Selling and buying a home at the same time

People’s question time as NA faces public session (27-11-2006) HA NOI — Saturday’s National Assembly (NA) session heated up as authorities debated construction, finance and education policies. During the live broadcast of the NA’s question-and-answer session, Construction Minister Nguyen Hong Quan and Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh were grilled by deputies about public housing under the State’s urban planning programme. The problem centres on official State residences and State-owned houses, which include large villas in Ha Noi and HCM City. Under the Law on Housing, the Government is required to supply officials with a temporary home. Once the cadres leave their post, they have three months to either return the property or buy it from the State. Deputy Nguyen Minh Thuyet from Lang Son said there was growing public discontent about these houses and asked the finance minister how he proposed to solve the price and transparency issues. The finance minister … [Read more...] about People’s question time as NA faces public session

A woman self-checks her blood pressure. Doctors warn of the impact of low quality home medical equipment on patients’ health. - Photo kinhtedothi.vn Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Using low quality home medical equipment is having a serious effect on the health of people in Hà Nội, doctors have warned. Nebulizers, blood pressure monitors, glucose metres and electronic thermometres are some of the items often purchased by families in the capital for personal use. Several of them came from unclear sources. Having struggled with diabetes for five years, Trần Thị Xếp, 64, in Nam Từ Liêm District had to go to hospital frequently for checkups. Weary of the long distance from her house to the hospital and medical procedures, she decided to buy a glucose metre at VNĐ1.2 million (US$51) to check her glucose level at home. After using it for a month, she realised the machine showed the same results at different times in one morning. Taking the results to see her doctor, Xếp learned the … [Read more...] about Fears over home treatments

Flower prices drop sharply on eve of Tet The Saigon Times Daily Consumers buy peach blossom at Gia Dinh Park in Phu Nhuan District - PHOTO: THU HANG HCMC – Many Tet flower-selling venues in HCMC were teeming with residents coming to buy flowers and decorative plants on February 4, or the final day of this lunar year, as prices of flowers plunged by half, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. Flower vendors were in a race against time to offload their flowers so that they could go home as soon as possible to welcome the Lunar New Year. A flower vendor from Nha Trang City said that the price of two chrysanthemum pots fell to VND1 million from VND1.4 million. Le Chau Dien, residing in Go Vap District, said that he accepted losses to sell the rest of bonsai trees and flower pots, adding that two small-sized chrysanthemum pots were priced at VND150,000, dropping by 50% against previous days. Tang Minh Manh, a flower grower in Dong Thap Province, said that his family … [Read more...] about Flower prices drop sharply on eve of Tet

Alcoholic abuse must be stopped By Dao Quang Minh A “beer street” in Vietnam. The country’s lawmakers should pay adequate attention to health problems and the cost of addressing consequences of alcoholism as well as its effects on young generations - PHOTO: LA ANH Tet, the Lunar New Year, is a merry time when a huge amount of alcoholic beverages are consumed. In this context, more specific and drastic measures are urgently needed to put alcoholic beverage production and consumption under control. Such measures may be a prelude to the reduction of and accessibility to alcohol in a bid to gradually curb alcoholic abuse among Vietnamese young people. Trying to escape from the scorching heat, I stopped by a 7-Eleven convenience store on Sukhumvit Boulevard in Bangkok, Thailand, to seize some beer cans. I took all the cans to a young female cashier there. Much to my surprise, the girl politely pointed to a wall clock that said 2:15 p.m. “We do not sell beer during this … [Read more...] about Alcoholic abuse must be stopped

A forgotten tool which should be reinstated By Luu Hao It should be noted as well that relevant Vietnamese agencies have so far made great efforts to partly solve the problem by urging domestic business groups to sign big contracts for buying U.S.Boeing jetliners and machinery - PHOTO: LE MINH KHUE The use of taxes and fees should be prioritized to improve the competitiveness of enterprises. As this tool has been long forgotten, it should be reinstated as quick as possible. Vietnam’s budget collection has increased over the years while budget deficit has been to a certain extent put under control. Vietnam is among the nine countries in the “monitoring list” compiled by the U.S. Treasury Department. This piece of news was officially posted on the website of the State Bank of Vietnam late last month. The “Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States” recently released by the department sets three criteria for … [Read more...] about A forgotten tool which should be reinstated

VAMC to continue settling bad debts through special bonds The Saigon Times Daily An office of the Vietnam Asset Management Company in Hanoi – PHOTO: DAU TU NEWSPAPER HCMC – State-run Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) aims to continue purchasing nonperforming loans (NPLs) by using special bonds, targeting weak credit institutions to ward off risks to the local banking system. In its business and investment plan for the 2019-2023 period, the company revealed it is trying to speed up the purchase and sale of bad debts, reported Thanh Nien newspaper. Credit institutions whose NPLs account for over 3% will receive special bonds with values governed by the State Bank of Vietnam. VAMC intends to settle its existing NPLs by late 2020; bad debts purchased according to market prices and those involving special bonds will be settled from 2021 to 2023. Under its plan, the company aims to buy NPLs at market prices totaling VND4.5 trillion (US$193 million), and will … [Read more...] about VAMC to continue settling bad debts through special bonds

Trade war likely to drag on, bring fewer benefits than expected By Minh Tam Delegates at the seminar “Escalating trade war: Vietnamese enterprises’ pleasure and concern” - PHOTO: TRAN LINH HCMC - Experts attending a seminar in HCMC today, September 6, agreed that the U.S.-China trade war would continue to drag on, with unpredictable developments, noting that Vietnamese enterprises have enjoyed fewer benefits from it than expected. At a seminar, themed “Escalating trade war: Vietnamese enterprises’ pleasure and concern,” held by The Saigon Times Group and securities firm Yuanta Vietnam, Dr Pham Sy Thanh, director of the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research's Chinese Economic Studies Program, noted that trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies will continue to escalate. Since June last year, both sides have imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s exports and have not reduced any tariffs. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the … [Read more...] about Trade war likely to drag on, bring fewer benefits than expected

Incomplete joy By Trung Chanh Vietnamese enterprises are keeping an eye on the Philippines’ rice import policy for a quick response should changes be made – PHOTO: LE HOANG VU Vietnam’s rice export to the Philippines has sharply grown since the latter removed her rice import quotas at the beginning of this year. Still, when it comes to value, those who directly produce rice in Vietnam do not benefit much despite the surge in quantity. In previous years, the Philippines adopted a quota mechanism for rice import. In addition to allocating the private sector an annual quota of some 850,000 tons, the Philippines’ National Food Authority (NFA), having taken into account the balance between supply and demand at home, would then invite bids for government-to-government rice buys from other countries, mainly Vietnam and Thailand. However, this year, specifically on February 15, the President of the Philippines signed the enactment of Act No. 11203, converting the rice … [Read more...] about Incomplete joy

A Fragrance of Contemporary Thainess The charm of scented candles with beautiful patterns created on ceramic works reflects real Thai artistry. As the second generation in a family business making Thai fragrances, Thaniya Janeturakit, Executive Director of Thaniya brand, realised the potential for Thai Benjarong ceramic patterns to enhance the value of her family’s fragrance business. “I started by noticing how many Thai houses often had various pieces of Benjarong ceramics decorated around their homes. The charm of these ceramic pieces lies in the pattern that looks soft, beautiful and colourful, but most importantly it reflects Thai artistry,” she says. “When I created the Thaniya brand, I wanted to decorate our products, such as a container for scented candles, with these patterns, only in a more contemporary fashion.” Janeturakit believes the strength of the Thaniya brand is that it represents the Thai contemporary design that is both glamorous and friendly at the … [Read more...] about A Fragrance of Contemporary Thainess

My hometown now By Dang Quynh Giang A face of Saigon - PHOTO: THANH HOA-NGOC LINH A migrant, now a Saigonese, expresses his love and gratitude to Saigon which he says has been a place where he can realize his dreams. I began to know about Saigon in the mid-1980s. In the imagination of a five-year-old boy back then, Saigon was the land of prosperity, wealth and luxury. The poverty and backwardness of a highland region at the time—before the country’s renovation period—made many in my birthplace visualize Saigon as a place where they could realize their life-changing dreams. The relation between my family and Saigon was established by my father’s trips to Saigon. My dad, a dynamic young man in the countryside, always thought of ways to make his family less miserable during the hardships during the subsidy time. During his first trip to the “promised land,” my dad accompanied a soldier who was then stationed in Bien Hoa [some 30 kilometers from downtown Saigon] when … [Read more...] about My hometown now