The benchmark VN-Index gained 2.7 points or 0.7 per cent to 390.67 points, after strongly fluctuating and falling nearly 4 points during the session.

Pillar stocks and other blue-chip stocks turned back to support the market. Vincom Corp. (VIC) jumped 3.67 per cent to VND113,000, while Vinamilk (VNM) and Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) slightly added.

Real estate stocks Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), Ocean Group (OGC), Kinh Bac City Development Share Holding Corp. (KBC), Tan Tao Investment Industry Corp. (ITA) suddenly hit the ceiling, while the speculative stock Becamex Infrastructure Development (IJC) also soared.

PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) and Eximbank (EIB) jumped, but Vietcombank (VCB) and Military Bank (MBB) significantly fell.

Liquidity was good, with total trading volumes hit VND622 billion ($30 million) on the HoSE compared with around VND500 billion ($24.1 million) in yesterday’s session. The put-through volume strongly rose to 8.4 million shares worth VND204 billion ($9.9 million).

EIB outperformed with up to 2.5 million shares matched. The banking stock also had the biggest put-through volume of 3.5 million units.

Analyst, however, are still concerned, as interest rates have yet to cool and other macroeconomic factors have not been positive.

“It is easy to see that the recent positive sessions are not in line with domestic macroeconomic movements,” said Vietcombank Securities.

In fact, more stocks fell as holders locked profits. Decliners and advancers ran nearly even 110 to 109 on the HoSE, while 89 stocks unchanged.

The Hanoi Stock Exchange also eased back with HNX-Index lost 0.12 points or 0.2 per cent to 60.47 points.

Major stocks, particularly financial ones, like Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Habubank (HBB), Kim Long Securities (KLS), Bao Viet Securities (BVS) turned head to fell dragging the market. Decliners strongly outran advancers 147 to 95 on the bourse.

Liquidity also kept low at 30.6 million shares worth VND238.2 billion ($11.5 million).

source form: vir

The promotional flights, as parts of “Get Your Lunar New Year Travel Luck” program, can be booked only at website www.vietjetair.com within 48 hours starting from 12am on 2 February, 2012. Optional payment methods include either via Visa/Master Card or by cash at VietJetAir’s official ticket agents or HDBank transactional offices nationwide.

More information about the promotion can be found at website www.vietjetair.com or call 1900 1886 from 8am until 10pm every day. VietJetAir is Vietnam’s first private carrier licensed to fly domestic and international routes.

It operates as a low-cost carrier with new Airbus A320 aircrafts and professional and friendly crews. The company’s motto is to provide Vietnamese and tourists to Vietnam flexibly-priced and affordable air tickets, thus stimulating the development of business, travel, and investment in the country.

VietJetAir will begin Ho Chi Minh City-Danang flights in early 2012 with flights to other destinations in Vietnam and Southeast Asia to be launched in the late 2012.

source form: vir

Under a decision issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the pilot VAT refund scheme will be implemented from July 2012 to June 30, 2014.

Under the pilot scheme, any foreigner leaving Vietnam with an invoice worth at least 2 million VND (95.2 USD) from a shop on a day can claim VAT refunds at the two major terminals.

The net VAT refund will be the total VAT payment minus the VAT refund fee, which will be paid in the local currency, the dong. The fee will not exceed 15 percent of the total VAT payment.

However, goods that overseas travelers claim refunds for must meet certain conditions. They should be new items, subject to VAT and eligible to be taken on flights under aviation safety rules. They are also subject to export regulations regarding banned or restricted products.

The receipt (also used as the VAT refund declaration form) must be issued within 30 days of the date the visitor leaves the country.

Commercial banks selected to handle the tax repayments will be allowed to charge a service fee of up to 15 percent of the refund value. The refund will be paid in dong and can be converted to other currencies.

Travel firms have proposed several times that the Government refund VAT for overseas visitors so as to motivate them to spend more.

In July 2011, the Government asked the Ministry of Finance and related agencies to launch a pilot plan for VAT refunds. The plan was introduced to the public last September.

“The VAT refund aims to promote tourism, increase foreign currency in the country and encourage on-the-spot exports,” said head of the Finance Ministry’s Import-Export Tax Department Lo Thi Nhu.

The ministry has disseminated VAT collection and refund criteria to eligible businesses in Hanoi, HCM City and traditional trade villages, Nhu said.

To attract foreign visitors, other ASEAN countries have, for several years now, been offering VAT refunds for foreigners. Singapore gives a 7 percent VAT refund for receipts of over 100 SGD (80.5 USD) but the net refund is about 5 percent.

Thailand also applies a 7 percent VAT refund on bills of over 5,000 baht (160 USD), excluding administrative charges.

A recent survey done by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shows that the average stay of a foreign tourist in Vietnam is 10.5 days with an average expense of 1,024 USD, excluding air fares.

The country welcomed more than 6 million international tourists last year, up 19.1 percent year-on-year.

source form: qdnd

According to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the number of people traveled by road to Cambodia via the Moc Bai border gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh reached 40,000.

Meanwhile, about 90,000 others chose Phu Quoc, Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Da Lat and Hue as their destinations during the Lunar New Year holiday.

In January 2012, HCM City welcomed around 310,000 foreign visitors, including 60,000 overseas Vietnamese, equivalent to the figures of the same period last year.

source form: qdnd

With a length of 1,474 metres, the bridge is built over Sai Gon river at an investment of 898 billion VND to improve traffic system at the northeastern gateway of Ho Chi Minh City, shortening the distance between the two localities.

The Phu Long bridge is expected to open up new opportunities and promote socio-economic cooperation of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong province and the key economic zone of the South.

source form: qdnd

As of Wednesday, local cooking gas suppliers announced enormous price increases, while earlier, milk producers also shocked consumers with their new pricing scheme.

Prices have been hiked as many as three times within the very first month of this year, with the total increase of VND74,000.

Cuong, a gas distributor in Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Duc District, said that although he had been informed of the price hike beforehand, he was still shocked to learn of the new price list provided by the suppliers.

“I only managed to sell four 12-kg cylinders today, instead of the usual ten,” Cuong lamented.

Meanwhile, distributors of Saigon Petro operating in HCMC and the southern province of Long An said they no longer receive commissions worth VND7,000 per cylinder as before the Lunar New Year.

Le Thi Anh Man, deputy chairwoman of the Vietnam Gas Association, said that increasing import prices are not the main culprit for the skyrocketing domestic cooking gas prices.

“The second cause is that cooking gas imports are subject to the new 5 percent tariff as of the beginning of this year, instead of 2 percent,” Man elaborated.

“The association will petition for a tax cut to support gas suppliers and consumers.”

Powder milk prices skyrocket, too

Milk dealers around HCMC said prices have risen by 7 to 19 percent, or VND10,000 – VND100,000, a can since earlier this week, as the producers have adjusted the product design, enhanced product quality, and cut commissions.

Vinamilk said one of its new products will be sold at a 9 percent higher price than the old product line, but are still 40 percent lower than imported products with similar quality.

Enda Ryan, CEO of Mead Johnson Vietnam, said all of the new products are 10 percent costlier than the old ones, thanks to their nutritious additions.

“Buying power has slumped due to the skyrocketing milk prices,” said Tung, a milk dealer in Phu Nhuan District.

“Consumers are extremely hesitant in choosing the formula milk since an imported product can now cost up to VND1 million.”

source form: tuoitrenews

Lanta Viet, a local branch of the recently suspended Russian tour operator Lanta-Tur Voyach, is VND10 billion (US$480,000) in debt to their local partners, according to the Tourism Association in the coastal province of Binh Thuan.

After the Russian-based headquarters halted operations on January 27 due to financial problems, Lanta-Viet and its staff disappeared, leaving their customers at their partner resorts and hotels in Phan Thiet City, in Binh Thuan Province.

Nguyen Tri Thoai, deputy chief executive officer at Hoang Ngoc resort, a partner of Lanta Viet for 3 years, said the last contract they did together was last November and though the operator has transferred 50 percent of the contract’s value, it still owes the resort US$100,000.

Local Lanta-Viet partners said that Lanta-Viet now can do very little since the branch does not have the finances or savings to solve the problem.

Russian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Vladimir Borisovich Klimov said that general director at Lanta-Viet showed up at the consulate and was ordered to return to Binh Thuan to meet local partners, contact the headquarters under local authority surveillance and find a way to pay off debts.

The consulate representatives also arrived in Binh Thuan to work with the province’s People’s Committee, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to arrange free flights for tourists to get home.

Last Monday, 75 Lanta-Tur Voyach customers moved from Phan Thiet to Ho Chi Minh City for the flight home. Currently, there are still 200 Russian tourists stranded in Vietnam.

Lanta-Tur Voyach is one of the leading Russian travel companies, working with more than 6000 agencies in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, and the Baltic region.

Thousands of travelers who bought tours from Lanta-Tur Voyach are reported to be stuck in Vietnam, Thailand and India.

source form: tuoitrenews

Thi Hong Xuan, of the Engineering and Technology Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Agriculture and Forestry University, told Tuoi Tre that gasoline that was mixed with ethanol or methanol might to blame for the fires.

The use of gasoline with ethanol as a replacement for conventional gasoline produced from crude oil has become common in many countries, since the oil has become more scarce, and its prices on the world market have increased, especially in the US and Brazil, Xuan said.

Depending on the ethanol levels added to gasoline, manufacturers can have such gasoline categories as E5 (with 5 percent ethanol), E10 (10 percent ethanol), E85 (with 85 percent ethanol), etc.

When added to gasoline, ethanol helps increase the octane value of the fuel, and a higher octane value means less gasoline is burned by the ignition of the spark plug, Xuan said.

Gasoline mixed with ethanol is more environmentally-friendly than conventional gas, since it helps reduce the presence of harmful substances in emissions from vehicle engines, such as nitrogenoxide, hydrocarbons, and, carbon monoxide.

However, depending on the volume of ethanol added to the gasoline, engines using such a mixture have their fuel operating system, sparking system, and compression rate, as well as a few other components, improved in order to enable them to use such a fuel, Xuan said.

If such improvements are not implemented, the gasoline pipe may crack and the carburetor float needle may be damaged, leading to a fuel leak in the carburetor and a flooded engine, especially in engines using an electronic fuel injection (EFI) system.

In such a case, the leaked gasoline will catch fire if it is exposed to a spark coming from the vehicle’s electrical system.

In Vietnam, in addition to the E5 gasoline that has been sold on a pilot basis on the market, many other kinds of fuel have been blended illegally by traders looking for profit.

Instead of adding pure ethanol (C2H5OH) to gasoline at an allowable proportion, they use methanol (CH3OH) containing foreign matter and water, resulting in a much lower octane value in the finished product than in the gasoline with ethanol.

“That means gasoline with methanol is more easily burned by the ignition of the spark plug than gasoline with ethanol,” Xuan explained.

Methanol is cheaper than ethanol, and will allow the traders of gasoline mixed with the chemical to achieve higher profits, Xuan said.

Therefore, vehicle operators should only use gasoline from reputable petrol stations and regularly have their vehicles checked at warranty stations to detect any technical problems that may have arisen so that repairs can be made in time.

This Mazda burned down in Ham Rong Ward, Thanh Hoa City on December 27 night

29 motorbikes, 2 cars fire

From the beginning of the year, 29 motorbikes and 1 car have exploded into flames without any noticeable cause in different parts of the country, the Ministry of Public Security reported.

Most recently, a four-seat Mazda caught fire on Thanh Long Street, Ham Rong Ward, Thanh Hoa Province at 9 pm on December 27.

The same day, three motorbikes – a Wave, Daelim Citi, and a Daelim Motor, also burst into fire in Ho Chi Minh City.

One day before, similar incidents occurred to four other bikes in Hanoi, and a Lacetti car in Bac Giang Province.

On December 25th, a Luvias and a Nouvo motorbike, both of which are manufactured by Yamaha, caught fire in Binh Dinh Province.

On Christmas eve, December 24th, a Union 150 cc bike exploded into flames in Tien Giang Province.

source form: dtinews

Le Manh Ha, deputy chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee’s on December 27 ordered the three telecom providers Mobifone, Vinafone and Viettel to terminate services to 37,000 mobile phone subscribers, for providing incorrect personal information.

The People’s Committee will ask the Ministry of Information and Communication to implement measures so that new prepaid mobile subscribers register the same personal details as postpaid subscribers, in order to facilitate close monitoring of both. It will also propose to the ministry to keep daily tabs on mobile subscribers to check for any false information.

The three telecom providers will have to terminate services of 37,288 mobile phone subscribers, of which 23,836 belong to Viettel, 9,652 to Vinafone and 3,800 to Mobifone. All three companies will also be fined VND30 million each for failing to comply with regulations.

source form: saigon-gpdaily

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) has celebrated its activities and key achievements in 2011 at a meeting which opened at Quang Duc zen monastery in Ho Chi Minh City on December 28.

The two-day event attracted Buddhist dignitaries from around the nation.

According to the VBS Executive Council, activities included celebrating the 30th anniversary of VBS, building and consolidating Buddhist associations at all levels, and boosting international exchanges.

The VBS spent nearly VND519 billion on charitable activities, with Ho Chi Minh City contributing VND191 billion.

In 2012, the VBS plans to organize Buddhist congresses at cities and provinces, establish Buddhist executive councils in the provinces of Son La, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Dien Bien and Lai Chau and hold the seventh national Buddhist Congress for the 2012-2017 term.

The association will continue encouraging Buddhist monks, nuns and followers to uphold their patriotism and actively participate in campaigns and movements that contribute to the country’s development.
 

source form: vov