Thread: Resources for The Dong. No sence all your "EGGS" in one Basket....

Resources
Links that are helpful in researching the potential for the Vietnam currency, economic and business events.

International Monetary Fund (Vietnam)
Research Vietnams Position and Updates in the Fund.

Thanhnien News
Follow the Latest Business and Economic News for Vietnam.

State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)
The Official State Bank of Vietnam Website.

Ministry of Finance of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Follow the Latest from the Vietnam Ministry of Finance.

Vietnam Stock Market News
Follow the Latest Vietnamese Stock Market happenings here.

President Bush Exchanges Toasts at State Banquet in Vietnam


Washington, DC
November 17, 2006


Released by the White House
Office of the Press Secretary

PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. President, and Madam Chi, the reason I'm smiling is because I'm really happy to be here. And so is Laura. And we thank you for your warm hospitality. First, I want to congratulate you for your success on hosting APEC. I'm confident our fellow leaders will have the same sense of gratitude and respect that we feel from the Vietnamese people.

Vietnam is a remarkable country. For decades you had been torn apart by war. Today the Vietnamese people are at peace and seeing the benefits of reform. The Vietnamese own their own businesses, and today the Vietnamese economy is the fastest growing in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese students have great opportunities here at home and abroad. The Vietnamese people are traveling around the world and sharing this ancient culture with peoples of the world. And the United States, as well as other APEC partners, look forward to strengthening our ties.

The American people welcome the progress of Vietnam. And we want to continue to work together to better our relations. We will work with you to help combat avian flu and HIV/AIDS. We have signed agreements to protect religious freedom. We strongly support Vietnam in the World Trade Organization.

Vietnam is a country that's taking its rightful place as a strong and vibrant nation. Mr. President, your leadership is helping your country succeed. I can see it as I drive on the streets, the people of your country have hope. And I hope they know as a result of my visit they have the friendship of the American people.

And so, Mr. President, I would like to propose a toast to you and Madam Chi and to the fine people of Vietnam. (Applause.)

(A toast is offered.)

END

President Bush Exchanges Toasts at State Banquet in Vietnam

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications...k/geos/vm.html

Fact Sheet: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2006



APEC 2006


Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2006

"America has helped contribute to the modern and confident Asia we see today – a region where people’s incomes and opportunities are rising, where businesses compete in a global economy, and where citizens know that a world growing in trade is a world expanding in opportunity. In this new century, America will remain engaged in Asia, because our interests depend on the expansion of freedom and opportunity in this region."

- President George W. Bush, Remarks At National University of Singapore, 11/16/06

At The 14th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting In Hanoi, Vietnam, President Bush Presented A Vision Of APEC As An Organization That Can:

Create opportunities for sustainable growth through trade liberalization;
Prevent threats to sustainable growth by securing travel, transport, and trade, by fighting against terrorism, and by preventing pandemic disease; and
Build societies for sustainable growth by stemming corruption and promoting good governance.
The Leaders Of APEC's 21 Member Economies Embraced The President's Vision And Took Important Steps To Realize It.

President Bush and the other APEC leaders:

Issued a challenge to their counterparts within and outside of APEC to secure a breakthrough in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations and conclude an ambitious agreement;
Decided to explore a trans-Pacific, region-wide Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific as a long-term goal;
Took steps to improve the quality and consistency of the free trade agreements already being negotiated in the Asia-Pacific region;
Confirmed their determination to defeat terrorism, halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), promote energy security and clean energy technology, fight corruption and foster good governance; and
Expressed strong concern for North Korea's October 9 nuclear test, stressed the need for UN Member States to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1718, which calls for sanctions against North Korea, and called for North Korea to return to the Six Party Talks ready to carry out the denuclearization pledges made in the September 2005 Joint Statement.
Results Of The 2006 APEC Leaders' Meeting

Advancing Global Trade Negotiations: President Bush and the APEC leaders reaffirmed their commitment to achieving an ambitious Doha Round result and signaled their intention to be personally engaged in securing a breakthrough in the talks. APEC Leaders sent the message that they are all ready to move beyond current positions to break the deadlock and urged leaders from other regions to be similarly bold and match the APEC leaders' commitments.

Launching The Vision Of A Trans-Pacific Free Trade Area: President Bush called for a bold strategy for trans-Pacific trade liberalization at APEC this year. The other APEC leaders responded with characteristic courage, and they charged officials with exploring possible ways to achieve a region-wide Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. The officials will report back to the leaders at their Sydney meeting in September 2007.

Improving The Quality Of Free Trade Arrangements: Following President Bush's lead, the APEC leaders agreed on key elements for six model free trade agreement (FTA) chapters, in order to promote high standards for FTAs in the region.

Facilitating Trade: The APEC leaders declared success in meeting their target of reducing trade transaction costs in the region by 5 percent between 2001 and 2006 and agreed to a framework for achieving another 5 percent reduction by 2010.

Protecting Intellectual Property Rights: President Bush and the APEC leaders endorsed two new Model Guidelines under the APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative. The Model Guidelines will help APEC economies secure supply chains against counterfeit and pirated goods and inform citizens about the importance of Intellectual Property Rights protection and enforcement. The leaders also embraced the principle that government offices must block copyright infringement on their computer networks, including over the Internet.

Countering Threats And Enhancing Security In The Asia-Pacific Region: President Bush and APEC leaders stated their strong opposition to trafficking in weapons of mass destruction and highlighted the need to prevent proliferators from abusing legitimate financial systems. President Bush took the lead in encouraging all members to extend the mandate of APEC's Counter-Terrorism Task Force, implement the APEC Framework for Secure Trade, commit to undertaking Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) Vulnerability Assessments at international airports, and join the United States, Australia and New Zealand in a Regional Movement Alert System, which detects the use of lost and stolen passports. The APEC leaders welcomed new U.S.-led APEC initiatives to improve aviation security controls and to protect our food supply systems from deliberate contamination.

Improving Health Preparedness: President Bush and the other APEC leaders fully endorsed APEC's Action Plan on the Prevention and Response to Avian and Influenza Pandemics. They committed themselves to timely and complete reporting of both human and avian influenza cases and expressed support for the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza.

Promoting Good Governance And Fighting Corruption: President Bush is leading APEC in stemming corruption in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC leaders agreed to implement the principles of the UN Convention Against Corruption on a priority basis. President Bush and the other leaders also highlighted the significant impact that public-private partnerships can have in achieving more transparent and more honest forms of governance, strengthening market integrity, and ensuring that all communities have the opportunity to share the benefits generated by trade liberalization and economic growth.

Tackling Energy Supply And Environmental Challenges: President Bush and the APEC leaders discussed the challenges posed by sustained high oil prices, noting that effective responses require a range of supply and demand side measures. The leaders welcomed the work of the APEC Biofuels Task Force and pledged to strengthen their joint efforts to develop and make use of clean energy technologies.

Promoting Regional Business Travel: President Bush announced that the United States will recognize the APEC Business Travel Card, which will allow card holders to receive expedited processing in immigration lines at U.S. international airports.

Making APEC Stronger: President Bush and the other leaders welcomed plans for the strengthening of the APEC Secretariat and the streamlining of APEC operations. In recognition of APEC's role as the premier economic forum in the Asia-Pacific, President Bush announced that the United States would commit to doubling our support of APEC activities to roughly $5 million per year, starting in 2007.

# # #

Fact Sheet: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2006

December 2006
NATIONAL BANK OF ROMANIA ISSUES NEW 200 LEI POLYMER BANKNOTE

The National Bank of Romania issued the new 200 lei banknote on the 1st December 2006, as the seventh denomination in the new redenominated banknote series issued in July 2005. The obverse of the new 200 lei banknote features portrait of Lucian Blaga (1895-1961), poet, actor, philosopher, professor and diplomat, while the reverse is a composition of graphic representations depicting Neolithic statue from Hamangia.

Security features on the note include:

WinTHRU® (clear/complex window),
SHAD H2O Switch® (shadow image),
MAGread(tm) (security thread),
IRIswitch(tm) (iridescent stripe),
WinBoss(tm) (emboss).

SECURENCY

US House passes trade bill for Vietnam
Last Updated: Saturday, December 9, 2006 10:15:39 Vietnam (GMT+07)


The United States’ Republican-led House of Representatives passed a package of trade bills Friday night that includes a measure extending normal trade status to Vietnam.
The lawmakers narrowly approved a raft of trade legislation to normalize trade ties with Vietnam, expand trade preferences for Haiti, and renew duty reductions for the Andean region and over 100 developing nations.

The House of Representatives voted 212 to 184 for the trade package, which is expected to go to the Senate this weekend as part of a larger tax and energy package in an 11th-hour push to close the current Republican-led Congress.

If the Senate should resolve its disputes, pass the package and adjourn, the Republican control of Congress, which has lasted 12 years in the House, would be over. That would set the stage for the next Congress to convene Jan. 4 with Democrats in the majority in both the House and the Senate.

The Vietnam bill would end the Cold War requirement that trade with the Southeast Asian state be reviewed every year.

Sen. Max Baucus, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said the bill "makes certain that more U.S.-made goods will get into Vietnam's markets."

Republican Rep. David Dreier said the Vietnam measure would encourage economic and political liberalization in the Southeast Asian nation and provide access for American companies hoping to crack a booming market.

"This legislation will help to create stronger trading partners for the future, while also recognizing our responsibility ... to help developing countries grow," Republican Rep. Bill Thomas, outgoing chairman of the influential Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement.

The measure grants Permanent Normal Trade Relations to fast-growing Vietnam, 30 years after its war with the United States, but it comes late for President George W. Bush, who arrived empty-handed at a Hanoi summit last month after an initial PNTR vote failed.

The legislation also broadens textile preferences for Haiti, allowing it to increase duty-free exports to the United States of clothes that aren't made with U.S. yarn and fabric.

"We hope that ... we can send a signal to other countries to come to the aid of this poor nation," said New York's Charles Rangel, a Democrat who will head the Ways and Means Committee when Democrats take control of Congress next year.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab hailed Friday's vote, saying increased trade had not only helped workers in poor countries but lowered priced for U.S consumers.

Some industry groups, however, are worried that Vietnam's heavy subsidies and other trade policies have damaged the U.S. textile industry severely, costing companies billions of dollars and destroying American jobs.

The trade package also would extend or expand trade breaks for Haiti, sub-Saharan Africa and Andean nations, drawing opposition from supporters of the beleaguered U.S. textile industry.

Eight Republican senators on Thursday wrote congressional leaders, saying 100,000 textile jobs in their region already had been lost due to trade agreements. They said they would oppose "as forcefully as possible" the Haiti measure.

Republican President George W. Bush's trade liberalization efforts could face trouble in the next Congress.

Source: Reuters, AP

Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily

Last updated: 16:19 - December 8, 2006


Commercial banks ready for global integration



Banking regulators, executives and experts have sounded gradually less concerned by the fierce competition which will be brought by the country's WTO membership.

Domestic banks were first worried over Vietnam's banking-financial commitments to the World Trade Organisation, which will allow wholly-foreign banks to operate or have branches in Vietnam from April 1, 2007, citing the inferior financial capacity and technology compared to foreign rivals.

However there is relief due to their careful preparations as well as full understanding of the roadmap which, in the first five years from 2007, limits foreign banks in attracting savings in Vietnamese dong from local depositors and refuses them to open the second branch offices. Foreign investors' shares in Vietnamese banks will not exceed 30% in the period under review.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Phung Khac Ke said one of major challenges for commercial banks is their possible losing of retail market shares, in which they own up to 90% of, to foreign rivals.

In addition, risks related to prices, foreign exchange rates and banking interests may turn into financial and economic crisis as part of the regional or global quagmires, Ke said.

He also said that the Government has issued a policy on scaling up banks' capital to cope with their disadvantage in financial capacity. Under the new decision, joint stock commercial banks or joint ventures have to increase their registered capital to at least VND 1 trillion by 2008 and VND 3 trillion by 2010.

Those banks which fail to meet the requirements will face punishments, including the revocation of licenses, said the bank executive.

Le Dac Son, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam joint stock Commercial Bank for Private Enterprises (VPBank) said the decision was necessary in the context that Vietnamese banks were small-scale and the compulsory decision will not make it difficult for banks operating for more than 10 years.

He also said that there will be many banks raising their capital to the VND 1 trillion mark until the year-end, such as the VPBank which will increase its capital to VND 2.2 trillion by 2007 and VND 3 trillion by 2008.

In an effort to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese banks, the Prime Minister has recently agreed to equitise three state-owned banks, namely the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Vietnam (ICB) and the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), with a goal of attaining sound financial indexes in terms of international standards for the BIDV and the ICB by the end of 2006, and the Agribank by the end of 2007.

The PM also requested the Vietcombank and the Bank for Housing Development in Mekong Delta to complete their equitisation process in 2007.

For their part, commercial banks have been speeding up their investment to expand infrastruture and upgrading their business networks. The Sai Gon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank), particularly, over the last few years has built a retail network with 150 branches throughout the country. In the near future, the bank will increase the number of its local branches to 250 and open branches abroad.

With an investment worth US 10 million for new technologies and equipment, the Asian Commercial Bank (ACB) is now regarded as Vietnam's best bank in management because all its 72 branches have direct link with headquarters and its customers are offered mobile telephone banking services.

Many banks also developed such services as money withdrawal and transaction through Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), telephone banking and electronic money transfer which is attracting more and more customers.

According to Phung Khac Ke, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, with current trends, the scale of the banking market will be multiplied after 10 more years. (VNA)

Vietnam's financing leasing market to open for foreigners


Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has announced that it is currently building a roadmap to open the country's financial leasing market to foreign investors.

Under the plan, Vietnam's financial leasing market would be completely opened to foreign companies by 2010, in terms of diversifying leasing operations and loosening SBV's management, Deputy head of the the central bank, Tran Xuan Chau said.

Following the changes, all foreign investors will be encouraged to enter into the market, in contrast to the current regulations which limit investment to foreign commercial banks and financial leasing companies, he added.


Source:
Business in Asia Today - Dec 06, 2006
published by Asia Pulse

ANTARA News :: Vietnam's financing leasing market to open for foreigners

:: Saigon Times Daily - No. 2834 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2006

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/arti...-C4-Internet-3

Viet Nam News

Viet Nam News

Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily

NamMoney - Vietnam Currency

Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily

I am using Iraq dinars Dinar Trade until Marek Owner of Rolclub has it ready here for us. Also using them here and there for Dinars too. Rolclub is supporting them on the Dinars. They have Dongs aswell, but hopfully Marek(Admin of Rolclub) will have his Soruces together soon. I just ordered 10 million for $1274.00 including COD from them for now.