Qatar Airways increases VN flights

HA NOI — Qatar Airways on Thursday increased to daily fights from Ha Noi to its hub in Doha from 4 flights per week previously after one year of flying to Ha Noi.

Qatar Airways is the national carrier of the country. Currently undergoing rapid expansion, Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world.

Parkson opens store in Ha Noi

HA NOI — The Parkson Landmark 72, Viet Nam's biggest department store, officially opened yesterday in 72-storey Keangnam Ha Noi Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Viet Nam.

Malaysian-based Parkson is also the biggest and most luxurious department store in Viet Nam with a total gross retail area of 35,600sq.m. The opening marks a further development of Parkson in the northern Viet Nam market while increasing the number of Parkson department stores to eight. The department store, with an investment of up to US$10 million, will be under the professional management team of Parkson Viet Nam and is expected to become the most sophisticated high-end shopping and entertainment centre in Ha Noi, satisfying the demands for close to 100,000 people residing in West Ha Noi.

VMware to hold technology day

HA NOI — VMware Inc, the US-based company specialising in virtualisation and cloud infrastructure, will hold its annual vStart Technology Day in HCM City to promote the use of cloud computing technology in Viet Nam.

At the full-day event, VMware experts will share their insights on the state of virtualisation and cloud computing in Viet Nam and how cloud computing can be a competitive advantage. VMware held the vStart Technology Day event in Ha Noi on Thursday.

New Big C supershop in Hai Duong

HAI DUONG — Viet Nam Big C supermarket and HoaNa, a trading investment and real estate company, officially opened a hypermarket at Ngoc Chau commercial centre in Highway 5, Nhi Chau Ward, on Wednesday.

Hai Duong Big C is the 16th of the Viet Nam Big C system with 4,230sq.m and nearly 40,000 items stocked of which 95 per cent is from Viet Nam, including dried food, fresh food, electronics, groceries and textiles.

Trade fair begins in Lao capital

VIENTIANE — As many as 180 businesses are displaying their products at 270 pavilions at the Laos-Viet Nam Trade Fair that opened in Vientiane on Thursday.

The event is being jointly organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

A trade seminar was also held, offering businesses a chance to seek partnerships and sign contracts, raising export and import revenues as well as increasing understanding and solidarity between the two peoples.

Metal structure yard halfway there

BA RIA-VUNG TAU — The Petroleum Equipment Assembly and Metal Structure Joint Stock Company (PVC-MS) finished the first phase of its "petroleum equipment and metal structure manufacture yard" project on Thursday in the base of Sao Mai-Ben Dinh maritime services, the southern province of Ba Ria-Bung Tau.

The VND1.3 trillion (US$62 million) project covers an area of 23ha with a total investment for the first phase of VND697 billion ($33.2 million). During the one-year construction period, the yard will be built with cement piles using Japanese technology with a payload of 35 tonnes per square metre. The second phase of the project will be invested after 2015.

Motorola reveals new smartphone

HCM CITY — Motorola Mobility Inc launched on Thursday the new Motorola RAZRTM, its second smartphone in Viet Nam, with several new features.

The company saw Viet Nam as a high growth market for mobile phones and the consumer appetite for smartphones was growing constantly, said Spiros Nikolakopoulos, vice president and general manager of International Distribution Markets, Motorola Mobility.

VAFI calls for tax, fee exemptions

HA NOI — The Viet Nam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI) has proposed the exemption of taxes and fees related to construction costs alongside soft loans to reduce the price of small apartments for low-income earners.

Taxes and fees include value-added tax of 10 per cent for low-income earners buying houses, a tax for transferring land-use rights from property firms to buyers, registration fees for house buyers and corporate tax for property firms building low-income houses.

Vingroup sells offices to local bank

HA NOI — The Viet Nam Investment Group (Vingroup) has announced the sale of 15 floors of the Vincom Ha Noi B office tower to the Viet Nam Technological and Commercial Joint-stock Bank (Techcombank).

Vingroup will move to Vincom Village following the sale of their current office space, which Techcombank plans to turn into its Ha Noi headquarters.

State to act tough on lazy development

HA NOI — The State plans to reclaim land on which projects have failed to develop within the past 12 months.

The new measure forms part of a fresh Government decree based on the management of urban investment and development, compiled by the Ministry of Construction.

Under the new draft, People's Committees will create land funds for urban development projects and manage the implementation of compensation, support and resettlement after site clearance.

City adds streets to its basic priced land list

HCM CITY — The People's Committee of HCM City has proposed the addition of 176 streets to a list of basic priced land for 2012.

The new list will remain largely unchanged as to price, the highest of which will hit VND81 million (US$3,900) per square metre.

Basic prices will be used in calculating taxes related to land use, trading and compensation.

Eco property event to open in capital city

HA NOI — The first seminar on the development of "green cities" will be organised in the capital on December 10.

The seminar will attract experts from the real estate sector as well as investors.

The event is organised by the Viet Nam Urban Planning and Development Association, the Ha Noi Communication Association, the Megalink JSC and the NTH Communication Company. — VNS