World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick said on Monday that the global economic crisis is contributing to shifts in power relations in the world that will impact currency markets, monetary policy, trade relations and the role of developing countries. File photo shows that Robert Zoellick, president of The World Bank, speaks at the International Economic Forum of the Americas conference in Montreal, June 8, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
In a speech ahead of the Annual Meetings in Istanbul, Turkey, of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), Zoellick said leaders should reshape the multilateral system and forge a "responsible globalization" that would encourage balanced global growth and financial stability, embrace global efforts to counter climate change, and advance opportunity for the poorest.
"The old international economic order was struggling to keep up with change before the crisis," Zoellick told an audience at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, D.C.
"Today's upheaval has revealed the stark gaps and compelling needs. It is time we caught up and moved ahead," he said.
In the speech entitled "After the Crisis?" Zoellick said "Peer review of a new Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth agreed at last week's G20 Summit is a good start, but it will require a new level of international cooperation and coordination, including a new willingness to take the findings of global monitoring seriously. Peer review will need to be peer pressure."
It was also important for the G20 to remember those countries not at the table.
"As agreed in Pittsburgh last week, the G20 should become the premier forum for international economic cooperation among the advanced industrialized countries and rising powers," said the World Bank chief. "But it cannot be a stand-alone committee. Nor can it ignore the voices of the over 160 countries left outside."
China's strong response during the economic crisis and rapid recovery had underscored its growing influence as a stabilizing force in today's global economy, he said.
But its leaders face challenges caused by rapid credit growth and the economy's dependence on exports, he added.
The United States had clearly been hit hard by the crisis. Its prospects depend on whether it will address large deficits, recover without inflation, and overhaul its financial system, according to Zoellick .
The United States has a history of recovering from setbacks. "But the United States would be mistaken to take for granted the dollar's place as the world's predominant reserve currency," Zoellick said, "Looking forward, there will increasingly be other options to the dollar."
The crisis has brought to the attention of lawmakers the significant role played by central banks.
Central banks performed well once the crisis hit but their role in the build-up was less convincing.
"In the United States, it will be difficult to vest the independent and powerful technocrats at the Federal Reserve with more authority," said Zoellick.
"My reading of recent crisis management is that the Treasury Department needed greater authority to pull together a bevy of different regulators," said the former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.
"Moreover, the Treasury is an executive department, and therefore Congress and the public can more directly oversee how it uses any added authority," said Zoellick.
Developing countries had already been on the rise before the crisis and their position has been further strengthened because of it. Their growing share of the world economy was a positive development.
"Looking beyond, a more balanced and inclusive growth model for the world would benefit from multiple poles of growth," Zoellick said. "With investments in infrastructure, people, and private businesses, countries in Latin America, Asia, and the broader Middle East could contribute to a 'New Normal' for the world economy."
Thứ Hai, 28 tháng 9, 2009
World Bank chief says economic crisis remaking global power relations
“Good and honest officials are regarded as fools”
VietNamNet’s readers write in to the Administrative Reform Forum with more ideas on improving government.
Gov’t agencies need to be rated
Why friends ask “Are you getting any extra benefit?”
Finance Ministry grapples with reform of its ‘limitless formalities’
Readers share their frustration with red tape, propose solutions
Are low gov’t wages the cause of ‘bureaucratic’ behavior?
Finance Ministry grapples with reform of its ‘limitless formalities’
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From Russia, reader Hong Son sends a story about his close friend who returned to Vietnam to get married. An official “suggested” that a gratuity of seven million dong could ensure completion of all necessary formalities. It’s obvious, Son said, that only when people are taught self-respect at school that it will be possible to have public servants who refrain from asking for things to which they aren’t entitled.
Reader La Ken from Hai Phong said that if the entire administrative system were computerized, it will be more effective, saving money and time for the people and harassment would be diminished because the people wouldn’t have to directly meet with officials. “By automating procedures,” he wrote, “we can cut down the number of government employees by two-thirds. Wages for government employees will rise while the state doesn’t have to pay more,”
Ken speculated that simplifying formalities is simple in other countries but difficult in Vietnam because officials who hold the power in the government system don’t want to harm their own self- interest.
Many readers propose that public services be privatized. They also suggest a standardized recruitment policy, tighter discipline and reduced government staffs.
Tran Thi Dung from HCM City maintains that the current number of government employees ought to be slashed in half. “In addition, we should reduce the number of divisions and departments within government agencies by two-thirds. Within each division and department, the number of staff should be reduced so that all officials are always busy. Naturally, administrative formalities will be reduced and they will be paid a satisfactory salary,” Dung wrote.
Pham Thi Van from Da Nang questioned: “If an official deliberately takes risks that cause losses to his organization, how would it be if – as in other countries -- his boss has to resign?”
Promotions go to those who are clever at ‘building relations’
VietNamNet’s readers have not only analysed the phenomenon of harassment but also have pointed out the danger of relying on officials who are not good in their jobs nor of high moral character, but instead are just clever at “footwork” and good at building “good relations” with their bosses. Some comment how odd it is that pure and honest officials are regarded by their colleagues as “eccentric fools” and referred to as “idiots.”
A reader at nv.thieu54@... complains: “It is painful how often rich officials return to their home villages openly boasting about their talent in building relations with their superiors. They are proud because the whole village and their relatives admire and honor them as talented people – or so they seem, since they are richer than many who have high diplomas.”
Hoang Nga from Hanoi expresses frank criticism: “Don’t excuse immorality as the consquence of low salaries. Many people live purely and keep their self-respect. It is regrettable that such officials are rare today and they may be thought of as “stupid” by their colleagues.”
According to Hoang Nga, cases of officials abusing administrative formalities to benefit themselves has become an “epidemic.” The perpetrators are not ashamed when they harass the people.
Some students now studying overseas told VietNamNet that the current situation discourages them from returning home to work. Nguyen Huong in London said that she is studying with some Vietnamese officials. Whenever they talk to each other, they always mention that this position is lucrative or that position is good for earning money or it is very easy to create difficulties for people who need their help.
Huong added that although the monthly salary of these officials is two to three million dong, they spend luxuriously.
“Let’s bravely change our policy entirely, like Singapore did. Don’t set up a long ‘roadmap” that will take many years to execute” Huong urged.
The prayer of nearly every reader is that the government will strongly commit to the reform of ‘administrative procedures’ and take resolute action.
Le Nhung
Thứ Ba, 16 tháng 6, 2009
Foreign investment freefall eases in China
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been in decline for eight months, but the size of the fall in May was smaller than the one in April, probably signaling an easing off.
In comparison with other economies, China is still poised to be among the first choices for global investors in the next five years, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said.
According to the figures released by the ministry yesterday, in May, the FDI dropped 17.8 percent compared to a year earlier - equaling $6.38 billion. The number of newly approved foreign enterprises contracted by 32 percent to 1,649.
The figures exclude those in the financial sector.
But May's performance was better than April's, when the FDI registered a negative growth of 22.5 percent.
Between January and May, the FDI fell by 20.4 percent year-on-year to $34.05 billion and newly approved foreign enterprises dropped by 33.8 percent to 7,890.
In the same period, foreign investment in China's central and western regions fell by 35.7 - more than the national average. Newly approved foreign enterprises fell 30.2 percent. For several years prior to the financial crisis, the regions had seen higher rates than the national average.
Yao Jian, a MOFCOM's spokesman, noted the central and western regions' sharp decline: "The coastal areas have the advantage of having gathered a much larger number of foreign investment enterprises in the last three decades."
Encouraged by confidence from global investors in China's 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan, the "decline in FDI will probably be slowing during the rest of the year," predicted Li Jianfeng, macro-economics and trade analyst with Shanghai Securities, a domestic brokerage.
"There is a good chance that the FDI will register a positive growth in the last quarter, given the low reference point in 2008," he added.
During the first quarter, the FDI decline showed some signs of bottoming out. But in April, the performance went down again by 22.5 percent, compared with a decline of 9.5 percent in March.
At the same time, the International Monetary Fund predicted China's GDP would grow by 6.7 percent this year, 1.3 percentage points lower than the Chinese government's target, but higher than the 5.25 percent of India and 5 percent for Vietnam, two countries vying for FDI.
The stimulus plan is having an effect, said Yao, who pointed out that retail volume rose to 4.88 trillion yuan in the first five months, up by 15 percent year-on-year.
Yao predicted that in 2009, China's FDI will contract by an annualized 20 percent in contrast to last year's growth of 27.65 percent.
Thứ Bảy, 23 tháng 5, 2009
IBM sets up ’innovation center’ in Vietnam
The
The center will provide entrepreneurs, business partners, academics and venture capitalists across
IBM, in a statement, also said it had agreed to collaborate with
It said it will help establish a cloud computing center at the
"With this IBM Innovation Center and new university collaborations, we are able to make IBM's technical resources and expertise more accessible to fuel innovation and help local businesses and academics compete on a global scale," said Jim Corgel, an IBM general manager for developer relations.
IBM said the information technology sector in
IBM currently runs 43 innovation centers around the world.
VietNamNet/SGGP/AFP
When soldiers returned for a new fight
| 06:36' 24/05/2009 (GMT+7) | ||||||||
An overview of Dien Bien Phu City. Fifty-one years have passed since Colonel Nong Van Khau returned to the old battlefield where he had shed his own blood and witnessed a thousand other comrades sacrifice their lives for the great victory of the Vietnamese people at Dien Bien Phu. Half-a-century can make a lifetime of difference. Veterans return to De Castries’ bunker. Early in 1958, four years after the victory, President Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap and other State leaders encouraged soldiers who had fought in Dien Bien Phu to return to the old battlefield. "We have liberated the North-western region, but we need to build it up for our descendants," leaders said. Some refused to return because they recognised it would be hard. Several months later, around More than 500 cadres, young people and students nationwide gathered at A1 Hill Cemetery in Dien Bien Province to light candles for comrades who laid down their lives. The celebration marked the 55th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, on May 7, and the 100th anniversary of Dien Bien Province. The battle had been won, but the struggle continued. The returning soldiers carried rice, water and personal belongings on their shoulders as they walked over old paths and old names. But this time they travelled during the day, not at night as they had done before. Khau’s thoughts went back to the days four years earlier. Many of his comrades had made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives, many others were badly wounded and not many were really happy to return to the old battlefield wild mountains and through severe climatic conditions. But Dien Bien Phu lay ahead and that was where they were headed. Hardship The daily life of locals in Dien Bien Phu City has improved considerably in the last 50 years since the historic battle. "At first, we made something like a master plan for our farm. We allocated land for each unit and asked them to clear mines, grenades, bombs and other weapons. After that, houses and roads were built. Day after day, soldiers worked hard and made 1,000ha of fallow hills ready for planting coffee and corn." Tran Lang, former chief of an anti aircraft company, and chairman of the farm, clearly remembers the first resolution to build Dien Bien by setting a 500ha rice cultivation goal for the first year. At that time, everybody working in the fields still wore uniforms and obeyed army discipline, but guns were replaced by hoes and shovels. However, no one knew much about cultivation techniques. Lang had to ask for help from his senior officer and finally, a book on agricultural techniques published in the 1940s was sent to the soldiers. General Vo Nguyen Giap visited and encouraged the soldiers: "We can see A1 Hill, where thousands of our comrades laid down their lives. We should make their deaths worthwhile." In fact, one third of the members of many units were discouraged. They didn’t go to work and complained they were sick. Hot and dry westerly winds from Laos, mosquitoes, bees, floods, hunger and homesickness, all of this combined to dishearten and break the soldiers’ spirits. "We had to encourage each other; life was really hard but we were still alive. We were soldiers and we shouldn’t require so much," says Khau. For Lang, keeping his soldiers in good spirits was the first step. His duty was also to learn how to cultivate successfully. The book on farming technique was carefully studied. "We had to learn everything, from cultivation to tool manufacturing, operating tractors and repairing machines from other farms," says Lang. Besides rice, cattle pigs, cows and chickens, along with fruit trees from other provinces were brought into Dien Bien. "If we didn’t work, we would suffer hunger. At that time, there were no weekends," Khau says. Civilian life Most of the existing Muong Thanh field, with a total area of 4,000ha, was originally cultivated by soldiers. From 1959 onwards, families of soldiers started moving to the new land. Women came and earned income making tofu and selling the vegetables they cultivated. Shortly afterwards, co-operatives were established to make hats and breed cattle. At the end of that year, a huge number of conscripted labourers, both boys and girls, came to Dien Bien. Many weddings between soldiers and conscripted girls were organised. Former outstanding farming member Hoang Van Bay had a chance to visit his hometown early in 1959 because of his excellent work. He married his neighbour, Hoang Thi Tho and a year later took her to settle down in Dien Bien, where they still live. "At first, I just wanted to go back home. We lived in half a house and ate at a collective canteen until 1965 when America bombed Dien Bien," Tho says. "Our lives were very hard but people were concerned for each other," she added. In 1961, the army farm was transfered into a civilian one. Most soldiers remember the unforgettable day clearly. "Taking the star out of our hats and pulling army ranks off of our shoulders, all of us cried because we’d lost something very important," Khau said. "After a while, we talked and recognised everything was the same and we must continue to live." In 1982, the farm provided each household 400sq.m of land to build houses. Most members from the first farming families still live here and many villagers still keep their old army names, like C4, C5, C12 and C13 (C means company). Irrigation system Muong Thanh was known as the biggest field in the North-western region, but in 1960 the 2,000ha field only cultivated one crop of 600kg rice per hectare. Now, Dien Bien’s rice is considered some of the best, and the fields yield up to 10 tonnes per hectare. This result was achieved because of the Nam Rom irrigation canal system. "The Nam Rom work began in 1963 and it was the biggest irrigation project at that time in the north," says Nguyen Xuan Khoi, former leader of the conscripted labourers. Khoi led 2,000 conscripted labourers, 40 per cent of the women. The huge Dien Bien valley was surrounded by one main canal. The main dike took water from the Nam Rom River and released it into canals on the right and left for a total distance of 35km. Hundreds of kilometres of small canals were then dug to make a complete system. "The irrigation system looked like the military trench system we dug to besiege the French in 1954," Khau recalls. "At that time, the spirit everybody showed was wonderful. We overcame every hardship to finish our work. We often faced hunger and rice was replaced with corn, sometimes for four continuous months," says Khoi. Everything was done using manual labour without machines but the work was of very high quality. In 1969, the irrigation system was completed. During construction, 18 people had died. Dien Bien today Dien Bien Phu City was set up in the centre of the former Dien Bien Phu fortress. The main avenue May 7 runs through the middle of historic A1, C1, C2, D, and E hills, near De Castries’ bunker and the Muong Thanh airport. The city is spread over 6,000ha and has a population of 40,000. "We plan to develop Dien Bien Phu City as a tourist, cultural, historical and ecological site. The city will expand to meet development demands but still retain the cultural characteristics of ethnic minorities as well as historical places," said Dinh Tien Dung, chairman of the Dien Bien province People’s Committee. "We will try to boost economic activities with China’s Yunnan Province and the northern provinces of Laos through our border gates. Through these developments, we hope Dien Bien Phu City will soon become the hub of the North-western region," he added. Today, it’s not strange that tourists enjoy fresh fruits from the south or buy imported products in the city thanks to improved transportation facilities. The ongoing upgrade of National Highway No 6 allows tourists to make the 8-10 hour trip from Ha Noi to Dien Bien with greater ease than before. Every week, national carrier Viet Nam Airlines operates 11 flights to the city. "The wild land has a new shape that I couldn’t imagine when I first came here 50 years ago. I’m happy to see my city grow," says 79-year-old veteran Pham Nhat Ho. For Nguyen Van Thoai, a fashion shop owner, the city started changing 10 years ago. "The government offices, shops and residents’ houses began to mushroom. Roads and infrastructure, especially for rural areas, were sharply upgraded," he said. Thoai also noted that the number of motorcycles has increased significantly and that many young people from the Hong (Red) River delta have chosen Dien Bien Phu as their new home in recent years. Lo Thi Phuong, a 21-year-old Thai girl who graduated with a diploma in tourism, says the city has changed so much and now there are many opportunities for young people like her. Last year, Dien Bien welcomed 210,000 visitors including 30,000 foreign tourists. VietNamNet/VNS |
Chủ Nhật, 26 tháng 4, 2009
Vietnam wants increased legislative ties with Singapore
Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Duc Kien.
VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s legislative body wants to increase the sharing of information and experience with its Singaporean counterpart in order to expand bilateral cooperation in a wider range, said a senior Vietnamese legislator.
Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Duc Kien made the statement at his working sessions with Deputy Speakers of the Singapore Parliament held during his official visit to Singapore from April 22-25.
The Vietnamese legislator also proposed to continue exchanging visits of the two countries’ legislators as part of efforts toward an increased bilateral cooperation in the field.
Kien highly valued Singapore ’s role in ASEAN and reiterated the country’s policy of focusing on promoting friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with ASEAN member countries.
Delighted with the growing bilateral ties, he highlighted Singaporean businesses’ effective investment in Vietnam and affirmed active implementation of bilateral economic cooperation programmes between the two countries.
While in Singapore , Kien and his entourage paid a courtesy visit to Singaporean President Sellapan Rama Nathan.
They also held working sessions with Singaporean government officials, business representatives, and professors of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and attended a meeting between Singaporean members of parliament and voters.
The Vietnamese legislators learnt about the Singapore Parliament’s role in examining and deciding important national issues as well as policies and breakthrough measures Singapore has taken to achieve prosperity.
They also inquired into Singapore ’s short and medium-term policies to overcome the crisis, its policies on urban housing and real estate business, management models, investment attraction incentives and law on human resource development and environmental protection.
VietNamNet/VNA
Thứ Hai, 20 tháng 4, 2009
Domestic market not a temporary harbour
VietNamNet Bridge – If Vietnamese enterprises do not have serious business plans, they will not succeed in the domestic market, a place which is no longer the personal stomping ground of Vietnamese enterprises.
Truong Dinh Tuyen, a member of the National Advisory Council for Monetary Policies, stressed that businesses are correct in wanting to develop the domestic market as export markets have been narrowed. However, he said that businesses need to have long-term and strategic plans to conquer the market, they should not expect that they can make big leaps in the market overnight
Domestic market not shelter
An economist noted that many export companies have returned to the domestic market, considering this a temporary shelter to stay while they weather the global economic recession. As a result, they are only making products with inventory materials to launch onto the domestic market.
Tuyen emphasised that a market with the commodity and service retail turnover of VND986tril like
Sharing the same view, Vu Kim Hanh, Director of the Enterprise Support and Business Research Centre, said that if businesses consider the domestic market a ‘temporary shelter’ only, they will move with hasty steps without appropriate investments and detailed studies about consumers’ tastes and market segments’ demands.
Hanh also said that export companies, while making products for domestic consumption, should also prepare to resume exporting when the export markets become bustling again.
Good strategies needed
The businesses which have been successful in the domestic market recently all have had methodical business strategies.
Vinamilk, for example, had turnover from domestic sales and exports at 40% and 60%, respectively, of total turnover in 2006. Considering the home market the target market, Vinamilk has been implementing a series of new measures. Currently, its ratio of domestic turnover vs. export turnover is 80% to 20%.
Nguyen Lam Vien, Chairman of Vinamit, specialising in processed fruits, said that right in 2005, Vinamit, which then focused on exports only, decided to pay more attention to the domestic market. The company’s turnover ratios are now 50% from domestic sales and 50% from exports.
Doan Dinh Duy Khuong, Marketing Director of Hau Giang Pharmacy, said that in order to make Hau Giang a good brand name in the domestic market, the company has spent three years to try a lot of distribution methods in different regions of the country.
To date, enterprises have had to devise strategies themselves to develop the domestic market, while they have not got support from management agencies. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently announced a VND52bil worth programme to help support domestic market development. Experts say that Vietnam is behind in setting up strategies to stimulate the domestic market.
VietNamNet/NLD
Thứ Sáu, 17 tháng 4, 2009
Ministry calls for ODA in education projects
VietNamNet Bridge - The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) is mobilising official development assistance (ODA) capital for a mass of education projects ranging from primary to university levels.
The first project, which uses part of the ODA fund for paying teachers’ salary, is to be launched this year. Relevant agencies plan to negotiate loans for it in the third quarter of this year.
The US$180 million project includes a US$100 million loan from the World Bank, a non-refundable aid worth US$35 million from the UK Ministy for International Development and the Belgian Technical Cooperation Department and the rest corresponding capital of Vietnam.
The aim is to help primary pupils in 35 poor provinces and pay proper salary to teachers to gradually stabilise their life.
At the tertiary education level, a US$150 million credit of the WB has been approved and an agreement to this effect is expected to be signed in April.
The sum will be directly handed over to the State budget for education to relevant departments, without going through any separate management unit for it.
The WB and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also plans to sign an agreement next year to finance US$500 million to build four new- model universities in Vietnam.
At the junior secondary level, the MoET is making a plan to borrow US$65-70 million from the ADB for a US$85 million project.
In an effort to call for more ODA capital in education, the Ministry has co-oganised with 21 international donors to establish an Education Sector Group (ESG) to connect information on ODA-seeking projects.
Since 2006 the MoET has launched 10 ODA-funded projects worth US$809 million. These projects have helped to improve education quality and equality in the country.
VietNamNet/VOV
Early debt payment giving banks headaches
Borrowers would rather pay debts early
In September 2008, P.T.C in
One month after getting the sum of money, C decided to pay off the VND200mil debt, and so paid the fine of VND20mil.
C said he well knew the fine was 10% of the loan, but he still decided to pay it off early because he would have had to pay too much interest if he had kept it.
“I would have been up to my ears in debt if I had had to pay the interest rate of 2% per month, and additional charges,” he said.
P. Hong in Tan Binh district in
Therefore, Hong has decided to pay the debt before it becomes mature, accepting the fine of 0.2%, or VND10mil.
The director of a commercial bank said that he has received a lot of calls these days about how to deal with the credit contracts in which borrowers want to pay debts off early.
The director said that the bank wants to negotiate with clients on an interest rate adjustment which can benefit both sides.
Dam The Thai, Personal Banking Director of An Binh Bank, also said that many banks are trying to negotiate with borrowers on interest rate adjustments, as they do not want clients to pay debts off early.
As borrowers pay debts beforehand, banks lose credit contracts, while they still have to pay high interest rates on the capital they mobilised before.
What to do?
Thai said that though banks really do not welcome early debt repayment, they have to accept it.
It is clear that borrowers who can pay debts early have good business and have good solvency. This means that though banks may lose interest on the credit contracts, they are not worried about the solvency of the businesses.
The most reasonable behaviour in this context is that the two sides should cooperate to find a reasonable interest rate and avoid breaking the contracts.
Experts have also said that clients should ask banks to adjust the interest rates of credit contracts so that they can enjoy low interest rates, instead of paying debts beforehand and paying fines. This proves to be the optimum solution for both banks and borrowers, as it can help reduce difficulties for both of them.
Quynh Chi
Thứ Hai, 13 tháng 4, 2009
2009-2020 education strategy needs redo: expert
You once said that the draft strategy cannot meet the expectations by people. Could you please give us more details about your viewpoint?
Professor Dr. Nguyen Minh Thuyet, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children
I can see the problem in defining the time frame for the draft strategy, in both the departure and finish time. Regarding the departure time, at first, the draft strategy set the frame time at 2008-2020, but then changed into 2009-2020. However, until now, the draft strategy is still being discussed, which means that the strategy will not be able to be started in 2009.
I think that the starting point should be 2011, the year when the 11th Communist Party Congress takes place.
I also think that the suggested finish time in 2020 proves to be unreasonable, as ten years prove to be too short for a strategic project.
Strategy compilers said that the compilation has had the highest participation of leading educators and scientists.
I cannot see the names of prestigious scientists and educators of universities and research institute, except the Vietnam Education Science Institute. You may know that the Education Research Institute, fewer than one of the two biggest universities of education, ‘strafed’ the draft strategy. As far as I know, many scientists had not heard about the existence of the education development strategy until it was made public.
What are your comments about the key points of the draft strategy?
We need to recognize the efforts by the compilers, but I have to say that the draft strategy cannot meet the requirement.
People’s Teacher Professor Nguyen Ngoc Lanh, in his article wrote that the draft strategy lacks a very important solution, the one that rewards labourers devoting themselves to the education and training. Do you agree with Lanh’s point of view?
I think that Professor Lanh is reasonable. In fact, the draft strategy has mentioned the issue, but this still has problems. Once the life and learning conditions of teachers and students remain in difficulties, we cannot expect the education to have ‘best quality.’ In other words, it is impossible to ensure to have the best quality education with limited expenses.
There, in the draft strategy, are the targets which cannot be obtained, and the targets which should not be set up.
Which targets do you think cannot be obtained?
The draft strategy said that by 2010, all universities will change into the credit-based scheme, and I believe that this proves to be unfeasible as our material facilities still cannot meet the requirements. As for general education, the target of 99% of children going to primary schools and secondary schools proves to be out of reach due to the difficult financial difficulties in many localities.
How about the targets that you think are unnecessary?
In terms of higher education, the draft strategy said that by 2020,
The draft strategy compilers said that they set the ratio after considering the figure in
Besides, the target of obtaining at least one university listed among the world’s top universities also proves to be unfeasible.
The 2009-2020 draft strategy has made record in the duration of compilation and the times of adjustment. Professor Chu Hao recently suggested that the draft strategy should be done all over again instead of being put for the 15th adjustment. What is your viewpoint about that?
We still use the materials and documents compilers have collected, and use the experience we have got from the previous 14 adjustments. However, we should start again from the beginning in terms of thinking. I think that the Ministry of Education and Training should keep calm, come forward, and gather leading scientists to draft a feasible and scientific strategy.
You have said that we should keep calm, while many scientists said that it is now too late to compile the strategy?
I think that we still will be able to begin implementing the strategy in 2011 if we begin compiling the strategy right now.
VietNamNet/Dan tri
Detroit awaits bailout amid U.S. auto-industry crisis
It's a chilly Monday morning in Detroit, capital of U.S auto industry. Ricky Martin, a 7-year-old boy, is playing basketball with his brother in front of an abandoned house in downtown Detroit. The 2009 NCAA Final Four Logo is seen on the back of the General Motors Corp World Headquarters in downtown Detroit, Michigan April 2, 2009. For Detroit, creaking under rising unemployment, the Final Four represents a stimulus package that the city estimates will attract 100,000 visitors. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Like the little Martin, as many as 7,500 kids, may not have a chance to go to school next month as the local government is planning to shut down more than 20 public schools.
Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial office announced last week that 600 teachers will be laid off in an attempt to reduce a projected 303-million-U.S.-dollar deficit. A final decision on the closings of 23 schools would be released by May 8.
"It's ridiculous, no body cares about our kids, they are the future of Detroit, the future of America," Sarah Bell, a retired public school teacher told Xinhua.
"I don't know what's going on with the government, they rescued AIG, but leave the working people in the big D (Detroit) struggling for their lives and kids. That's too bad," she complained. "I grew up here and have served for 40 years in the city. This is the worst time I have even seen in my life."
"It's really hard to get a job here, half of graduate students leave the city. If you are lucky enough to get a job, you'd better not expecting any pension or welfare," the African-American lady added.
Detroit, a city founded in 1701 and became the world's automotive capital in last century, is experiencing the toughest time in its history as the U.S. auto-industry is reaching a life-and-death juncture amid the most severe financial crisis since 1929.
"The city has been in trouble in the past 50 years," said Sridhar Lakshmanan, a professor at University of Michigan, who witnessed the city's ups and downs.
"You can see abandoned houses everywhere in the urban area, people would no longer to live here. They could not afford the mortgage payment after the housing prices have been cut to half in the last three year, and they are losing their jobs, so they just leave. This town has become a ghost town."
The population of the auto-town has fallen from a peak of roughly 1.8 million in 1950 to about half that number today. While the unemployment rate rose to more than 16 percent in 2008, the highest since 1980s, abandoned structures created havens for drug dealers and criminals.
The city has been under deep water as the largest U.S. auto-maker, General Motors Corp. may go into bankruptcy if it fails to make a quick and deep restructure.
"I hope that the big three will never go under, otherwise it could be a disaster for the city and people living here," said H Derrick Alexander, whose father had been working for GM since 1970s.
"My father is retired, my mother is in poor health condition, if the company files for bankruptcy, oh my God, the pension, healthcare, we don't know what can we rely on," said the young African-American.
About 7,500 GM workers have signed up to take buyout and early retirement incentives to leave the company last month. The latest round of buyouts and early retirements at GM was the third for the company since 2006. From all three offers, more than 60,000 workers have decided to leave the company.
"We could not just let the auto-industry fail. It has been the heartbeat of America, it is the heartbeat of Detroit. Now it seems that it's losing the heartbeat," he added. "We need to be helping out."
VietNamNet/Xinhuanet
Thứ Ba, 31 tháng 3, 2009
Banks trying to raise capital, investors worry
VietNamNet Bridge – Commercial banks have started a new process of raising chartered capital after they successfully increased the capital to VND 1 trillion prior to December 31, 2008.
The Decree No. 141 2006 stipulates that the legal capital commercial banks must have by December 31, 2010 is VND 3 trillion, which means that small banks do not have much time and they need to start increasing capital beginning now.
Dai A, Viet Nam Tin Nghia, and Dai Duong, which had just raised the chartered capital to VND 1 trillion by the end of 2008, are now drawing up the plan to raise the capital to VND 2 trillion by the end of the year, before it raises the capital to VND 3 trillion by the end of the next year.
The General Director of a bank admitted that it is very difficult to raise capital at this moment, but it has to as it does not want to see the operation license revoked.
According to Dr. Le Tham Duong from the
The East Asia Bank’s shareholders’ meeting has approved the plan to raise the chartered capital from VND 2.9 trillion to VND 3.4 trillion, while Sacombank goes from VND 5.1 trillion to VND 6.7 trillion.
Doubts rose about feasibility
At the shareholders’ meeting of Sacombank held several days ago, a lot of shareholders of the bank expressed the doubts over the feasibility of the capital increase plan this year. They have every reason to worry, especially when Sacombank in 2008 had to cancel the plan on issuing shares to the public to raise capital top VND 6 trillion.
Even the Asia Commercial Bank, which is considered to have powerful financial capability, also keeps cautious with its capital increase plan. The bank has decided that it will raise capital if it exceeds the profit plan in the first half of the year, while it will delay the plan if it does not.
Several commercial banks already have the money needed to increase capital. ACB, for example, will use VND 1.3 trillion it got from the convertible bond issuance previously to increase chartered capital to VND 7.7 trillion by the end of 2009. Eximbank’s shareholders will not have to spend more money, as the bank plans to use VND 6 trillion in surplus it got previously from selling stakes at high prices. Saigon Bank plans to raise capital from VND 2 trillion to VND 3.4 trillion by issuing convertible bonds.
Meanwhile, the banks, which have to issue shares to increase capital, will have to face big challenges as the share prices have been decreasing.
There are not many lucky banks like the An Binh Bank, whose foreign partner Maybank is ready to pay money to purchase more shares. The global financial crisis has forced many big banks in the world to narrow their operations.
A HCM City-based joint stock bank has announced that it has stopped negotiations with a foreign partner on selling stakes.
A lot of banks think that they should issue more shares to existing shareholders. However, this proves to be the solution which does not have high feasibility. Local newspapers have reported that a bank announced the deadline of February 25 for registering to buy shares, but many of its shareholders missed the registration.
Chủ Nhật, 22 tháng 3, 2009
World economy to shrink by 1-2 percent in 2009: WB
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Referring to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast, Zoellick said such a worldwide economic contraction was unprecedented since the Great Depression in the 1930's.
"We haven't seen a figure like that globally since World War Two, which really means since the Great Depression," he told the gathering sponsored by the German Marshall Fund transatlantic think tank.
What the world's countries are now doing are "too little and too late" and fall short of effective measures in addressing the roots of the global financial meltdown, said the World Bank chief.
He suggested a system of reviews on the impact of existing stimulus plans undertaken by governments to be established at the upcoming G-20 London summit in early April.
"Some of the packages actually withdraw stimulus in 2010. So given the uncertainty of this crisis I think you want to have a review process to see whether more would be needed in 2010."
Zoellick also called for more efforts to revive world trade and provide continued assistance to poor nations, which suffered a lot in the economic crisis they are not responsible for.
VietNamNet/Xinhuanet
Thứ Tư, 18 tháng 3, 2009
Documentary series about Hanoi on television
VietNamNet Bridge – Celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi capital, Vietnam Television started broadcasting a documentary series about the history of Hanoi entitled “Thang Long’s Preeminent Heroes” on March 15. Hanoi in the autumn.
The series comprises 312 5-minute episodes and it will be screened until October 2010. The short films bring to audiences stories about well-known people such as King Ly Cong Uan, Ly Thuong Kiet, Tran Hung Dao, Nguyen Trai, Quang Trung and President Ho Chi Minh, among others.
Each episode is an interesting story about the history and development of Thang Long-Hanoi in the past 1,000 years or customs, habits and culture of Thang Long-Hanoi people.
Besides lively scenes shot at historic sites, the series also employs 3D technology to restore images and sites of the past.
Production of the episodes saw the contribution of a team of reputed writers and scholars, namely writer Nguyen Khac Phuc, Ho Phuong, and Nguyen Vinh Phuc. The series was produced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam Airlines, Motion Media and Vietnam Television (VTV).
VietNamNet/NLD
March 19: Russian tourists’ bodies to be brought home
VietNamNet Bridge - The bodies of nine Russian visitors who died in a traffic accident in Binh Thuan province last week will be transported home on March 19 on a flight of Vietnam Airlines.
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| On March 16, 14 injured Russian tourists were sent back home on a Russian aircraft. |
On March 16, 14 injured Russian tourists were sent back home on a Russian aircraft under the care of a team of doctors.
The nine bodies are now being kept at the HCM City-based Nguyen Tri Phuong and France-Vietnam hospitals.
Coris Insurance company in the Ukraine and an insurance firm in HCM City agreed on insurance payments for the families of the nine dead tourists.
Binh Thuan police on March 16 decided to bring the traffic accident at Dai Ninh pass to court. On the same day, experts examined the scene of the accident.
Binh Thuan authorities also decided to give assistance of $400 to the families of each dead victim and $150 to the families of each injured traveller.
Quoc Quang
Thứ Ba, 17 tháng 3, 2009
Vietnam Airlines pursues Eur5.2 million lawsuit
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The Roma Lower Court will consider Vietnam Airlines’ petition for annulling the verdict on April 2.
The airline said it had found two secret letters to arrange the lawsuit sent by lawyer Maurizio Liberate, the plaintiff, to Falcomar Company, which is the co-defendant with Vietnam Airlines. Falcomar was an agent of Vietnam Airlines in Italy.
Vietnam Airlines General Director Pham Ngoc Minh said the hearing on April 2 will be decisive and the last chance for Vietnam Airlines to seek justice. If the court rejects Vietnam Airlines’ petition, the firm will have no chance to reject Liberati’s compensation petition.
The lawsuit was initiated 15 years ago by lawyer Liberati. In 1991 Vietnam Airlines signed a contract to hire Falcomar Company to be its agent in Italy. The company then hired Maurizio Liberati to work for Falcomar in the position of Vietnam Airlines representative.
November 1, 1994 the Embassy of Italy in Vietnam sent a court summons to Vietnam Airlines requiring attendance at a trial to be held in Rome on November 30, 1995. The summons listed Liberati as the plaintiff, seeking compensation for unpaid work.
November 30, 1995, the trial opened. No Vietnam Airlines representative was present.
After several hearings, on March 7, 2000, the Rome Lower Court issued its verdict, requiring Vietnam Airlines to pay compensation of 4.8 billion lira (around Eur4.3 million) and cover Liberati’s legal costs of 58.5 million lira. Vietnam Airlines didn’t take part in the first hearing, so it didn’t receive the verdict or any information related to the case.
On May 2, 2002, when the deadline for appeals expired, Vietnam Airlines received Liberati’s letter and the copy of the Rome Lower Court’s verdict, which asked the firm to pay compensation of Eur4.3 million.
Liberati asked for the execution of the verdict in France. On February 18, 2004, the French Committee for Debt Claim and Distrainment informed Vietnam Airlines of a blockade of Eur1.3 million on the corporation’s Europe based bank account.
The Paris Court of Appeals defined the sum that Vietnam Airlines had to pay to Liberati was nearly Eur5.2 million, including interest through the end of 2003.
In April 2004, Vietnam Airlines sent a petition of appeal to the Paris Court of Appeals to ask for an annulment of the blockade and to the Rome Court of Appeals asking for a reconsideration of the verdict in 2000 of the Roma Lower Court. The two courts rejected the petitions, saying that the deadline for appeal had expired.
The Paris Court of Appeal rejected the firm’s petition, but it hasn’t executed the verdict yet; it is just holding Eur5.2 million to wait for the final decision from Roma.
Vietnam Airlines’ General Director Pham Ngoc Minh said in 2006, the firm paid Eur5.2 million to the blockaded account to serve the verdict’s execution. Since then, the firm has sought some evidence.
In October 2005, the firm submitted a special petition to the Rome Lower Court, asking it to annul the verdict in 2000 after it detected two secret letters that lawyer Liberati sent to Falcomar.
The two letters were sent in 1996, one year after the first hearing at the Roma Lower Court. In this letter, Liberati asked Falcomar to declare at the court that it hired him to work for Vietnam Airlines. After receiving the two letters, Falcomar stated it would dissolve to shift the responsibility in this case to Vietnam Airlines. Liberati and Falcomar built a script to ask for millions of euros of compensation from Vietnam Airlines.
The Roma Lower Court will work in the sixth session to consider Vietnam Airlines special.
“Despite the conclusion, we will pursue this lawsuit to get justice and to defend the prestige of Vietnam Airlines and to avoid bad precedents for Vietnamese businesses,” Minh said.
The Roma Court of Appeal rejected Vietnam Airlines’ appeals in December 2008 after seven working sessions.
However, according to Vietnam Airlines, the judge who was in charge of this case said that this was a very abnormal case. It is abnormal in the way the Roma Lower Court sent the court summons to Vietnam Airlines via the Italian Embassy in Vietnam, not the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy to the accusation of lawyer Liberati, and the secret letters between this lawyer and Falcomar.
Vietnam Airlines General Director Pham Ngoc Minh said that the agent contract signed between his firm and Falcomar has a clause that Falcomar only sells air tickets for Vietnam Airlines and Vietnam Airlines doesn’t bear responsibility for any contract or agreement that Falcomar signs with others.
The prime minister on March 9 assigned related agencies to support Vietnam Airlines in this lawsuit.
VietNamNet/VNE