By Chua Siew Joo

Aug. 27 - According to the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), residents and environmentalists in Thailand have expressed suspicions that dams in China and destruction of small Mekong river islands to clear passage for Chinese cargo ships have contributed to severe flooding in the Mekong basin countries.

This year, Thailand experienced its worst flood in 100 years, causing an estimated damage of THB223 million. Large areas of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were also inundated.

The Mekong River Commission (MRC), established by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam in 1995, has since issued a statement in August accruing the abnormally high water runoff in the northern part of the Mekong basin following heavy rainfall to the tropical storm Kammuri.

Aug. 25 - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping countries in the Mekong region implement a single customs clearance service to facilitate free movement of goods by 2010.

It has already conducted workshops on the subject in the Greater Mekong Subregion countries that include Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Laos, Vietnam and Thailand are scheduled to implement the service by the year's end.Currently, each country in the region has their own customs checkpoints that requires each truck going into the country to be inspected. The regulations only serve to hamper the transport of goods across the region and does not promote free movement of trade.

Aug. 21 - Indian power equipment company, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has bagged a US$50 million contract to build a 200-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric power plant in Vietnam.

The Nam Chien Hydro Power project aims to meet the country’s growing energy demand and join its rapidly growing power sector that is expected to expand by 16 percent annually. The project will be financed through a US$45 million line of credit given by the Indian government and managed by the Export Import Bank of India.

Aug. 19 – The Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee has approved a resolution that will speed up development in its agricultural, forestry and fishery sector with target annual growths of 3 to 3.5 percent by 2010.

The resolution hopes to increase rural incomes by 2.5 times and incorporate rural laborers to account for 30 percent of the country’s total workforce by 2020.

The government plans to have more than 50 percent of the workforce to undergo training. It assured that despite the planned rural development, Vietnam will still maintain its capacity for rice production to ensure national food security.

Aug. 15 - Vietnam has reduced the price of gas by up to 5.3 percent beginning today. The new prices reflect the drop in world oil prices of more than 20 percent from July.

"The government has ordered us to reduce prices following world price declines," a Petrolimex official told Thanh Nien News.

By Chua Siew Joo

Aug. 14 - Vietnamese workers in Asia and the Middle East are sending money home like their counterparts in the United States, Australia and Europe.

It may be a sign that lives are getting better for these migrant workers as they are currently not only sending money back to their family but also investing in business.

The Dong A Money Transfer Company reported receiving remittances of US$631 million in the first half of 2008 and expects the figure for the whole year to be US$1.2 billion. Sai Gon Thuong Tin Bank and Vietcombank (VCB) reported remittances of US$420 million and US$730 million respectively.

Aug. 13 - For the first time, Vietnam's Department of Customs will open an online forum on August 22 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to take customs inquiries.

The office located in the southern Binh Duong province and is expected to field questions from more than 2,300 local businesses. It will soon extend its services to include import-export procedures through e-customs.

The website address is www.haiquanbinhduong.gov.vn.

Aug. 11- The State Bank of Vietnam announced on its website that it will no longer issue licenses for establishing joint-stock commercial banks.

The move is in response to the government’s call to revise rules for the industry.
In a statement the government said, “Pending the revisions, the issue of permits for establishing new joint-stock commercial banks will be stopped temporarily.”

The government has warned that state-owned companies should stay within their core businesses rather than diversifying to industries ranging from real estate to banking.

Aug. 1 - Yahoo! Vietnam has been accused by the Vietnam Software Association (Vinasa) of breaking digital content supply laws.

Vinasa says Yahoo! Vietnam had not obtained permission for its news website, www.yahoo.com.vn and is operating it illegally in the country.

It went on to say that Yahoo's activities were competing with domestic IT and game companies. The company has been providing web services of Vietnamese versions of Yahoo!Messenger, Yahoo!Answers and Yahoo!Mail without Online Services Provider permission from the government.

The company is licensed to operate in the country only as a representative office and is not allowed to engage in direct trading activities.

July 30 - Located in the middle of Vietnam, Danang is the country’s fourth largest city and in recent years has become the commercial and industrial hub of central Vietnam.

As one executive, the chairman of software development company Enclave has commented in the San Jose Mercury News, Danang is the Ho Chi Minh City of 10 years ago, a rising economic power. Its current 13 percent economic growth rate is higher than the nation’s whole.