Vietnam - News and Regulations

WORLD BANK ON VIETNAM - NA's inflation target may not be reached, WB forecasts

World Bank in its report on Vietnam's economic development yesterday forecast that National Assembly's inflation target at below 8 percent for 2010 cannot be reached but it still will stand at one-digit.

Martin Rama, chief economist of WB also assessed that Vietnam's economy is going on growth impetus with May trade deficit falling to below the $1 billion threshold. The country has come through the global crisis more successfully than others thanks to the economic policies of the government.

However, statistics on GDP from Q1 of 2007 to Q1 of 2010 showed that Vietnam's economic growth is driven in line with each break-in period. The shortage of clear information for the market forced Vietnamese government to pursue their policies fiercely. If reaching the better information announcement and exchange, the country will gradually escape from the "groping" growth steps, he said.

Concerning budgetary deficit issue, WB reported that Vietnam's budgetary deficit last year included the expenses outside the budget estimation and accounted for 8.4 percent that was the fairly high figure. The economist said that Vietnam's inflation calculation method was different from WB's so this turned out to show lower result. Additionally, WB predicted that Vietnam's 2010 inflation could be still one digit.

Martin Rama said that the devaluation of the dong in late 2009 and early 2010 caused strong impacts on prices and inflation.

High interest rates are considered to be the hidden danger threatening the country's economic recovery. "Interest rates will likely reduce if the government continues pursuing current directives", the economist said.

Forex rate between dong and US dollar saw beneficial changes so selling US dollar is better than keeping, which will help increase the US dollar supply on the market. Domestic subjects [including institutions, funds, and individuals] can restructure the investment portfolio by reducing the keeping of assets in foreign currencies. But the process is dominated by the accumulative portfolio restructure of these locals. Meanwhile State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) should buy US dollar from domestic sources to reinforce the foreign exchange market, he proposed.

On other hand, if SBV provides money more than demand, this will create a pressure on the dong.

WB said that Vietnam could not take advantages of the restored international money flows that other countries enjoy right now. Other countries' currencies are appreciating against US dollar whereas Vietnam has to manage with the depreciation of dong.

Yet, 2010 will still be a banner year for Vietnam when its GDP could reach 7 percent and inflation may be 9 percent, higher than the targeted 8 percent, WB said.

Consultative Group (CG) meeting will be held between June 9 and 10 in Rach Gia, Vietnam's Kien Giang province. In the last year conference, international donors pledged total $8 billion for Vietnam's poverty reduction and development programme.CAFEF

BANKING INVESTMENT - Local banks active in looking for foreign strategic partners

While foreign wholly invested banks are active in looking for foreign strategic partners, the banks with foreign capital contribution are trying to promote procedures to seek government's approval on increasing the foreign ownership ratio. Factually, foreign strategic partnership is the necessary factor to upgrade the competitive strength as well as capital increase plan of banks, especially for the undercapitalised banks [with a chartered capital of below three trillion dong] according to the government's Decree No 141/2006/ND-CP.

Talking with Dau Tu Chung Khoan newspaper, Tran Van Vinh, director of Orient Commercial JS Bank (OCB) said that his firm plans to raise its chartered capital from the current two trillion dong to 3.1 trillion dong before the 2010 fiscal year ends. Accordingly, OCB will lift the ownership ratio of French foreign partner BNP Paribas (BNPP) group from 15 percent to 20 percent. According to Vinh, the plan will be carried out in this year because both parties signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) in late 2009 already within the frame of Vietnam-France Business Forum.

"We believe that with Vietnamese state's permission, OCB's capital increase plan will reach the minimum level of three trillion dong in last half of 2010 and BNPP could increase its holding in OCB as well", said the foreign bank's representative Michel Chavalier. Now BNPP has stood firm before the crisis. Last month BNPP reached total revenue of over $54 billion and profit of $8 billion, he reported.

On May 31, general director of Southern Bank, Phan Huy Khang reported at a meeting with SBV governor that his bank will finish the procedures of chartered capital increase from 2.568 trillion dong to 3.029 trillion dong in June through allocating shares from capital surplus and issuing new shares. A representative of Singapore's UOB Bank, as the foreign strategic shareholder of Southern Bank, said in a statement that they are proposing Vietnamese government's nod to hike ownership capital in the local bank.

In April, Vietnam International Bank (VIB Bank) and Commonwealth of Australia (CBA) co-announced the strategic cooperation deal. Under it, CBA will buy 15 percent into VIB. Also if permission is obtained then CBA will raise its holding ratio in VIB to 20 percent as soon as possible, scheduled before December 31, 2011.

VIB's chair Han Ngoc Vu said, the cooperation with CBA--top financial institution in Australia's retail banking field--will help VIB push up the competitive strength in financial operations and become one of top three commercial banks in Vietnam in future.

Earlier, the strategic partner of Vietnam Bank for Private Enterprises (VPBank), namely OCBC also desired to increase its ownership capital in VPBank from current 15 percent to 20 percent. Similarly, Deutsche Bank had a similar plan from 10 percent to 20 percent of ownership ratio in Hanoi Building Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Habubank).

Till now, three banks namely Techcombank, ABBank and SeABank have the foreign strategic ownership ratio of 20 percent, particularly HSBC, MayBank and SGVF-member Company of Societe generale correspondingly.

Thanks to the advantages in finding out foreign strategic partners, many local banks have been undergoing the last renegotiations on stake sales to foreigners.

On June 2, SBV governor officially approved TrustBank to hike capital from two trillion dong to three trillion dong with the institutional shareholders of Agribank, Long An Food Co and Phu My Investment Development JSC. director board of TrustBank revealed they are looking for foreign strategic partner.

Meanwhile, some domestic strategic partners plan to withdraw or reduce contributed capital from local small banks that are trying to meet the capital increase roadmap ordered by the government. Now Navibank is waiting for investment expansion decision from one of its two big shareholders Vinatex (11 percent) and Saigon Investment Group (SGI) with 9 percent to submit the capital increase plan to SBV before the deadline of June 30. The bank expects to earn 350 billion dong in 2010 pre-tax profit.DTCHK

LAND LAW - REAL ESTATE - Real estate sector seeks new rules

Real estate services and construction companies in HCM City have asked the government to review and amend land use fee regulations.

They say the current regulations are complicated, impractical and the land use fees are too high.

According to supplemental regulations issued last year, real estate companies have to pay land use fees according to area they use, based on land prices at the time of payment.

The regulations say companies will receive a deduction in the land use fees based on the compensation they paid for land clearance earlier.

However, the deduction they receive is based on annual prices of land fixed by local administrations. These factors lead to high land use fees that make it difficult for real estate companies to pay them, Le Hoang Chau, chair of HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said at a workshop held in HCM City yesterday.

According to the city's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, no real estate company has paid the land use fee since the supplemental regulations came into force last October.

Nguyen Viet Tao, chair of the N.V.T Joint Stock Co, said the regulations are not practical and are causing difficulties for real estate companies in carrying out their projects, both ongoing and new.

The government should collect opinions from real estate companies so that the regulations are more effective, he said.

Many representatives pointed out that the current regulations would mean loss of revenues for them. They complain that the land use fee real estate companies have to pay currently is an unknown quantity, so they cannot accurately calculate their investment in a project in order to take a decision on its implementation.

The land use fee is now dependent on property assessment consultants and open market prices, which means there is no reliable, regular benchmark based on which the calculations can be made.

Luong Tri Thin, general director of Dat Xanh Real Estate Service & Construction Co, said that the complicated procedure in assessing land prices also make it difficult to pay the land-use fee.

Le Ngoc Tu, head of Binh Dan Housing Development Co, said that the city People's Committee allowed the company to change the land use purpose (from agricultural to residential, for instance) for 14,000sq.m to build a residential apartment project at the end of last six hundred frats for low-income people year. After completing work on the project's infrastructure, the company met with city's Department of Finance to pay the land-use fee.

The department asked the company to hire a company specialising in assessing land prices at the time they wanted to pay, he said.

It took the company a long time to know how much it would have to pay, and it turned out to be too high at more than 54 billion dong (US$2.8 million) for the 14,000sq.m area.

Thin also wondered whether the price assessed by the consultant was accurate. In such situations, disagreements over land prices would occur sooner than later, he felt.

Do Thi Loan, Secretary general of HoREA, said relevant authorities should quickly report on the difficulties real estate companies are facing and review regulations concerning zoning; land prices, land recovery, compensation and resettlement.

Chau also asked the government to effect changes in the deductibles that would accrue to the companies based on the compensation paid for land clearance.

The deductible should be based on the actual money paid by the real estate company and not the agricultural land value, he said.

The government should also allow companies to pay land-use fees based on the actual built-up area and not the total project area. This would encourage companies to allot more area for public works, he said.

Provincial People's Committee should issue a common framework of prices valid for three to five years, making it easier to calculate costs, compensation and land-use fees, he added.

Many representatives said at the meeting that the new method of calculating land use fees had prevented them from carrying out low-income housing projects.

Chau suggested that the government exempts companies investing in low-income housing projects from having to pay land use fees.

Representatives of State agencies said they would submit the information and suggestions made by the companies to the government.vns

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM IN VIETNAM - Vietnam to host WEF on East Asia 2010

The 19th World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia 2010, slated for June 6-7 in HCM City, Vietnam, will be the most significant event in the history of the organisation.

Following the annual meeting held in Davos (Switzerland) early this year, Vietnam is selected to host WEF on East Asia 2010 with theme "emerging role of Asia in global development".

Being considered biggest event ever, it will see be the presence of Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung and five other heads of state, World Trade Organisation (WTO)'s general director, Pascal Lamy, Asean's Secretary general, Surin Pitsuwan, deputy secretary general of Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Additionally, at least 450 delegates from 50 economies such as AT&T, Cisco, Credit Suisse, HSBC and NASDAQ, including leaders from the regional countries, leading business executives, and scholars have confirmed to attend this year's forum.

According to Sushant Palakurthi Rao, director of the WEF Asia, apart from joining the forums, most of these enterprises are seeking opportunities for cooperation and investment in Vietnam.

Vietnam has about 12 groups and corporations joining the WEF namely Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), VinaCapital, Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT), Vietnam Construction Export Import Corp (Vinaconex), Vietnam Airline Corp (Vietnam Airlines), Vietnam Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade (Vietcombank) and Bao Viet Group.VNEXPRESS

Bond Issuance- Government expects to 1.4tr dong from bonds

Hanoi Stock Exchange has announced that the State Treasury on June 3 called for two trillion dong from the tender for 3-year and 10-year bonds.

As for the three-year bonds worth one trillion dong, there were 11 members who joined with total lawful bidding volume of 4.7 trillion dong, the highest bidding coupon rate of 11.3 percent and lowest at 10.50 percent pa. After the tender ended, 900 billion dong was raised with the winning rate of 10.95 percent pa.

Four members registered to take part in the tender for one trillion dong of 10-year bonds with the lawful bidding of 1.4 trillion dong, highest bidding rate of 15 percent and lowest 11.30 percent pa. Finally, the state successfully raised 500 billion dong from these bonds at winning coupon rate of 11.30 percent pa.

Total money amount that winners will have to pay to take shares is 1.4 trillion dong.

These bonds will be issued on June 7, 2010.DTCHK

INSURANCE - Dai-ichi Life introduces new insurance products

Dai-ichi Vietnam Life Insurance Co (Dai-ichi Life VN) yesterday officially introduced to public the new product of "An Thinh Chu Toan-Ke hoach Tan Khoa". It's the first joint product in education sector in Vietnamese markets at present, bringing in the convenience and simplicity for the customers in working out the financial plans to serve for their children's studying progress and to start their careers.

When using this product, the customers can use one out of three suggested financial plans on the basic of their demands and studying plan to be worked out for their children. The customers can receive annual insurance amount in cash when the insurance beneficiaries turn out to be 18-21 years old and the remaining value of the insurance contracts when the beneficiaries are 22.

TBKT

AVIATION - Vietnam Airlines opens Hanoi-Chu Lai route

The national flag carrier of Vietnam Airlines coordinated with two provincial people's committees of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai to open the new direct air route from Hanoi to Chu Lai on June 2, 2010.

It's scheduled to run four flights per week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, using Fokker 70 aircrafts. Nguyen Sy Hung, Vietnam Airlines' chair of management board said the newly-launched air route would help strengthen the links between provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and the country's two largest socioeconomic and cultural centres of Hanoi and HCM City.TBKT

CONSTRUCTION - Secoin to build three light concrete factories in 2010

Secoin Vietnam Construction Material Joint Stock Co has announced that the company was preparing necessary legal procedures to build some new light concrete factories in HCM City, Hanoi and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in 2010.

Each light concrete factory has total investment capital of about 100 billion dong, with designed capacity of 80,000 cubic metres per year, with main products of light concrete bricks, super light roof tiles to meet the market demands for construction materials.

The construction process for these three new factories will be divided in various phases, depending on specific demands of the market.VNNEWS

Vinaconex 1 invests 147.8b dong for residential building in Hanoi

The Construction Joint Stock Co No 1 (Vinaconex 1 – coded VC1) under Vietnam Construction Export-Import Joint Stock Corp (Vinaconex) announced that Phi Thai Binh, vice chair of Hanoi City People's Committee has lately issued a decision to approve for construction project of Residential Building C1 under general plan of Vinaconex 1 high-class complex of office buildings and apartments in Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay Dist, Hanoi.

The city's governance had assigned VC1 as the main investor for this project and required the company to finish necessary procedures to start the construction work in Q2. The project has total investment capital of 147.8 billion dong, including a 22-storey building with total construction area of 10,319 square metres.DTCHK

TELECOM - EVN Telecom officially launches 3G network

EVN Telecom has launched the new 3G network on June 9, 2010. It's the fourth telecommunication companies among five mobile network providers to be licensed for launching 3G network that will open and put into operation the new network.

At the time of launching the new service, EVN Telecom has installed about 2,500 base transceiver stations (BTS) in 63 provinces and cities nationwide, covering 20 percent of the country's territory and 40 percent of population in accordance with its commitments to Ministry of Information and Communication.

Previously, EVN Telecom and Hanoi Telecom had committed to invest about 600 billion dong to build up 3G network in the first phase, in which each party spent 300 billion dong to set up their own 3G network.DT

Vietnam - News and Regulations

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ON VIETNAM - Vietnam trade environment ranks 71st

Vietnam has leaped 18 places to 71st in the World Economic Forum's latest report on trade environment.

The Global Enabling Trade Report 2010, released May 19, says Vietnam has achieved among the biggest progress made by any of the 125 countries and territories in the report.

The improvements in the country's trade environment reflect Vietnam's commitments following its accession to the WTO in 2007, which is leading to a significant liberalisation of trade in goods and services.

Vietnam's market access ranks 50th among the 125 economies studied.

The country's tariff schedule remains complex but bigger concerns are border administration and infrastructure.

The country's low rank of 104th for transparency of border administration indicates room for improvement in this area, and trade could be further enabled by upgrading the country's transport infrastructure, which is in a dire state.

Low airport density, poor road quality, and insufficient port facilities indicate that the booming economy is straining the country's infrastructure.

The report ranks countries based on four criteria -- market access, border administration, transport and communications infrastructure, and business environment.

Singapore and Hong Kong continue to occupy the top two positions followed by Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland.intella

INFRASTRUCTURE - Jica funds $200m for two infrastructure projects in HCM City

Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) yesterday signed detailed agreements with Vietnamese government relating to ODA loans of $200 million dong for two projects in HCM City. The first loan of about $150 million will be used to finish the East-West Corridor project in order to put into operation in the following year. The second loan valued at approximately $50 million will go on water environment improvement in HCM City. Under the project, Binh Hung waste water treatment plant was built and started operation in December 2008 with designed capacity of 141 cubic metres per day.TBKT

NUCLEAR POWER - EVN proposes corporate bond issue for developing nuclear power in Vietnam

Phan Minh Tuan, head of EVN renewable energy and nuclear power project's investment board said that bonds might be issued for carrying out construction project of the first nuclear power plant in Vietnam. He revealed the information on the occasion of participating the international exhibition on nuclear power held on May 27 and 28.

Tuan added that investment capital for setting up a nuclear power plant would be at the highest level among the industrial power generator models at present.

At present, Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) has started cooperation with Russia in providing technologies for the country's first nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan province.

The project's feasibility study was underway and EVN would approve the profile to seek for partners' opinions.

The construction of Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant was expected to be started in 2014 and to be finished after 18-24 months.LDONLINE

Vietnam to operate first nuclear power plant by 2020

The construction of the first nuclear power plant at Ninh Thuan will begin in 2014 and the first turbine will become operational in 2010, said a representative from the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

At a press briefing held in Hanoi on May 25 on the fourth international exhibition on nuclear power, the Head of EVN's renewable energy and nuclear power projects' investment board, Phan Minh Tuan, said a feasibility study is underway and the project is seeking opinions from consultants and partners.

EVN has also started negotiations with Russia on choosing the right technology as it is experienced in civil nuclear power, he added.

The country is also cooperating with Russia in human resource training nuclear power sector. According to director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute Vuong Huu Tan, Vietnam has sent 40 students and MAs to Russia for further training in this field. Seven domestic universities are also training workers for the sector.

Together with its rapid economic development, the country's energy consumption is rising fast, said Tan. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has forecast that Vietnam will need around 294 billion kWh of power in 2020 and 562 billion kWh by 2030. Meanwhile, current energy sources will only be able to supply around 230 billion kWh by 2020 and 293 billion kWh by 2030.

Developing nuclear power, therefore, is extremely important, said Tan, adding that it would not only meet the national economy's increasing demand for power but also ensure energy security.

The fourth exhibition, which focuses on the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, will take place in Hanoi from May 27-29, drawing many of the world's leading nuclear technology companies from Japan, Russia, France, the US, China, Canada and Bulgaria.

The Ninh Thuan project, which was approved by the National Assembly in its November 2009 session, includes two reactors which combined can produce over 4,000MW.

RENEWABLE ENERGIES - Wind power potential of Binh Thuan province estimated at 5,000MW

Binh Thuan province has finished the wind power development plan for 2010-2015 and vision for 2030 and submitted it to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Energy Department for appraisal. Accordingly, the province's wind power potential is estimated at total 5,000MW.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, vice head of the department said the wind power development areas mainly locate in coastal districts of Tuy Phong and Bac Binh.

Development of wind power potential requires preferential power purchase policies to encourage investors.

To date, Binh Thuan provincial Department of Industry and Trade has licensed 12 wind power projects (covering total 13,900 hectares of land) with total capacity of 1,540MW for 10 investors.TBKT

RESOURCES- Vung Ro Oil Refinery project to be started in 2011

Representative of Russia-based TellOil Group, main investor of Vung Ro Oil Refinery project revealed yesterday that at present, the company has pushed up designing works and contractor selection in order to officially kick off the project in 2011.

It is the third time after nearly three years of receiving the investment certificate that the $1.7 billion project has been worked out the deploying plan. Previously, due to financial problems caused by the world economic recession, the foreign investors of the UK's Technostar Co and Russia's TellOil Group had to delay the implementation on the project.

Vung Ro Oil Refinery will be constructed on an area of about 400 hectares of land and water surface, with designed capacity of 4 million tonnes per year. The oil refinery is expected to raise the production capacity to 8 million tonnes per year in the second phase.TBKT

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION - Industrial production value soars 13.6pct y-o-y

Vietnam's industrial production value in May is estimated to reach 64.7 trillion dong, up 13.8 percent over the same period last year, reported Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) on May 27. Of which, private economic areas posted a rise of 11.4 percent and foreign-invested economic areas soared 19.2 percent year-on-year.

Totally in Jan-May, the country's figure reached 301.8 trillion dong, a year-on-year increase of 13.6 percent. Of which, private economic areas increased 12.4 percent and foreign-invested economic areas saw a year-on-year rise of 16.7 percent.

Noticeably, crude oil exploitation decreased 17.9 percent y-o-y while other products posted year-on-year increases.

Items reached high growth such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) up 93 percent, air conditioner up 45.7 percent, and tyre up 43.2 percent.

Some provinces reported high growth including Vinh Phuc up 41.9 percent, Phu Tho 24.1 percent and Da Nang up 20.1 percent y-o-y.

Some others posted lower growth against the average level such as Ba Ria Vung Tau up 10.7 percent and Khanh Hoa up 8.3 percent y-o-y.

Also according to MOPI, the total state budget collection during the first 15 days of May was estimated to reach 15.8 trillion dong, bringing the total figure in Jan-May to 176.8 trillion dong, or 38.3 percent of this year's estimate, higher than the same period last year (31.8 percent of year's estimate).

Of which, domestic tax collection reached nearly 113.3 trillion dong or 38.4 percent of the year's estimate, tax collection from crude oil reported at 22 trillion dong, or 33.3 percent, and collection from export and import activities posted at 39.5 trillion dong or 41.4 percent of the year's estimate. Total budget spending during the first 15 days of May was 19.8 trillion dong, bringing the total figure in Jan-May to 197 trillion dong, or 33.8 percent of this year's plan (it was 28.2 percent last year). Of which, spending for development and investment was 44.4 trillion dong or 35.8 percent, spending for socio-economic and defence at 125.4 trillion dong or 33.8 percent and spending for debts and aids at 26.8 trillion dong or 38.1 percent of this year's plan.

In May, spending for development and investment was 12.2 trillion dong including 3.8 trillion dong for central development and investment and 8.4 trillion dong for local development. Totally, the figure in Jan-may was 45.6 trillion dong or 36.5 percent of the year's plan. Of which, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development disbursed 62.8 percent, Ministry of Education (55.8 percent) and Ministry of Transport (48.3 percent).

Some provinces reported high disbursement including Ninh Binh (75 percent), Hoa Binh (60.7 percent), Da Nang (53 percent) and Hai Phong (52 percent of the year's plan).

Till the end of May, total credit for investment and export reached 23.9 trillion dong, or 44 percent of the year' figure including 5.5 trillion dong of domestic credit, or 20.8 percent, 2.4 trillion dong from ODA or 24 percent and 16 trillion dong of average total outstanding loans to support exports.

From the early this year till now, ODA attraction reached $497 million including $454 million of loans and $43 million of non-refundable aid.

During the first five months this year, total ODA disbursement was estimated to reach $844 million or 35 percent of the year's plan including $767 million of ODA loans and $77 million of non-refundable assistance.CAFEF

FOREX - Vietnam's overseas remittance of 2010 expected at over $6b

Many financiers, economists and bankers forecast that the overseas remittance inflow to Vietnam in 2010 will be more satisfactory and at higher potentials compared to previous years thanks to the world's economic recovery.

Replying to Dau Tu Chung Khoan magazine, Nguyen Hoang Minh-deputy director of State Bank of Vietnam-HCM City arm said that the inward remittance via HCM City banks during the first five months of 2010 reached $1.079 billion, marking a growth of 32.13 percent against 2009's $4 billion.

Prof Dr Tran Hoang Ngan, vice master of HCM City Economic University cum member of the National Monetary Policy Advisory Council in a statement said that inward remittance of Vietnam this year could be over $6 billion.

The current movements of free market's forex rate was closer to the banks' listed forex rate, which will create conditions for residents to decide to keep more US dollar at banks for longer time. Factually, between 2009 end and 2010 early, when the forex rate between free market and commercial banks was around 300-500 dong per US dollar, banks felt very hard to keep inward remittance because remittance receivers used to withdraw US dollar for selling on the free market to earn profits from forex rate difference,

At Sacombank, overseas remittance transference in Jan-April attained $430 million, up 33.5 percent year-on-year. The payment turnover is expected to achieve $1 billion, higher than 2009's actualised result of $900 million.

Ending the first four months of this year, the inward remittance payment turnover via Eastern Asia (DongA) Commercial Joint Stock Bank (EAB) also increased by 20 percent compared to the same period of 2009. The turnover could increase from $991 million in 2009 to $1 billion this year. With flexible policies, EAB's remittance payment now accounts for 15 percent of the country's total figure.

In the same period, the overseas remittance transference via Vietcombank grew by 14 percent to $434 million.

Usually, the overseas remittance payment will blossom in the last months of year when many Viet Kieu want to send money to the homeland for spending in Lunar New Year.DTCHK

Insurance - M&A in insurance expected to surge in 2010

Mergers and Acquisitions between companies are blossoming strongly this year on account of difficulties in capital mobilisation and network expansion.

Although in the past time, M&A in the insurance field has not really become a strong wave like other production sectors. But the trend of M&As in insurance is expected to be brisker in the near future.

2010 M&A operation started with a record business deal that UK's Prudential insurance group took over AIA insurance firm under US AIG Finance Group. Both groups have subsidiaries in Vietnam.

Previously, Vietnam's insurance market also witnessed several remarkable M&A events.

Over 10 years ago, Allianz Vietnam, a 100 percent foreign invested insurer decided to transfer its entire network to Australia's QBE Insurance Co after nearly seven years of operation. Terms and compensations of insurance contracts signed before the merger were still valid.

Another deal, Bidv Bank had contributed capital into Viet-Uc (Australia) Co to set up Viet-Australia Insurance JV but the new firm did not operate sufficiently. On December 28, 2005, Bidv officially bought back the JV and establish Bidv Insurance Co (BIC) that came into official operation from 2006.

Or lately, Dai-ichi Life of Japan took over local insurer Bao Minh CMC to form Dai-ichi Life Vietnam. At present, Dai-ichi Life Vietnam posts good performance with seven percent market share and its annual growth rate always is higher two times than the average growth of the whole market.

The quick development in number of insurance companies, especially as for the non-life insurance field, led to the shortage of qualified manpower. Meanwhile, a source from finance ministry's Insurance Supervision Department said that till the last year end, most non-life insurers met enough authorised capital level of at least 300 billion dong but now some insurers still are implementing the capital increase to 300 billion dong, namely Bao Long, Bao Tin, Hung Vuong, UIC and Samsung Vina.

Shortage of capital, good workforce and IT system has forced insurance firms to look for foreign strategic partners. In 2007, Bao Minh Non-Life Insurance Co officially joined hands with France's AXA Group through selling its 16.6 percent stake to the foreign insurer.

According to Nguyen Cong Ai, deputy general director of KPMG law consulting firm, Vietnam's insurance market always welcomes foreign invested companies because local firms need the capital and technical supports from foreign partners.

But the process of looking for foreign partners is not easy. Duong Duc Chuyen, director in charge of investment and strategy construction of Bao Viet Group (that had a successful cooperation deal with HSBC) shared, in M&As, companies will have to define what they want to sell and what foreigners want to buy.

Bao Viet group, for example, previously expected to find out a good partner with business experience and technical support willingness for Bao Viet.

"M&A does not mean to sell a part of companies to take money. After M&A deals, how companies do to develop is the core result", he added. Before the marriage between HSBC and Bao Viet, two sides had to undergo a detailed and long run negotiation process.

Takashi Fufi, CEO of Dai-ichi Life Vietnam also said that a successful M&A deal requires a clear strategy. The post-M&A strategy are very important also.cafef

BANK/CAPITALIZATION - Central Bank proposes legal capital roadmap for commercial banks

Mission group chaired by Tom Tobin, general director of HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd remarked at the Business Forum that SBV's draft on compulsory legal capital of commercial banks at 5 trillion and 10 trillion dong in end 2012 and 2015 correspondingly was already submitted to the government for consideration and approval. We {HSBC Vietnam] comprehend 10 trillion dong is a huge capital level that a lot of banks will not able to reach.

The forum was held in Hanoi on May 26.

Banks addressed, the requirement will lead to the inefficient usage of many banks in Vietnam in future. So banks expected Central Bank would consider lowering the capital level.

Concerning the foreign ownership ratio of foreign investors at Vietnamese banks, a banker proposed the government to consider raising the ratio according to a particular roadmap to create conditions for strategic partners to draw up long term strategy. Currently, the foreign ownership ratio at a local bank is disallowed to surpass 30 percent. In which, the maximum ratio of a strategic partner (international bank) is 15 percent that could be 20 percent if obtaining prime minister's approval.

The mission group represents for over 30 international groups and companies operating in Vietnam, including subsidiaries, branches and transaction offices of well known consumer finance companies and banks from over 15 countries.CAFEF

FUND INVESTMENTS - Vietnam Dream Fund to start investment in stock market from Jun 1

As of June 1, Vietnam Dream Fund capitalised at $100 million will start operation on Vietnamese stock market. The fund was formed by the cooperation of Japan Asian Group's United Investment and MB Capital.

Thang Long Securities Co will be the official brokerage for the fund.

Truong Thi Huong Tra, business development director of MB Capital said that the establishment of Vietnam Dream Fund showed the faith of Japanese investors in Vietnamese stock market. From the start, two parties will continue making big efforts to raise capital from some other international markets to connect this capital flow with Vietnam.

Vietnam Dream Fund will mainly invest in Vietnam listed firms, she added.

Till end of March 2010, total assets managed by MB Capital reached over 20 trillion dong.

VNNEWS

BANKING - Banking Vietnam 2010 conference takes place in Hanoi

Information Technology Department of Banking, under State Bank of Vietnam, cooperated with International Data Group (IDG) to organise the Banking Vietnam 2010 from May 27-28 under theme of "Banking modernisation at the threshold of economic recovery".

The participants of this event focused on discussing on strategic planning for banking technology development, banking technology in boasting non-cash payment and banking technology in improving administration, management capacity for banking business in the renewal period.DTCHK

Reporting on Sibu

18 May 10 : 8.00AM

By Ding Jo-Ann
dingjoann@thenutgraph.com

Investigating frontpage stories
after the Sibu by-election...
(© clarita | morguefile.com)

(Corrected at 5.55pm, 18 May 2010)

THE day after Sibu fell to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in a closely-watched and fought by-election, what kind of frontpage stories greeted Malaysians in the press?

With some newspapers relegating the news of the week to a second lead and others completely ignoring it as a front page lead, what can Malaysians discern about media independence and fairness?

The message is clear, especially when one compares the way the press reported Barisan Nasional (BN)'s win in the Hulu Selangor by-election with its loss in Sibu.

Reading the news

Here's a pictorial guide to some newspapers' front pages the day after the 25 April Hulu Selangor and 16 May 2010 Sibu by-elections. We've also included our own totally impromptu rating on the newspapers' fairness in reporting the results. Readers are also invited to put their own ratings and contest ours, if they wish, in the comments section below.

Berita Harian: Tawan vs menang

Hulu Selangor: A victorious P Kamalanathan, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin are featured prominently.

Sibu: Professor Datuk Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid being awarded the 2010 Academic Leadership Award at Universiti Malaysia Pahang is featured prominently. The Sibu results were relegated to the second lead story.

Fairness rating: D+

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Utusan Malaysia: Tumbang vs ???

Hulu Selangor: "PKR tumbang" screamed Utusan Malaysia's headline following BN's win in Hulu Selangor. This was followed up by four full-page reports and pictures on the by-election.

Sibu: "Hadiah Hari Guru" said Utusan's headline following PR's narrow but significant win in Sibu. The second lead was about Najib receiving an International Telecommunication Union award. The Sibu results were only reported on page four in a single article.

Fairness rating: F

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NST: Teachers Day

Hulu Selangor: A beaming Kamalanathan, Najib and Muhyiddin surrounded by supporters featured prominently. The results occupied the entire front page.

Sibu: A beaming Professor Ibrahim featured prominently, with the Sibu results made second lead. Apart from a candidate profile picture in the inside pages placed alongside BN's Robert Lau Hui Yew and independent candidate Narawi Haron, no other photographs were published of DAP's Wong Ho Leng.

Fairness rating: D+

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The Star: Picture perfect

Hulu Selangor: Kamalanathan, Najib and Muhyiddin once again.

Sibu: (Corrected) Wong Ho Leng's only appearance on the front page of a traditional peninsular Malaysia English and Malay language newspaper, although the caption focuses on Wong's defeated opponent instead of him. It reads: "Lau congratulating Wong on his victory." Nevertheless, The Star deserves some credit for even putting Wong's picture, although tiny in comparison to Kamalanathan's, on its front page.

Fairness rating: B-

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Teachers vs election

As much as our teachers should be respected and revered, it is curious how annual teacher's day celebrations could take precedence over the Sibu by-election results. And with all due respect to Professor Ibrahim and his award, what was his picture doing on newspapers' front pages instead of DAP's Wong Ho Leng's?

The one appearance of Wong Ho Leng,
receiving congratulations from BN's
Robert LauFrom a newsworthiness perspective, it is clear that the story of the day was the PR's victory over the BN in Sarawak, especially following the PR's loss in Hulu Selangor. Indeed, it was the topic people were tweeting and talking about all weekend. Teacher's Day, while important, clearly wasn't the hot news of the day.

This then raises the question of how newsworthiness is measured in newsrooms. For certain, there is no such thing as objectivity or neutrality since editors, journalists and even media companies carry with them their own personal biases and value systems.

But not being neutral doesn't mean a journalist or media outfit cannot be fair, accurate and accountable especially when writing the news. The traditional media clearly were not in its coverage of the Sibu by-election, and that only reinforces certain things.

One, ownership by BN parties or BN-friendly parties was likely part of the decision-making process of what was front-page news the morning after Sibu. This only goes to show how important it is for political parties or politicians not to own the media.

Two, how can the traditional media expect to retain its credibility if it was so clearly lopsided in its reporting of two recently-concluded by-elections? Barring any major environmental disaster of tsunami-like proportions, would any credible newspaper in the world have omitted to mention the closely-fought Sibu by-election on its front page on 17 May 2010?

If Utusan Malaysia were to be honest, it would ask itself, how does relegating the big news of the day to the inside pages demonstrate that they will and can report fairly, whatever their political preferences? And if its readers cannot trust the paper to report fairly, how will the paper survive with other new media players competing for readers' attention?

As it is, Utusan's coverage of the Sibu by-election, in contrast to the way it reported on Hulu Selangor, clearly demonstrates its lack of professionalism. Perchance, this situation has been brought about because the paper is owned by a political party — Umno — which has much at stake in the current political scenario? How else would one explain why Utusan's newsroom thought that it was more important for the public to be educated on gifts for teachers instead of the by-election results?

Handling bias

It is unrealistic to expect any news room to ignore its political leanings. The UK's The Guardian for example is known for being partial to the Labour party. Guardian columnist Lucy Mangan's piece entitled "101 reasons to love our Tory government" and "How to learn to live with Tories" for example, clearly reveals her political leanings.

The Daily Telegraph on the other hand, has, perhaps unkindly, been branded by some as The Daily Torygraph because of its partiality to the Conservative party.

Screencap of Guardian's front page,
6 May 2010

Political preferences aside, when writing the news, these newspapers did not resort to underhanded tactics of denying front-page space to any political party during campaigning for the recent British general elections. In fact, on 6 May 2010, the day of Britain's general election, Guardian readers would have been greeted with a picture of Conservative leader David Cameron (right) on the front page of their morning paper. Interestingly, The Times, which is politically aligned to the Conservatives, had Labour party leader and then Prime Minister Gordon Brown on its front page on 6 May, albeit in a rather unflattering cartoon.

To put it simply, news is news, no matter who your editor may vote for or who owns your paper. And a rookie journalist would be able to tell you that "Goodies for teachers" is not more newsworthy than "Ho Leng wins Sibu with 398-vote majority".

http://www.thenutgraph.com/reporting-on-sibu

Tracing the brain drain trend

Sunday May 16, 2010

By DR FONG CHAN ONN Sunday@thestar.com.my

Between 1960 and 2005, the world's registered migration increased to an average of 919,302 per nation, an increase of 2.4 times. However, Malaysia's emigration numbers rose to 1,489,168, an almost 100-fold increase over the 45-year period.

THE recent report by the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) on the New Economic Model (NEM) laments that “we are not developing talent and what we do have are leaving”.

The report says that currently, some 350,000 Malaysians are working abroad with over half of them having tertiary education.

Worrying numbers: While our local hospitals are experiencing shortages of nurses and doctors, we had 7,431 Malaysian nurses and 4,129 doctors working in the OECD countries in 2000. - AFP

This leaves us with over 80% of our workforce with SPM-level qualification, and their wages are being continually suppressed by the easy availability of foreign workers and other barriers like subsidies and price controls.

The focus of this article is to trace some of the worrying brain-drain trends which underlie the severity of our setbacks to move up to a high-income economy, and the steps we should immediately undertake to overcome these challenges.

Beginning of brain drain

Out-flow of talent is not a new phenomenon but globalisation and rapid IT global communications have just speeded up the process. Malayans (and since 1963, Malaysians) began to seek overseas tertiary education soon after independence in 1957 when it became part of the British Commonwealth.

University education at home then was elitist, being confined to the University of Malaya at Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Many bright young Malaysians, aided by their fluency in English, had to seek tertiary education abroad (with or even without their parents' financial support) in Britain, Australia and other English-speaking societies.

This trend was further accentuated by the various aid schemes, such as the Colombo Plan and Commonwealth Scholarships and later our own Mara, Public Services Department, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Petronas scholarships, through which tens of thousands of bright Malaysian students have been sponsored for overseas tertiary studies since the early 1960s.

After completing their education, some choose to remain because of better job opportunities, some also choose to stay because they prefer the new life-style and social environment compared to that at home, while others such as the Malaysian women who married locally have to stay behind because their children, under Malaysian law, are not entitled to become Malaysian citizens or even permanent residents (PR).

100-fold increase

According to the World Bank, Malaysians residing overseas numbered only 9,576 in 1960 while the world's total registered migration was 382,912 per nation. By 2005, the world's registered migration increased to an average of 919,302 per nation, an increase of 2.4 times. However, Malaysia's emigration numbers rose to 1,489,168, an almost 100-fold increase over the 45-year period.

In 1981, the number of Malaysians residing in Australia was 31,598 and this increased to 92,337 in 2007 (see Table 1). Those who resided in the UK in 1981 numbered 45,430 and this went up to 61,000 in 2007.

The United States was a laggard with only 11,001 in 1981 but due to the country's very aggressive move to attract top talents, the number of Malaysians who took up residence there shot up to 54,321 by 2007.

Similarly, our Singapore neighbour has also been absorbing large numbers of Malaysians, from 120,104 in 1981 to 303,828 in the year 2000.

While the total figure is a matter for concern, further analysis of the migration numbers is even more worrisome.

The World Bank's report indicates that in 1990, the number of Malaysians with tertiary education residing in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries totalled about 72,649 with a majority of them in Australia (34,716), followed by the US (12,315) and then the UK (9,812) (see Table 2). The latest available data shows that in 2000, the number of Malaysians with tertiary education residing in OECD countries went up by 40.84%. The 102,321 Malaysian graduates that stayed in OECD countries in year 2000 make up 77.2% of the total Malaysians (132,468) that decided to domicile in these countries (See table 3).

And who are these graduates that we are losing?

An example is given by the data on foreign-born medical personnel in OECD countries. While our local hospitals are experiencing shortages of nurses and doctors, we had 7,431 Malaysian nurses, 4,129 doctors, 652 dentists and 798 pharmacists working in the OECD countries (see Table 4) in 2000.

Further, the current global high-tech consumer boom has created a huge demand for science and technology (S&T) researchers in the US, accentuating the migration of talents from the developing world (including Malaysia) to that country. Table 5 shows that in 2003 there were 7,955 Malaysian S&T researchers working in the US compared to 10,419 such researchers working at home.

Talent export

However, in this highly competitive global environment, it must be pointed out that Malaysia is not alone in losing the best talents to the OECD countries.

As Table 3 shows, South Korea, a member of the OECD, has 885,885 of its citizens residing in other OECD countries, with 652,894 (73.7%) of them being graduates, and this constituted about 1.39% of the total South Korean population!

India has 1.5 million of its citizens living in OECD countries with 69.0% of them being graduates.

Even Singapore, a richer but much smaller country than Malaysia, saw 67,560 Singaporeans taking residence in OECD countries in 2000 with 50,019 of them being university-educated. It is only slightly behind Malaysia with 74% of its emigrants into the OECD countries having tertiary education.

On the proportion of graduate migrants to total population, Singapore appears to be losing out more than us, with the number of Singaporean graduates in OECD countries standing at 1.24% compared to our 0.44%. Little wonder the city-state is working its hardest to attract bright Malaysians over the Causeway!

Further, Table 3 shows that though Thailand and Indonesia may “export” a much higher number of their workforce to the OECD countries, only about 40% of their own nationalities have tertiary education. This is mainly due to a lower proportion of their tertiary-educated workforce having a good command of English, and hence may have greater difficulty fitting into the high-level jobs there.

Table 4 also shows that we are not alone in losing medical talents. The Philippines have 110,577 of its nurses and 15,859 of its doctors residing in the OECD countries! There are also 5,332 doctors from Taiwan, 2,798 doctors from Hong Kong, and even 1,356 Singaporean doctors working in OECD countries.

In terms of S&T researchers, Table 5 shows that in 2003 there were 158,524 Chinese researchers (17.5% compared to such researchers at home), 44,236 Vietnamese researchers (4.5 times the number of S&T researchers at home) and 26,602 Hong Kong researchers (2.1 times of such scientists at home) working in the US. The 7,000-odd Malaysian scientists among these hundreds of thousands of foreign scientists is actually a small figure; but that is, of course, no consolation in our losing them in the first place.

What Tables 3, 4 and 5 have highlighted is that in the global environment of the 21st Century, OECD countries, with their advanced infrastructure, robust social institutions, numerous world-famous universities and R & D institutions as well as booming markets, are powerful natural magnets for the developing world's professionals.

Gaining the illegals

We have about 2.5 million unskilled legal (and illegal) foreign workers in the country. Some 650,000 of them work in the manufacturing sector, followed by about 300,000 in construction. Domestic workers make up another 220,000. The balance is in the services, plantation and agriculture sectors.

The services sector alone hires about 400,000 foreign workers mostly as waiters, security guards, general workers and cleaners.

Our addiction and dependence on these unskilled foreign workers has deepened to the extent that many of our manufacturing plants and the main-stays of our palm oil exports (plantations such as Sime Darby, IOI and KLK) will have to stop operation in their absence.

According to a One Utama executive, as high as 90% of workers in the food and beverage sector are now made up of foreigners. Therefore, we should no longer be surprised at not being able to order our meals in Malay, Mandarin, English or any other commonly spoken language known to Malaysians anymore!

And who are we gaining instead?

As Table 6 shows, in year 2000, we have 627,700 Indonesians working in Malaysia, followed by 124,600 from the Philippines, 55,200 Bangladeshis, 53,500 Chinese, and 48,000 Indians. Though the skill level of these workers is not stated in the database it will be naive to assume that many of them are graduate professionals.

Table 6 also shows that in 2000 there were only 5,750 US citizens, 8,800 Japanese, 3,100 Australians and 1,250 New Zealanders (all members of the OECD) residing in Malaysia. Again, though it is not stated in the database, it can be assumed that most of them would be expatriates or professionals working in the manufacturing or services sectors.

"By one stroke of the pen we can immediately enlarge significantly our talent pool"- DATUK SERI DR FONG CHAN ONN

This is consistent with the recent NEAC report on the NEM, which says that the numbers of expatriates have fallen from nearly 90,000 in 2000 to nearly half of that by 2008. The net result is a “shortage of dynamic talent to push Malaysia into higher added value activities”.

The trends illustrated in Tables 3 to 5 are indicative that our brain drain is serious, while Table 6 shows that the brains we are trying to attract are not coming in. Of course, Tables 3 to 5 also show that we are not alone in losing out.

But is that a sufficient consolation? I think not. It will be shown later that while other countries have taken steps to remedy the problem, we are still far behind in trying to resolve the challenges we are facing.

Losing the talents

This issue has been discussed extensively, but let me try to summarise why we have been losing our talents.

> Legislative issues

As I have elaborated at the beginning of this article, under Malaysian law, a child born overseas to a Malaysian mother, whose husband is a non-Malaysian, is not entitled to Malaysian citizenship or even permanent resident (PR) status. This large pool of talent is just kept out of our shores.

I vividly remember Datuk Syed Norulzaman (a retired Malaysian ambassador) lamenting to me last month over dinner about how his daughter, a JPA medical scholar at Dublin, worked hard over the years to qualify as a medical specialist. She unfortunately could not return to serve Malaysia because she married her Norwegian classmate, and their children are classified as non-Malaysians. With tears in his eyes, he said he had never felt so helpless as an ambassador because he could not explain to his daughter why Malaysia does not accept her children.

And of the thousands of talented foreign spouses who have returned to Malaysia with their Malaysian husbands, what is happening to them? Medical experts, top-notch scientists or experienced teachers they may be, but they are not even accorded PR status and are not allowed to work here, their adopted home.

> Educational Opportunities

Up to the late 1990s, a large number of Malaysians migrated for their children's education. University education opportunities for Malaysians (particularly the non-Malays) were limited by the quota system and financial aids. However, the implementation of the 1996 Private University Act saw rapid expansion of opportunities for tertiary education in the country. And with the establishment of the Government University Loan Scheme (PTPTN), providing financial aid to all students including those from Independent Chinese Schools, as well as the opening up of JPA scholarships to all excellent students, all Malaysians who aspire for tertiary education can now pursue their dreams within our shores.

Although many Malaysians still go overseas for their education, they now go by choice and not out of necessity.

> Domestic social-political issues

In this global-village world, Malaysians are being continuously exposed to the world environment. We see, feel and hear first-world lifestyles, first-world civil society structures, and first-world social institutions over TV and the media all the time. Many Malaysians felt disillusioned, or even short-changed, by the non-optimal functioning of our social-political institutions which seem always constrained by the many sensitivities of our multi-religious and multi-ethnic background.

Last year, pop star Beyonce Knowles was scheduled to perform in KL, but the concert was put off when some groups protested against it. She then went on to perform to record crowds in Jakarta.

Many of us cannot accept unwarranted constraints like this on our social lives and feel that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence (or Causeway?).

Of course, the fact that Malaysia has never taken public relations with the rest of the world seriously, and consequently is always reported negatively in the world media, does us even greater damage especially in the eyes of the Malaysian professionals abroad.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, fortunately, understands these concerns clearly. The radical reforms he is currently pushing through under the NEM (including emphasising needs-based over race-based policies), the Key Performance Indices, and the all-inclusive 1Malaysia programme will hopefully bear fruit in the next one year, and will result in a significant increase in the “feel-good” factor with a corresponding reduction in our social-political environment being a push factor for Malaysians to migrate.

First-world pull

With the current high-tech boom, many first-world nations realise that to capture the global markets with new innovative products and services (iPads, smartphones, nano-products, etc.) they have to take aggressive steps to build their talent pool “by instant” rather than through natural organic growth. These advanced nations (I am including Singapore and Hong Kong in this category) have introduced talented-immigrant attraction policies as follows:

The US: Employer-sponsored visas (H-1B) given liberally to immigrants who have at least a Bachelor's degree in arts, science, education, and other disciplines.

The UK: Tier-1 Point-based migration under which immigrants have to score at least 75 points based on age, experience and qualification.

Australia: Skilled Migration Programme, under which applicants are assessed on a point system again based on age, experience and qualification.

Singapore: Employer-sponsored (Scheme 1) working visas are issued within three working days on receipt of application. And under its Scheme 4, top-notch professionals are “purposely” sought from all over the world and attracted to reside in Singapore.

Hong Kong: Working visas are readily given out on a points system; the points are again assessed based on age, experience and qualification.

Many Malaysians have gone to these countries on these programmes, and in the process contributed to these societies' development.

Retain, recruit talents

What can we do to retain the talents we have in the country, as well as encourage our talents from overseas to return; besides trying to recruit non-Malaysian experts to enrich the pool of our expertise? This is obviously a tall-order question which I will attempt to answer.

Firstly, besides pushing on with the reforms needed under the NEM and the 1Malaysia programme, we need to immediately abolish all the gender-biased legislative impediments preventing the husbands and children of our female talents, who have married non-Malaysians, from becoming citizens or even PRs. Unless this is done, and done retroactively, the thousands of these Malaysian talents will be forever lost from our shores.

Further, the thousands of wives of Malaysians who have returned should be immediately given PR or even citizenship so that their expertise can be harnessed by the nation.

By one stroke of the pen we can immediately enlarge significantly our talent pool.

Secondly, we need to negotiate more country-to-country youth exchange programmes with OECD nations, like the Malaysia-New Zealand Youth Exchange Programme. Our youths have been going over to their shores for decades, and now with these exchange programmes we can at least begin to attract some of their youths to our shores, first as guests, and later maybe as experts.

Thirdly, we should get away from our cold-war seige mentality mind-set, bite the bullet and immediately reform our working permit, PR and citizenship policies. Working permits for expatriates should be quickly approved for applications from employers for bringing in the expertise that they need to run their businesses or factories. PR status should be accorded to the top experts that we want to recruit. Their coming into our midst will result in new innovations and thousands of new high-paying jobs for our people.

If we can approve the hundreds of thousands of unskilled labour, why can't we allow the engineers, scientists, and other experts required by the multi-national corporations to enter?

Fourthly, we need to relook our own incentive schemes implemented to attract the return of our professionals. Under the Human Resources Ministry's “Return of Experts Programme”, an approved returnee is entitled to bring back two cars tax-free (as well as the applicant's accumulated income, also tax-free). This is hardly an incentive as in OECD countries there is no such thing as Approved Permits or prohibitive taxes on imported cars.

We need to follow on the successful examples of other countries, such as the Taiwanese Hinshu Science Park established in the 1980s for returning scientists from the US, under which returnees are given R&D grants for start-ups and educational assistance for their children. Out of this, Taiwan emerged to be a major exporter of IT appliances.

Or the Korean Institute for Science and Technology (KIST) set up to provide research grants and managerial autonomy for talented returnees, mimicking the US research environment; and now South Korea has a 96% broad-band penetration rate.

Even China has established its “Freedom to Come and Go” Policy and Special Development Zones for its talented returnees.

Through our embassies, we need to identify and directly engage our professionals world-wide and make them part of our global ambassadorial network. With their support and goodwill, we can greatly improve the image of our country. Some of them can even be persuaded to set up base at home. If they have good ideas, venture capital and R&D grants should be provided so that they can be assisted to transform these ideas into products and services.

It is already quite late in the day for us to start these policies to attract talents.

My meetings with many of our professionals abroad indicate that they are still very much Malaysian at heart. They miss the nasi lemak, our colourful multi-ethnic lifestyles, and the relatively stress-free nature of our work environment. Similarly, many Japanese, US and Korean expatriates will prefer to work in KL compared to other Asian cities.

Though it may be late in the day to attract and recruit them back to Malaysia, at least we know we are starting on a reservoir of goodwill. But let us implement these Attract and Recruit Programmes with the fullest commitments now, so that our plan to emerge as a high-income economy can become reality in the not too distant future.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/16/nation/6273783&sec=nation

The big bad web

Sunday May 16, 2010

By HARIATI AZIZAN
sunday@thestar.com.my

The Internet poses various safety issues and Facebook's latest privacy gaffes make it even worse.

A JEALOUS husband murders his wife after becoming enraged that she had changed her Facebook status to single.

It may sound like a Hallmark movie-plot but last year alone saw a few similar incidents around the world. And this does not include the harassment, threats or legal suits that Facebook members faced over their postings.

Risks without borders: The privacy policy of giant social media network Facebook has come under fire as it exposes users to malicious attacks and cyber crimes. - Picture posed by model

After Edward Richardson, 41, stabbed his estranged wife Sarah Richardson, 26, to death - the third of such homicide cases in the United Kingdom over 12 months - British authorities were quick to highlight the importance of social media literacy.

Crimes of passion are nothing new but social networking may just have changed the variables. And while Facebook is in no way to be blamed for the violence - she could have used MySpace, Meebo or any other social network - this case is an undeniable example of how increased connectivity, the speed with which information is transmitted, and privacy controls are changing our world.

The main question thrown up in discussion groups was whether Richardson fully understood how Facebook worked.

Was she aware that by changing her status, her estranged husband would instantly receive a post on his Facebook newsfeed? Did she know how to exclude him from such updates if she had wished to?

Malaysia has not recorded any similar cases yet, but with reportedly 2,619,040 Malaysians registered on Facebook, there may be cause for concern.

"Many who go to social media networks do not realise the consequences of how they act and what they say on the Internet will have on themselves, their families and friends"- ASSO C PR OF DR KHAIDZIR ISMAIL

As psychologist Assoc Prof Dr Khaidzir Ismail from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia highlights, many of the Malaysians who go to social media networks do not realise the consequences of how they act and what they say on the Internet will have on themselves, their families and friends.

“The Internet is a good outlet for people to express themselves and socialise. However, many, especially the young, do not have the skills or etiquette to know how to behave on the social media networks. One problem is that many are IT illiterate,” he says.

Worse, the latest Facebook privacy scandals may make the existing security worries so 2009 for many users.

New privacy issues

While many were still grappling with how to find their way around the social media network and manage their personal information on it, Facebook introduced new privacy settings at the end of last year.

Too personal: Over the past six years, social networking has been Facebook's stand-out phenomenon, linking up more than one billion people eager to exchange videos, pictures or last-minute birthday wishes. - Reuters

The changes made more private data public by default as users are given the responsibility to opt out if they want to keep their information private, or share it only with a trusted group of friends.

They caused a lot of confusion and many users were unaware that their personal information was available to everyone.

Another Facebook glitch recently further highlighted the vulnerability of its users - estimated to be more than 400 million people worldwide - as the malfunction made it possible for people not friended by Facebook users to access their personal information, including chat conversations, friend lists and more.

Unsurprisingly, censure mounted from the authorities worldwide - US senators reiterated their public calls for Facebook to rethink its privacy safeguards; the American Civil Liberties Union launched a petition against its founder Mark Zuckerberg and European data protection officials slammed the privacy changes.

It also caused a backlash among the tech-savvier user community and technology industry.

A number of high-profile users reportedly deleted their Facebook accounts while other irate users have launched an online campaign to make June 6 a “No Facebook Day”.

This has led to a crisis meeting at the Facebook headquarters last Friday, as it took steps to address the problems. Subsequently, tighter security measures were announced to protect its users' personal information.

However, as Facebook stressed in the press, in its bid to calm the furore over its privacy policy, the first line of defence is the user.

Chief executive officer of CyberSecurity Malaysia - the national cyber security specialist centre under the purview of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (MOSTI) - Lt Col Husin bin Haji Jazri (Retired) concurs that users have to practise safe behaviour on Facebook and anywhere else online, he says in an e-mail interview.

Security upgrade

According to the Malaysian Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT), there were more than 150 complaints of cyber security breaches last year.

While this included cases of identity theft, hacking and cyberstalking, there were also reports of personal data abuse by estranged dating or married couples who have access to their partners' personal information.

As MyCERT chief Adli Abdul Wahid revealed to a local Malay language daily at the last Computer Security Day celebrations, they have received complaints from Internet users who have found their contact details - with offers of sex service - posted on public toilet walls and Internet forums as well as circulated via e-mail to strangers.

A quick e-mail survey by Sunday Star, however, shows that most Malaysians know how to protect themselves on the Internet, especially on social media networks like Facebook.

An IT executive who only wants to be known as Davina K. is among those who feel that the world's biggest social network needs to review its privacy policy.

“Most of us got onto Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family overseas or reconnect with old schoolmates. But now instead of connecting with them, half the time we have to monitor our privacy setting to make sure that our personal information is safe. It is taking the fun out of socialising,” she says.

Many, like engineer J. Tan, say that they have always been very careful about what they put on their profile page in Facebook.

“I like Facebook because it keeps me in the loop with what my friends and family are doing without me having to speak to them at all. But I am careful about sharing personal details with strangers. There is always the danger of your details ending up on public toilet walls, right?” he says.

Media executive Adibah A. is another who keeps a tight rein on what personal information gets out.

“I don't simply disclose information that I don't want people to know of. To me, it is better to be careful than sorry later. People can always spam my inbox with marketing flyers and any other junk. To protect my privacy, I am very selective of the information shared among friends.”

When audio visual (AV) designer Ruza Jajuli realised how her work and family were spilling into Facebook, she quickly made a list of “close friends”.

“There are things I would not like to share with them (family or office mates) as I wouldn't in 'real' life, so I created a list for the people who I do not want to see my 'crazy' pictures or comments,” she shares.

The fear of having her personal secrets being abused by others, including those who she counts as friends and acquaintances, is why regular Internet user Melissa K. is swearing off Facebook.

“You can say I am a bit paranoid, but I am now careful after a not-so-nice separation from my ex many years ago. He saved everything I said in anger (on voicemail, e-mail and SMS) and gossiped using it.”

Lt Col Husin advises those who have been threatened or victimised to lodge a police report.

“Then the police will do the necessary investigation and determine whether or not a crime has been committed. After which, law enforcement authorities (like the police) will determine if further action can be taken on the said person,” he says.

More importantly, with Facebook being so open, it is vital that users take safety precautions should they start interacting offline with those they meet online.

Just last week, an inquest hearing in the UK revealed how one former army warrant officer Stewart Shaw stabbed his partner Julie Sudlow - whom he had met on Facebook - after their whirlwind romance went sour.

As reported in British daily The Telegraph, the testimony of the investigating officer showed that Sudlow soon discovered that the man she was seeing was not the same as the man she had met on Facebook.

He became violent with her and when she called the police on him, Shaw lost his temper and accused her of ruining his life before murdering her in rage.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/16/nation/6265280&sec=nation

How to stay safe on Facebook

Sunday May 16, 2010

PRIVACY and security must be dirty words at the Facebook HQ at the moment as the world's largest social media network comes under fire for its privacy policy that has left users exposed and vulnerable.

Amazingly, it was reported that Facebook's privacy policy is a whopping 5,830 words long, even more verbose than the Constitution of the United States which reads at 4,543 words.

Here are some of the precautions you need to take to stay private and safe:

Make friend lists

Categorise your “friends” into various groups according to what information you want them to have access to, from “Work Friends” (minimal access) to “Acquaintances”, “Family” and “Close Friends” (full access) .

Restrict access to profile

To prevent strangers from accessing your page, it is advisable to allow “Only Friends” to access your profile.

Remove your address and phone number

This may be useful information for your real friends and family but imagine what will happen if the information falls into the wrong hands.

Remove your full birthdate from your profile

Identity thieves can use it to obtain more information on you and even gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you want to remind your friends about your birthday, remove the year.

Be careful when registering for new applications

It is all fun and exciting to try out new games and quizzes but what many don't realise is that you may unknowingly be sharing all your information with the developers who can then sell your data or spam you.

Go to “Privacy Settings” and tick “Applications”, followed by “Settings”. Uncheck the boxes for the personal information that you do not want them to obtain.

Still, according to security expert website, the CSO (Chief Security Officer) Online, Facebook users unwittingly expose themselves to five dangers that might be beyond their control: their information is shared with third parties; their privacy settings revert to a less safe default mode after each redesign; malware from Facebook advertisements; fake profiles from scammers; and real friends who unknowingly make them vulnerable.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/16/nation/6272384&sec=nation

Scorching weather sets to cover country

WEATHER

Thursday ,May 13,2010, Posted at: 12:42(GMT+7)

The cold front that overflowed Vietnam’s northern and central regions has ended and the hot low-pressure system coming in from the west should begin moving into those areas by Thursday. Meanwhile, the southern region continues to suffer through an extreme heat wave. The northern and central regions’ weather would be boiling against as the cold front from the north has gone away The National Hydro Meteorological Forecast Center said that the country would continue experiencing hot and muggy weather across vast areas over the next few days. The northwestern region and mountainous areas in the northern central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An should see severely hot and arid conditions, with temperatures soaring above 37 Celsius degrees, possibly to 40 degrees at some places. Meanwhile, southern and Central Highlands regions continue to endure the severe heat wave that has plagued these areas for several days already. Young people are especially vulnerable to heat-related illnesses caused by the sweltering weather experienced in the southern regions recently. This past week in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho, Children Hospital’s health check department has been receiving from 1,200 to 1,500 children per day with respiratory illnesses, pneumonia, diarrhea, and petechial fever a day. The resident-treatment ward normally accommodates 400-600 children and has only 250 sickbeds, forcing two to four children to share the same bed. The hospital director Dr. Le Hoang Son said that many parents do not understand the difference between less serious respiratory illnesses and pneumonia, thus, they wait too long before taking their children to the hospital, which can lead to unfortunate consequences including fatality.

By staff writers – Translated by Hai Mien http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Nature/Weather/2010/5/82016/