Tieng Viet lovers club

[jackbl]

City health department worried about bottled water quality
=============================================

The Ho Chi Minh City Health Department has expressed concern over the hygiene and safety of bottled water being sold by several small producers.


The department has called for more vigorous inspections of such producers and their facilities after recent tests showed groundwater contamination in some of the areas from which companies with small investments were sourcing their water.

Le Truong Giang, deputy director of the department, said its Food Safety and Hygiene Bureau will cooperate with district authorities this month to take samples at the bottling facilities. The department will release information about test results as well as action to be taken against offenders by March 15.

The department has identified more than 300 bottled water brands in the market, with several new brands, mostly of small-sized producers, sprouting over the past five years.

One producer who did not want to be identified said bottled water “is very easy to make.”

A production line would cost up to VND70 million (US$4,000) and underground water and tap water was virtually free.

Recent tests done by the city’s Preventive Health Center and Clean Water and Rural Environment Sanitation Center showed that underground water in areas being exploited for bottled drinking water had been severely contaminated.

More than half of the 107 water samples taken in six outlying districts – 9, Thu Duc, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Nha Be and Cu Chi – were found to contain the E.coli and coliform bacteria, indicating feces contamination of the water.

Most small producers dig wells to get the water and use a purifying process that uses coal, gravel and ultraviolet rays. It costs them a few hundred dong to produce a liter of bottled water.

The market price of a 20-liter bottle is between VND12,000 and VND22,000 ($0.69-1.26) but these producers sell it to wholesalers for just VND10,000 ($0.57) at most.

“Ethical producers cannot compete with that price,” said Nguyen Van Nam, deputy general director of Dai Phat Company which produces the Dapha brand of bottled water using the reverse osmosis (RO) filtration process.

To install RO equipment costs around VND1 billion ($57,400), Nam says. This is an investment most small producers cannot afford.

Nguyen Xuan Mai, vice chairman of the HCMC Institute of Public Health and Sanitation, said some small producers use an over-intensive filtering system that lowers the water’s mineral contents to unhealthy levels.

In November 2007, director of the OBM Environmental Technology Company Le Quoc Hung had said the quality of Vietnam’s bottled water was much lower than European tap water.

The amount of iron and manganese allowed in Vietnam’s bottled water is 0.5 milligrams per liter while European countries allow only 0.3 milligrams of iron and 0.1 milligram of manganese, he’d noted.

“Our standards can lead a bottle of water to change its color and produce moss at the bottom,” Hung said then, adding that water with a high concentration of manganese can damage children’s health.

“An individual can use a simple filter to separate sand from water and still achieve our standard,” he claimed.

The city’s Preventive Health Center found that in tests done between last April and October of 36 ice making plants and 77 bottled water producers, less than 40 percent met safety and hygiene standards.

More than 24 percent of the 351 producers tested by the centers in 24 districts in the same period also failed to meet the required standards.

Giang said the Health Department will carry out a general inspection of ice factories and bottled water plants across the city early next month.

The department’s food safety and hygiene officials are ranking these establishments based on the size of their operations.

The ranking and reports from the preventive health centers will assist the inspection process, he said.

But according to Giang, the reports’ figures don’t mean that the city’s ice factories and bottled water are of bad quality or that bottled water producers will be shut down.

The standards include many criteria and any producer who doesn’t meet one of them such as having a rusted container or one employee without a medical check up will be announced “not to meet safety and hygiene standards,” he said.

According to Giang, the upcoming inspections could spot the real violators of drinking water quality, who will be suspended. He added that the inspection was not an unexpected process, but one that had been prepared for a long time.

The Lao Dong newspaper has reported that several small producers of bottled water have been submitting the product of major companies as their own samples to be tested by the authorities.

Source: TN, Agencies

[jackbl]

Temperatures soar early in southern Vietnam
=====================================

This year’s first hot spell in the south has come early, pushing the mercury up to 36.5 degrees Celsius in Ho Chi Minh City Saturday.


Temperatures in other southeastern areas also topped 36 degrees Celsius, with a high of 36.9 recorded in Dong Nai Province’s Long Khanh Town on Friday, said Le Thi Xuan Lan, deputy head of the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center’s Forecasting Department.

Lan said a cold front had pushed the hot low pressure from the northern region to the south, causing the early advent of hot weather.

The cold front has now weakened and moved to southeast China, so temperatures in HCMC and other southeastern provinces will remain about 36-37 degrees Celsius for the next few days, Lan said.

She said Mekong Delta temperatures will hover around 32-34 degrees Celsius.

She expected the current hot spell to be chased away by the end of next week by a cold front from the north.

However, subsequent hot spells in March will get hotter, reaching 38 degrees Celsius in HCMC, around 39 degrees Celsius in southeastern areas and 36-37 degrees Celsius for the Mekong Delta.

This year’s dry season will peak in March and April with at least two hot spells each month, Lan said.

Unseasonal rains and short chills will come between hot spells during this year’s dry season, making the weather less harsh temporarily, she added.

Heavy rains are likely to hit some areas like HCMC, Binh Phuoc Province, Dong Nai Province and Mekong Delta’s coastal provinces from tomorrow to February 26, Lan said.

Lan also said the La Niña phenomenon will be of average intensity this year, causing rains, tempests, thunder and whirlwinds in southeastern areas as well as the coastal provinces of Ca Mau and Kien Giang.

Reported by Mai Vong

[Thom07]

Originally Posted by KangTuo

So for 1 month you must be at penisular plaza area ... alot of Myanmar stuff.

Shhhh... Supposed to be a secret, you know.

[jackbl]

The game room
========================

A Ho Chi Minh City café is as popular for its board games as it is for its ice-cream pizza.


Not even the most amazing new video games can beat the feeling of spending a day or an evening laughing around a game board with a group of friends.

And you can do just that at Ho Chi Minh City’s Rich House, a café, where a wide range of board games including Monopoly, I’m the Boss, and Life are available for customers to play.

Players socialize and compete everyday, racking their brains for the next move and struggling to come up with a team strategy against a formidable opponent.

“My friends and I just discovered this place and we’re addicted,” said Tuan, a local student.

“Risk is one of my favorite games here. It’s an engrossing experience. I’m a bit sharper playing against my friends in person than I am over the Internet on a computer game.”

Card games like Hali Gali, Uno and Qwick are also available.

Designed and decorated by young artists from the HCMC University of Fine Arts, Rich House is attracting a large number of youngsters in the city. Several volunteer groups and online communities hold their meetings here.

On special occasions like Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Women’s Day, Rich House offers gifts and holds game competitions with prizes for customers.

The café also has an appealing menu with unique specialties like the chocolate hot-pot and the ice-cream pizza, ranging from VND15,000 (US$0.85) to above VND50,000 ($2.84). Spend more than VND100,000 ($6.5) and receive a discount.

Rich House is located at 370 Cao Thang Street, District 10, HCMC.

Reported by Kim

[Hurricane88]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Temperatures soar early in southern Vietnam
=====================================


Reported by Mai Vong

HCM weather was hot and humid recently...unpleasant to go out between 12pm to 3pm....

[casannova03]

Originally Posted by lhhuy1

As human we change quickly. I wouldn't have suspected you to treat me cruelly like that. We are human that know to feel shocked, know what love is, know what suffering is, what teardrop is and respect for love that is very beautiful and sacred. You have changed. The care you have for me was much perfect. Better you have said to me two words, "break up", when your heart no longer have me. I will be ready to accept it. Despite the suffering I will accept you as my first whom caused me suffering and shed many tear drops. You have trampled on my sincere heartfelt feeling I have saved for you, but I will always wish you live with the happiness you have now.

Baby, a lot of times I promised myself I would forget you, never let you despise me again. But I can't do it. Feeling of missing you keeps on existing and reminds me of days of happiness that past by. You have forgotten all already. And I have killed myself by love I have saved for you in a circumstance of hurt like this. Tear drops keep on flowing that cause my lips salty. I will cry one more time now so later I can bury my love I have saved for you deep down in my heart - let it disappears in the past. And I won't cry because you don't deserve to cause me shed a lot tears. I will cry for whoever that knows care and appreciation. You only treat love like a game for playing. You treated me like a guest across the road (one night stand) during your trip only. Every word of care and intimacy are all fake and conjured up by you.



You bad boy, heart breaker you! I feel pain for the women back home.

So long never come in and see this....sigh!! to think i've always tried to say things from a woman's point of view...Now someone just posted his partner's scolding of him......See?? You think girls play the KC game with us and deserve anything untoward for their role? And we men deserve to always be sympathised and the victim??

Its just that there are'nt many cheated gals who can post their FRs here andhave thus contributed to a highly skewed and unbalanced view in here!!

look what we have here!! Bro richie!!
Dun play with a women's feeling...no matter where or when you've met her! Getting into a Vietnamese gals heart is not easy and if you've done so, you must have said or done something to melt her heart....but you've failed to keep your side of a promise...if you must break up, do it like a man!!!... While we dun know what you've done, you seemed to have chosen the "run away" attitude after you've got what you want from her!!


Well,bro richie..... an advice from Casannova03....

"Do not do to others what you do not want other to do to you"

The world is a funnily small place....you'll never know when or where or how, your mis-deeds will come back to haunt you eventually....

I know because I used not to believe in these "bullshits"....until I tasted the bitterness of my own medicine!

There is such a thing called KARMA! whether you like it or not....


Peace!

[jackbl]

The owner of the Standard Vietnamese Group
=================================

Many foreigners in Vietnam are familiar with the Standard Vietnamese Group which provides standard Vietnamese language classes to the foreign community in the city.

The owner of the company, Hoang Kieu Hoa, is also a student in her third year at university.

The idea to form the company came when Hoa taught Vietnamese to two foreigners in exchange for help in improving her English.

The Standard Vietnamese Group was founded in July, 2007 in Room 212, Building C, of the Hanoi National University.

The Standard Vietnamese Group now has 10 teachers, most of them are also students at Hanoi National University, and all of them must have International English Language Testing System scores from 7 upwards.

“From the very beginning of the company, we learned that we needed to build prestige and the trust with foreigners. The first thing to remember is to always be punctual,” said Hoa, aged 21.

The teachers at the company also have to learn about the history and cultures of the different areas of Vietnam in order to teach this to their learners.

Moreover, students at the company also go on field-trips to cultural significant places throughout Vietnam to learn more about the country.

Most of the students at the company are members of Non-Governmental Organisations, project researchers, foreign embassy staff or tourists. The majority of them come from Europe, Australia and the US.

Standard Vietnamese Group has become well know with foreigners in Hanoi, because many former students have introduced the company to their friends on the Lonely Planet’s website.

Source: Tien Phong

Translated by Ngoc Hung

[jackbl]

Tasting typical dishes around the country in Dalat
=========================================

VietNamNet Bridge – Dalat, the city surrounded by mist and pine trees, is home for immigrants from the Central areas, such as Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam, as well as from the North. Perhaps that's why tourists can see and taste many typical dishes from different regions in this small city.


Early one morning, strolling among the low hills and wandering through sinuous alleys, I found a small restaurant with the simple name: Banh da cua (drypancake with crab). Hot steam vaporized from the crab soup and pieces of tomato and soya-cake were on a plate of banana flower, rau muong (water spinach), chilly, lemon and fish sauce; the hot bowl of bank da cua seemed to dispel the cold weather of the city.

Banh can (also called banh khot) - a southern specialty of small, fried rice flour pancakes is also a favorite in Dalat. Cooked in small clay dishes over a low-heat coal pot, the rice cake is flavorless until it is added to diluted fish sauce, stir-fried with green onions, and tiny pieces of deep-fried pork fat bits. Then it gives your taste buds some excitement. Pick two cakes and dip them into a bowl of sauce, pile some green onions and fried fat atop the cakes and the cold weather of the misty land disappears to make room for tasty favors and new experience.

This dish is popular in South Central coastal provinces such as Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa. Locals often enjoy this dish with fish sauce in mix of garlic and chilies.

When wandering under the shade of pine trees tourists should stop for a hot banh trang nuong mo hanh (grilled girdle cake with onion oil). On the blazing cooking-fire, a thin griddle cake is grilled with onion oil and a layer of eggs or beef. Tourists also called it the "Pizza of Dalat".

"Visit Dalat at least once to discover splendid landscapes of waterfalls, hills and rivers; to contemplate the architecture of ancient houses and pagodas; and to experience the typical dishes of different regions.

VietNamNet/SGT

[jackbl]

Discovering Vietnamese culture and culinary
================================

VietNamNet Bridge – In addition to pilgrimages and adventure tours, discovering culture through culinary festivals can be an interesting experience for travelers. The “My homeland festival”, an annual culinary and culture festival organized by Saigontourist Holding Company, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Binh Quoi Tourism Village, is an opportunity for tourists to learn about the significant features of Vietnamese cuisine.


This is the fourth time the festival has been held, and this year the focus on typical cultural activities and Vietnamese cuisine is stronger than ever. The festival will take place in Van Thanh Tourism Park, featuring traditional Vietnamese markets, folk games and folk music areas and culinary areas from each region.

At the event more than 100 outstanding dishes from the North, the South and center of Vietnam were introduced, including many traditional dishes from Ben Tre, Dong Thap, Tra Vinh and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces, to name a few.

Moreover, visitors to the park can enjoy more than 30 Vietnamese wines at Viet Wine House area, and see wine and cocktail making and bartending performances.

The art show is another attraction at the event. Artistic troupes from provinces around the country performed, including the five tones (of the traditional musical scale) band of Khmer people in Soc Trang Province, a performance on bamboo instruments from Buon Don District of Dak Lak Province, Cam dance and Paranung music from Ninh Thuan Province and a gongs troupe from Gia Lai upland province. There were also folk music performances, such as hat cheo, hat tuong (classical drama), Hue music and the South’s traditional music.

The atmosphere were colorful and animated, depicting the daily life of Vietnamese people in every region; for example there was a real market with street vendors wearing traditional costumes and calling out to attract passers-by. Visitors saw how toys are made from natural materials, such as paper boats and toys made from water coconut leaves and clay, and should not miss the folk games of the many regions. On display in the trade village area were examples of Vietnamese crafts such as basket weaving, ceramics, conical hats, brocade weaving, wine making and rice noodles, especially banh trang (griddle cake) Trang Bang and com dep (green rice) Tra Vinh.

The festival ran from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. last weekend, from Friday to Sunday, at Van Thanh Tourism Park. Tickets are priced at VND140,000 per adult and VND100,000 per child.

Van Thanh Tourism Park is located at 48/10 Dien Bien Phu Street, Binh Thanh District, HCMC. Tel: (08) 3512 3026.

VietNamNet/SGT

[jackbl]

Singaporean school leaves Vietnamese students high and dry
==============================================
A visit by Thanh Nien on Sunday found the Britannia School building in Singapore has been leased by another tenant. The school closed without notice leaving two Vietnamese sisters thousands of dollars out of pocket.
Two Vietnamese students who paid nearly US$19,000 for a six-month course in Singapore may have lost their money after the school closed and the principal disappeared after only a month of study.


Sisters Dang Thuy Chi and Dang Thuy Linh from Ho Chi Minh City said the Britannia School of Education in Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar still owes them SGD9,425 ($6,176) each.

Singapore’s Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) has ordered school Director Zuliana Ibrahim to refund the girls SGD$9,425 each by February 16 for Chi and March 2 for Linh.

The pair had paid a total of more than SGD28,000 ($18,348) for the six-month English course they had signed up for last August.

They had only attended the course for about a month when they were shocked to find the school gates closed after they returned on January 5 from a two-week holiday.

The school, located at International Plaza, posted a notice that it would resume operation on February 2. But it is still closed.

Chi and Linh said they asked a friend in Singapore, Phuong, to help them get their money. They said Phuong met with Ibrahim to ask for the tuition fees to be refunded.

Ibrahim allegedly said she would return the money by the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (January 26) but instead of paying, she cut off her mobile phone service as well as the school phone and had her name removed from the Accounting and Corporate Regularity Singapore website.

It was not the first time the sisters had asked for a refund as they had tried to cancel their enrolment last October. At the time, Ibraham had also agreed to return their money but didn’t make good, the sisters said.

Court decision ignored

Desperate for their refund, Linh and Chi went to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) who advised them to make a claim through the SCT.

A judgment was passed in Ibrahim’s absence ordering her to refund the full amount.

Linh has returned to Vietnam but Chi is still in Singapore waiting for their money.

An SCT staff member Monday told Thanh Nien the sisters could petition the bailiff’s office, which would enforce the court’s decision.

Phuong said two students from China and the Philippines were also asking for a total refund of SGD5,329 ($3,492) while another 16 students, mostly from Indonesia, have returned home without incurring major losses as they were paying for the course per class.

One of many

It has been a year since a spate of unannounced school closures in Singapore, like the one at Britannia School of Education, put a thorn in Singapore's bid to become a hub for private schools. The Southeast Asian island had planned for 150,000 foreign students to be enrolled by 2015, the Singapore’s Straits Time newspaper reported Monday.

Froebel School of Education, which lost its license to operate in October 2007, was the last private school at the center of controversy following complaints by both students and staff, the newspaper reported.

The newspaper said several other private schools had shut down suddenly in recent years amid complaints about poorly qualified teachers, unsatisfactory teaching materials and programs.

Since July 2006, up to 32 private Singaporean schools have had their certification of quality revoked by CASE Trust for Education, closed or ejected from the organization, which was launched by CASE for Private Education Organizations.

Reported by Thuc Minh

[jackbl]

Peace and quiet
=================
Tranquility is the name of the game where the swamp meets the sea at Khai Long Beach.


On the tip of the Ca Mau Cape, one of mainland Vietnam’s southernmost points, the twisted, curvy coastline of Khai Long is said to resemble a flying dragon’s tail.

Though the beach might not be as conventionally stunning as Nha Trang or Phan Thiet, it’s the wildness of the area that attracts travelers.

The untouched beach at the end of a swampy jungle is peaceful and soothing, the way a beach should be.

There’s no better place to enjoy a lunch of fresh clams, shrimp and crab than on Khai Long. When the afternoon breeze blows gently and the sea calms quietly, stillness and silence fall over the beach like a warm blanket.

The soft waves make Khai Long a good spot for swimming, with Khoai Islet lingering in the distance off shore.

Fishermen can be seen between the two pieces of land, casting their nets and hauling their catches onto old, brightly colored boats.

Khai Long’s three-kilometer beach extends to almost link with Khoai Islet during low tide. At times, the water is so shallow you can walk nearly all the way there.

Given the beach’s location the cape, the panoramic views of both east and west make this a rare spot where visitors can catch both the sunrise and the sunset.

The areas surrounding Khai Long, more than six hours from Ho Chi Minh City by car, are rich with lush fruit orchards lining the roads, so don’t hesitate to try homegrown local specialties. The adventurous can even reach the beach by boat.

The area’s Fish and Crab Festivals, which take place in April and August respectively, are also unique treats.

For those looking to stay the night at Khai Long, the Ly Thanh Long Tourist Resort has guest houses, camping options, its own beach, a restaurant, entertainment, trekking tours and an aquacultural farm.

Reported by Diem Thu

[jackbl]

I tried the coffee before .......

HCMC airport serves up pricey, mediocre food
==================================

Passengers complain that food prices are three or four times the normal at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

A cup of coffee at the domestic terminal at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport leaves frequent flier Baul dissatisfied.

The Vietnamese-French expatriate’s complaint is mainly with the VND28,000 (US$1.60) price tag.

“The actual price should have been only VND15,000 including tax,” Baul feels.

And it is not just coffee that is heavily priced, he adds.

“A bottle of mineral water, sold at around VND5,000 at other places, costs VND20,000 ($1.15). A loaf of bread, averaging some VND20,000 elsewhere, is VND60,000.”

Baul, who is in and out of the city about ten times a month, says he feels ripped off each time.

He cannot fly on an empty stomach and has to put up with the prices, Baul says. Passengers have to walk pretty far away from the airport to get food at other restaurants.

“I cannot understand on what basis they have fixed the price so high,” Baul fumes.

Nguyen Van Cuong, who was being seen off to Japan Friday, said the price of a loaf of bread at the airport was even higher than in Japan.

“A loaf of bread is equivalent to about VND25,000 to VND30,000 in Japan, while a cup of coffee is about the equivalent of VND15,000,” Cuong claimed.

And a major difference between Japanese airports and Tan Son Nhat is the wide choice offered by food courts in the former.

It is true that very few restaurants are allowed to operate inside the airport terminal, leaving passengers with little choice, Thanh Nien found.

Quality so-so

Many passengers Friday told Thanh Nien they would accept the high prices to some extent if the food quality was good enough.

But there is much room for improvement in this regard, they added.

N.T.B., a bank employee, said he could not tolerate that a bowl of instant noodles was sold at VND35,000 last time he traveled through the airport. But he had no choice but to eat at the only food court available after he checked in.

Vo Do Thang, director of a network security center, agreed with B, saying he has been suffering the poor quality of food every time he flew from HCMC to Hanoi.

Many passengers felt that in the context of an increasing number of no-frills carriers offering cheap journeys to lure customers, exorbitant prices at international airports like Tan Son Nhat would rub people the wrong way.

No authorities could be reached for comment Friday.

The complaints about food prices at the airport comes close on the heels of reports that airport cabbies were fleecing visitors by charging them unmetered fees.

A crackdown that followed the reports saw the operations of a taxi-operator suspended, and several others warned to desist from violating regulations.

Reported by Nguyen Dinh Muoi – Quang Thuan

[Hurricane88]

Good news for potential buyers...


Home prices dip alongside interest cuts, cheap materials

A broker (2nd, L) at real estate company Dat Xanh points out locations to potential buyers
Interest rate cuts and cheaper construction material costs have pushed down housing prices in Ho Chi Minh City, said a senior executive at a property company.


Some developers have reduced apartment prices by 40-50 percent from last year as construction material prices have fallen to a three-year low, said Luong Tri Thin, general director of property firm Dat Xanh.

He also said builders could now borrow easier from banks, enabling them to complete projects at lower initial costs.

Efforts to stimulate the economy have seen the central bank slash the key rate from 8.5 percent to 7 percent, allowing commercial banks to charge interest on dong loans up to 50 percent above the benchmark rate, which is now only 10.5 percent a year.

Dat Xanh plans to offer 224 apartments in the SunView Apartment building in HCMC’s Thu Duc District at the price of US$764 per square meter, a drop of more than $500 a square meter from last year.

According to the HCMC-based firm, 60 percent of its customers wanted to pay no more than VND1 billion ($57,200) for a full apartment while only 10 percent were in the market for apartments at $1,500 per square meter or more.

Property firm Vinh Tuong has begun selling apartments in Block 3 of the Tan Tao Building in Binh Tan District at some VND9 million ($515) per square meter. Each 70-120 square meter apartment has two bedrooms.

Apartments in Nam Long Company’s Ehome Building in District 9, which is under construction and scheduled to open by September, are on sale for VND11.5-14.5 million ($671-847) per square meter.

Apartments larger than 50 square meters at the 17-storey Sunshine Building under construction in Thu Duc District are expected to be sold for only VND500-VND600 million ($29,197-35,036).

HAGL Land cut prices for its new Hoang Anh River View apartments in District 2 by 40 percent to US$1,350 per square meter last week.

It has also lowered prices at another project in Nha Be District to $1,250 from $1,800 per square meter.

Le Hung, director of HAGL Land, said the price cuts would “revolutionize” the HCMC property market in line with government efforts to stimulate the economy.

In Hanoi, medium and low-income apartments are selling for a whopping VND25 million per square meter, said Le Xuan Truong at property firm B.D.S Co.

Thin told Thanh Nien that property firms didn’t expect profits this year to look anything like they did in 2007, when prices and sales went through the roof.

But 2009 is set to beat dreary 2008.

“Their earning growth target is 20- 30 percent this year,” said Thin.

In another boon to the local property market, several banks have recently begun offering loans for house and apartment purchases.

Western Bank is lending a maximum of VND1 billion to potential homebuyers at interest rates of between 10.5-13.2 percent a year for the first three months.

Tien Phong Bank is offering 15-year mortgages worth 70 percent of the house value at 10 percent interest.

Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank, or Eximbank, Asia Commercial Bank and Sacombank are also offering housing loans.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff

[jackbl]

Also the reason why after tet, many congais come back sgp to work ??

Supermarkets slash prices
=========================

Due to the sharp decline of consumer cash after Tet, supermarkets in the city are competing against each other to attract customers into their stores.

Supermarkets offer large discounts


Hundreds of commodites sold offered special discounts at Big C supermarkets
The General Director of Saigon Co.op Mart said that the chain is offering a 10 percent discount on vegetables. The prices of all kinds of fruit are down by between VND1,000 and 3,000.

Factory-made goods, processed foods, cosmetics and garments and household appliances are also on special offer.

Saigon Co.op Mart has also launched a special promotion. On February 27 and 28, 65 thousand doctors, nurses and medical technicians working in hospitals throughout the city were given special discount cards.

Those having such cards will enjoy discounts from five to ten percent when they spend between VND300,000 to 1 million.

Between 2 – 15 March, Saigon Co.op Mart will work with the Japanese Business Association to organize the Japanese Goods Fair at its supermarkets. Customers buying any product from Japanese factories made in Vietnam will be offered special discounts or gifts.

On Women’s Day, March 8, 280 pendants made from 18 carat gold will be given to winners of a draw to be organized by Saigon Co.op.

At Big C supermarkets between February 18 and March 8, consumers can buy many goods at half price. For instance, an egg will sell for just VND 1,000. Other products, like instant noodles, cooking oil and condensed milk are to be offered at between 10 and 17 percent discounts.

Some brands of toilet paper and cosmetics will be discounted at 30 percent.

Prices of household appliances drop

Prices of household appliances are dropping by 40 to 50 percent.

At Big C, prices of rice cookers and electric irons are down by 50 percent.

At Metro supermarkets, a 32- inch Samsung or Panasonic LCD television now costs only VND7 million ($400), down by nearly 40 percent.

At Thien Hoa Household Appliance Trading Center, a 19-inch Sony LCD television sells for just VND5.9 million.

Other Household Appliance Trading Centers, including Nguyen Kim and Cho Lon, are offering discounts rates of between 20 to 30 percent.

By Thuy Hai – Translated by Phuong Lan

[jackbl]

Bottled water health standards
========================

VietNamNet Bridge - The Department of Health and Preventive Medical Centre of HCM City will inspect ice factories and bottled-water plants next month to ensure they maintain the required safety and hygiene standards, an official has said.

Le Truong Giang, deputy director of the department, said inspectors would look for violations of health ministry’s regulations and close down companies found in breach.

For instance, any company employing a worker who had not passed the health test or having rusty water tanks would be shut down, he noted.

The inspectors would also examine the sources of water and chemicals used in the production process.

Last year, city and district agencies carried out inspections at 464 ice factories and bottled-water plants.

The Food Hygiene and Safety Department under the Ministry of Health announced the results of those inspections this week. The Preventive Health Centre had found 22 of 36 ice makers and 51 out of 77 bottled-water producers failed to meet hygiene standards.

Another 85 companies were found committing safety and hygiene related offences.

Most of them did not have enough knowledge of hygiene requirements, the centre said.

Since they sold at low prices, they did not have enough money to upgrade their machinery or technologies, it added.

Nguyen Van Nam, deputy general director of bottled-water maker Dai Phat Company, said poor-quality water cost a mere VND7,000 – 10,000 for a 20-litre bottle.

Water sold by reputed companies cost VND25,000 – 28,000, because they used far more expensive technology, Nam said.

VietNamNet/VNS

Originally Posted by jackbl

City health department worried about bottled water quality
=============================================

Source: TN, Agencies