bonds in 2005

Tue, 12/07/2004 - 11:14

Vietnam plans to raise 33.25 trillion dong ($2.11 billion) through government bond issues in 2005, 44 percent more than this year, to cover a widening budget deficit, a finance ministry report said Monday.
The report forecast the budget deficit in 2005 would widen more than 10 percent to 12.8 trillion dong ($814 million) from an estimated gap of 11.6 trillion dong this year, due to a three-fold increase in state employees' salaries.

Of the total bond issue next year, 23.25 trillion dong would be used to service interests and to repay matured bonds.

Canada's Talisman to explore oil, gas off Vietnam

Tue, 12/07/2004 - 11:12

Canada's Talisman Energy Inc. said on Monday it had won the right to explore oil and gas in block 15-2/01 in the Cuu Long Basin, off Vietnam's southern coast.

Details of oil and gas reserves in the block were not immediately available.

Block 15-2/01 is adjacent to Vietnam's second biggest producing oil field, the Su Tu Den (Black Lion), which churns out around 85,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Talisman is the operator of oil fields in the PM-3 CAA block and Block 46-Cai Nuoc that produce Vietnam's Bunga Kekwa crude, with output averaging 60,000 bpd.

Telecoms ministry proposes independent arbitration agency

Tue, 12/07/2004 - 10:59

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

Tue, 12/07/2004 - 10:56

(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

Thu, 12/02/2004 - 22:46

 
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

Thu, 12/02/2004 - 22:41

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

Tue, 11/23/2004 - 16:55

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

Tue, 11/23/2004 - 16:53

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

Tue, 11/23/2004 - 16:52


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.

Pages