Google’s AdSense is an attractive revenue making opportunity for small, medium and large web sites since a long time now but it’s against the rule of Google’s AdSense if you are running any website only for AdSense earning for which you need to include a few Affiliate links or sell your own product, too.

Googlehas a lot of forbidden practices when it comes to AdSense, and too many user are finding out they spoiled Google’s policies after the fact – because they never bothered to read the AdSense policies in the first phase.

Google AdSense is the Google program where you can host pay-per-click ads on your Website. When someone clicks an ad, you earn money. So if you are one of those people that don’t like the idea of paying for a site, this is an excellent way to earn your money back and then some.

How Much You Can Earn With AdSense?

The amount you’ll earn depends largely on the amount of targeted traffic you receive to your own site, how well the ads match your audience’s interests, the placement of the ads on your pages, and of course the amount you receive per click.

Ideally, you should create a site on a topic you know a lot about. That way you’ll have a much easier time creating a generous amount of content on that subject.

Determine a goal for what you want to earn using AdSense. Of course, you want to earn a lot, but make sure it’s realistic.

    Be realistic Forget about the fantasy story you read on internet about earning big money from Google. If you think of making a website and getting to be instant rich, it is likely to disappoint you. Imagine that if you build a small website with 100,000 page views per month with 0.5% CTR and 5c average payout, you will only get US$25 (100,000 x 0.5% x 0.5c). To achieve 100,000 page views a month, you possibly need 500-1000 users. By theory, your website can reach more than billions of internet users in the whole world, but there are also 100 millions of websites competing for users.
    Website promotion techniques especially search engine optimization and article marketing will bring more traffic to your site. You also need to have content that will attract the ads with the highest Pay Per Click (PPC) rate that are relevant to that content. Google is at least as interested as you are in having your ads perform well on your site and therefore provide the info you need to optimize your AdSense.
    Start building keyword-rich pages containing well researched, profitable keywords, and get lots of high quality links to your site. For example, if your site is about topics such as debt consolidation, web hosting or asbestos-related cancer, you’ll earn much more per click than if it’s about free things. On the other hand, if you concentrate only on top-paying keywords, you’ll face an awful lot of tough competition. What you want are keywords that are high in demand and low in supply, So do some careful keyword research before you build your pages.

How to Join AdSense:

Once you have pages ready for your website, go to http://adsense.google.com to apply.

When you are accepted, simply copy and paste the provided HTML code into any page that you’d like to show the ads. If you’ve done a good job of defining the content on your web pages, the ads that show should be relevant to the content of your page…increasing the chances of click-thrus by your visitors.

You can either display the ads vertically along side the page like Google does or in a banner-like formation horizontally across your pages. The placement is up to you. You can even customize the colors to match your site’s theme. Google AdSense allows you to specify up to 200 URLs for sites you want to bar from placing ads on your pages. The problem is that most times you won’t know the competitors are out there until their ads appear.

Google Money Making Tips on Succeeding:

    Create a website with your Don’t try to use a free web host because your site will likely have banners and pop-ups and get rejected because it looks unprofessional. A free web host will give you a website address like this:

http://www.thefreewebhost.com/yoursite/member1234/home.html instead of… http://www.yoursite.com Start by registering your own domain and then select a web host.

    Quality is the most important part of any web site. If your site does not contain the content of expected quality the visitor might not come back, if the main goal of your site is to make money with AdSense, be sure to choose a topic that you know a lot about so you can write lots and lots of content. A variety of size and shape ads for placing in your content are available. These can be text or image ads or both – you specify what you’ll allow. Ad units are full ads. Link units are simply a strip of text links that your visitors might want to click. Google allows you to put up to 3 Ad Units and 1 Link unit on each page of your Web site.
    Get traffic. Once your site is up and running you’ll need to learn how to get your site listed in the major search engines.
    Google AdSense for Search – This place a search box on your Web site. When a user enters a term and conducts a search, a search results page opens, that hosts more pay-per-click ads. You can customize the color scheme of the search results page to harmonize with your web site. Although Google doesn’t release exact details as to how they determine the ads to serve on a given page, they do say that it’s the text content of the page that matters, not the Meta tags.
    Google Referrals – You canmake money by referring visitors to use a Google product, like AdSense, AdWords, the Google Toolbar and other Google software. For example Google generates the code that you paste into the desired location on your web page. You can choose from a wide variety of buttons and text links of different colors. If someone goes to your site and clicks the link and signs up for an AdSense account, when that person earns a $100 from Google AdSense and receives a payout from Google, you’ll also receive $100 for referring them, if an ad dynamo happens to visit your site and uses your referral link, you can make money anyway!

Google AdSense Payments:

Google will not issue an AdSense payment until your earnings exceed $100. Unfortunately, there are loads of Google AdSense Forum entries about website operators who accumulated $90 or more in click through earnings only to get banned from Google and not get paid anything at all before they ever reached $100. This may be because Google doesn’t take a close look to see if you’re complying with their guidelines until it comes time to pay you.

Don’t's:

    Do not click your ads. If Google catches you, they will suspend your account and retain any earnings you might have. However, if you, by mistakes, click your ads for one or two times, Google will keep that earning but rather not to punish you as long as it doesn’t happen constantly.
    Google has a lot of restrictions on how the ads have to be displayed. One of the major reasons for account suspension is that webmasters tried to blur the ads and mislead others to think that it’s “content”. For simplicity, never attempt to use CSS to hide Google’s logo unless you’re authorized to do it.

Patience is key with Google. It can take a few months. Don’t create a hodgepodge site with topics on everything under the sun. Stay focused and make sure your site has an obvious theme.

Getting into Google is completely free and can bring in hundreds or even thousands of visitors per day. Then do the same with Yahoo, MSN, etc. All The Best!

By emarketinguide

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LONDON - Mobile company Orange is overhauling its cinema Gold Spots ads for the first time in seven years, consigning its popular Orange Film Funding Board concept to the archives.

Orange: new ads to feature spoof movie trailers

The cinema ads, known as the Orange Gold spots, have featured the Orange Film Funding Board since 2003.

Up until now, the spots have featured various celebrities such as Snoop Dog pitching their film ideas to a panel of Orange producers, who have tried to change the storyline to fit around the Orange brand.

It has also reminded audiences to switch off their mobile phones.

The new ads, created by Fallon, will explore the format, "don't let a mobile ruin your movie", and Orange will feature in spoof movie trailers of forthcoming films.

Across cinemas nationwide from today (30 April), Orange's first Gold Spot ads will tie-in with this summer's blockbuster, 'The A-Team', in partnership with 20th Century Fox.

An all-star cast will feature in the ad including Hollywood actors Liam Neeson as Hannibal, Bradley Cooper from 'The Hangover' as Face, Quinton Jackson as BA and Sharlto Copley as Murdock.

The Orange Gold Spot actors reference blatant Orange branding in a tongue-in-cheek way, while comical scenarios take place involving the ‘bad guys'.

Spencer McHugh, Orange director of brand UK, said: "The opportunity to take over a real Hollywood film set, the movie and its cast, is a reflection of our commitment and support of the film industry – resulting in an ad with the wow-factor that we hope our Gold Spot fans will love."

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Hai vợ chồng thường xuyên tình tứ chốn đông người, ảnh trên Ego:

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Foreign donors guaranteed Vietnam official development assistance of more than US$8 billion at a meeting Friday, a sharp increase from the figure pledged a year ago.

The annual pledge was announced at the Consultative Group meeting on Vietnam, which included Vietnam’s top donors such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Japan and EU, concluded a two day meeting in Hanoi. The Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds will help Vietnam stabilize its macro-economy, regain growth and further reduce poverty, the Consultative Group said in a statement. Foreign donors began offering development assistance to Vietnam in 1993. Their pledges have totaled $42.5 billion since then, more than half which has been disbursed, according to the government. Last December the group announced $5 billion in aid. The figure was later revised to $5.85 billion by the government after Japan resumed aid this year. This year’s disbursement is expected to reach $3 billion. During the meeting, foreign donors and government officials discussed various issues including economic stability and poverty reduction. ADB Country Director for Vietnam, Ayumi Konishi, lauded the government’s efforts to manage the adverse impact of the global economic crisis. “Risks are growing and we appreciate the government’s recognition that stabilization is the essential prerequisite for rapid and sustainable growth,” he said. World Bank representative in Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said a key theme was improving business competitiveness and reinvigorating state-owned enterprise reform. “I think the message from donors to government is to really move forward on this and to move forward in a bold way,” she said. The increased ODA comes with Vietnam’s economy on track to grow around 5 percent this year, according to government figures. Middle income status Vietnam is also likely to cross the middle income threshold of having average annual per capita income of at least $1,000 next year, which will have an affect on the composition of future aid and is likely to impact the total volume. The World Bank and other development partners were already beginning to discuss how the annual Consultative Group meeting should change as middle income status alters Vietnam’s eligibility for certain types of assistance, Kwakwa said. “We don’t expect that there will be a major cut-off, just like that. I think that it will be more gradual and in a way that responds to the needs that the country still has,” Kwakwa said. Mark Kent, the British ambassador, said this Consultative Group had already begun looking at those challenges. “While obviously keeping the focus on poverty reduction is going to be important still, increasingly we are going to be looking at other challenges if Vietnam wants to keep on moving up the value chain – things like dealing with corruption, dealing with infrastructure,” he said. Climate change figured prominently this year, and a United Nations official said earlier in the week that future soft loans and other development aid to Vietnam could be dominated by climate change-related projects. Vietnam is recognized by international organizations as one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels. Source: Thanh Nien, Reuters

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North Kinh Do Food Joint-Stock Co., a Vietnamese snack-food producer, raised its full-year pretax profit forecast by 67 percent to VND100 billion dong (US$5.6 million), according to an e-mailed statement Wednesday.

The company, based in the northern province of Hung Yen and partly owned by Citigroup Inc., plans to issue 2.5 million shares and give them to shareholders as dividends, and list 2.8 million shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange after it obtains official approval, according to the statement. Source: Bloomberg

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Bài Mới Hôm Nay

Tiến Đoàn: "Tôi không thích khoe cơ bắp!"

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7 điều lầm tưởng về quả trứng

Gạo không cần nấu

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The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak was chosen by the World Bank to host the WB-chaired informal mid-year Consultative Group meeting, which will review the efficiency of ODA use in Vietnam, on June 8 and 9.

The Central Highlands province, known as Vietnam’s “coffee capital,” will seize the opportunity to introduce its economic potential and boost investment promotion to local and foreign investors, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

The local government has asked Dak Lak Department of Planning and Investment to pick several locations for donors and business representatives to visit on the sidelines of the meeting in an effort to attract investment in the province.

According to the Department of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Trade Office, meeting delegates will join a field trip to inspect seven ODA-funded projects.

They include a coffee and cocoa beans processing project in Tan An-Buon Ma Thuot Industrial Complex developed by Vietnam-Netherlands Coffee Company, a drainage and environmental sanitation project developed by Dak Lak Urban and Environment Management Limited Company, and a health and education center developed by Dak Lak Health Department.

The remaining projects are Dak Man Export Coffee Processing Joint Venture, a water management and bio-diversity preservation project for Cu Yang Sin National Park, a vocational training project and a transport project for rural areas.

The local government said they hoped the Consultative Group meeting will help attract more investors to the Central Highlands province.

Photo courtesy of Swiss-Belhotel Dakruco Hotel

The province currently has 25 ODA-funded projects, of which 13 are managed by the provincial People’s Committee, totaling VND1.4 trillion.

The ODA-funded education projects mainly come from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Currently, the bank is financing three projects in Dak Lak province.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also granted non-refundable aids to the Central Highlands.

According to the Dak Lak Clean Water and Environmental Hygiene Center, JICA granted VND170 billion for a water supply project.

The World Bank-chaired Consultative Group is made up of representatives of the Vietnamese government and the foreign governments and international bodies that provide ODA to the country. The group usually holds its official meeting each December.

The informal two-day meeting will be held at the Swiss-Belhotel Darkruco Hotel in Buon Ma Thuot City in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on June 8 and 9, the ministry said.

Representatives from the Vietnamese government and some 50 international donors will discuss Vietnam’s economic policies, including poverty reduction strategies and the efficiency of ODA use in Vietnam.

Vietnamese and foreign non-governmental organizations and representatives from the Vietnam Business Forum will attend the meeting as observers.

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Vietnam’s leading retailer Saigon Co.op Thursday signed a deal with Tin Nghia Real Estate Company to take over its existing market in Bien Hoa Town and upgrade it into a supermarket.

The 3,000-square meter Co.opMart Tan Bien would be the retailer’s second outlet in Tan Bien Ward, an affluent business center in the city. Saigon Co.op said it is set to invest more than VND20 billion (US$1.1 million) to renovate Tan Bien market. Work would start next month, the retailer said, adding the supermarket would begin full operation in the third quarter. In July 2007, Saigon Co.op opened its first outlet in Dong Nai Province. Saigon Co.op’s revenues last year topped VND6.35 trillion ($372 million), a 48.9 percent year-on-year increase and it expects this to rise to VND9 trillion this year. It plans to have around 100 outlets by 2020. Reported by Vinh Bao

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As social media usage continues to skyrocket, companies are trying to get up to speed on not only using these tools, but finding a way to successfully integrate them into their existing business strategies. At the Business-to-Business Forum, Sandy Carter, Vice President, SOA, BPM and WebSphere at IBM Corporation, will help attendees not only learn more about social media, but also how and when these tools should be added to a company’s existing marketing mix.

In this interview, Sandy gives us her take on the importance of social media for businesses, and some background on some of the topics she’ll be covering during her session at the B2B Forum in Boston:

Q - At the MarketingProfs B2B Forum, you'll be leading a session entitled Marketing 2.0: Integrating Social Media Into Your Marketing Mix. How important is it for a company to consider integrating social media into their existing marketing plan, or should they try to make social media separate from the company's other communication efforts?

A - I believe firmly that social media represents a new set of marketing tools. By integrating the Web 2.0 technologies into a marketing plan, you strengthen the plan overall to drive business. If you isolate your social media team, you will not see the results that you need. In fact, I think just as strong compelling value propositions are core to all marketing, social techniques and the use of Web 2.0 technology should be core to all integrated marketing going forward. (You can learn more about a formal methodology I recommend by visiting the site for my recent book, "The New Language of Marketing 2.0") For example, if you run in-person events today to drive your business, you can add in a Twitter drive to the event to increase registrations. You can generate customer loyalty—or fans—by having them tell their stories on blogs, or post pictures on Flickr. You can even use web 2.0 to help follow-up on the leads with enurturing or form an online community to supplement your in-person customer boards. The point is that the magic is in the marketing mix. Not the tools!

Q - You obviously work at a very large company. What special considerations do you think a large company faces in trying to use social media, that a small business for example, might not have to worry about?

A - Well, I think everything is a trade-off. There are some advantages that the small companies have and some that the big companies have. Since I work for a large company, I am envious at times at how fast a small company can experiment. This area is changing so rapidly and so many new tools are being added daily, that I think that being able to change on a dime is crucial or to add in a new tool without having to get tons of signoffs could make the difference in a first-mover advantage. But large companies have more resources. And that comes with an advantage as well.

However, the bottom line is I think the primary difference here is not in big or small. But the difference is in how close you are to your customers. The hair stylist I go to just recently used Facebook to increase the purchase of one of his services by 500%. Why? Because he used social media tools with his traditional customer retention methods. He understands what his customers are looking for and could add value. This is similar as to when IBM really listens to its customers and develops its next product by learning not only from its current customers, and focus groups, but by dialoguing in the blogs on product requirements and betas. The bottom line is do you know your goals and your differentiation well enough to use the tools appropriately?

Q - As you know, many companies are interested in learning more about social media. What do you think are some of the common misconceptions these companies have about social media?

A - Great question! I think there are a few! First, some companies believe that social media is a magic elixir. They don't realize that social media is just another set of tools to add to the marketing toolbox. Second, some companies focus on the coolness of social media. They get enamored with the tools themselves, and don't focus on what they are trying to do—drive business! And finally I think that companies don't realize that this is brand new. It is not what they studied in college and is bigger than marketing. It encompasses the business. Social technologies should be part of your market intelligence, your strategic delivery, your development cycle, your customer support, your marketing and your sales. It is a cultural change in how we create business.

Q - One of the biggest concerns about using social media, is finding a way to get measurable results. For the company that's wanting to find the ROI of their social media efforts, what should they be looking to track to tell if their social media initiatives are effective?

A - We are all already in the practice of tracking the effectiveness of all the elements of our marketing mix. So it is a great thing to measure the value of social media. I love what Dell did with its Twitter channel by using a special discount code to enable it to track the value. At IBM we add in Web 2.0 elements and measure the effectiveness—whether driving new opportunities or progressing current opportunity—over time. That said, think about the value of a relationship—it is hard to measure that personal relationship just as it is in measuring the online one ! Now even as I write this, IBM and MIT did try to estimate the value of the online connection. IBM Research and MIT's Sloan School of Management found that the average e-mail contact was worth $948 in revenue. To unearth that and other data, they used math formulas to analyze the email traffic, address book and buddy lists of 2600 IBM consultants over a year!

However, you can't measure everything and just because you can measure something doesn't mean that it is the right thing to be watching!

Q - Is social media right for every business?

A - I think that this question is the wrong one. The right one is—what is your overall goal for your company and its business model? What is your compelling value proposition that truly sets you apart? Then you can decide which social media tools to add to your overall company strategy and execution.

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Vietnam’s first entrant in Miss Bikini International knows she can please the judges.

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.” Publicity shots of Vietnam’s first contestant in Miss Bikini International Huynh Thanh Tuyen 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.

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V

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said Friday the new peak hour power pricing policy will stand as announced The new peak hour power pricing policy will stand as announced, but the government may consider assisting enterprises seriously affected by the increase, says Bui Xuan Khu, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.

Khu told a press briefing in Hanoi Friday that the ministry would suggest solutions to the government after learning of the impacts of the pricing policy from affected enterprises this month. Commercial power users are currently charged double the normal rates during peak hours – between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Before March 1, peak hour rates applied only to power used between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Many businesses have since protested the extension of peak hours, arguing it is unreasonable to be charged extra in the morning as it is a key production period. Khu said Vietnam is using much more electricity for production in the morning because of increasing demand from industrial and service sectors. Without measures to reduce power usage during peak hours, the national grid could collapse. He also advised firms to reduce unnecessary additional charges during peak hours or change working hours to mitigate policy impacts. In a note sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 19, the Vietnam Plastics Association said the production costs of members would increase by 8-10 percent under the new pricing policy. The association said that its members were already suffering a 30-40 percent decrease in output in the first two months of this year due to the global economic downturn, and the power price hike will aggravate matters further. “If the situation lasts for a long time, some firms will have to stop operations due to big losses, more people will lose their jobs, and this will contribute to social disorder,” the association cautioned. Vietnam’s power generation capacity is 7,000MW during low hours, and 11,500MW during peak hours. Average power prices have increased by 8.9 percent to VND948.5 (5 US cents) per kilowatt-hour under the new policy that took effect on March 1, 2009. Reported by Bao Van

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The Ministry of Construction has issued policies on the use of public and private space in apartment buildings as well as on fees charged to condominium owners.

The ministry circular requires the apartment sales contract to distinguish between the buyer’s private space and the building’s public space, such as the hallways, stairs, lifts and parking lots. Both the Housing Law and ministry regulations state that apartment building residents do not have to pay to use public spaces. Condominium contracts must designate what facilities might be owned by the buildings’ developers such as swimming pools, tennis courts or supermarkets. Deputy Minister Nguyen Tran Nam said the instructions should have come sooner to prevent the many conflicts that have flared up between apartment occupants and investors. Some apartment building developers in Ho Chi Minh City asked residents to pay enormous fees of up to US$25,000 for a car parking space or to use meeting areas, child care facilities and even libraries. Also in line with the new circular, all contracts must specify the apartment’s exact measurements in detail. Two percent of each apartment price will be used for maintenance fees. If the amount is not enough, the developers can ask residents to contribute extra fees based on the size of their apartments, according to the ministry. The sale contract must mention these fees and estimate the amount each household must pay to cover the other costs of operating the buildings, Nam said. City and provincial People’s Committees will decide the maximum operation fee for apartment buildings in their jurisdiction, according to the ministry. The developers and buyers will rely on those ceiling fees to work out specific payments in their sales contracts. Nam said committees are allowed to change the ceiling fees every year depending on market prices.

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A Ho Chi Minh City court Wednesday sentenced 24 defendants, including three Malaysians who are still on the run, for organizing and participating in illegal gambling.

Lim Leong Seng, Goh Ming Huat, and Chan Chee Sing, all from Malaysia, received five, four, and three years respectively for organizing gambling, the court ruled Wednesday. The Malaysian trio fled Vietnam after charges were laid last year and they were placed under house arrest. The Vietnamese police have been working with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) but have not been able to locate them. Vietnamese Le Anh Tuan was jailed for three years, Vietnamese Le Thi Hong Nhung two and a half years, and Vietnamese-American Hua Quan Timmy six months and 22 days, also for organizing gambling, the court said. The other 18 Vietnamese defendants, found guilty of illegal gambling, received sentences ranging from one-year suspensions to two and a half years in jail. All 24 defendants were fined between VND10 million-50 million (US$572-2,860) each. According to the indictment, the six people charged with organizing gambling had connived to lure Vietnamese citizens to casinos at three luxury hotels in HCMC between April 2006 and May 2007. Vietnamese law prohibits Vietnamese citizens from gambling but allows hotels rated four-stars and above to operate casinos for people holding foreign passports. The police shut down the operation in May 2007 after raiding three clubs: De Palace Club at the Saigon Food Center in District 1, the Victoria Club at the Duxton Saigon Hotel in District 1, and the OV Club at the Equatorial Hotel in District 5. All of the clubs were run by Malaysian businessman Yap Kim San, who still hasn’t been charged. The court Wednesday also called for continued investigations into Yap’s role in the case. Reported by Le Nga

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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

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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

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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. Ngoc Quyen Binh Minh Hoang Yen Xuan Thu Vu Thu Phuong Quang Hoa Reported by Bao Tran

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Tourists walk by a motorbike-renting shop in the backpacker area of Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1. English-speaking traffic policemen will be deputized to deal with foreigners caught flouting traffic rules in the latest safety crackdown in Ho Chi Minh City.

Under the traffic crackdown, HCMC police this week began fining foreigners and overseas Vietnamese caught breaking traffic regulations. The no-exemption policy has been welcomed by several foreign expatriates in HCMC who said people of all nationalities should be treated the same under the law. A UK citizen, who only wished to be identified as Cleves, told Thanh Nien Daily Wednesday that everyone who broke Vietnam’s traffic laws should be punished. Paul Finnis, director of Saigon Children’s Charity, concurred. But he said he was worried about the language barrier which could hinder communication between policemen and foreign offenders. “If I am stopped by a traffic policeman, how would we communicate?” Finnis said. Speaking with Thanh Nien Daily Wednesday, HCMC Traffic Police Deputy Chief Lieutenant-Colonel Tran Thanh Tra, said the city police force would dispatch fluent English-speaking personnel to handle foreigner-related traffic infringements. They would also be trained in how to handle a range of situations, Tra said. Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Van Anh, head of the Immigration Department under the municipal police force, said his department would send interpreters fluent in other foreign languages to the scene in case foreign offenders could not speak English. Vehicle renters also face fines Owners of motorbikes rented by foreigners also face fines of VND100,000 to VND200,000 (US$5.9- 11.8) if their customers break traffic regulations, Lieutenant-Colonel Tra said, and could also be impounded. Owners of hire cars could also be fined VND1 million to VND2 million ($59-118) if their customers break traffic laws, he said. If foreign offenders flee the scene, the owners of their rented bikes or hire cars would have to pay their clients’ fines, Tra added. When stopped by the police, foreign offenders may have to produce identity documents, such as driving licenses from a Vietnamese agency, visa documents or a permanent or temporary residence card, at the scene and pay a fine at an office later. But their passports would not be kept in all cases by traffic police. For people under diplomatic immunity, traffic police will issue documents noting their infringements. The document will be forwarded to the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs consular division, which will handle the case and send the result to the HCMC Police Department. Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Anh said his staff had been trained to distinguish between various documents granted by Vietnamese agencies, including those indicating diplomatic immunity. Anh said police would take action against foreign offenders who confront on-duty traffic policemen. Call for improved road safety While supporting the crackdown, Cleves and Finnis also said they were looking forward to better road safety in HCMC. “The police should make more effort to stop dangerous drivers rather than just focus on minor offences,” Cleves said. Finnis said he was very worried about children aged under 14 not wearing helmets. He called for better policing of helmet laws to ensure all children wore helmets while riding motorbikes. HOW TO APPLY FOR A VIETNAMESE DRIVING LICENSE Foreigners eligible for driving licenses in Vietnam include those who have lived, worked or studied in Vietnam for at least three months and have legitimate driving licenses granted by their home countries. To apply for Vietnamese driving licenses in Ho Chi Minh City, foreigners need to submit the following documents: An application letter certified by their Vietnamese employer or agency; A copy of their driving license and a Vietnamese translation; A copy of their passport. Those under diplomatic immunity have to present an introduction letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Three passport photos. License applications, which should be processed within five days, can be made at HCMC Department of Transport offices at: 252 Ly Chinh Thang, Ward 9, District 3; 8 Nguyen Anh Thu, Trung My Tay Ward, District 12; or 111 Tan Son Nhi, Tan Son Nhi Ward, Tan Phu District. In Hanoi, the documents can be submitted at the Hanoi Department of Transport offices at: 16 Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh District; or 2 Phung Hung Street, Ha Dong Town. Reported by Nghia Pham - An Dien

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