Vietnam, US hold third BIT negotiation round

Vietnam, US hold third BIT negotiation round

QĐND – Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 16:28 (GMT+7)

The two delegations reviewed and exchanged views on provisions of the US model BIT, naming their interest that will help create a foundation for more practical discussions at the next negotiation round. 

The third round of negotiations on the Vietnam-US Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) was held in Washington DC from November 17-19. 

The Vietnamese delegation, headed by an official from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, included representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the State Bank of Vietnam, and the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation. 

The US delegation, led by officials from the Department of State and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), were comprised of representatives from the Department of Commerce and the Department of Treasury. 

The two delegations reviewed and exchanged views on provisions of the US model BIT, naming their interest that will help create a foundation for more practical discussions at the next negotiation round. 

The Vietnamese delegation had further discussions to identify the proposals incorporated into the latest draft of the US model BIT text. It expressed its concern about the possibility of executing some terms and conditions in the draft, especially those relating to transfer of money, financial services, list of non-conforming measures that are maintained by a party, minimum standard treatment. 

It also dealt with publication of laws and decisions respecting investment, expropriation, investor-state dispute settlement, scope of application, relations between this treaty and other international treaties and agreements by which Vietnam and the US have abided or will abide. 

The US delegation provided a clear explanation of the goals and requirements it set in incorporating proposals into the model BIT. They recognised the Vietnamese side’s concerns and had a deeper understanding of legal and practical issues related to the application of BIT in Vietnam. 

The negotiations took place in an atmosphere of openness and frankness. Both sides expressed satisfaction at the other’s preparations for and participation in, the negotiations. 

The US delegation proposed the next round of negotiations take place in Vietnam in early 2010. The Vietnamese delegation accepted the US proposal and pledged an early response.

Source: VOV

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

Getting close to online casinos

Getting close to online casinos

QĐND – Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 16:28 (GMT+7)

Previously, to gamble online, players had to contact agencies in Vietnam and pay fees to “bosses” – but now it is much simpler.

“You only need to go online to directly make contact with the bankers through e-transaction, dubbed ‘magic wands’ by gamblers,” said former “boss” LTT, who worked as agency for many gambling websites. 

However, LTT suggested a site for Tuoi Tre’s reporter to visit. 

Seeking magic wand 

According to LTT, this site quickly offers “magic wand” or “e banking card”. With this card, players can gamble easily and don’t have to pay commission to agencies. With only one USD, you can bet against the banker. 

Following LTT’s guidance, Tuoi Tre’s reporter opened an account with an ATM card at the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank). Some bankers only accept debit cards from this bank (Visa Debit). 

After getting the card, LTT instructed the reporter to register for the bank’s e-banking service. He hen helped set up an account at the online gambling site. 

To be accepted players have to show a scan of their ID cards, a document proving they can transfer money from their Vietcombank account to a web account and the front of their Vietcombank card. 

Two hours after making a transaction to transfer $50 from the Vietcombank card to the online account, the reporter was informed by email that he was now able to log into the site to gamble. 

With many Vietnamese gamblers, this site has five languages, including Vietnamese.  The website offers various kinds of betting, from football to basketball, badminton, tennis and also stock indexes of the world. 

LTT is the “captain” of Club DLTCL, the name of a group of online betters. This group hired a guest house and an Internet line to gamble. Their account always has over 100 million dong and they earn their living by online betting and commissions from new gamblers. 

Spending a whole night with this group to see how they bet online, a Tuoi Tre’s reporter witnessed them losing nearly 50 million dong. 

Tuoi Tre asked an official of the Vietcombank why banks transfer money to overseas betting accounts, Trinh Thuong Thuc, chief of the credit card service department, said that only if the government bans people from using bank cards for online payment, can the bank can stop transferring money to online accounts.  

He said that whenever its clients use e-banking services, Vietcombank has to pay at client’s request. The payment system works automatically. The bank doesn’t have the right to refuse transactions. 

Another option, E-purse is now offered at almost all banks in Vietnam. From this “purse”, clients can use Visa Debit cards to transfer money to any betting accounts in the world. 

Dinh The Hien, director of the Institute for IT and Application Economics, said that online betting and gambling is very popular but it is impossible to prevent it. To control online betting, e-banking services must be controlled and this will affect people’s banking transaction in general. 

According to AFP, there are around 15,000 sports betting websites, including over 13,000 illegal sites. Their turnover is up to 15 billion euros a year ($23.6 billion). Most of the sites are based in Euro. 

A research by an IT security consulting firm named ISSC recently warned that behind many illegal betting sites are criminal gangs. 

Other tricks 

As the number of online gambling sites rise – so do their victims. 

Besides online casinos for Vietnamese professional gamblers, internet users can take part in online games on many websites – a fact confirmed by online gambler H. 

With just a few clicks, H became a member of one Vietnamese website. This web supplies new members with virtual coins called gold. To get higher level in the game, players have to try to earn 100,000 gold, 1 million gold or even 100 million gold to become a big player. If they lose the free gold, they will have to exchange real money for virtual gold to continue the game. 10 million gold is equivalent to 50,000 Vietnam dong. 

T, an online gambler said that every form of gamble is available on the internet, even popular online games in Vietnam as MU, Sword man, Thien Long Bat Bo, etc. are associated with betting. 

He explained that in online games, players can only gamble with virtual money and can only exchange real money into virtual coins. In FPT’s MU game, players can make football bets.  

In online games, there are two kinds of ratings: rating in terms of level and in terms of wealth, both associated with betting or gamble. 

To serve online gamblers, there are a whole host of service websites attracting visitors with slogans like “How to make much money”, “The most accurate lottery forecast system”, “Football matches that will surely make you win in betting”, etc. 

If one clicks to these slogans, he will see “To know the most accurate prediction of tonight’s lottery result, please send message to 6xxx” or “Secret information from lottery spinning room, type SOI and send to 6xxxx”.  

After sending a text message by phone to this number, one receives the following message: “Thank you for using our service. We don’t have the latest forecast yet. We will send it to you immediately when we get it” while he pays 3,000-5,000 dong in his phone account. 

Victims of online gambles 

T is a member of hoancanh.com, a group of addicted online gamblers. This man and his group opened an account for football betting in central Thanh Hoa province. T owed over 500 million dong (over $30,000) and he had to flee to Saigon. 

In T’s group was K, who was an excellent student of HCM City-based Ton Duc Thang University and V, a former student of the HCM City University of Natural Sciences. At the beginning, both of them just tried online gaming. Gradually, they have become gambling addicts and they quit university to devote more time to the online world. 

To have money for online gambles, K started selling druges – later he became an addict himself. He currently lives at the foot of Saigon Bridge. 

“My parents abandoned me two years ago. I want to give up everything to make a new life but it is so difficult because I’m stopped by debts and drugs,” K said. 

V is no longer a student but he lies to his parents that he is in order to receive money for online gambling. “I’ve asked my parents to give me 10 million dong for my master course,” he said. V said that he had tried to give up online gambling several times but has so far failed. 

Another group of online gamblers – DLTCL club – in District 10 is another example. The group’s leader is an engineer, who had to change jobs several times because of being fired as a result of spending too much time spent playing online games.  

All members of this group lost assets like mobile phones, motorbikes and even houses to online gambling. Some have convictions relating to robbery or burglary. 

In June 2008, a man in Tan Phu district, HCM City committed suicide after failed online sport bet. 

A family in Tan Binh district recently had to ask for police’s protection because a family member lost an online bet worth 200 million. He couldn’t pay the bet and his family were threatened by a gang. 

Recently, two men who were born in 1987 in District 11 jumped into the river because they couldn’t pay for an online bet. 

Senior Lieutenant Vo Duy Thang from the HCM City Police Agency said that online gambling is a hi-tech crime, which develops in big cities like Hanoi, HCM City and Hai Phong. It is very difficult for police to combat it as evidence is also “virtual”.  

However, police have discovered many online gambling gangs. 

Source: VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre 

 

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

Not the right time for house taxation: NA deputies

Not the right time for house taxation: NA deputies

QĐND – Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 16:28 (GMT+7)

The Bill on House and Land Tax was discussed by National Assembly (NA) deputies November 22, with many saying now is not the right time for homeowners to start paying tax on their property.
 
Deputy Nguyen Thi My Huong speaks at the ongoing NA session on November 22 in Hanoi, where a bill on house and land tax was discussed. (Photo: SGGP)

Speaking at the ongoing NA session in Hanoi, Ngo Van Minh of Quang Nam Province said: “Why should we impose tax on homeowners, as people’s right to accommodation is a basic right outlined in the Constitution?”

“People work a long time to purchase a house and they are already subject to personal income tax,” said Nguyen Thi Nguyet Huong of Hanoi. “Therefore, making them pay tax on their home is like charging them twice.” 

Pointing out that a house tax would affect millions of families, Ms. Huong said: “Currently, one-third of civil servants have yet to own a home and their income is still low. I suggest that house taxation not be applied now. If the tax is to be applied in the future, it must be carried out according to a specific plan.”

“Based on the economy and the country’s income per capita, now is not the right time for house taxation. We should put it off for some time, even up to 10 years,” said Tran Du Lich of Ho Chi Minh City.

“It should be carried out in a manner similar to that of personal income tax, which was first applicable on only high-income earners and later on all people who earn a taxable income,” he said.

Mr. Lich also warned that a house tax might inflate the housing bubble, since market prices of houses and land have increased far beyond their actual values.

Discussing land taxation, many deputies said the bill should clarify who is eligible for a reduction or exemption of land tax, to avoid losses to the State budget revenue.  

Tran Viet Hung of Hoa Binh Province said: “As for land left unused, land owners should be subject to a tax rate of 1.5-2 percent, or higher, of the value of land.”

NA deputy chairman Nguyen Duc Kien asked the bill’s drafters to specifically identify who will pay land taxes when land is leased or assigned for use without charge, or used for building apartment blocks or industrial parks.

Most legislators concluded that house and land taxation would affect a large part of the population, so the matter should be reconsidered carefully before a law is promulgated.

Source: VietNamNet/SGGP

 

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

Thua Thien-Hue joins regional coastal network

Thua Thien-Hue joins regional coastal network

QĐND – Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 21:15 (GMT+7)

The central coastal province of Thua Thien-Hue has become the 25th member of the Partnership Network of Local Government for Sustainable Coastal Development of East Asia (PNLG).

The Saigon Giai phong (Liberated Saigon) daily quotes the provincial authorities as saying that the admission was announced at the PNLG conference held in Bataan city (the Philippines ) on November 21.

Representatives from 25 provinces and cities in 10 East Asian countries including Cambodia , China , South Korea , Laos , Malaysia , Indonesia , the Philippines , Thailand , East Timor and Vietnam attended the event.

Since its launch in 2001, the PNLG has served as an effective forum for exchanging information and practical experiences, skills and management know-how on integrated coastal management (ICM) practices among its members. In particular, study tours and the PNLG annual forum, which members take turns hosting, providing the necessary vehicles for mutual learning and mentoring within the PNLG network.

Source: VNA

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

Red River pontoon open for business

Red River pontoon open for business

QĐND – Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 21:15 (GMT+7)

The Hanoi People’s Committee in cooperation with the Ministry of National Defence on Nov. 23 opened a pontoon bridge over the Hong (Red) River to reroute traffic from Thang Long Bridge which is currently undergoing repairs.

Nguyen Quoc Hung, director of the municipal Department of Transport, said that the 700-metre long and 8-metre wide pontoon bridge with a weight capacity of 60 tonnes would serve all vehicles, except container trucks, for two months.

The pontoon connects Tu Liem district’s Dong Ngac commune to Dong Anh district’s Dai Mach commune.

Since the end of October when Thang Long Bridge began undergoing repairs, traffic jams on the approach to the bridge have lengthened to several kilometers, with vehicles taking at least two hours to pass the bridge.

Coaches and trucks are banned from using Thang Long Bridge until after 9pm, forcing them to use other roads, and adding up to 50 kilometres to their journey.

Thang Long Bridge is the only point connecting the city centre to the airport and usually sees 20,000 vehicles using it daily, serious traffic jams have had a negative effect on economic life.

Hung said that the pontoon bridge is necessary to lessen traffic congestion.

Colonel Pham Quang Xuan of the Ministry of National Defence said that the pontoon bridge would be able to support around 10,000 vehicles a day.

Hanoi last employed a pontoon bridge during last year’s historic floods.

Source: VNA

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

ASEAN, China Prosecutors General meet in Hanoi

ASEAN, China Prosecutors General meet in Hanoi

QĐND – Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 21:15 (GMT+7)

Nearly 200 Vietnamese and foreign delegates attended the opening ceremony of the 6th ASEAN-China Prosecutors General Conference in Hanoi on November 24. The conference will discuss ways to strengthen the fight against trans-national organised crime.

In his speech of welcome, Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet said the globalisation process and the global economic recession have had a negative impact on all countries and territories, especially poor and underdeveloped ones. They have caused an economic slowdown, increased unemployment, widened the gap between rich and poor, eroded cultural values and traditional morality, and complicated trans-national organised crime.

“These challenges require governments to work closely together to weather the economic storm, formulate effective social welfare policies and enhance the operational efficiency of judicial agencies so as to maintain national security, socio-economic development and cultural tradition, and safeguard their citizens’ freedom and democracy,” said Mr Triet.

He said the fine relationship between ASEAN and China has given a boost to cooperation in science, education, labour, environmental protection, law and the fight against trans-national organised crime.

“Vietnam applauds the effective cooperation between judicial agencies of ASEAN and China, including the initiative to host the ASEAN-China Prosecutors General Conference,” said Mr Triet.

He noted that Vietnam has been carrying out judicial reform and has achieved significant results. Criminal and civil laws and proceedings have been developed to build a law-governed state. The organisation and operation of Vietnamese judicial agencies have been renewed, the professional skills of judicial staff have been improved and international cooperation in the field has been broadened.

The Vietnam National Assembly recently issued the Legal Aid Law and a number of other important laws relating to judicial activities, laying a firm foundation for combating crime and expanding international cooperation while respecting the principles of national independence and sovereignty and non-intervention in each other’s internal affairs.   

Mr Triet proposed that countries develop reliable mechanisms for sharing information, conducting research and making long-term forecasts about trans-national organised crime in line with international law and multilateral agreements.

According to Tran Quoc Vuong, head of the Vietnam Supreme People’s Procuracy, combating trans-national crime has been an important task of the national programme on crime prevention and control. Vietnam has cooperated closely with the United Nations and other countries in this field by signing a number of agreements, including the UN Conventions on drug control, the UN Convention against Trans-national Organised Crime, and the UN Convention against Corruption.

“Vietnam attaches great importance to legal assistance activity with other countries, considering this an effective way to combat trans-national organised crime,” said Mr Vuong. “Vietnam is committed to full and timely cooperation with other countries’ procuracy agencies and hopes to receive assistance from these organisations in return.”

The conference will end on November 25.

Source: VOV

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

Construction of Hanoi-Thai Nguyen highway gets underway

Construction of Hanoi-Thai Nguyen highway gets underway

QĐND – Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 21:15 (GMT+7)

The building of a highway linking the capital city of Hanoi with the mountainous province of Thai Nguyen started on November 24 under the watchful eye of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The highway is seen as an important project in the country’s strategy to develop its transport and communications network by 2020. Its construction will help to promote socio-economic exchanges between Hanoi and Thai Nguyen as well as between Hanoi and other northern mountainous provinces.

The four-lane 61.3 km highway is being built at a cost of 8.1 trillion VND (450 million USD). Of this amount, 6.1 trillion VND is from Japanese-funded ODA loans. It is expected to be finished in 42 months and will enable vehicles to travel at speeds of up to 100 km/hour.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, PM Dung highlighted the project’s importance in Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen’s socio-economic development process. The PM told the local authorities to review their master plan for developing industry and services so that they can make full use of the opportunities the new highway will offer.

On the occasion, the PM thanked the Japanese Government for providing the loan and said that he hoped that Japan will continue to offer Vietnam loans for infrastructure projects for the mutual benefit of both countries.

Source: VNA

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

NA discusses bill on people with disabilities

NA discusses bill on people with disabilities

QĐND – Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 21:15 (GMT+7)

National Assembly deputies have underlined the need to issue a bill on people with disabilities to help them improve their physical and spiritual lives and integrate well into the community.

While discussing the bill in Hanoi on November 24, deputies said the issuance is to legalise socio-political, economic and cultural relations and policies for the disabled, creating conditions for them to get access to all basic services and enjoy the fruits of social development.

The bill, they said, demonstrates the humanitarianism of the Vietnamese state in line with the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Vietnam has previously signed. They quoted statistics showing that the number of disabled persons in Vietnam will remain steady in the coming years as a result of environmental pollution, toxic chemicals sprayed by the US army during the past war, traffic and labour accidents, and natural disasters.

Several deputies said it is necessary to classify disabled people according to grades of disability to help local administrations devise appropriate policies. However, they proposed closely monitoring the classification process to prevent opportunists from capitalising on policy loopholes.

Other deputies proposed State incentives, such as tax reductions and easier access to bank loans, for agencies and businesses that employ disabled persons.  

They said the State should pay more attention to building houses, creating jobs and developing appropriate public transportation for disabled people, pointing out that there are few jobs for the disabled in the public sector.

Source: VOV

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

Northern mountainous provinces launch tourism year

Northern mountainous provinces launch tourism year

QĐND – Monday, November 23, 2009, 16:51 (GMT+7)

A ceremony was held in Ha Giang province on November 21 to launch the 2010 Tourism Year of four northern mountainous provinces, namely Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang and Bac Kan.

The event was attended by Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation Ha Thi Khiet and leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Activities to introduce the four provinces’ tourism potential included a tourist guides’ contest, a fashion show of ethnic minority costumes and a photo exhibition on landscapes and people of the four provinces.

The 2010 Tourism Year aims to attract tourists and investors to the four provinces and boost tourism cooperation with China’s northwestern and southwestern localities.

Source: VOV

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

HCM City looks to boost tourism in Cambodia

HCM City looks to boost tourism in Cambodia

QĐND – Monday, November 23, 2009, 16:51 (GMT+7)

Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong delta provinces plan to launch a tourism investment promotional programme in Cambodia from December 7-9.

The Saigon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) quoted HCM City’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism as saying that businesses from the city and two Mekong delta provinces of An Giang and Kieng Giang will travel to capital of Phnom Penh and Sihanouk Ville city to meet with Cambodian Ministry of Tourism officials and leaders from localities of Cambodia.

Their talks are to focus on tourism market and ways to promote Vietnam’s tourism in the neighbouring country.

Source: VNA

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share