European Bank funds HCMC’s urban railway

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide a credit of 150 million EUR for a project to build the second metro route in Ho Chi Minh City.

An agreement was signed in Hanoi on December 6 between Vietnam’s Finance Ministry and the EIB, which will co-finance the project along with the Asian Development Bank and the German Development Bank (KfW).

The credit will be used to install and equip a new depot as well as purchase trains carriages for the route’s first 11.3km long section with 11 stations in the inner city.

The route is expected to carry 140,000 passengers every day during its first year of operation, which will help to reduce traffic jams in the city.

The initial line in HCM City is designed to be 20km long, beginning from Thu Thiem and ending at An Suong Station. Its total cost is estimated at over 1,347 million USD.

The construction will be carried out two phases. The study for the first phase to build the 11.3km section from the Ben Thanh market to Tham Luong began in 2003./.

Related Articles

• Commercial banks vie for ATM card market
• Banks scramble for mid-level managers
• Realty firm cuts strategic deal with bank
• ODA funds one third of road building costs
• Banks to face stricter rule on real estate loans

16 foreigners accused of fraud in Hanoi

Investigators from the Ministry of Public Security have arrested 16 foreigners in Hanoi on suspicion of fraud.

Authorities say that a crew of sixteen foreigners (eight Chinese and eight Taiwanese nationals) rented a house in Cau Giay District and used it as a headquarters for a telecommunications scam.

The crew allegedly targeted people in other countries. They posed as police investigators or bank staff and called to inform their targets that their bank accounts were at risk of being attacked by criminals.

The targets were told to call a phone number which also belonged to the ring and transfer their money to a given bank account, investigators said.

It was estimated that the ring conned its victims out of hundreds of thousands of US dollars and yuan.

Previously 135 suspects have been busted in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Can Tho. They were accused of employing the same ruse.

The ringleaders are believed to be based in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and elsewhere in Asia. Investigators claim the crooks mainly target people in China and Taiwan. 

According to Interpol, these types of criminals first appeared in Taiwan several years ago. They managed to hustle hundreds of thousands to a million dollars in each case.

Related Articles

• 16 foreigners accused of fraud in Hanoi
• Buyers lap up Con Dao Six Senses villas
• Delta province sets ambitious growth targets
• Southern central region faces more heavy rains
• It's all in the mind

VNA, State Bank sign pact on supplying information

HA NOI — The State Bank of Viet Nam and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) yesterday signed an agreement to enhance bilateral co-operation to better implement information dissemination about monetary policies and banking.

According to the agreement, the State Bank will prioritise the provision of early information and legal documents on monetary policies and banking activities.

The State Bank will also create conditions for VNA to access the latest information and legal documents related to State Bank policies in these areas.

VNA will take responsibility to collect, select and supply accurate and timely information following the law on monetary and banking policies.

VNA General Director Tran Mai Huong said the State Bank and VNA had developed co-operative relations on publicising monetary and banking information and stressed that VNA always appreciated information related to the State Bank's activities, which required accuracy and timeliness.

Huong affirmed that VNA, as a large communication organisation with various publications, would be able to meet readers' information requirements.

State Bank Governor Nguyen Van Giau said banking information was always a sensitive issue and had a strong impact on society, and that the co-operative relations between the two sides would quickly and accurately convey information to readers. — VNS

Related Articles

• Greenback firmer on signs of rising demand
• Banks scramble for mid-level managers
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• German bank denies pulling the plug on natural preserve
• IFC: Vietnam needs to increase PPP to support economy