Insurance firm Bao Minh sued for denying $4.1 mln claim

Workers of the Dung Quat Shipbuilding Industry Company Vietnamese insurance company Bao Minh has been sued by a local shipbuilder for allegedly denying an insurance claim of US$4.1 million for damages caused by a storm in 2009,VnExpress reported Saturday. According to the Dung Quat Shipbuilding Industry Company (DQS), a unit of state-owned oil and gas group PetroVietnam, the companies signed a two-year contract in 2006 under which the shipbuilder was required to pay a total premium of VND4.7 billion ($228,700) to have a business project covered. The contract stipulated that DQS had to pay half of the premium, or around VND2.4 billion, within the first 15 days. The rest of the money would be paid on the project completion. DQS, however,...

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Posted in: Business,Society,Vietnam

Vietnam may disclose foreign reserves data in 2012: report

Vietnam, which has kept the precise level of its foreign reserves undisclosed, may publicize the data regularly next year via its national statistics office, VnExpressreported. Vietnam’s foreign exchange reserves last year dropped 12 percent, ADB said The General Statistics Office in Hanoi has announced a new national statistical indicator system which has 76 additional indicators, including statistics on money supply, credit, interest rate, budget deficit, government debts and foreign reserves. The foreign reserves data will be calculated from foreign currency holdings at the central bank, deposits and loans to other countries, and the special drawing rights holdings – an interest-bearing asset created by the International Monetary...

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Posted in: Asia,Business,Society,Vietnam

Vietnam in prostitution crackdown

Vietnam has unveiled a five-year multi-million-dollar crackdown on prostitution, which is widespread but considered a "social evil" in the country. The plan aims to reduce prostitution by an initial 40 percent by 2015, the government said in a statement on its website dated Thursday. With a budget of 629 billion dong ($30 million), the program "looks to free communes and towns from prostitution and minimize harms of this social issue on society," it said. Investigations, job training for former sex workers and public awareness are among the measures the government said will be taken to battle prostitution, which is illegal. Local media have reported estimates of 30,000-40,000 prostitutes nationwide, and the industry has continued to...

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Posted in: Asia,Society,Vietnam

IMF chief Strauss-Kahn undergoing tests over sex charge

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has consented to a medical examination over allegations of serious sexual assault. Mr Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested on Saturday, denies charges of attacking and attempting to rape a hotel maid. He had been due to appear in court in New York on Sunday but the hearing was postponed until Monday to allow the forensic tests to be carried out. The former French finance minister is also considered a possible Socialist candidate for the presidency. He had been scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday in Berlin and then attend an EU finance ministers' meeting in Brussels on Monday on bailouts for Portugal and Greece. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote I do not believe for one...

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Posted in: Society

HCMC taxi overcharges foreigners by 40 times

A Mai Linh taxi (for illustration purposes only) Three Malaysians have fallen victim to a Mai Linh taxi scam in Ho Chi Minh City, paying VND6 million (US$300) for a ride that should have been VND150,000 (US$7.50). One of the customers, Nasiniya Mohd Taib, said she and two friends took a taxi with a Mai Linh Taxi Group logo and the phone number 0839620620 on the side of the car from Ben Thanh Market to Tan Son Nhat Airport on the morning of May 10. Upon arriving at the airport, the taxi driver charged them VND4 million (US$200) and 300 Malaysian ringgit (US$100), overcharging them by VND5.8 million ($US285). Nguyen Tuan Sinh, head of Mai Linh Taxi Group’s labor union, said he went to Ben Thanh Market after the incident was reported...

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Posted in: Asia,Society,Tour in Vietnam,Vietnam