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Huynh Thanh Tuyen is ready to take on the world at the 36th Miss Bikini International competition in Hainan, China this month. “I did a lot of thinking and considered how the public would react before deciding to take part in the pageant,” says the 22-year-old model with an 85- 60-93 figure. She realizes that its name is rather sensitive in a tradition-bound society like Vietnam’s, but Miss Bikini International also judges talent, speaking skills and national costume, so the only major difference between it and other beauty contests is the more exacting physical side of things. “Because of the prestige, a contestant in Miss World, Miss Universe or Miss Earth gets generous support from everyone, but Miss Bikini International does not have the same standing so I’m not that fortunate.” says Tuyen. “After the contest, my name will be associated with the bikini for sure, which is an undesirable thing for a woman, especially a Vietnamese woman. “But what counts is that I know what I’m doing and believe in myself. I pretty well ignore public opinion.”
Though she’s never competed in an international beauty contest, Tuyen is confident of doing well in China. True, the contest will be full of gorgeous gals, 89 of them in fact, but Tuyen believes she’s in with a real chance. “It’s not easy to win an international contest as it takes talent, preparation, opportunity and a bit of luck. But I’m confident of myself and know where I stand. “I realize that I cannot be physically on a par with the Western contestants, but as far as I know we will be divided into continents when we wear our bikinis. I believe I can win if my body is judged alongside other Asian contestants.” When the start of the 15-day pageant was postponed from April 13 to May 18, it meant Tuyen had more time to prepare, but she thinks it isn’t necessary in her case. “Social knowledge and life skills cannot be acquired overnight; they must be learned in our day-to-day lives. “I’m not trying to stuff my head with knowledge or work out intensively as the contest gets nearer. So I feel no pressure at all.” Still, she is making thorough preparations for everything from costumes to make-up. Tuyen says she never goes out of her way to land a modeling contract or a spot in a television commercial. Instead, she waits for offers to come to her. This attitude partly explains why her modeling career hasn’t really taken off after three years in the industry. “Though I’m ambitious and always want to be in the lead, I’d rather take it slow and steady. There are some things I’m terrible at, so I don’t try to do many things at the same time. I know my limitations.” Many models make the leap from photo shoot to film to the recording studio in one fell swoop, but Tuyen would rather stay focused on one thing until it is perfect. “I want to reach the summit of this mountain before going on to scale other peaks. I give my best in everything I do. If I feel I’m no good at something, I leave that opportunity to others. “Being a perfectionist means I miss many opportunities, but I want everyone to acknowledge that I have real talent, that I am not a phony. “Some celebrities try to draw attention to themselves by driving expensive cars, strutting about on the concert stage, or creating scandals, but they will end up nowhere if they have no genuine abilities.” Tuyen, who was born in 1987, has a head-turning height. When she was younger, Tuyen felt so embarrassed by her “abnormal” height that she stopped swimming, her favorite sport, because she was afraid it would make her taller. It took a modeling class while she was in the eleventh grade to change her thinking. The class, which was run by the Vietnamese modeling agency Professional Look, taught her to use height to her advantage. The head of Professional Look, Tran Thanh Long, noticed Tuyen and said “the tall girl” had the potential to become a successful model. After the class, he offered Tuyen an exclusive contract. She took it and has been on the agency’s books ever since. | |||||||
Thanh Tuyen’s two-piece tussle
Vietnam lowers diesel prices
| Vietnam Monday cut retail diesel prices by 1.8 percent to VND10,500 (61.8 US cents) per liter, in a move to help firms, especially transportation companies, cut operation costs. |
The price cut took effect immediately, according to the Ministry of Finance. Prices of gasoline and kerosene remained unchanged at VND11,000 and VND12,000 per liter respectively. Vietnam exports about 16 million tons of crude oil each year but has to import all refined oil products. The country’s first oil refinery, Dung Quat, in central Quang Ngai Province, is scheduled to open later this month. Reported by Ngan Anh |
Ringing in the Tet changes
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As the main part of her Tet celebrations, Nguyen Thu Ha is in touch with some travel agents so she can take her family to the beautiful coastal city of Nha Trang for a holiday. For Ha, choosing an attractive place for her family to visit is the most interesting part of Tet preparations. As the 37-year-old chief accountant of a bank in Hanoi, she puts in long hours – as many as 12 – at the office every day, and she reckons her break is well-deserved. “My family wants to make use of the occasion to relax after one year of hard work. In addition, my son could learn swimming,” Ha says. She knows there is a world of difference between the way she prepares for Tet and what her mother used to do during her childhood. “My mother used to struggle to make some delicious food and get some new clothes for us every Tet. Now, we don’t have to worry about food, since meat and fish, which were on the dining table only at family parties or Tet during my childhood, have become a common part of our daily meals.” Vietnam's strong economic development has seen the emergence of middle class and high-income groups of people that can afford a luxurious lifestyle, which has spilled over into how they welcome Tet. Most of these people, especially in big cities like Hanoi, Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh, no longer make the banh chung (square cakes made from glutinous rice, pork and green beans), lean pork paste and fruit jams during the Tet season.
Modernization means they have neither the time nor the inclination for such activities. Spending many hours at offices and factories leaves little time for cooking at home, and everything. Expensive imported items and locally-made food products that serve many budget levels are available in the market. From street vendors, groceries stores, and regional markets to plush upmarket trade centers, the options are plentiful if you have money. Already clogged with motorbikes and an increasing number of cars, streets in the cities are snarled on pre-Tet days as people rush to markets, supermarkets, trade centers and other shops. “The number of customers coming here during the Tet shopping season has increased many times over ordinary days. We have prepared more goods and mobilized more staff to serve them,” says Nguyet Anh, an employee of the Trang Tien Plaza in Hanoi. At a supermarket in the plaza, streams of customers with shopping carts loaded with foods, beverages, cosmetics and garments cram through its narrow doorways. “In my mother’s generation, cooking used to be one of their joys during Tet. Now, we don’t want to spend much time on it [cooking]. We want to spend Tet relaxing,” says nurse Nguyen Thi Hanh, 27, while choosing some semi-processed chicken. People today also spend more time decorating their houses with flowers and bonsai for Tet. Many have spent hundreds of dollars on bonsai plants and trees with beautiful shapes for the holiday, which falls on January 26 this year. People in the north have a tradition of displaying peach blossoms and kumquat trees while those in the south display ochna plants that bloom yellow flowers during Tet. This year, many people in the south have chosen peach blossoms and kumquat bonsai mainly grown in Hanoi and the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Hung Yen, as well as that of ochna plants grown in southern localities, says gardener Nguyen Duc Minh, as he waters trees pruned in the shapes of pyramids, dragons, phoenixes and even waterfalls. There are other changes in the way Tet is celebrated, including one indispensable activity, which is to visit relatives and not leave without eating or drinking. That custom is changing now. Instead of welcoming Tet at home, many people are choosing beaches, including Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Phu Quoc and Tuan Chau, while others prefer to travel abroad, mainly to regional countries like China, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Another Tet tradition that has changed a lot in recent years is the offering of gifts. Previously, Tet gifts were locally-produced wine bottles and boxes of jams as offerings to parents, relatives and bosses as a sign of affection and respect. Now, many people choose to buy expensive gifts for their superiors with some presents destined for officials worth thousands of dollars. Amidst all the changes, there is a constant. Every New Year is awaited with expectations and hopes of greater joy and prosperity in the coming year. Reported by Bao Anh | |||||||
Market drifts down over earnings worries
| The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange moved lower Tuesday over growing concern about negative corporate earnings this year. |
VN-Index lost 5.05 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at a 10-day low of 307.13. Of its 175 members, 26 gained and 113 declined. Trading remained quiet, with only 7.7 million shares being traded. “The outlook on corporate earnings is very gloomy, given the current economic situation,” Huynh Anh Tuan, chief executive officer of the Ho Chi Minh City-based SJC Securities, said. “Companies have started to release 2008 earnings and many of them have made losses or missed their profit targets. For those who managed to make some profit, it was because of the gains they made in the first half of 2008. “In addition, people also lost a lot of their confidence in the market after HSBC said the Vietnamese market is no longer investable for overseas investors. “Besides, almost half of January has passed but we are still not yet clear how and when the government is going to implement its US$6 billion stimulus package to boost the economy. So, the market has no momentum.” Dau Tu Chung Khoan (Securities investment) newspaper quoted Kim Long Securities Company Deputy General Director Pham Vinh Thanh as saying, “Companies with a strong cash flow and those not involved in finance are a good choice this year.” He added that petroleum, transport, technology and financial stocks would be his top picks when the market shows signs of recovery, without explaining his choices. How they fared Vinpearl (VPL) lost VND2,500, or 4.17 percent, to close at VND57,500. VFG Investment Joint Stock Company became a major shareholder in the resort operator after buying 5,045,000 shares, or a 5.05 percent stake last month, according to a report on the exchange’s website. Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), the country’s leading brokerage, slipped VND1,100, or 3.63 percent, to VND29,200. ANZ Bank failed to buy around 1.4 million shares amid a “gloomy market and its low liquidity,” the exchange said on its website. ANZ now holds 18.35 percent in the Hanoi- based brokerage. Thu Duc Trading and Import Export Joint Stock Company (TMC) remained unchanged at VND21,500. The firm said on the exchange’s website that retail investor La Tang Duc bought 242,060 shares, or 6.05 percent, to become a major shareholder. Saigon Fishing Net Joint-Stock Company (SFN), a silk thread and fishing net producer, gained VND400, or 4.2 percent, its most in two weeks, to finish at VND9,900. The HCMC-based company will start buying back 100,000 shares from January 20, according to a stock exchange announcement. “The buyback volume is not huge, but given the daily trading volume of the shares, which is about several thousand a day, this buyback plan could move the stock,” Hoang Thach Lan, chief analyst at HCMC-based SME Securities Company, said. Reported by Hoang Uy |
Media, telcos, it to be strengthened next year, minister says
| All enterprises related to telecommunication, information technology and the national media will be improved and overhauled in 2009, Minister of Information and Communication Le Doan Hop said Sunday. |
Media training programs will be stepped up, newspapers and television stations will be reviewed and the process for rewarding and penalizing violations in the media would be streamlined in 2009, Hop told leaders of media agencies in Ho Chi Minh City. He said the Ministry would only set the ceiling prices of telcos’ services while enterprises would be able to design their own business plans. Earlier in the meeting, he discussed the advantages and difficulties in 2009 for the information and communication sector in the context of the world economy. Reported by Minh Duc |
Models to vie for biennial award tonight
| The topic of who will take the modeling crown has heated up considerably as the Vietnam Model Award 2008 (VMA) contest draws near. | ||||||
The second leg of the final round, to be held tonight in Ho Chi Minh City, will have 28 female and male models contending for the title. The audience will have a say in choosing the winner by sending their votes on SMS. The biennial pageant aims at honoring professional models’ contributions to the fashion industry over the last two years. With the participation of many outstanding models, the final round promises many challenges and has attracted intense speculation from public and experts. A leading face in Vietnamese fashion, Hoang Yen, 20, is believed to be a leading contender because she has won many prestigious awards including the crown at the Vietnam Supermodel 2008 competition and the first runner-up at the Miss Universe Vietnam 2008 several months ago. Another outstanding candidate is Ngoc Quyen, who is considered a strong challenger to Yen in the beauty contest. She has been highly acclaimed by fashion magazines. She mostly performs at big shows across the country like Fashion Week, held by Dep (Beauty) magazine. Quyen also took part in the Asian Model contest last year. Vu Thu Phuong, 23, is another model in the leading pack. She came into the limelight recently with a role in the star-studded film “Shanghai,” in which she acted with Hollywood film stars like John Cusack, Gong-Li and Chow Yun Fat. However, she could be handicapped by the scandal of breaking up with pop singer Tuan Hung and the breast-revealing accident on the catwalk. In the male section, with a lot of experience and many important prizes, Binh Minh is considered a senior supermodel in modeling circles. Minh rarely shows up in fashion shows these days because he is busy with other work like acting in films, emceeing shows and doing photo shoots. Besides Minh, there are many young models in the fray, including Duc Vinh, Quang Hoa, and Xuan Thu. With the advantage of his 1.87-meter height, Duc Vinh won a consolation prize at the Mr. World 2006 contest held in China. Quang Hoa won the Manhunt 2007 in Vietnam while Xuan Thu won the first prize at the Vietnam Supermodel 2008 alongside Hoang Yen. Mister International 2008 Tien Doan has not entered the contest due to his “Mister” mission in Singapore. Besides the highest prizes awarded based on votes by the audience, the organization board will give away six others including best body, best performing style, most photogenic and most talented model. Each category of prizes will have a male and female winner. The final round and the awards ceremony will take place tonight at Lan Anh Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City and be broadcast live on Vietnam Television’s VTV3 Channel at 8 p.m.
Reported by Bao Tran |
