Viet Nam was worried about the rising tension in the Middle East and condemns Israel for its decision to build new resettlement areas in East Jerusalem, said Ministry of Foreign Affair’s spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga yesterday.

In response to a question about Viet Nam’s reaction to recent developments in the Middle East, Nga said: "Viet Nam supports the statement released on March 19 by the Middle East Quartet (United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations) and calls for restraint from the concerned parties."

She said that Viet Nam also called on both sides to avoid unilateral action that might aggravate the situation in order to create conditions for the resumption of the peace process in the Middle East.

VNS

HA NOI

Total industrial production value saw an annual increase of 13.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, equating to VND173.5 trillion (US$9.13 billion), said the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Department of Industrial Economy.
In March, it reached VND59.7 trillion ($3.14 billion), an increase of 17.8 per cent compared wi th February anda 14-per-cent rise against the same period last year, the department said.
High growth in the private and foreign-in vested industrial sectors made a considerable contribution to the increase while the Slate-owned industrial sector failed to hit its quarterly target.
In the first quarter, the processing industry, which accounted for 60 per cent of the total industrial production value, saw an increase of 14.1 per cent against the same period last year.
The production and assembly of cars and motorbikes increased sharply by 31.2 per cent and 40.4 per cent, respectively, compared with the first quarter of last year.
Other industries also enjoyed increases including the building industry with 17.4 per cent, the electric industry at 19.9 per cent.
natural gas al 24.3 per cent and a 66.7-per-cent increase for liquefied petroleum gas.
The mining industry that made up 30 per cent of the total production value increased slightly by 1 per cent, said the department.
Other industrial products saw lower growth of production value including coal (10.9 per cent), rolled steel products (11.6 percent), fertiliser (9 per cent), processed .seafood (4.1 per cent), garments (7.4 per cent), washing machines (8.8 per cent), television (4.3 per cent) and air conditioning (2.3 per cent).
Meanwhile, production value of crude oil and sugar declined by 14.5 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively, it said.
The department said prices of steel, coal, electricity and cement increased in March. Those prices increased by at least VND800,000 per tonne of steel to VND 13.2 million, by an average of VND40,000 per tonne of cement lo VND900,000-VND 1.4 million, by an average of 6.8 per cent for electricity, and by between 28-47 per cent to VND520,000-648,000 per tonne of coal for the electric industry.
It predicts the cement and steel prices will continue to rise in the near future.

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Inflation concerns made a comeback yesterday with a decline of 1.7 per cent in the VN-Index to 503.39 points.

Daily value was brisk with 51.6 million shares, generating a turnover of VND2.2 trillion (US$115.8 million). The southern market witnessed 168 decliners and 24 advancers, while Sacombank (STB) returned to be the heaviest-traded stock, having 2.8 million shares changed hands. In Ha Noi, the HNX-Index fell 2.70 per cent to 163.68 points, with 202 losers and 48 gainers.

Value of day trades rose to VND986.4 billion ($51.9 million) on a total of 30.9 million share traded. Kim Long Securities (KLS) was the most active with 5.44 million shares traded.

Foreign traders followed the market trend to become net-sellers in the south yesterday, selling off nearly 800,000 shares while they remained net-buyers in the north with a net-buy of 100,000 shares.

Dao Van Khanh, an analyst with a Ha Noi-based securities company, blamed the market drop yesterday to unfavourable moves in the March CPI rate, leading to fears of a rise in the base rate.

The lift in the March CPI rate by 0.75 per cent had refuelled inflation concerns, also causing guesses on the hiking base rate, Khanh said, noting to the latest HSBC report on the central bank’s policies.

The moves of the prime rate would not depend on the increase of monthly CPI rate because the interest rate in general market was fairly high, said Khanh, adding that if the higher prime rate would trouble businesses, as well borrowers.

He said that yesterday’s session reflected an information impact, rather than a technical correction. "But the 500-psychological point is quite solid to break," he said, adding that the moves of the State Bank with the prime rate late yesterday would be decisive for the market moves today.

"If the State Bank retained the prime rate, stock markets could recover tomorrow and we can see a short-term rally," he added.

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Tran Dinh Hoan, former Politburo and Secretariat member of the Communist Party of Viet Nam’s Central Committee and head of its Commission for Organisation and Personnel, passed away yesterday at the age of 72.

The announcement, made on behalf of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the President, the Government, and the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee, said that the deceased would be given a State funeral.

The memorial service will begin at 7am on Saturday at the State Funeral Hall at 5 Tran Thanh Tong Street, Ha Noi.

He will be buried at the Mai Dich National Cemetery in the capital.

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HA NOI

More than 500 households who lived on house boats around central Hue City have stepped ashore to live on dry land as part of a Government-backed resettlement project.

Nguyen Cu from Lai Tan Village said that moving ashore had been a dream of many generations of fishing villagers for years: "It is difficult for villagers to make ends meet, not to mention the prospect of house ownership," he said.

The Thua Thien - Hue provincial authorities had previously tried to entice villagers to move ashore two times, but had failed both times due to lack of research and long-term planning, according to Nguyen Van Cuong from the provincial People’s Council.

He said, people had returned to their ships because they lacked work opportunities after resettling.

But this time a comprehensive resettlement programme, covering poverty reduction, vocational training and job creation, had been planned to move all fishing villagers ashore.

Ho Xuan Man, provincial Party Committee Secretary, said the lesson from earlier resettlements was that resettlement zones must be located close to rivers so residents could continue to earn a living as they traditionally had from fishing.

Since the programme started in 2008, 555 households have moved into three resettlement zones. Under the programme, villagers are provided with a choice between VND15 million (US$780) towards the construction of a house on free land provided by the government or the purchase of an apartment valued at VND150 million ($7,800).

A concessional payment scheme allows villagers to repay their debts for apartments over 10 years.

But for big families, coming ashore is still a hard move to make as allocated space cannot always accommodate ever family members.

Nguyen Van Sim from Lai Tan Village, for example, shares a resettlement area with 26 family members. But even after gaining permission to buy another land lot, the total living space was still too small for Sim’s family: three couples and their children.

The resettlement rules specify that households with 12 people or less will be provided with 81sq.m of land, and those with 13 people or more with 118sq.m. Families deemed to be unusually large are permitted to buy an extra land lot at a subsidised price.

Hue City’s Construction Works Management Board has proposed to allow households with between 10 to 14 members to buy extra land or an apartment at a discount price to deal with overcrowding, said Nguyen Dinh Cang director of the board.

All 1,090 fishing households in Hue City are expected to move ashore by October this year.

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HCM CITY

Thousands of trucks stream through Nguyen Van Linh Avenue every day after a ban on their using Phu My Bridge was lifted in the middle of this month, causing severe air and noise pollution and the threat of accident in Phu My Hung, HCM City’s new urban centre.

The newly built suspension bridge links the avenue with Highway 1A making the former a north-east to south-west transport axis in the city, especially for trucks travelling to and from south-western provinces.

At least 30,000 large vehicles use it every day, according to BOT Phu My Bridge Joint Stock Company, which projects the number to rise to almost 100,000 in future.

Furthermore, container trucks from Nguyen Huu Tho Street, which intersects the highway and is the main road to Hiep Phuoc Port and industrial parks in the area, worsen traffic on the highway.

"Phu My Hung, the most classy neighbourhood in the city, is actually beleaguered by trucks," Mac Dang Nop, deputy general director of BOT Phu My Bridge Joint Stock Company, said.

Houses and buildings in this area are situated along the avenue, without the mandatory parks or other green spaces found in modern residential areas.

VNS