Hackers pose growing threat to internet banking system

VietNamNet Bridge – Hackers attacked more than 1,000 websites last year, double the 2008 figure and three times more than that in 2007, said Pham Viet The, head of the Computing Department at the Ministry of Public Security.

A survey of 40 banks conducted by the Bach Khoa Inter-network Security Centre (BKIS) found that 20 of them were unsecured.

The investigation revealed vulnerabilities in money transfers and discovered that the password recovery function to user accounts could also be used to change the customer's password. Customer question and complaint forms could be used to install dangerous codes into the server and control the internet banking system, the survey found.

Banking security networks were always at risk of being attacked if they did not have proper management systems, said director of the Ministry of Information and Communications' Viet Nam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) Vu Quoc Khanh, adding that the banking sector was a favourite target for hi-tech criminals.

Statistics show that 80 per cent of banks nationwide have established, or planned to establish, internet banking solutions. However, there is an agreement within the sector that internet banking increases the risk that banks will be attacked by network criminals.

Dang Manh Pho, director of the IT Department at the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV), said the bank had made significant investments in technology, including a banking security system which accounted for 20-30 per cent of the total costs. The bank spent VND1.6 trillion (US$82 million) on its banking security network in 2009 and another VND1 trillion ($47.6 million) in 2010.

BKIS experts offered solutions for banks to overcome the risks to their internet banking systems, such as independent assessments to determine the weaknesses in their systems combined with application of ISO 27001 standards on information security management, overall computer anti-virus solutions and digital signature certification to secure bank transactions.

Nguyen Minh Duc, general director of BKIS, said the existing vulnerabilities in network securities at Vietnamese banks was attributed to the lack of an independent security assessment process of internet banking systems as well as a lack of standards on information security.

The US will be a tough negotiator in TPP?

VietNamNet Bridge – It is still early to talk about what Vietnam will gain and lose when it joins the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP). However, analysts say that TPP will be a challenging game until the US recognises Vietnam’s economy as market economy.

The story about the origin of goods

Since November 13, 2010, Vietnam has officially began the negotiations for TPP. Of the nine members the US proves to be the toughest partner for negotiating favourable TPP terms for Vietnam.

The US has set up disadvantageous conditions for a small economy like Vientam, and analysts say Vietnam would not enjoy benefit from tariff cuts and increase exports to the US.

Let’s talk about what will happen to Vietnam’s four key export products, garment, footwear, seafood and wooden furniture.

Jay L.Eizenstat, lawyer from Miller & Chevallier, who once joined the US’ negotiations for free trade agreements (FTA), said that in TPP, the US may use the frame tax of 0-6 percent on seafood, 0-32 percent on garment, 0-37.5 percent on footwear and offer tax exemption on wooden furniture products.

However, Vietnam’s seafood and wooden furniture exports to the US are enjoying tax exemption already.

The other two key products, footwear and garment, are are subject to high tax rates when entering the US market. These two industries are not included in tariff reductions within TPP.

Eizenstat said that the US may apply very strict rules on the origin of the products. For example, the imports to the US must be made of fibre mateiral from TPP’s members. And if Vietnamese garment and footwear products are made of materials from third countries which are not members of TPP, the products will not be able to enjoy TPP’s tax preferences.

The third countries include China.

It is clear that with the materials now mostly imported from China, Vietnam will find it difficult to take full advantage of TPP.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, from Legal Department under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that the above given example shows that for Vietnam, TPP will not be beneficial, unless it manages to negotiate some good terms.

The challenges in “playing” with big countries

Trang stressed that everyone knows that the US always applies very strict technical barriers. “Even when the tariff is low, whether exporters can take full advantage of the low tariff would be another story,” Trang said.

“If Vietnamese products cannot meet the technical requirements set by the US, while the US sometimes sets up new requirements, the advantages in TPP will be neutralised,” Trang said.

“Supposed that we can meet all the requirements, and we can enjoy the zero percent tariff and we hope to boost exports to the US, there will still be one more risks to face – the anti-dumping lawsuits.

“There are always a degree of risk and lawsuits may be raised at any time, when Vietnam’s exports to the US increase sharply,” Trang said.

Meanwhile, since Vietnam still has not been recognised as a market economy, it does not have many opportunities to win the lawsuits.

Eizenstat also admitted that TPP will not help reduce the risk of facing anti-dumping lawsuits from the US, unless Vietnam can meet the standards of a market economy.

Meanwhile, the US viewpoint is that there will not be two “regimes” in TPP, which means that the roadmap for market opening will be the same for all members. In other words, Vietnam will not get any preferential treatment and it will have to play on the same field with big economies.

96 percent of Vietnamese businesses say “yes” to TPP negotiations

Despite the big anticipated challenges, 96 percent of businesses polled by VCCI said that Vietnam should be a member of TPP.

It is clear that TPP would not be a perfect solution for Vietnam in the global economic integration. As for trade, maybe TPP would not bring a large advantage to the national economy. However, businesses believe that TPP can bring many smaller advantages. while, if Vietnam does not join TPP, there won’t be any advantages at all.

Businessses said that with TPP, they can see the opportunities to import technologies at reasonable prices from the US instead of importing technologies from neighbouring countries at high prices.

Pham Chi Lan, a well known economist, said that with TPP multilateral negotiations, Vietnam should put the issue of asking the US to recognise Vietnam as a market economy on the table, the thing which will be unattainable in Vietnam-US bilateral negotiations

Why does the US urge Vietnam to join TPP?

As for the US, TPP would be a “century’s agreement”, because this will be the only channel to get involved in the FTAs, the number of which has been increasing sharply in Asia Pacific

In particular, TPP proves to be the best solution for the US to increase its benefits in the economic and external policies with South East Asia. Only with TPP, the US will be able to strengthen its position as the counterpoint to China, the second biggest economy in the world.

looking at current TPP’s members, Chile, Peru, Singapore and New Zealand, one can see that the four countries already have FTAs with the US. Therefore, in TPP negotiations, the four economies will not be the targets of the US. This means that Vietnam will be an important partner in trade negotiations.

The US has been continuously urging Vietnam to sit for the negotiations for TPP. The recent visits of the US Deputy Trade Chief of Representative and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the evidence.

It is clear that Vietnam is not an unimportant target for the US, and that Vietnam’s position is quite different from the positions of other countries that the US has FTAs with.

SABECO requests Singaporean partner to change its name

VietNamNet Bridge – Regarding the case in which Vietnamese Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage (SABECO) faces the risk of being swallowed by the Singaporean partner, SABECO’s Marketing Director Le Hong Xanh has told VietNamNet that SABECO has requested the Singaporean partner to change the name of the company in order to avoid misunderstanding.
Who to blame on SABECO brand case?
SABECO is a Singaporean brand?
The Singaporean partner has agreed to change name

When talking with VietNamNet’s Vietnam Economic Forum, Xanh has informed that SABECO has asked the Singaporean partner, SABECO ASIA PACIFIC, to change its name in order to avoid misunderstanding and settle the case.

“And the partner has changed its name already,” Xanh said.

When asked about the new name of the partner, Xanh said he does not know the new name of the company..

When VietNamNet’s reporters asked what SABECO explained to their Singaporean partner when requesting they change their name from SABECO ASIA PACIFIC, Xanh did not give answer and requested the reporters contact Mr Hoa, the Administration and Legal Director of SABECO.. However VietNamNet’s reporters could not contact Mr Hoa on November 30, because he did not pick up the phone or return any phone calls.

Xanh has also confirmed that to date, SABECO has completed the registration for its trademark and protection for it company’s name in Singapore.

However, according to Xanh, the registration for protection of the company’s was only submitted “some one or two months ago, while the registration for trademark protection was completed “a long time ago”. When asked how long is “a long time ago”, Xanh said “several years ago”.

In fact, the plan to register for trademark protection (the logo with the dragon image and four trademarks of four products – Saigon Lager, Saigon Export, Saigon Special and 333 can) in six countries (Singapore, India, Cambodia, Myanmar, China and Madrid in Spain) was only submitted by SABECO’s marketing division to the general director on April 1, 2010.

According to Xanh, the registration for the protection of the company’s name was wrapped up 1-2 months ago. However, that is still too late if compared with the contract signed with SABECO ASIA PACIFIC (the contract was signed on December 11, 2009). However, better late than never.

When asked: “At the time when SABECO intended to sign a valuable long-term contract with SABECO ASIA PACIFIC, why did SABECO not register for the trademark and company’s name protection in order to avoid such troubles?”, Xanh, once again, declined to give answer, asking the reporters to contact Mr Hoa.

Again, Mr. Hoa still did not answer the phone.

Many deadly problems occurred
A lawyer in Hanoi who has substantial experience with intellectual property cases told VietNamNet that if there are no other agreements except the business contract, it is clear that SABECO, the holding company, and SATRACO, the subsidiary, were negligent when signing such a valuable contract with SABECO ASIA PACIFIC.

The lawyer identified some “loopholes” after reading the principle contract No 01EXC/SATRACO-AP dated December 11, 2009 signed between SATRACO and SABECO ASIA PACIFIC. He said that the shortcomings in the provisions of the contract may allow the Singaporean partner to exploit the loopholes and spontaneously use the brand name.

Doubts have been raised if the Singaporean partner has actually changed its name.

“I think Vietnamese SABECO can ask the partner to change its stamp, but it will be difficult to ask the partner to change its name, because SABECO ASIA PACIFIC registered its name in Singapore and it does not violate any laws. At the time when SABECO ASIA PACIFIC registered its name in Singapore, the name “SABECO” was not protected in the country,” the lawyer said. “I still cannot tell fact from fiction in this case,” he added.

How to ease the “dollar fever”?

VietNamNet Bridge – State management agencies blame speculation for the dollar price fever. People rush to purchase dollars, while businesses refuse to sell dollars to banks. why do people and businesses try to hoard dollars?

Uncertainties encourage speculation

Thanh Minh, 38, who lives in Hanoi, has to check the dollar price every day, because he wants to purchase dollars to pay his debts. Minh bought a car earlier this year on the installment plan. Since the car’s price was in dollars, it has become more expensive because of the steady dollar increase. Minh has decided to pay debts right now, or else he will not be able to pay debts if the increase continues.

on the morning of December 1, Minh bought dollars on the black market at 21,570 dong per dollar. The dollar price has increased by 2000 dong per dollar just over the past two months. The price has exceeded the record threshold of 21,500 dong per dollar and it is coming closer to 21,600 dong.

“Several months ago, when the dollar price began increasing, I decided not to buy dollars at this moment, because I hoped the dollar price would go down again. The central bank promised to stabilize the dollar price,” Minh said.

Minh is not alone. Many other people have the same problem. The debts they incur have increased by tens to hundreds of millions dong over the past few months just because of the dollar increase. Fearing further increases, people rush to buy dollars on the black market,.

Thanh Phuong, whom VIetNamNet’s reporter met on Ha Trung street foreign currency market on December 1, related that she has bought $200,000. Phuong believes that she made a right decision. She got the money from selling an apartment in Thanh Xuan District and she initially intended to reinvest it in the real estate market. However, she later realized that the real estate market is too quiet, while the gold and dollar prices keep increasing. “Keeping dollars proves to be the best way to keep your assets at this moment,” Phuong said. 

Meanwhile, Huy Nam in Dinh Cong new urban area, who has a saving of one billion dong which he intends to use to build a new house, has also decided to purchase dollars. “I feel anxious about the dollar increases, therefore, I have to keep my money in dollars,” Nam explained.

The strange thing is that the more the dollar price increases, the more people rush to purchase dollars. The owners of the exchange shops on Ha Trung street also said the demand for dollars will increase further, because people believe the dollar will continue to rise.

Tran Du Lich, Head of the HCM City Economics Institute, commented that people feel anxious when the inflation rate is increasing. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has admitted that keeping the inflation rate at one-digit level would be an impossible mission. People would not rush to buy dollars if the dong/dollar exchange rate is stable, but they will rush to collect dollars if they see uncertainties. It is clear that uncertainties encourage speculation.

The real demands

It is estimated that in 2010, the total foreign currency purchase turnover would be $58.5 billion, a decrease of 12 percent over 2009, while the total sale turnover would reach $59.92 billion, down by 4.3 percent. The dong mobilized capital is estimated to reach 579,430 billion dong (+ 30.8 percent), and foreign currency mobilized capital 195,820 billion dong (+ 17 percent). The dong outstanding loans would reach 501,650 billion dong by the end of the year, while the outstanding loans in foreign currencies 198,160 billion dong.

The figures show that the dollar outstanding loans would be relatively high. Meanwhile, the demand for dollars is increasing because people always try to pay debts at the end of the year. In fact, the high demand for dollars towards the end of the year has been anticipated.

In November 2010, the import turnover reached $1.3 billion, the highest level in the last nine months, which has raised the trade deficit to $10.7 billion. It is estimated that the total trade deficit may reach $12 billion for the whole year 2010.

The Prime Minister has instructed the State Bank to follow a flexible monetary policy which to control the volume of cash in circulation. He also requested the State Bank to apply necessary measures to control the foreign currency exchange rates more tightly and ease the speculation.

Vietnam’s import-export turnover increases 22% in 11 months

VietNamNet Bridge - The total import-export turnover of Vietnam has reached US$139.22 billion in the first eleven months of the year, an increase of 21.9 percent over the same period last year, said General Directorate of Customs.

Seafood sees the highest growth in export revenue at an estimated $4.9 billion, 6.5 percent higher than planned, a year-on-year increase of 16.4 percent.

In the past 11 months, export turnover posted more than $64.28 billion, a 24.5 percent year-on-year increase.

The growth of export turnover in the past 11 months was attributed to the increase in most commodity prices, including agricultural products from 4.8 percent to 83.8 percent; crude oil, 33.9 percent; and coal, 53.2 percent.

Of agricultural product, cassava saw the highest increase of 83.8 per cent; rubber, 81.2 percent; cashew, 21.2 percent; pepper, 39 percent; tea, 11 percent; and rice, 4.8 percent.

Although facing difficulties regarding input materials and trade barriers from foreign markets, seafood still saw the highest growth in export revenue at an estimated $4.9 billion, 6.5 percent higher than planned, a year-on-year increase of 16.4 percent.

Rice export prices surged significantly since the beginning of last month, ranging from $490 to $500 per ton. Higher export prices and stable demand for rice from importers will assure rice export revenues reach 6.6 million tons or $3.08 billion for the entire year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) announced that there was a shortage of coffee supply for the global market, causing coffee prices to continue increasing which in turn would buoy Viet Nam's coffee products. This year, coffee exports were estimated at 1.15 million tons accounting for a revenue of $1.74 billion, 4.5 percent higher in volume and 1.5 percent greater in earnings than expected.

Export rubber revenues will reach $2.23 billion, increasing $956 million. Despite an increase in costs for input materials, textile and garment revenues exceeded $1billion last month.

MIT estimated textile and garment revenues of the entire year would total $11 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21.3 percent, surpassing the 5.1 percent planned, worth $500 million.

While import turnover over the past 11 months climbed to $75 billion, a 19.8% increase year on year. By November 2010, trade gap stood at $10.7 billion, as much as 16.7% of total export turnover.
According to economists, more effective measures must be taken to stabilize the national economy while Vietnamese Dong- US dollar exchange rate remains high and the trade deficit continues.Source: SGGP

How much gold kept among Vietnamese people?

VietNamNet Bridge – Newly released information that Vietnam has imported 1000 tons of gold in the last 20 years has stirred up the public. Experts now try to guest how many tons of gold are being kept among Vietnamese people and what Vietnam should do to use the huge capital in the most effective way.

The information about the 1000 tons of gold imported in the last 20 years was released by Le Duc Thuy, former Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, now Chair of the National Finance Supervision Council. The head of the council did not confirm the existence of 1000 tons of gold among the public, but he said: “I am sure that a large volume of gold is being kept in people’s homes”.

Thuy commented that Vietnam should not make a hasty move to prohibit the transactions in gold. The prohibition can only put gold out of the official circulation, while the gold will still exist in the society. Meanwhile, gold should be seen as an important source of capital, and if gold cannot be put into official circulation, it will be “sitting idle”, not making profit, or will be traded on the black market. i.e out of the control of the management agencies. Thuy believes that it would be better to attract the huge capital (gold) into banks instead of prohibiting transactions in the gold.

While the national economy needs more and more capital from different sources for its development and investment, gold trading floors have been shut down and the gold prices have been continuously climbing to new highs. One week ago the State Bank issued a legal document to scale down the activities of mobilizing capital in gold and lending gold.

However, a senior official of the State Bank of Vietnam has denied the fact that 1000 tons of gold is now lying under people’s pillows. “To date, no one can say for sure how much gold is being kept among people,” he said.

The figure cited by the former Governor of the State Bank is sourced from the World Gold Council and the figure does not include the illegal imports and the import volume through other unofficial channels that the organization still cannot reckon up.

Meanwhile, the general director of a famous gold trading company guesses that people are only keeping 200 tons of gold because when the world’s gold prices were higher than the domestic prices, a substantial volume of gold was illegally exported,. However, he stressed that 200 tons of gold would also be a large volume of capital, worth $10 billion and the capital should be put into business rather than sitting idle.

Meanwhile, VnExpress newspaper quoted a director of a big bank in Hanoi as saying that the management agency needs to consider the specific characteristics of the market in Vietnam. In other countries, gold is considered as a type of good and not a tool of payment. Therefore, the volume of gold kept among people is not very big. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, gold is not only used as a kind of good (jewelry products), but also as a kind of asset (people store gold instead of cash)

If the management agency tries to weed out gold from the official channel, even though people still want to keep gold as their assets, this is really a kind of the management agency’s “voluntarism” which wastes a large amount of capital.

“It will be not the right time to weed out gold from the official channel until gold is no longer favored by people,” he said.

Meanwhile, the central bank, while trying to protect its view that it is necessary to prohibit transactions in gold, said that the massive mobilization and lending in gold have been making the dollarization in the national economy more serious and encouraging speculation.

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam once declared that in case the market has gold in excess, the central bank may spend money to purchase gold to increase gold reserves.