HCM CITY

The art of war: Ngoan Cuong Trong Chien Dau (A Heroic Fighting Spirit) by Co Tan Long Chau. Prints by Spanish painter Goya are on display in HCM City with 205 paintings and sketches on the French and American wars. — VNS Photo Van Dat

Rare prints composed by world famous Spanish artist Francisco de Goya y Lucientes between 1810-20 are on display for the second time in Viet Nam at an exhibition which has opened at the HCM City Fine Arts Museum.

The 33 etchings are from Goya’s series Disaster of War, which is a collection of painful scenes from Spain’s War of Independence (1808-14) against the French.

The etchings were exhibited in Viet Nam for the first time in Ha Noi in October 2008. The works were brought to the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum by American Dr Hans Guggenheim, who came to the country to exhibit 46 prints from his personal collection by the Spanish artist to celebrate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Spain.

In 2009, Guggenheim donated 33 of the prints to the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum. The etchings showcase Spain’s struggle for liberation against Napoleon’s troops, which has also suffered from the toils of war.

The 85-year-old man believed the museum would provide a wonderful context for the Goya prints, since Vietnamese artists have traditionally depicted their own nation’s struggles for independence in their art works.

Hanging alongside Goya’s pieces are 205 paintings and sketches completed during the French and American wars by Vietnamese artists such as Huynh Phuong Dong, Thai Ha, Le Hong Hai, Co Tan Long Chau.

While the etchings show the pain, sorrow and death suffered by Spanish people during their struggle, exhibition goers will also see the encouraged and optimistic spirits of soldiers in paintings by the Vietnamese artists, says Ma Thanh Cao, acting director of the HCM City Fine Arts Museum.

The exhibit opening was celebrated by the HCM City Fine Arts Association and the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association to mark the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the South (April 30) and the 1,000th anniversary of capital Ha Noi.

The exhibit can be enjoyed though April 15 at the HCM City Fine Arts Museum, 97A Pho Duc Chinh Street, District 1.

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HA NOI

Workers at foreign invested Tung Kuang Industry Co in the northern province of Hai Duong produce aluminium bars. A big leap has been made in the disbursement of foreign direct investment, with disbursement reaching a record level of US$1.4 billion in March. ¡ª VNA/VNS Photo Hong Ky

 

A big leap has been made in the disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI), with disbursement reaching a record level of US$1.4 billion in March, according to the Foreign Invesment Agency.

Total disbursement in the first three months of the year rose to $2.5 billion, an increase of 13.6 per cent over the same period in 2009.

Analysts have predicted that FDI disbursement rates would tend to increase this year. In January, disbursements totalled $400 million, followed by $700 million more in February and double that again this month.

During the first quarter, however, the nation attracted only $2.14 billion in FDI, equal to just 29 per cent of the same period last year.

In March, 51 projects received investment licences, with a total registered capital of $308 million. Over the first three months of the year, 139 projects were licensed, worth a combined $1.9 billion.

Among existing projects, 25 projects have registered to increase their capital by $50 million in March. During the first three months of the year, 41 projects increased their capital by a combined $215 million, 5.2 per cent higher than in the same months of 2009.

The southern province of Ba Ria ¨C Vung Tau continued to top the list of provinces attracting foreign investment in the first quarter, with new registered capital of $902.6 million, followed by HCM City with $448 million and the central province of Quang Ngai with $340 million.

The US remained Viet Nam’s leading source of foreign investment, with $980 million in registered capital. South Korea ranked second with $585 million, followed by Singapore with $147 million.

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HCM CITY

Motorists must accept that under the market mechanism petrol and oil prices will fluctuate, said Nguyen Cam Tu deputy minister of Industry and Trade.
The deputy minister added that he supported the move by Petrolimex to increase petrol and oil prices.
"Current retail prices of petrol and oil were based on the market mechanism under the State’s management, according to Government Decree 84/CP-ND on trading petrol and oil," Tu said at an online discussion on chinhphu.vn yesterday.
"So, current retail prices of petrol and oil on the domestic market reflect developments in world prices and demand on the home market," Tu said.
"The State will intervene to stabilise retail prices on the domestic market via tax policies and the price-stabilisation fund when j petrol and oil prices increase by 12 per cent," he said.
"Price increases by petrol and oil dealers twice this year were absolutely right and suitable to the rules of the market," Tu said.
Nguyen Thanh Huong, deputy head of the Ministry of Finance’s Price Management Department, said the recent increases in the retail price of oil and petrol were due to the weakness of the Vietnamese dong against the US dollar and the increasing cost of some imports. 
"The increases were requested and later approved by the ministries of Finance and Trade and Industry," Huong said. 
Regarding complaints by motorists that increases in petrol and oil prices at o home were higher than global price rises. Tu said domestic dealers raised prices by 2.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent on January 14 and February 21, respectively, while world prices had gone up by 3 per cent and 3.9 per cent.
Viet Nam National Petroleum Corporation (Petrolimex) made public its calculation of petrol and oil retail prices on its website petrolimex.com.vn. The website carries details about import prices, taxes, fees, commission for agents and costs for ports, warehouses and tanks.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade also published price information on its website earlier this month.
"Petrolimex holds a 60 per cent share of the domestic market but in fact, it is under the control of the State and could not have a monopoly on trading petrol and oil," Tu said.
The corporation has 10,000 petrol stations, accounting for 20 per cent of the total number in the country. Tu said Petrolimex was duty bound to supply petrol and oil to remote areas, saving private enterprises huge amounts in transport costs.

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HA NOI

Legal action has been taken against the European Union for extending anti-dumping duties on leather capped shoes from Viet Nam and China.
The lawsuit was filed at the European General Conn by the Federation of European Sporting Goods Industry, the Viet Nam trade mission in ihe EU said.
Last December, EU members imposed anti-dumping duties for another IS months on Viet Nam and China’s leather capped shoes from January this year.
In its petition, the federation said Ihe EU’s decision was based on an inappropriate investigation and flawed analysis and that the measures only succeeded in hurting European businesses and consumers.
"The decision to go ahead with this lawsuit has been taken only after long and careful consideration, it is not something we do lighdy," federation president Horst Widmann said.
The EU first imposed the tariffs from October 2006.

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HA NOI

The Ministry of Finance has ordered petrol retailers not to increase petrol and oil prices over the next few days.
"In Official Letter 3500/BTC-QLG, the ministry called on retailers to closely monitor movements in world petrol and oil prices, while continuing to air transport costs. The ministry also asked retailers to ensure there was enough petrol and oil for domestic consumption.
If retailers wish to raise petrol and oil prices, the ministry said they must first get official approval from the ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade.
Dealers must also reduce domestic retail prices if world oil and petrol prices fall, the ministry said.
The ministry’s letter was issued after oil and petrol retailers intimated that they wanted to increase prices to cut losses because world oil and petrol prices had risen.
According to the website of Petrolimex, a major petrol and oil distributor on the domestic market yesterday it lost VND1,000 per litre of petrol, VND789 per litre of diesel oil, VND780 per litre of kerosene and VND354 per litre of fuel oil.
Yesterday, a barrel of petrol on the world market cost $87.97, while the price of a barrel of diesel oil was $87.49. Abarrel of kerosene (1 banel equals 159 litres), meanwhile, cost $86.74, while a tonne of fuel oil cost $471.64.
The public can calculate petrol and oil retail prices on Petrolimex’s website petrolimex.com.vn, which follows Decree No 84/ND-CP on trading petrol and oil issued last December.
The website carries details about import prices, taxes, fees, commission for agents and costs for ports, warehouses and tanks.

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HA NOI

An exhibition entitled The Last Mask featuring the photos, masks and stories of 24 women who have experienced domestic violence is on display at Ha Noi.
The 49 photos taken by photographer Jamie Maxtone-Graham portray the women who arc all members of clubs set up by the Centre for Studies and Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women and Adolescents (CSAGA).
The Last Mask project was conceived by Paul Zetter of Ensemble Creatives, a long lime creative panner of CSAGA, as a way of helping women to find creative expression for their stories and experiences that seek to engage, not alienate, new audiences so a better understanding of domestic violence and the issues around it can be built up in society.
Over three days in January, a group of 24 women from the clubs told stories, sang songs, played theatre games and made masks helped by a group of young artists.
When the masks were complete, photographer Jamie Maxtone Graham then took portrait photos including the masks so that the women made up one chain of experience, solidarity and togetherness.
"Like their stories, these women are all unique but they have this thing they share and are united in it -both in their experience of domestic violence and in their admission of it. That admission, that is the really difficult work, " said the photographer.
On the wall the viewers see photographs of the women-and their masks. At one end, an open hand is extended; at the other end, a mask. And in between mere are 24 women, 24 stories and innumerable lives.
Some, as people can see, conceal their faces behind their mask. Perhaps they can tell why or people can guess. Some peer out a bit from behind, half hidden, partially revealed. And then there are the women who are not concealed in any way.
"This was a fairly quick project made with a group of highly committed, creative people from four different countries, 24 amazing Vietnamese women who have experienced often extreme gender violence and a very small budget." said project designer Paul Zetter.
"We hope it brings people together in a space where they feel safe to reveal what’s really important to them," he said.
The exhibition will run until Friday, at 45 Trang Tien Street. Ha Noi.

VNS