217 east 42nd street

Starting in last November, villagers began using use fragments of old vases, dishes, and bowls that had been thrown away to create a ceramic wall along an alleyway. More than 20 mosaic walls have now been completed, helping to beautify the village.

The initiative was inspired by a group of painters and received a warm response from local people, especially in collecting materials and gluing the ceramic pieces together.

The mosaic wall s also help spread a message to everyone about environmental protection.

The vivid and artistic artworks have already garnered major attention from local people and visitors alike./.

At around 4am September 16, storm Noul was located about 200km north of Palawan island of the Philippines, packing gusts of between 60-75kph near its centre.

In the next 24 to 48 hours, the storm is moving west and north-west at a speed of between 15-20kph and is likely to gain strength.

It will continue to intensify as it makes its way toward central Vietnam, travelling at a speed of between 20-25kph.

Noul will cause rough seas and heavy rain on the way it traverses Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago in the East Sea.

Central coastal provinces of Vietnam, especially those spanning from Quang Binh to Da Nang, are on high alert as the storm is approaching the coast. Mountainous localities are warned about possible flashfloods and landslides when it makes landfall this weekend.

Noul is forecast to be the most powerful storm that has formed in the East Sea this year, according to weather experts. VOV

The fifth storm to enter theEast Sea this year is heading to the central region of Vietnam. — Photo kttv.gov.vn

According to Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the storm would directly affect central provinces, especially Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang with wind speeds of 90-100 km per hour and sometimes hitting 135 km per hour.

Heavy rain will blanket the central provinces from Thursday afternoon to Friday night, he said, warning about high risk of flash flood and landslides in the central region.

By 1 pm on Wednesday, the storm’s eye was about 680 km away to the south east of Hoang Sa (Paracels) with the strongest wind of 60-75 km per hour, sometimes reaching 90-100 km per hour.

The storm is moving west-northwest.

It’s expected that by 1pm on Friday, the storm eye will be on the waters close to provinces from Quang Bình to Quang Ngai with wind at the storm eye reaching 100-135 km per hour or more.

After making landfall in central provinces from Quang Bình to Da Nang on Friday afternoon or evening, the storm would be weakened to become a tropical low pressure.

About 1am on Saturday, the heart of the tropical low pressure is on the border area of Lao and Thailand with strongest wind reducing to 40-50 km per hour.

Meeting with ministries and agencies on Wednesday morning to make preparations, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung raised alert levels, calling for active and timely actions to respond to the storm’s movements.

He asked localities, border guards and the transport sector to tighten control over the operation of fishing vessels and tourist ships at sea so the vessels/ships would avoid entering storm-affected areas and find safe shelter.

By 10am on Wednesday, border guards informed 285,384 people on 58,345 vessels about the storm and instructed them to keep away from possibly affected areas.

According to Border Guard Command, by Thursday morning, about 700 vessels were in the areas possibly affected by the storm. The number does not include vessels/boats/ships that are operating in coastal areas.

Dung asked localities to instruct vessels to head to shelters, ensure safety for human life and property, particularly assist people to move/reinforce aquaculture growing facilities as the central region was a hub of aquaculture production with high economic value in Vietnam.

Localities were also asked to have evacuation plans in place to ensure safety for people living in vulnerable areas like coastal areas, river mouths and landslide/flood-prone areas.

Anti-flood measures must be taken into account to protect urban areas and agriculture production.

The deputy PM asked for review and promptly fix problems at dams and reservoirs of hydropower plants.

Now, many reservoirs in the central region are dry, so their operators must closely oversee and adjust the storage of water to ensure the reservoirs’ safety.

He assigned specific tasks to ministries and agencies, urging them to make use available resources for actively, effectively and timely responding to the storm.

Vice head of Central Steering Committee on Natural Disasters Prevention and Control Tran Quang Hoai said that proper attention must be paid to reservoirs because damages were found at 55 reservoirs in the central region including 16 ones Thanh Hoa, ten in Nghe An, eight in Ha Tinh, 12 in Quang Bình, six in Quang Tri and three in Thua Thien-Hue.

Another 41 reservoirs are under construction and 99 locations along key sea dyke system from Thanh Hoa to Da Nang need to be protected when the storm makes landfall.

There are also 26 dyke works including 13 carried out on sea dyke system or rivers mouths are being built.

PM urges response efforts as tropical storm heading towards central region

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on September 16 issued a notice, asking relevant ministries, agencies and localities to keep a close eye on the development of Storm Noul and put forth specific tasks.

People’s Committees of cities and provinces need to ensure safety of activities at sea, coordinate with concerned forces to control the operation of vessels, and guide local residents to take preventive measures in order to protect crops, houses and other facilities.

Human resources and equipment should be ready for the evacuation of people in dangerous areas, with attention paid to COVID-19 prevention and control, according to the notice.

The PM has warned of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas after heavy rains, saying measures are needed to ensure the safety of reservoirs, especially important ones or those under construction.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will provide update about the storm for people and relevant agencies.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control will inform vessels of dangerous areas, and instruct ministries, agencies and localities in response efforts.

Specific tasks have also been assigned to other ministries and agencies in the notice.

At 4 a.m. on September 17, storm Noul is forecast to be around 450 km to the southeast of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, off the central coast, with a maximum wind speed of 90 kph.

Weather forecasting centers in Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) – a leading forecaster and mapper of tropical storm activity – predict the storm will keep strengthening until wind speeds reach 110-120 kph and head toward central Vietnam.

Storm Noul is the fifth formed this year in the East Sea. The fourth storm, Higos, hit last month, making landfall in China.

Natural disasters like droughts, floods and landslides killed 133 people in Vietnam last year and caused losses worth around 7 trillion VND (302.6 million USD), according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In the first half of this year they claimed 47 lives and caused losses worth 3.3 trillion VND.

The East Sea could see 11-13 storms and tropical depressions this year, half of them affecting the country, meteorologists have warned.

Danang prepares for Storm Noul

The central city of Danang is making preparations to respond to Storm Nodul which has been forecasted to hit central Vietnam soon.

On Wednesday, the Danang Central Steering board Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control issued a dispatch on the response.

The typhoon has been predicted to move towards north-northwest within the next 24 hours.

By 7 am on Thursday, the storm would lay centred in the area which is around 350 kilometres far from the Southeast of the Paracel Islands with the strongest wind power of 75-100 kilometres per hour in the East Sea.

Between 24-48 hours, the storm would continue strengthening. By 7 am on Friday, the storm eye would be off the central provinces from Quang Tri to Quang Nam with a wind force of 100-135 kilometres per hour.

Danang has been warned of being directly affected by the storm, so the municipal Central Steering board Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control called for ships and boats to find shelters to avoid the storm.

The border force has been asked to keep contact with boat and ship owners for the rescue in necessary cases.— VNS/VNA/Dtinews

by Xuân Đăng

The Central Highlands city of Đà Lạt is famous for its cool climate, pine-scented air and mountain views. Often referred to as a “city in a forest”, “fog city” or “city of flowers”, it is also home to many old religious buildings.

Most of them were built during the French colonial period after the French founded the city as a resort town to get away from the humid, hot climate in the south.

Monasteries with arched windows and balconies with large glass doors are European in design, but are also in harmony with the gentle rhythm of the city.

Some monasteries are still places of prayer, while the rest have been assigned to state units for maintenance and repair or have been changed to become tourist attractions.

New life

The most typical of these is the Redemptorist monastery, which is now being used as a biological museum managed by the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) Biological Institute.

The former monastery, built in 1952, is located in the middle of a pine forest on Tùng Lâm hill, seven kilometres from Đà Lạt.

The building was constructed with the typical symmetrical French architecture. At the centre of the building stands a cross with the Latin inscription “Copiosa Apud Eum Redemptio”, often translated as “With Him is plentiful Redemption”.

The monastery is built of solid stone. Each wall and brick is imprinted with time and from the back of the building, you can see a panoramic view of the city.

At the time of its construction, the monastery was only the second stone Catholic building in the country after Phát Diệm Church in the northern province of Ninh Bình.

It served as a place for Redemptorists, a Catholic congregation of missionaries, to worship and fulfill their missions.

Walking inside the monastery you can see classrooms arranged side by side along the corridors of the building.

The building consists of five floors with 120 rooms. The second floor now serves as the biology museum, which has seven display rooms and six storage rooms. Each room is divided into areas for displays of stuffed mammals, birds, reptiles, plants and others.

The collection of the museum includes 58 species of animals, including 38 rare species listed in Việt Nam’s Red Book.

Thanks to the beauty of the monastery, it imparts a nostalgic and mysterious feeling. It seems that at any angle or location in the monastery is a wonderful scene for a photo.

“This is my first time visiting this place. I’m very impressed with the architecture. I also took some great photos here with my family. It’s good to see that abandoned monasteries like this are maintained and used as a tourist destination,” Phương Thanh, 21, a tourist from Nha Trang City, told Việt Nam News.

Hidden gem

Some old monasteries in Đà Lạt with  significant architectural values have been repaired to change their purpose of use.

An abandoned monastery located between Trần Quang Diệu and Hùng Vương streets is one.

The dirt path leading to the monastery makes it quite a hidden gem. Located in the north of the city and covering more than seven hectares, the chapel and residential quarters of the Franciscan monastery sit on a hill about 7 kilometres from the city centre.

For years, the iconic chapel has been an inspiration for Vietnamese artists and photographers, appearing in countless works of art.

Lê Tú, head of Lâm Đồng Province’s Association of Architects, said that even though the monastery is not classified as a heritage, architects appreciate it for its historic architectural value.

The monastery complex was designed by French architects Alexandre Leonard and Paul Veysseyre in the late 1930s and early 1940s, marking the onset of Benedictine missionaries from the West making their way to Việt Nam.

The architectural style of the chapel has a combination of the West and East with an Eastern-style tiled roof, and windows and main door bearing the typical Western Gothic architecture.

In 1954, the missionaries left the complex in the hands of Franciscan nuns before moving to Huế in the central region to set up the Thiên An Monastery.

In the following years, the nuns enlisted the help of Vietnamese architect Phạm Khánh Chù to design additional classrooms behind the existing complex, known as the Việt Nữ Commercial School, in 1969.

In 1979, the seven-hectare complex was handed over to the government. It was eventually abandoned for several years before becoming the campus for the HCM City University of Architecture in Đà Lạt.

At one point, nearly 20 families illegally occupied the chapel but were eventually moved out by local authorities.

Restoration plan

The complex is now under restoration to become a campus of the HCM City University of Architecture.

The project, co-headed by Huy Hoàng Company and the university, started by the end of February.

A representative of HCM City University of Architecture told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that the university has plans to restore the site.

“We see the complex as a meaningful and valuable heritage site. Restoration costs are much more than rebuilding, but we must protect this significant landmark.”

Associate Professor Lê Văn Thương, rector of the university, said the chapel area and the dorm for monks will be preserved in their original state. Damaged parts such as doors and the roof will be repaired or replaced but will be consistent with the overall structure.

“We will keep the original architecture and materials of the building as much as possible. Only damaged and deteriorated places will be replaced with new materials. The paint will be the original colours,” Thương said.

When the work is completed, the chapel will become the university hall, while the dormitory area of ​​the monastery will remain as the residential function. The  classroom area will become a lecture hall for students, Thương said.

Ninh Việt Anh, teacher at HCM City University of Architecture, said that for works with historical architectural significance​, conservation must be carefully considered.

With conservation projects such as these, the city can keep its unique architectural features from the French colonial period and continue to be a popular tourist destination. VNS

However, this region is showing signs of neglect and decline in recent times. In a talk with Saigon Investment, Dr. NGUYEN DINH CUNG, former Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, shared his view on this issue.

JOURNALIST: – Sir, there are many opinions that the Southern Economic Region is facing many bottlenecks, which are limiting its ability to accelerate in growth, such as a deteriorating infrastructure, overload of urban transport, and increasing environmental pollution. What is your opinion on this state of decline and related issues?

Dr. NGUYEN DINH CUNG: – First of all, in terms of a region, frankly speaking, it is just an accumulation of neighboring localities, with no significant links. All regional activities are just superficial. The localities have no motivation, and no need to coordinate and connect into becoming a strong economic zone.

One obvious reason is that the same socio-economic indicators are applied to all localities. Thus, local governments have to compete with each other to attract investments, to take care of their home province first, so they have no need to connect with the neighboring provinces. For example, connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Vung Tau is a number one priority for these two provinces, but may not be the number one priority for Dong Nai province. Likewise, connecting Tay Ninh with Ho Chi Minh City may be the number one priority of Tay Ninh, but Ho Chi Minh City has many other concerns that need to be addressed first.

In brief, Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces in the Southern Economic Region have not yet created organic links to become a unified entity. They have not created links with other regions and localities as well, so it is not possible to take advantage of regional relations to create a development momentum for the whole region. For example, Ho Chi Minh City is next to two major industrial and manufacturing centers, Binh Duong and Dong Nai, but the leading service industry of Ho Chi Minh City is real estate, while logistics services in Binh Duong and Dong Nai are their highlight.

– Sir, besides the need to complete twelve socio-economic targets of the region first, what are the other reasons?

– The root cause is that the retained budget ratios of the provinces in this region, including Ho Chi Minh City, are still very low, much lower than those in the North with the same economic scale. Regional budget revenues account for 40% of the national budget revenue, but only 20% of budget expenditure. The industrial provinces around Ho Chi Minh City such as Binh Duong and Dong Nai can only retain 36% and 47% of the budget revenue, respectively. The industrial provinces around Hanoi such as Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, and Hai Duong can retain budget at 53%, 83%, and 98%, respectively. Ho Chi Minh City alone is the highest budget contributor, but the retained rate is the lowest in the country, at only 18%.

Consequently, Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast region lack resources to invest in and re-invest in upgrading the internal transport infrastructure and associated transport systems. The gateway routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City with neighboring areas in the East and the South West are always severely congested, making production, services and export costs too high, thereby reducing competitiveness and attractiveness for investors.

If we look at the results of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ho Chi Minh City, we will see that the scale of FDI projects in the area is getting smaller and smaller. Specifically, the average size of one FDI project in the Southern Economic Region is about USD 10 mn, significantly lower than the national average of USD 12.42 mn, while the average scale of one project in Ho Chi Minh City is even lower, only USD 5.56 mn. This means that Ho Chi Minh City is gradually lacking projects of large-scale, high-tech and modern corporate governance that are capable of leading development growth.

– Sir, according to you, how can localities in the region closely link and support each other in the most effective way?

– I must emphasize that there are fierce challenges facing the Southern region which require multi-sectoral and multi-local solutions that can only be resolved when localities build links and solve problems together. In order to do that, besides building a quality regional plan, it is necessary to let localities see practical benefits from joint activities and support each other. This means localities must have enough resources to solve their internal pressing problems, as well as participate in regional projects.

In my opinion, the first focus should be on traffic connectivity. If we let the provinces settle for themselves, it will be very difficult and take a very long time. This is where it is necessary to use public investment from the central government, and effectively stimulate development.

Besides, the governments of the provinces and cities must have a global view, so that each locality can bring into full play its own quintessential strengths. For example, Ho Chi Minh City should focus on high-tech projects, high value-added services, and should avoid more labor-intensive projects and production, because it will further stress the situation of infrastructure overload, while the value added is too small.

– Thank you very much.

Anh Thu (interviewer)

Corporate bond rush heads for slowdown.

According to fresh data from the Hanoi Stock Exchange, as of January 22, there were seven successful corporate bond private placements with a total value of $279 million and two public offerings of $70 million. The real estate sector accounted for $233.7 million, equivalent to 66.9 per cent of the total issued value.

Previously, over $17.82 billion of corporate bonds were issued last year, which increased by 38.5 per cent from end-2019 and 83.5 per cent from end-2018.

Albeit a decline in the last quarter of 2020’s issuance volume the real estate sector witnessed the largest corporate bond issuance volume in 2020 of over $6.09 billion, accounting for over 35 per cent of total issuance value at an average coupon rate of 10.52 per cent. The banking sector also made up for nearly 30 per cent, with an average coupon rate of 6.69 per cent, lower than 7.06 per cent in 2019. Some significant bond issuers included BIDV, VietinBank, HDBank, and TPBank.

The rush of corporate bond issuance has sought attention from yield-hunt investors in the face of ultra-low interest rates.

“Rising medium- and long-term capital demands to satisfy stricter regulations on credit safety limits and capital adequacy ratio in 2021 were putting much pressure on commercial banks to raise funds from bond issuance in late 2020,” explained Nguyen Tu Anh, director of the General Economic Department under the Central Party’s Economic Commission. “On the other hand, foreign investors have been closely engaged in the domestic debt market. In 2020, foreign investors were actively net buyers, expect only three months of slight net-selling, with a total net buying value of $179.7 million.”

However, the lack of transparency and independent credit rating agency makes the task of re-evaluating the debts much harder. According to Nguyen Hoang Duong, deputy director of the Banking and Finance Department under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Decree No.153/2020/ND-CP dated December 31 on private offering and trading of corporate bonds in the domestic and international markets, stipulates that investors are responsible for their own investment decisions and risks.

As per Decree 153, corporate bonds for private offering shall be traded among professional securities investors only, except for cases of implementing judgment or decision of courts that have taken legal effect.

“The state cannot guarantee that issuers would fully pay interests and principal loans on time. Therefore, investors should be extra cautious of the legal framework, as well as dig deep into the full information of bonds they want to purchase. They would have to take responsibility for their own investment decisions and be willing to take risks when buying private bonds,” Duong said.

The MoF also cautioned investors to keep an eye on corporate bonds issued by companies that are members, subsidiaries, or affiliated firms of large corporations.

“Investors must pay close attention on the detailed information about stakeholders and organisational structure of the issuers. It is imperative to have a clear understanding of the companies’ financial health, their business activities, future outlook, and debt obligations. Specifically, do not just follow their parent companies’ reputation,” the MoF noted.

Bao Viet Securities Company added, “We believe that the demand for corporate bond issuance of domestic firms will also decrease, and insolvency risk may occur in a number of businesses in 2021. However, we believe that this risk is unlikely to spread and negatively affect the financial system.”

Nguyen Tu Anh of the General Economic Department cautioned, “Despite its rapid development in recent years, there are still several shortcomings hindering the industry. The scale of the Vietnamese corporate bond market still pales in comparison with regional peers. Furthermore, the secondary market has not been developed yet, and liquidity of corporate bonds after issuance is relatively low. An independent rating agency is still the major absent element.”

On a regional level, an improving global economic outlook and progress on pandemic vaccinations have pushed up bond yields in the emerging East Asia, including Vietnam. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), steady expansion in both the government and corporate bond segments supported the growth.

Specifically, government bonds grew 7.1 per cent from the previous quarter to $58.8 billion at the end of December, accounting for 82.8 per cent of the country’s total bond stock. Meanwhile, corporate bonds also sustained their growth momentum, increasing 13.6 per cent from the previous quarter and 169.5 per cent from a year earlier to $12.2 billion.

“Bond markets in emerging East Asia continued to grow, mobilising funding for the region’s sustainable recovery from the pandemic,” said ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada. “Successful vaccination campaigns, accommodative monetary policy stances, and easing of restrictions are spurring on economic activity and shifting the recovery into higher gear.”

VIR