Vietnamese researcher produces chipset tester

VietNamNet Bridge – A chipset which has not been tested is priced at $0.15. It is $350 after being tested successfully. Intel has said it will buy into the chipset tester designed by a researcher from the Sai Gon Technology University.

Le Phuoc Lam introduces the chip tester.

Le Phuoc Lam’s project named “Manufacturing chip testing equipment used in chip technology training” has been checked and taken over by the HCM City Department of Science and Technology.

Lam’s equipment includes hardware to receive orders from computers and perform the test, the wafer, the box to connect tested chipsets and the software to run it on computers.

Lam said that testing the chipset is one of the most important steps in producing chipsets, affecting the production costs of chipsets.

A chip that is not tested is priced $0.15. The price is $350/chipset after it is tested. In the world, there are chip testers serving the chipset manufacturing industry, priced at around $2 million, not chip testers for training. To hire a chip tester, the charge is $125,000 to 175,000 per hour.

Sai Gon Technology University’s vice director Le Hiep Tuyen said that they will invest more in this project to improve some functions and then manufacture the testers to serve chip technology training in Vietnam.

Intel Vietnam is willing to combine with the Sai Gon Technology University to develop this equipment. The firm will also buy testers to provide for some Vietnamese universities for training activities.

VietNamNet/Dat Viet

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University entrance exams to be marked by July 31

VietNamNet Bridge – Universities have said that they have sped up on marking exam papers in order to finish the work by the end of the month. It is expected that exam papers will see lower marks this year than last year.

Exam papers expected to see fewer marks

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan on July 17 paid a tour to universities in HCM City to supervise exam paper marking.

Representative from Saigon University said that this year proves to be the hardest year so far in terms of organising exams and marking exam papers. Some 33,000 students sat for the exams, which means there are 110,000 exam papers that need to be marked. The university said it began marking papers on July 15 and expects to complete the work by July 25.

The HCM City University of Education only began marking its 43,000 exam papers on July 17 and expects to finish the job within 10 days.

The noteworthy thing is that many universities have predicted that exam papers this year will see lower marks than last year.

An university said that it had just marked two papers it chose at random, and both the papers were below average for literature.

Other universities have reported low marks for mathematics.

According to Nguyen Tien Dung, Head of the Training Division under the HCM City University of Technical Education, no exam paper has got 10 for mathematics. There are a big proportion of papers that are below average in mathematics but there has been no zero.

Lam Truong Thoai, Head of the Training Division under the HCM City National University, has also predicted that marks for mathematics will be lower than in 2008, while having reported a high percentage of below average papers, including a zero. There has been no paper with a 10; the highest so far is 9.75.

Difficult to find teachers to mark exams

Universities have complained that the fee to mark exams is unexpectedly high this year.

The HCM City Open University, for example, pays 6,000 dong per paper, while the HCM City University of Education pays 8,000 and non-state universities pay up to 10,000 dong.

Universities have had to invite teachers from high schools to mark exam papers as well in order to meet the required pace.

Required marks expected to be lower than last year’s

The Hanoi Medical University, University of Foreign Trade, University of Civil Engineering and Thang Long University have predicted that the required marks to get into the universities will be lower than last year’s.

In 2008, the Hanoi Medical University was the one which set the highest required marks (28.5 for three subjects). However, the university’s President Nguyen Duc Hinh said that as the exam questions this year were more challenging than last year’s, the required marks are expected to be lower.

The Hanoi Foreign Trade University last year required students to have 28 marks to be enrolled in the university. The required marks may be the same or 0.5-1 mark lower than the last year’s level, according to Head of Training Division Le Thi Thu Thuy.

VietNamNet/VNE, DT, TP

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HCMC employers funnel insurance money into their own pockets

10:23' 22/07/2009 (GMT+7)

A worker collects his social insurance compensation at an insurance agency in Ho Chi Minh City. VietNamNet Bridge - Thousands of workers in Ho Chi Minh City are working without health and social insurance policies as employers illegally pocket chunks of their salaries meant to pay for mandatory insurance. The city’s Social Insurance Agency, which is also in charge of health insurance, told Thanh Nien Monday it was filing a lawsuit against more than 40 businesses for neglecting to pay more than VND200 million (US$11,230) each in insurance fees. The agency reported they had failed to collect a total of VND62 billion ($3.48 million) of health and social insurance fees from nearly 200 companies that had ignored payment. In Vietnam, workers pay 3 percent of their salary each for both health and social insurance policies and employers are required to deduct the money from salaries to pay the insurance agency directly. Agency director Cao Van Sang said the companies in the lawsuit had ignored payment although they had signed a commitment to pay the fees after several inspections and collection efforts by the agency. This lawsuit includes the highest number of companies the agency has ever filed suit against since its first case in late 2007, the agency reported. Nguyen Dang Tien, head of the agency’s inspection section, said the agency had rejected negotiation efforts as the companies had been using talks to delay payment, he said. He said several companies had requested negotiations as a way to extend payment deadlines, adding that nearly all the firms had blamed salary hikes and the global recession for the delays. The agency also rejected offers by some of the companies to pay just parts of their fees, he said. Tien also said many companies were aware of the lawsuit but had continued pocketing the insurance fees collected from workers without paying a single dong to the insurance agency. He said besides losses to the state budget, the lack of payments also meant that workers would not be entitled to their rightful benefits, especially when they fall ill or get injured. Lax rules “Regulations have not deterred, but only encouraged violations,” said Dang Quang Dieu, deputy head of the Law and Policy Bureau under the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor. He said the actions taken to enforce the payment rules were too lax. “The measures are inadequate: the maximum fine of some dozens of millions of dong is issued against those who ignored billions of dong in insurance fees.” He said health and social insurance violations would have serious and long-term negative consequences on workers. Stricter penalties, including criminal charges, were needed as a deterrent, he said. Nguyen Van Tien, chief inspector of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, also said that many violating companies had agreed to pay the fines without paying the insurance fees. “Some showed their business’ bank account figure to prove they had no money,” he said. “But they have other bank accounts to deposit money and we were unable to inspect those.” VietNamNet/Thanh Nien

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Credit tightening will not affect stock market

VietNamNet Bridge – Information about banks tightening loans for securities investments would have raised concerns that this would negatively influence the stock market – if the information had been released one year go. However, this is not the situation at this moment.

Information about banks tightening loans for securities investments would have raised concerns that this would negatively influence the stock market – if the information had been released one year go. However, this is not the situation at this moment

In principle, the tightening of credit means that investors will not have as much money to make securities investments. Therefore, it is understandable why people are worried that the tightened credit will affect the stock market.

The State Bank of Vietnam has sent documents to commercial banks, asking them to reserve capital for production and business, while limiting credit for consumption, real estate and securities investments.

In fact, the stock market has been influenced by the credit tightening policy for the last month, when the State Bank of Vietnam announced it would inspect banks’ credit activities. This was considered a move that heralded the policy on tightening credit to fund securities investments.

Since the move, banks have been controlling their loaning for securities investments, stopping providing loans and checking outstanding loans. Dau tu chung khoan reporters found out that there is still ‘room’ at securities companies to loan to securities investments. Most borrowers have sold stocks to pay debts back to banks. Other investors, fearing risks, dare not borrow money for investments at this moment.

The activities of loaning and borrowing money to inject in securities investments at this moment are not as hot as they were one month ago, when securities companies’ loan limits had nearly run out. At that time, short-term investors rushed to borrow money just for two weeks to make surfing investments.

Experts believe that the credit tightening will not affect the stock market because investors themselves are cautious when borrowing money at this moment. Currently, investors only borrow money for several days to make payments. For example, when restructuring their investment portfolios, investors want to purchase some share items but they still cannot sell other items to get money, so they borrow money from banks to make payments.

However, experts still believe that the tightening of credit will affect investors.

Investors understand that the State Bank of Vietnam is tightening credit because it wants to keep control over the stock market and does not want to see the stock market develop too hotly.

Experts have applauded the policy on tightening credit for securities investments, saying that it is a good policy for the market now.

As banks will reserve capital to fund production and business, listed companies in particular and businesses in general will benefit from the loans.

The State Bank of Vietnam has slashed the interest rate for compulsory reserves of commercial banks at the State Bank, a move that should be seen as a method to encourage money to be put into circulation.

VietNamNet/DTCK

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Australian Trade Minister to visit Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - Australian Minister for Trade Simon Crean (photo) will visit Vietnam on July 23-26 to enhance trade and economic ties, the Australian Embassy announced on July 20.

In Hanoi, Crean will co-chair the 8th Joint Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee (JTECC) with the Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc on July 24. The meeting will discuss key sectors in the two countries’ bilateral relationship: education and training, infrastructure and environmental management, financial services, energy, oil and gas, and agribusiness.

“As we progress towards implementation of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, I look forward to discussing its practical contribution to the bilateral trade and investment relationship with Vietnam,” Crean said.

The Australian Trade Minister will be accompanied to Vietnam by a business delegation, and will also visit Ho Chi Minh City on July 25-26. He is scheduled to visit two companies in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, which is next to the city.

The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), which was signed in February this year in Thailand, is the largest FTA Australia has concluded, according to Mr. Graeme Swift, Australian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City.

By the time the agreement was signed, Australia had recognized Vietnam’s market economy status. The decision to grant this status was made in the context of the AANZFTA negotiations. The recognition means that, in any future anti-dumping investigations by Australia in relation to imports from Vietnam, Vietnam will be subject to the same assessment process as other WTO members.

It is expected that AANZFTA will enter into force no later than January 2010, once a number of AANZFTA parties have completed their national ratification processes. Vietnam has not ratified it yet.

Once in force, the FTA will reduce or eliminate tariffs across a region that is home to 600 million people, with an estimated GDP of US$2.7 trillion.

Australia and Vietnam stand to gain from the agreement across many sectors, including exports of agricultural products, industrial goods and services.

Under the agreement, almost 90 per cent of tariff lines covering 96 percent of Australia’s trade with Vietnam will be tariff-free by 2020.

Two-way trade between Australia and Vietnam grew an average of 22 per cent a year over the last five years, reaching A$8 billion in 2007-08, according to the Australian Consulate General. Two-way trade services in 2007-08 totaled A$1.05 billion.

VietNamNet/SGGP

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Hue Citadel visit is beyond means of many Vietnamese

VietNamNet Bridge – The cost of entrance to the Citadel in Hue, a world cultural heritage site, is still more than many Vietnamese can afford.

The Hue ancient citadel.

Cao Xuan Dung and his daughter, Cao Thi Nga, from Nghe An province a few hundred kilometers to the north, stood regretfully at the imposing gate of the royal citadel in the ancient city of Hue. They had come to Hue for the university entrance exams. The father sold 816 kilograms of rice to raise 3.2 million dong for the trip.

Heritage Authority has “no voice” in ticket prices. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Heritage Authority chief, Nguyen Quoc Hung, says that local governments, and not the Heritage Authority, set ticket prices and policies. The Authority, he adds, doesn’t have any influence in such “sensitive” issues.

Standing in front of the gate, Dung told his daughter: “It cost us 340,000 dong to travel here from Nghe An. During these the last two days in Hue, we’ve spent nearly 1 millon dong. We have over 2 million dong left, just enough for us to go to Da Nang for the college entrance exams there, too, so…”

Pausing, Dung sadly looked at his daughter. The girl set her father’s mind at ease, saying: “No problem, Daddy. We can visit this place (the Hue royal citadel) another time. I’m still young. Don’t be worried for me!”

The father didn’t agree. He wanted to buy the entrance tickets while young Nga tried to stop him. Finally, Dung spoke his mind: “Let’s use 35,000 dong to buy a ticket for you to go inside, to know how the Nguyen emperors lived. I will wait for you here.” But his daughter refused.

Hue students in a free tour to the Hue ancient citadel. However, such a chance is very rare.

The father and daughter quietly left the Hue royal citadel that day, the ancient and forbidden royal palace still a mystery for them. Dung returned to his inn grieving that his daughter had missed a chance to experience the heritage of the ancestors.

Dung works on a stock breeding farm in Nghe An province. His wife is a farmer. Their two children are still in school. “Uncle Ho taught that Vietnamese people must know about Vietnam’s history,” he told us. “Our life has been tough, that’s OK, but my children need to know about Vietnam’s history. Understanding our history is knowing about our culture and origin. Here we are, my daughter and I, standing on the ground of our ancient capital, and in front of a world cultural heritage site. If my daughter fails the exams, she will return home to do farm work and get married. That’s all! Perhaps she will not ever have another chance to visit the royal citadel. I’m determined to get her to see the ancient royal palace, even if I have to borrow money to return home.”

How many students are there like Nga, who couldn’t visit the royal citadel in Hue because of the ticket price?

Vietnam’s neighbor, Cambodia opens its magnificent Angkor temples for free to all citizens. Every Cambodian has the chance to admire the heritage of their ancestors. In other countries, students, at least, are exempted from buying tickets or pay a much lower rate.

Tuoi Tre Daily talked with Vice Chairman Ngo Hoa of Thua Thien-Hue province about ticket prices:

Hoa said: “We have special policies for students or war invalids. Students can enter the citadel for half price and it is free for primary students. We also have some free days for the public, for example March 26 (the anniversary of Hue’s liberation in 1975) or the lunar New Year. On average, we exempt ticket fees worth two or three billion dong a year.

Q: How are students exempted from ticket fares?

Hoa: Not only students in our area, student groups visiting from anywhere in the country -- Can Tho, Da Lat, Hai Phong, Hanoi – are exempted or enter for half price. Certainly, they must be registered and enter in groups. If lists of students are sent to the provincial People’s Committee, I will immediately approve 50 percent-off tickets for them.

Q: So, they’ll have to send the list one week before their tour to the Hue Relics Preservation Centre or the Thua Thien-Hue Provincial People’s Committee for approval?

Hoa: We will consider changing the system so that students can buy reduced-fee tickets if they show their student cards.

Q: What do you think about Cambodia? Over there, local people don’t have to pay for visiting their country’s heritage sites. Or about other countries that, though they also sell entrance tickets, have preferential policies for children and the elderly?

Hoa: The management mechanisms in other countries are different from Vietnam. For example, the Cambodian Government auctions the right to manage and exploit Angkor to private companies. The high bidder has to pay the local government a fee.

Heritage sites belong to the people and they were also created by the people. I think in the future, a preferential policy will be expanded. Money is important but the sustaining the people’s awareness of the need to preserve our heritages is more important. If they contribute some money to support this work, their awareness of preservation and development of the sites will be improved.

We want to have more and more people to visit the royal citadel, but to manage this we need a mechanism. When such a mechanism will be established depends on the development of our province and our country. However, we are ready to explore all opinions.

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Yahoo reports sales drop, revamps homepage

Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new homepage and posted a decrease of quarterly sales which met expectations.

A Yahoo! sign is seen in New York's Times Square November 18, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

In the quarter ended on June 30, the Internet company's revenues were 1.57 billion U.S. dollars, down 13 percent from the same period last year.

Excluding fees passed on to partner sites, revenues were 1.14 billion dollars, in line with analysts' estimates though lower than 1.35 billion dollars in the year-ago quarter.

Yahoo's net income in the second three months this year was 141million dollars, an increase of about eight percent from 131 million dollars a year earlier. Excluding some expenses, earnings per share was 16 cents, the same as last year.

"I'm pleased with our results this past quarter. We established a clear, simple vision to be the center of people's lives online, and we're backing that vision with important initiatives to create 'wow' experiences for our users," Carol Bartz, Yahoo's chief executive officer (CEO), said in a statement.

"We're confident that this vision will put us on the right path to growth and profitability long term," she added.

Yahoo also announced that its redesigned homepage is available to users in the United States starting from Tuesday and will be rolled out in France, India and Britain over the coming week.

The new homepage "brings together the best of the Web with the best of Yahoo in a single destination across both PC and mobile screens," Yahoo said in a press release.

The company noted that the revamp represents the most significant change to the Yahoo homepage since its inception.

"Our new homepage is a perfect example of our efforts to create innovative products aimed at increasing user engagement while offering the most compelling advertising proposition in the industry," Yahoo CEO Bartz said.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

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