Concrete action plan necessary for supporting industry development

Southeast Asia’s manufacturing base is surging ahead and Vietnam’s supporting industry has been left behind.

Hiroyuki Moribe feels that the country’s most urgent task right now is developing a concrete action plan for firming up this foundation. The Chief Representative of Japan’s External Trade Organization (JETRO) sat down with Thanh Nien Weekly for an interview and laid it all on the line.

Thanh Nien Weekly: What is your take on the supporting industry in Vietnam?

Hiroyuki Moribe: Vietnam’s supporting industry is still seeing slow growth compared to developed ASEAN countries. If Vietnam’s supporting industry is not yet developed by 2015, when the country becomes a full participant in the (ASEAN) free trade area, its market may be flooded by Thai or Indonesian products.

The Japanese government’s agencies (such as JETRO and JICA) are helping support Vietnam in its efforts to devise an action plant. The Vietnamese government should formulate this plan soon.

Is Vietnam’s reliance on imported materials one of the reasons that the nation’s supporting industry is still under-developed?

Japan (geographically) is similar to Vietnam, as they both stretch from north to south over long coastlines and generate many kinds of agricultural and aquaculture products. Japan’s terrestrial resources (like land and oil) are very scarce. Nevertheless, the supporting industry for the automobile and electronic industries have already developed well



Vietnam enjoys a much larger bounty of natural resources. Thus, we cannot say that the country’s supporting industry did not develop due to a shortage of natural resources. Some ASEAN countries have seen strong supporting industry development despite limited natural resources. They have effectively combined imports and advanced technology to foster development.

What should Vietnam do to develop the industry?

Some advanced ASEAN countries have developed good supporting industry. For example, the automotive supporting industry has come along well in Thailand and Indonesia. The same goes for the electronic industries in Malaysia. These countries have identified key industries to focus on, and at the same time they foster cooperation to attract investment and develop their supporting industries. Thus, Vietnam should identify a key industry to focus on for the next ten or 20 years.

Which sectors do you think Vietnam should prioritize when developing supporting industry?

Vietnam taps crude oil, exports it to countries like Singapore (for processing), and then imports the refined product. Vietnam’s first oil refinery came into operation this year and the country plans to build more in the near future. Many oil products have been produced. Vietnam has a great potential to develop industries that use these oil products or crude oil, doesn’t it?

Vietnam has also planned to build steel manufacturing factories so you can expect to see a surge in industries that rely on these products. High-quality steel products can serve many industries.

There are opinions that Vietnam should call for more foreign direct investment in the supporting industry. What do you think about this?

Foreign firms will help transfer technology to Vietnam, and train laborers for a supporting industry role. Thus, I agree with the idea of luring foreign investment in the supporting industry to help develop it. Creating a favorable investment environment is very important.

According to an annual survey by JETRO, Japanese businesses operating in Vietnam are still concerned about issues such as incomplete infrastructure and the legal system.

Foreign firms, which are interested in Vietnam, often compare the investment environment of the country to that of other ASEAN nations. Vietnam should have concrete policies to develop key industries, and lure more foreign investment.

What’s the next step for Vietnam in terms of developing the supporting industry?

Supporting industry includes mainly small- and medium-sized firms, so it is necessary to implement policies that support their development. The small- and medium-sized firms often face financial difficulties, so they need assistance such as low-interest loans, technology training centers and product quality assurance.

I know there are Vietnamese enterprises which pour more money into the stock and property markets than into equipment. Investment in supporting industry is very important, and the government should facilitate businesses in doing so.

Vietnam’s supporting industry has not yet developed, so it should quickly model its development policies on those that succeeded in Japan, and certain developed ASEAN countries.

Now, there is a trend of tax reduction in the world, so Vietnam doesn’t have much time to develop its SI. The most essential thing now is to define a concrete action plan: “where, when, and what to do” and implement it well.

Vietcombank posts $146m in profit

HA NOI — Partly-equitised Vietcombank posted a creditable pre-tax profit of VND2.8 trillion (US$145.83 million) to June 30, up 7.3 per cent against the same six months of last year.

After-tax profit of VND2.15 trillion ($111.77 million) was up 8.7 per cent.

"I'm pleased with the result and believe Vietcombank will be able to beat its target of VND4.5 trillion ($234.38 million) in pre-tax profit by year end," Vietcombank chairman Nguyen Hoa Binh told Viet Nam News yesterday.

It would have been very difficult to make a higher profit.

The bank's net profit to June 30 was VND4.19 trillion ($218.12 million), up 40.7 per cent against the first six months of last year.

Net income from non-credit services was up 15 per cent to VND475 billion ($24.74 million). But revenue from the bank's foreign exchange services was down 50.9 per cent to VND192 billion ($10 million).

Credit services accounted for 80 per cent of the total profit, Vietcombank Financial Statement Spokeswoman Phung Nguyen Hai Yen told Viet Nam News.

The non-credit and foreign exchange services provided the remainder.

Vietcombank had wanted to raise its profit from non-credit services but the effort failed.

The Ha Noi-based bank increased its risk provision 39.6 per cent against the first half of last year to VND350 billion ($18.22 million).

Its total assets as of June 30 was VND246.33 trillion ($12.83 billion).

The bank is now increasing its charter capital from VND12.1 trillion ($630.2 million) to VND13.22 trillion ($688.7 million) through the issuing of 112.28 million shares to existing shareholders - including the State - at a ratio of 1,000:92.79.

The State Bank of Viet Nam - the State's holder of Vietcombank shares - transferred VND1.02 trillion ($53.02 million) from the support fund for the reorganisation and equitisation of State-owned enterprises to buy additional shares on Monday.The State now holds almost 1.1 billion or 90.72 per cent of Vietcombank shares.

Vietcombank has sold 5 million shares or 0.57 per cent of its stake in Eximbank and 19 per cent of its stake in Gia Dinh Bank to reorganise its investment portfolio.

It now holds an 8.19-per-cent stake in Eximbank and 11 per cent in Gia Dinh Bank.

The sales were also intended to help Vietcombank raise its minimum capital adequacy ratio to 9 per cent - instead of the previous 8 per cent - and lower its ownership of other credit institutions to 11 per cent in accordance with central bank regulations, explained general director Nguyen Phuoc Thanh.

Vietcombank shares, VCB on the HCM City Stock Exchange, closed down 0.1 per cent at VND36,900 each yesterday. — VNS

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HCM CITY — A second-half surge in merger and acquisition activities is expected in the financial and banking sectors, local reports say.

Their prediction is based on the directive from the State Bank of Viet Nam asking small-scale banks to increase their charter capital from the current VND1 trillion (US$52.6 million) or VND1.5 trillion to VND3 trillion (US$157.9 million).

To abide by the Government Decree No 141 ND-CP, banks have already made plans to offer new shares to existing shareholders as well as their staff after receiving permission from the State Securities Commission, according to the Dau Tu (Investment) weekly.

They are also considering selling stakes to some strategic investors to meet their capital increase targets, the paper says.

And to do this, many of the banks are opting for the M&A mode.

M&A allows the purchase, sale and merger of different companies that can aid, finance, or help a company grow rapidly without having to create another business entity.

Mekong Bank typifies the trend. In spite of having the Maritime Bank and a group of major shareholders that hold 49 per cent of its total shares, the bank plans to call for new strategic shareholders to raise its charter capital to VND3 trillion by the year-end.

Tran Thi Thanh Thanh, chairwoman of the Mekong Bank Managing Board, said they would set aside 30 per cent of the additional charter capital (VND2 trillion) for new strategic shareholders at home and abroad.

At present, the bank is negotiating with partners to seek strategic shareholders suitable for its development plan, Thanh said.

The Gia Dinh Commercial Bank is also taking similar preparatory steps to augment its charter capital.

After Vietcombank and Vietcombank Investment Fund sold 19 per cent out of their 30 per cent stake they held in the GiaDinh Bank, the latter found a major strategic shareholder operates in the securities and fund management areas. The new strategic partner now holds a 22 per cent stake in Gia Dinh Bank.

A representative of Navibank said they were looking to attracting strategic partners at home and abroad to raise more capital to meet the Government's legal capital requirements.

According to State Bank of Viet Nam Governor Nguyen Van Giau, there is no plan to extend the capital increase deadline.

The decree was issued in 2006 so the affected banks have had enough time to make necessary preparations to increase their legal capital by the end of this year, Giau said.

This is likely to give added momentum to M&A activities implemented by small banks during the second half of this year.

If banks are unable to raise their charter capital as required, they would be merged with others, or will have to sell part of their stocks to partners, said Tran Du Lich, a member of the National Advisory Council for Financial and Monetary Policies. — VNS

Leaders vow to build ASEAN community

HA NOI — The Southeast Asian leaders yesterday showed their firm commitment to building an ASEAN community with the adoption of two statements and significant guidlines for boosting regional co-operation after a two-day meeting in Ha Noi.

"We were satisfied with the progress in implementing the ASEAN Charter and the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community and reaffirmed our strong commitments to speed up the effective implementation through concrete measures and activities," said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in his statement to end the ASEAN summit which approved the joint declarations on the region's strategy for economic recovery and development, and its response to climate change.

The regional leaders, working under the theme ‘Towards ASEAN Community: From Vision to Action', were committed to strengthening co-operation in deepening regional integration and in addressing global challenges with a view to building a resilient, dynamic and sustained ASEAN Community which will be realised by 2015.

ASEAN's connectivity was among the discussions in the last two days' meetings, where the leaders emphasised to prioritise the enhancement of intra-region connectivity, including the need to complete all air, sea and land transportation links.

In the process of community building, education and human resources development should be given a priority and the regional ministers and senior officials were tasked to sustain concrete measures and activities to implement the Hua Hin Declaration on Strengthening Co-operation on Education, said Dung.

The member states agreed on the promotion of the ASEAN's central role in the emerging regional architecture.

"ASEAN wants to confirm its centrality and wants to be in the centre of the driving force to help pull the world out of the economic crisis," said Surin in a post-summit briefing in Ha Noi later yesterday, confirming that ASEAN was willing to respond to the world's expectation.

Regarding this they reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN's co-operation with external partners to expand its connectivity to the wider region with promoting its activities in the regional forums where ASEAN plays the key role like ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit, and ASEAN Regional Forum.

The leaders were satisfied with the significant progress achieved in the implementation of the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint and tasked relevant ministers and senior officials to enhance the utilisation of ASEAN's existing tools and mechanisms, according to the Prime Minister.

Before the summit, the region's Economic Community (AEC) and Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) had their third council meetings and the leaders all welcomed the outcomes and progress made in the implementation of the AEC and ASCC's Blueprints.

The ASEAN leaders yesterday reaffirmed to prioritise narrowing the development gap between member states among the priorities of intra-ASEAN co-operation as well as ASEAN's external co-operation.

"ASEAN has a big gap in the middle of it, which sees people in the least developed countries earn less than $2 a day while ones in the most developed members get up to $45,000 a day," Surin told media and representatives from international organisations of seven member states in a live video conference. "ASEAN needs to bridge the gap."

ASEAN member states showed their strong support to Viet Nam, as the chair of the regional association, in participating into the G-20 summit later this year.

Great fruits

The summit successfully worked out important orientations for ASEAN co-operation this year, Dung said a briefing to the press and media people after the summit yesterday.

"As the ASEAN chair this year, Viet Nam had co-operated closely and actively with other ASEAN members in putting forward many initiatives to boost co-operation among ASEAN members, which was proved by two joint statements on recovery and sustainable development, and climate change."

Answering Viet Nam News Agency reporter's question whether the summit discussed co-operation within Mekong sub-region, Dung affirmed that development co-operation in the Mekong sub-region was always one of ASEAN's priorities.

In the summit, leaders of ASEAN countries had discussed many measures to develop the sub-region such as boosting infrastructure connection to foster the sub-region's sustainable development and joining natural environment protection issues with climate change responding programmes.

Around 80 per cent of ASEAN people are living less than 100km away from coastal line and therefore effectively responding to the global climate change's impact is among the region's top priorities, according to the Secretary-General.

ASEAN highly appreciated results of the first Mekong River Commission Summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand, last week and supported commitments of commission members to enhance co-operation, usage, management and exploitation of natural resource areas in the Mekong River region, Dung said.

"I can say that the Mekong River Commission Summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand, were very successful and representatives of China and Myanmar also expressed their agreements with the summit's joint statement."

Related to the East Sea issue, the Prime Minister said that maintaining peace, stability, security and safety on the sea was a great concern of ASEAN countries and regional countries.

Related countries in the region had reached many agreements, building co-operative mechanisms to ensure peace, stability and joint co-operation in the region, including the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

DOC was an important document signed between ASEAN and China to boost the confidence and co-operation. Related parties affirmed their commitments to comply with DOC and they were making efforts to join hands realising the commitment, he added.

"We believe that with parties' goodwill and for common interests of the whole region, related parties will continue complying with and implementing well DOC as well as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concluded in 1982, to contribute practically to the maintenance of peace, stability, security and safety on the Eastern Sea, because it is the common interest of ASEAN member nations and regional countries."

Regarding the election issue in Myanmar, Dung said that as an ASEAN member and a neighbour country in the region, ASEAN in general and Viet Nam in particular always paid much attention and follow the construction and development process of Myanmar.

"In this summit, Myanmar Prime Minister shared with us recent developments in Myanmar. He also informed us preparations for the general election scheduled to be held this year."

"In the recent visit to Myanmar, besides exchanges of bilateral co-operation, in the position of ASEAN Chairman, I had sent to Myanmar Government and people ASEAN's message that wish Myanmar to implement efficiently roadmap of democracy for peace and national reconciliation, organise a fair and democrative election with the participation of all parties, thereby, shortly stabilise and develop the country."

ASEAN members would continue supporting Myanmar's active regional and international integration and were ready to help Myanmar when requested in the spirit of ASEAN Charter, Dung affirmed.

The ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan agreed with the host Prime Minister in this point.

Myanmar needed to follow the ASEAN roadmap and the region hoped that this year would be a turning point for ASEAN to integrate fully into the world community without any problems standing in between, Surin said in a live conference to Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand from Ha Noi.

Indonesia would serve as the next chair followed Jakarta's request due to schedule conflicts, said Surin, adding that Indonesia, replacing Brunei which agreed to the request, had a long list of summit meetings in coming years including possibility of hosting G-20 and APEC.

Cambodia had been confirmed as the ASEAN chair in 2012 as scheduled after Indonesia and Brunei would take the role in 2013, said Surin. — VNS

Weaker dong shakes up markets

Most traders and producers are keeping a watchful eye for any new developments on the forex market before deciding whether to increase prices of commodities following last week's 2 per cent depreciation of the Vietnamese dong.

The State Bank of Viet Nam on August 17 decided to increase the inter-bank exchange rate between the Vietnamese dong and the US dollar to VND18,932 from the VND18,544 that had been kept unchanged since February. This means a depreciation of the local currency by almost 2.1 per cent, a move expected to contribute to reducing the trade deficit.

Giving the trading band of 3 per cent on either side of the official exchange rate, commercial banks have vied with each other to raise their US dollar prices.

Three days after the dong depreciation decision took effect, many commercial banks had the cost of the US dollar against the dong at VND19,500.

Major commercial banks such as Vietcombank, Sacombank, Eximbank, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) on August 20 quoted prices of VND19,425-VND19,460 per dollar from VND19,100 on August 17.

The unofficial market reacted swiftest with rates ranging from VND19,400 – 19,500.

The depreciation has had immediate impacts on the prices of some essential goods. On August 20, gold prices jumped sharply to VND28.78-28.82 million per tael (equivalent to 38 grams), up by about VND240,000 compared with the previous day. The hike sparked a rush to sell gold.

Gas traders including Sai Gon Petro, Vina Gas, Gia Dinh Gas and Petrolimex also decided to raise the prices of a 12-kg cylinder by between VND4,000 and 6,000. Petroleum importers were also considering a plan to adjust domestic retail prices.

Some steel companies also began raising steel prices by VND300-400 per kilo for all products over rates recorded in late June.

While traders in essential goods have already increased their prices, most small merchants and enterprises were still cautiously watching the market.

Vu Van Minh, CEO of the Giay Viet Company, a shoemaker, said any sharp movement, upwards or downwards, always had ripple effects, and they would have to keep a close eye on the market.

Manufacturers that rely on imported materials are said to be feeling the pinch most.

Trang Van Tot of Glomed Pharmaceutical Company in the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park 2 (VSIP2), said that their input costs would increase, but medicine prices would not be raised due to the price control policy of the State.

The bigger concern is that the company may find it difficult to borrow dollar for imports due to forex uncertainties, he said.

Nguyen Van Hung, chairman of the Tan Phu Plastics Company, said the increase in the forex rate had distressed many plastic producers.

The cost of credit needed to import raw materials would increase dramatically with the new forex rate. This means that the companies cannot think of profits any longer, he said.

Experts said that the increase in the forex rate would increase costs for importers, and this would affect commodity prices as well as the consumer price index.

Now they would have to carefully consider their imports, even for raw materials. The habit of borrowing the greenback to import materials and maintain reserves cannot be persisted with anymore.

These changes would help the country better control its trade deficit as well as inflation in the coming months, they said.

At present, chain store operators have still kept prices unchanged due to good inventories. However, many of them, mainly retailers involved in importing goods, have said they have plans to raise prices in the coming weeks.

Local investors set pace

Domestic investment in HCM City's industrial parks has for the first time outpaced foreign direct investment (FDI) in the year to date, with respective figures of US$235 million and $49.2 million.

The HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza) said that 35 local investors have so far this year been granted investment certificates with a combined capital of more than US$235 million. If additional funds for operational projects are included, local investment will amount to $297 million.

Meanwhile, FDI inflow into IPs and EPZs over the past seven months was just $49.2 million pledged in 13 projects. Additional capital for operational projects would push total FDI in the January-July period to slightly over $136 million.

Hepza attributed the FDI drop to the global economic recession, the lack of infrastructure and land in the zones as well as less attractive incentives for new investment projects. Besides, Hepza's move to confine foreign investment to eco-friendly and hi-tech sectors while limiting projects in polluting and labour-intensive industries also has an impact on the FDI inflow.

Meanwhile, domestic enterprises are aware that technologies are cheaper due to the global crisis so they have managed to upgrade and expand operations to become more competitive.

Hepza expects to attract more than $680 million in domestic and foreign investment this year.

Online advertising heats up

With increasingiInternet use alongside consistent IT development, online advertising is on rise in Viet Nam.

By June this year the number of Internet users in Viet Nam had reached 24.6 million, up 12.7 per cent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the number of people using the broadband internet also grew by 24 per cent to over 3.34 million subscribers.

These figures are really attractive conditions for the domestic online advertising industry to develop.

However, its development is still at the primary stage in Viet Nam, experts say, adding it has great potential to go much further.

The market would not be well developed until 2012, and it would achieve stable development in 2015, they predict.

At present, the country's spending on online advertising accounts for only 0.4 per cent of the total ad expenditure. Per capita expenditure on online advertising in Viet Nam is estimated at just $0.5 oer year, much lower than $10 in China and $14.5 in Russia.

Consequently, the online advertising industry earned revenues of just $15.5 million in 2009, according to the Cimgio Market Research Company.

The main reason for slow development of the online advertising industry is a lack of tools that can be used to effectively measure the impact of online advertising campaigns.

This means enterprises lack information on benefits that online advertising can bring.

Local consumer habits and the opening of many websites are other inhibiting factors.

At present, most enterprises prefer putting their banners and logos on popular websites to using text advertising while the latter can create more benefits for advertisers.

According to AC Nielsen – the US-based global marketing research firm, banner advertising accounts for up to 80 per cent of online advertising market now.

The opening of many websites at present has also left enterprises confused about the right online site to advertise their products and services. Experts however believe that text advertising in Viet Nam will catch up with banner advertising in four or five years. — VNS

Should schools ban mobile phones?

Despite the reputed health risks of exposure to microwaves, more and more parents are buying mobile phones for their children.

Pham Thanh Dam, a lecturer at HCM City-based Post and Telecommunications Institute, said microwaves could potentially harm a child's immune system, lead to skull-development problems and even cause brain cancer.

However, most primary – and secondary-school students would rather be dead than go without their trusty mobile.

And parents are more concerned about being able to contact their children than of the health risks involved.

"I heard about the effects of mobile phones on health but they do help me keep in touch with my child when he is out. It takes just a phone call to find out what he is doing and where he is," said Vuong Thi Hien, whose son is an eighth grader in Ha Noi.

Nguyen Thu Dao, a teacher at Chu Van An Secondary School in Ha Noi, said two-thirds of her class of 45 now had mobile phones.

Parents buy their children a mobile phone so they can keep in touch when they are away from home, Dao said. However, she said students who skip school to play on computer games could simply lie to their parents about where they are or even refuse the call.

She also said that students in her class often sent text messages covertly or listened to music. She said she was also annoyed by the phones' ring tones.

"Students often fail to concentrate on the lesson because they are too busy texting friends, while ring tones disrupt the class," Dao said.

A school vice principal in Ha Noi said that some students used their phones to cheat in exams.

Worse still, camera phones have also been used to humiliate peers, as was the case of the school girl in Ha Noi who was beaten up by her fellow students. On-lookers, rather than intervene, simply posted pictures of the fight on the internet.

In addition, students can also download inappropriate material on phones that have internet, he said.

Nguyen Huong Quynh, a teacher at Nguyen Cong Tru Secondary School, said students were only permitted to use mobile phones to make calls or send messages, rather than access the internet.

Nguyen Ngoc Hung, an 8th-grader, said he would be lost without his phone.

"It is a part of my everyday life. My friends and I exchange messages quite often, tens of times a day. I can even write messages quickly without having to look at the keys." Hung said.

Education and Training Ministry regulations prohibit students from using mobile phones in class or during school activities. There is, however, no minimum age limit for possession of a mobile phone.

Nguyen Thu Ha, a primary school teacher, said busy parents bought their children phones so that they could be called when they needed to be picked up after school.

However, Ha said parents could just as easily ask teachers to keep an eye on their children if they were going to be late.

She said she thought there was nothing wrong with mobile phones, provided they were used sparingly and only when necessary. — VNS

Kalmykia wants to boost Vietnamese co-operation

Khang
HCM CITY — The head of Russia's Republic of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov offered to help Viet Nam sell rice in Russia and former Soviet Union countries.

Ilyumzhinov, who is also President of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), made the statement during a meeting with President Nguyen Minh Triet in HCM City yesterday.

He suggested Viet Nam turn Kalmykia into a gateway for Vietnamese goods to be sold in Russian and European markets.

Viet Nam should also build Vietnamese garment factories and a quarter in Kalmykia to generate jobs and stabilise the life of Vietnamese people working and living in Russia, he said.

In reply, President Triet spoke highly of his guest's work to strengthen co-operation between the two sides.

He said Viet Nam would support him in his role as FIDE president when the 81st chess congress is held this September.

Ilyumzhinov praised the development of chess in Viet Nam, and the achievements of its players.

He also conveyed greetings to Viet Nam and President Triet from chess players and FIDE members throughout the world. — VNS

Southern hub has bounced back from economic slump

Ho Chi Minh City has experienced a swift recovery from the economic downturn, officials said in a report published Friday.

According to the report on the government's website, all of the city's key sectors saw good growth rates in the first eight months.

Retail sales increased 31.9 percent compared to the same period last year to reach VND236.6 trillion. Industrial output was up 13.8 percent and foreign tourist arrivals saw a 14 percent jump. Officials also said inflation pressure continued to ease in August as consumer prices declined 0.25 percent from July for the second month this year.

Nguyen Thanh Tai, deputy chairman of HCMC People’s Committee, said the city is likely to meet or even top its economic targets for 2010.

Chairman Le Hoang Quan said the city is now aiming at an annual economic growth of 11.5-12 percent. If this target is reached, the average annual growth rate for the metropolitan economy during the 2006-2010 period will be 11.5 percent, he added.

Minh into World Badminton Championships round 3 in Paris

Vietnam’s badminton champ Nguyen Tien Minh booked a third-round berth at the 2010 World Badminton Championships in Paris after a straight-set win over Estonian rival Raul Must on Wednesday.

It took the eighth-ranked Vietnamese player 42 minutes to overcome his Estonian opponent, who is 34 places lower than Minh in the world rankings.
Minh, the only Vietnamese player to enter the world top 100, had little difficulty before cruising to a 21-14, 21-10 victory.
Minh, who beat the 70th-ranked Ukrainian Valeriy Atrashchenkov the day before, started strong and was in the lead all the way into the first set.
The Estonian got close (12-10 for Minh) but, from there, the Vietnamese galloped home winning the set 21-14.
After taking a big loss in the first set, Must caused Minh some hardship early in the second.
However, Minh, who slid one spot to eighth in the world rankings after failing to defend his title at the Yonex Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold early this month, proved his ranking with a 21-10 victory in the second round.
Minh aims to advance to the quarterfinals at the August 23-29 event in Paris. At the World Badminton Championships in India in 2009, Minh lost 21-13, 21-17 to the Malaysian world champion Lee Chong Wei.

Source: Thanh Nien

Vietnam PM call for overhaul of social-security, welfare

The Vietnamese prime minister has announced that the government will strive to expand health coverage, lower Vietnam’s poverty rate and close the income gap over the course of the next decade.

In an article published on a government website on Wednesday, PM Nguyen Tan Dung said that guaranteeing social security and well-being is necessary to meeting development goals.
Thus, he wrote, social security will serve as the main thrust of Vietnam’s ten year Socio-economic Development Strategy.
PM Dung said that Vietnam made “great strides” over the last ten years, particularly in poverty alleviation, job generation, insurance development, and public access to social services.
The rate of poor households dropped from 29 percent in 2002 to around 10 percent in 2010. More than 1.6 million new jobs were created every year, PM Dung wrote, and the unemployment rate in cities dropped from 6.42 percent in 2000 to around 4.6 percent in 2010, according to figures cited in the article.
The PM added that, although Vietnam has achieved a great deal, the nation’s social safety net has suffered from poor management.
Going forward, Vietnam will strive to provide universal health insurance coverage for all people. Poverty must decline by 2-3 percent every year, and people’s real income must rise to 3.5 times the 2010 rate.
To realize the goals, PM Dung said the country should develop a flexible, and stable social welfare system. This system should focus on poor people and vulnerable segments of society, especially disadvantaged children.

Source: Thanh Nien 

Obama approves additional $12 mln for Da Nang dioxin cleanup

US President Barack Obama has approved US$12 million for an ongoing project aimed at cleaning up dioxin that has contaminated the soil and water in and around the Da Nang Airport.

The announcement was made by congressman Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) on August 26, during a three-day visit to Vietnam.

Faleomavaega's visit was aimed at discussing the two countries’ relationship, including cooperative efforts to mitigate Agent Orange contamination in Vietnam.

Last year, the Obama administration dedicated $3 million to dioxin cleanup efforts in the central city of Da Nang, where the airport was listed by scientists as one of several “hotspots” throughout the country.

Da Nang Airport was once used by the US Air Force as a base of operations. During the war, US forces untold quantities of defoliant chemicals loaded onto planes to be sprayed over the countryside. 

It is believed that US forces sprayed over 12 million gallons of defoliats in Vietnam throughout the course of the war.

The chemicals were meant to deprive Vietnamese forces of "food and cover." The campaign ended up having long-term effects on US soldiers and millions of Vietnamese civilians.

The substance has been linked to increased instances of birth defects and at least 12 chronic diseases - including Spinal Bifidia and several types of cancer.

Mindulle death toll climbs to 11 in Vietnam

As of Thursday, at least 11 people have been killed and 72 have been injured by typhoon Mindulle in Vietnam.

The Typhoon, the third to hit the East Sea this year, made landfall late on August 24 in Vietnam’s central coast, according to the National Committee of Search and Rescue.

Nghe An province lost six residents while Quang Binh and Ha Tinh provinces reported two and three dead, respectively.

Before calming on Wednesday, Mindulle destroyed over 64,500 hectares of rice paddies between Quang Ngai and Thanh Hoa.

Over 47,000 houses, meanwhile, were damaged and 34 boats were sunk, the committee said.

Mindulle also brought a whirlwind to Hanoi’s Me Linh District Wednesday, injuring five people, according to Le Thanh Hai, vice director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF).

The adjacent province of Hung Yen also suffered Tuesday, Hai added. It was estimated that 20 local students and teachers were injured as a whirlwind toppled more than 3,000 trees and trashed over 300 houses.

In July, Typhoon Conson, the first storm of the season, left at least one dead in Vietnam after killing 68 in the Philippines.

In the meantime, NCHMF Thursday said that a low pressure zone hovering over the Pacific has strengthened into a tropical depression which will upgrade into a storm within the next one to two days.

Another low pressure zone has been recorded near the Philippines’ Luzong Island and is heading for the East Sea, the center said.

Source: Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre 

German bank denies pulling the plug on natural preserve

A German banking group has denied media reports alleging that they have suspended funding for a preservation effort in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO world natural heritage site, in Quang Binh Province.

“Current reports by local and Internet media claiming that the funding of the project has been suspended are wrong,” Dr. Charis Pöthig, KfW Bankengruppe’s Press Officer told Thanh Nien Weekly via email. “The funding of the project is going on as planned.”
Pöthig did confirm a recall of EUR200,000 in June. Local officials have admitted that implementation of the plan, so far, has been poor. The two sides say they are now cooperating to appoint new project managers and ensure that the massive ecological problem goes forward without a hitch.
The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park covers 85,000 hectares and contains Asia’s oldest limestone mountain range. It was recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2003.
The park also offers an ideal site for researchers and explorers of grottoes and caves. In 2005, British explorers discovered a new cave which they claimed was the most magnificent in the world.
In September 2008, an ambitious resource management project was launched under an agreement between Vietnam and Germany. Philanthropists set aside EUR15.77 million for the project, of which EUR9.8 million was deemed nonrefundable assistance and EUR4.6 million was considered low-interest loans. The rest is money supplied by the Vietnamese government.
The project area covers portions of 13 communes in the province’s Bo Trach, Minh Hoa and Quang Ninh – a total area of 225,000 hectares. The project will establish another 30,000 hectares of strictly protected land and seek to involve local residents in planting and managing new forest areas.
The project management unit has proved sluggish in carrying out the goals, authorities said, leading to the KfW recall.
“Recalling EUR200,000 in funding was a purely administrative measure, prescribed by the disbursement regulations that do not allow funds to be kept in project accounts for too long,” Pöthig said, adding that the funds are still available for later disbursement in the project.
Meanwhile, the People’s Committee of Quang Binh Province is rushing to get the project back on the right track.
During a provincial government meeting held on August 12, Nguyen Huu Hoai, chairman of the Quang Binh People’s Committee, admitted that the project management board had proven incompetent.
The provincial People’s Committee will either assign a new director to the project management unit or take the managing role from the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, Tuoi Tre newspaper cited Hoai as saying in a report issued on August 17.
On August 18, Nguyen Viet Thao, director of the project management unit, told the paper that they would follow through on their commitments to KfW, cease the use of controlled bushfires to clear the forest floor, and step up park enforcement.
The KfW had expressed concerns to Vietnamese authorities about possible poaching and illegal logging, particularly along National Road 20. Thao said those concerns are being looked into.
Thao added that park authorities are in the process of implementing a tree planting plan outlined in the KfW’s 2010 budget.
Pöthig also said they would prepare a review of the progress shortly.

This information taken from http://www.hindustantimes.com/

France's crackdown on Romas continues, hundreds deported

France today deported hundreds more Roma in defiance of growing domestic and international criticism of its crackdown on travelling minorities. Two specially chartered planes carrying Roma men, women and children left Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport and Lyon in east-central France and touched down in.

Bucharest mid-afternoon. "The police told us we could choose between leaving now, on our own accord, or be expelled by force later," said one young Roma man, who declined to be identified. "So we agreed to leave."

"For three months I could find no job, so I decided to come back to Romania," another man arriving in Bucharest, Ion Stancu, 52, said. "But, my God, what will I do for a living now, with eight grandsons to feed?" he added, tears in his eyes. Amid a country-wide crackdown that began this month after Gypsies attacked a police station, police in the northern French city of Lille also moved in at dawn to dismantle a Roma tent camp set up under an overhead railway line.

The French government said 283 Roma were being sent back on Friday, bringing the total number of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma deported so far this year to 8,313, against 7,875 expelled throughout last year.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, citing concerns about crime, began the crackdown this month on Roma and other itinerant groups known as Gypsies and travellers which has seen police rounding up foreign Roma and tearing down illegal camps. Forty-eight per cent of French people support the government's campaign, an opinion poll showed on Friday. But critics accuse the right-wing president, whose popularity is at its lowest since he came to power in 2007, of trying to regain the political initiative with a populist and racially tinged law and order message. The crackdown has sparked fierce criticism at home and abroad, with French former prime minister Dominique de Villepin saying Sarkozy's policies had left a "stain of shame" on the French flag and were a "national indignity."

A United Nations panel this month warned of mounting racism and xenophobia in France, citing the Roma evictions, and the European Union is reviewing whether the crackdown is legal. The Vatican has also criticised it. Human rights body Amnesty International joined the international condemnation on Friday, saying Sarkozy risked fuelling stigmatisation of the minority group.

This information taken from http://www.hindustantimes.com/

Viet Nam resolves to fulfil its role as chair of ASEAN

Ha Noi — Viet Nam would do its utmost to accomplish the role of ASEAN Chair in 2010, President Nguyen Minh Triet told the heads of ASEAN delegations at a reception to celebrate the success of the summit in the capital city yesterday.

President Triet expressed his high appreciation of the achievements of the association over the last four decades and more.

"ASEAN, as a common home for all its ten member states, is an important factor in ensuring peace, security, co-operation and development in the region. ASEAN has become a closely bonded and comprehensive regional organisation, winning high prestige internationally," he said.

"The association has entered a new period of development - to become an ASEAN community by 2015 with the ASEAN Charter as the guiding legal framework.

"The vision and objectives as well as the specific roadmap from now until 2015 have already been agreed by member states. The only remaining issue now is to turn signed documents into a reality", said Triet.

"In order to do this, it requires the absolute political determination and great efforts of all members".

He said in order to turn the idea of ASEAN Community into a reality, all member states must work together to enhance the specific traditional values of the association. These values are the strength and basis ensuring the continued success for the association.

Triet asked all member countries to do their best to consolidate the solidarity and unity within the association and to harmonise each country's interests with that of the bloc.

He also called on the association to be pro-active in the settlement of regional issues and in organising dialogue and co-operation in the region, to enable partners outside the region to participate and contribute to the handling of challenges to peace, security and development in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

"Viet Nam has enjoyed quite a few benefits since it became a member of ASEAN and the same is true for ASEAN. Viet Nam has become a part of ASEAN. A strong and unified ASEAN has an important role and position in the world, in conformity with Viet Nam's basic and long term interests. It is also the country's priority in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multi-lateral and diverse relations and good neighbourliness", said Triet.

On behalf of the ASEAN delegations, the King of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for their special hospitality given to them during their stay in Viet Nam.

He also took the occasion to send his best greetings to Viet Nam on the occasion of the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi. — VNS

General Giap's 100th birthday draws tribute

Vo Nguyen Giap is acknowledged as one of history's great generals and in honour of his 100th birthday today, Viet Nam News publishes excerpts written by Viet Nam People's Army Colonel Ho Ngoc Son that help explain his military genius.

General Giap's renown can be attributed to five major reasons:

His status as an expert in people's wars of national liberation in both Viet Nam and the world.

The war policy of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the Ho Chi Minh Military Policy emphasised the importance of launching a comprehensive and long-lasting people's war of resistance.

People's war requires the building of an armed force consisting of guerrillas, a local army and regular army with the regular army playing the key role.

Weapons are the most important factor, yet personnel and politics are also decisive. It is important to launch guerrilla warfare combined with conventional war with tactics that use the weak to fight the strong; a small force to fight a big force, and an elite force to fight a major force.

Gen Giap conducted the people's war in Viet Nam in a very creative way. He gave the political training of his soldiers special attention. A deep love of their homeland and loyalty to the revolution ideology made the soldiers ready to sacrifice their lives for national freedom.

In addition, the solidarity between the soldiers and people was akin to that of water and fish.

Gen Giap successfully combined the military struggle with the political, economic, diplomatic and cultural struggle to achieve victories on two fronts – the war of resistance and national construction.

At the front, the Viet Nam's People's Army deployed the strategy of military and politics; armed attacks with the political struggle of the people, and agitation among enemy troops.

President Nguyen Minh Triet, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong yesterday wished General Vo Nguyen Giap good health and longevity on his 100th birthday. The leaders showed their deep gratitude for the general and his contributions to the struggle for national liberation and re-unification, as well as national construction and defence. They affirmed the Party, State and people's determination to build the country and reach the goal of a prosperous people, a strong nation, and an equitable, democratic and civil society.

The battle could take place anywhere: the mountains, the deltas or urban areas. In the rear, the focus was on building a strong foundation for the front. The Vietnamese people's war reached a peak of the military arts. One of its major victories was that it defeated and foiled the many war strategies of the strong 20th-century imperialists.

Gen Giap's scientific ideology for the building of the armed forces was very special, creative and comprehensive.

Starting from zero, Gen Giap formed many fighting and logistics units in a poor, backward country. He was successful in gathering around him many talented people from the rank and file who were able to perform their duties well in any circumstances. Gradually, these units were built into the elite Vietnamese people's armed forces. It was the general who initiated the idea of building the Truong Son Trail, also known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, as well as the "sea route" between northern and southern Viet Nam.

Armed forces units walked thousands of kilometres to the battle fronts. Communications and transport were very rudimentary. People were the means of supplying logistics and ammunition from the rear to the front. The logistics of the Middle Ages defeated the modern logistics of the United States and France.

Gen Giap's judgement in selecting the enemy's weakest point for attack was acute.

Gen Giap was very careful about comparing enemy strengths with that of the revolutionary forces.

He never underestimated enemy strength. His tactic was to begin with small-scale attacks. He identified the enemy's greatest weakness was that their war was unjust. They were not used to Viet Nam's climate; their knowledge of the country's geography did not match that of revolutionary forces and they did not have the support of the people. In a people's war, every one, including the old and the young, are freedom fighters. Rudimentary weapons, ranging from a piece of wood, bamboo and even paddy leaves, can be used to attack the enemy. Gen Giap always forced the enemy to change their tactics and follow his way of fighting.

The world's acknowledgement of Gen Giap as a teacher of military strategy and tactics.

Gen Giap never made mistakes in his military strategy in more than 30 years as military commander. Acting in accord with the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and directly from President Ho Chi Minh and the Politburo, he forced 10 French and US generals to commit strategic errors that led to their defeat.

The seven French generals were Philippe Leclerc, Ea'tienne Va LLuy, C. Blaijot, M. Cargentier, Delattre de Tassigny, Raoal Salan,and Henri Navarre, and the three US generals were W.C. Westmoreland, C. Abrams and F.C. Weyand.

Gen Giap studied the military doctrine of the proletarian and capital classes as well as the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War; China's war against Japan; Clausewitz's military theory and Napoleon's battles. He successfully applied the results of his studies to the wars against the French colonialists and the US imperialists. His military and literary works have helped the world's military historians understand people's war and identify why the French and the American invaders were defeated.

Gen Giap did not attend any military schools. He learned from reality. His judgements were based on facts. His theory of "the decisive battle" in military doctrine has drawn the special attention of military strategists and researchers.

He said "We could defeat the enemy when it had large numbers of well-equipped troops. We could also defeat the enemy even when they thought that they would win the battle if we had adopted sounds tactics based in reality." His doctrine "decisive battle" at Dien Bien Phu in 1954; the "Dien Bien Phu of the air" in 1972, and the Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975 proved the success of his tactics.

Gen Vo Nguyen Giap's very special characteristics.

For Gen Giap homeland, the nation and the Party are the most important. He has always been alert to difficulties and challenge.

He has always put the interest of the nation and the people above all. He has done his best to narrow the divergence and contradictions so as to overcome mistakes and errors that might harm his homeland and the nation.

He is a general with genius military talent and virtue that has won him high prestige among the army and people. He has won the hearts and minds of the people, cadres and Party members.

He is a very modest man.

His contribution to the nation cannot be measured, but he has never talked about himself. He has instead spoken highly about the achievements of the people, the armed forces, the Party and President Ho.

During his reception for visiting Indian Field Marshal Me'hra in February, 1989, his guest was full of praise for him. But Gen Giap replied: "If there was no good and clear-sighted collective leadership, the people and the heroic army, we – the commanders – cannot make victories ourselves no matter how good we are."

Following President Ho's moral example, Gen Giap has lived a very simple life. His guest room is the place where he has received many important foreign delegations, yet the furniture is very simple. He takes the train to his native village and visited the Dien Bien Phu battle field by a commercial flight. He is a close friend to the people, military officers, soldiers and the people.

In the military arena, he is a decisive man, yet very democratic and humane.

In difficulty situations, Gen Giap always exhibited his intelligence and bravery and always said that on the battlefield, soldiers were the key factor in deciding victory. That's the reason he holds high the spirit of democracy. He is an active listener and respects other people's opinions. All this has helped him create strong solidarity and invincible strength in the people's war.

He is a disciplined man, but very kind and generous. He considers the soldiers and army officers as family members. He shared the sadness and happiness with his men and with the people during war. Many times he told his officers "War is not something that you can make an adventure. You should not win victory at any cost. A good commander is the one who can defeat the enemy at the lowest cost in lives. People's lives are invaluable."

Directed by President Ho and the Politburo, the Vietnamese people and their armed forces and the Vietnamese people led by Gen Giap won many resounding victories against invaders.

These victories helped change the third world and led to the collapse of old and new colonialism.

The people of five continents know Vo Nguyen Giap as a legendary general. His military genius will stand for all time.

He is an excellent disciple of President Ho, a general of the people and the eldest brother of the Viet Nam People's Army. — VNS

Bill Gates' favorite teacher

FORTUNE -- Sal Khan, you can count Bill Gates as your newest fan. Gates is a voracious consumer of online education. This past spring a colleague at his small think tank, bgC3, e-mailed him about the nonprofit khanacademy.org, a vast digital trove of free mini-lectures all narrated by Khan, an ebullient, articulate Harvard MBA and former hedge fund manager. Gates replied within minutes. "This guy is amazing," he wrote. "It is awesome how much he has done with very little in the way of resources." Gates and his 11-year-old son, Rory, began soaking up videos, from algebra to biology. Then, several weeks ago, at the Aspen Ideas Festival in front of 2,000 people, Gates gave the 33-year-old Khan a shout-out that any entrepreneur would kill for. Ruminating on what he called the "mind-blowing misallocation" of resources away from education, Gates touted the "unbelievable" 10- to 15-minute Khan Academy tutorials "I've been using with my kids." With admiration and surprise, the world's second-richest person noted that Khan "was a hedge fund guy making lots of money." Now, Gates said, "I'd say we've moved about 160 IQ points from the hedge fund category to the teaching-many-people-in-a-leveraged-way category. It was a good day his wife let him quit his job." Khan wasn't even there -- he learned of Gates' praise through a YouTube video. "It was really cool," Khan says.
In an undistinguished ranch house off the main freeway of Silicon Valley, in a converted walk-in closet filled with a few hundred dollars' worth of video equipment and bookshelves and his toddler's red Elmo underfoot, is the epicenter of the educational earthquake that has captivated Gates and others. It is here that Salman Khan produces online lessons on math, science, and a range of other subjects that have made him a web sensation.

Khan Academy, with Khan as the only teacher, appears on YouTube and elsewhere and is by any measure the most popular educational site on the web. Khan's playlist of 1,630 tutorials (at last count) are now seen an average of 70,000 times a day -- nearly double the student body at Harvard and Stanford combined. Since he began his tutorials in late 2006, Khan Academy has received 18 million page views worldwide, including from the Gates progeny. Most page views come from the U.S., followed by Canada, England, Australia, and India. In any given month, Khan says, he's reached about 200,000 students. "There's no reason it shouldn't be 20 million."
His low-tech, conversational tutorials -- Khan's face never appears, and viewers see only his unadorned step-by-step doodles and diagrams on an electronic blackboard -- are more than merely another example of viral media distributed at negligible cost to the universe. Khan Academy holds the promise of a virtual school: an educational transformation that de-emphasizes classrooms, campus and administrative infrastructure, and even brand-name instructors.
Quick, free, and easy to understand
Distance learning and correspondence courses have been around since the invention of mail. And private, for-profit schools flourish; the University of Phoenix has half a million students enrolled, most of them online. Other private operations, like the Teaching Co., specialize in amalgamating "great courses" from nationally known teachers: the 12-hour Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond, from one academic star, costs $254.95 on DVD.
What's remarkable about Khan Academy, aside from its nonpareil word of mouth and burgeoning growth, is that it's free and prizes brevity. Remember your mumbling macroeconomics teacher whose 50-minute monologue in a large auditorium could bore the dead? That isn't Khan. He rarely cracks wise -- if you want shtick, check out Darth Vader trying to teach Euclidean geometry on YouTube ("The Pythagorean theorem is your destiny!") -- but in less than 15 minutes Khan gets to the essence of the topics he's carved out.

0:00 /4:35Mickelson tees off better teaching

Online critics question whether he amounts to a dilettante who's turning learning into pedagogical McNuggets. But while you obviously don't learn calculus in one session -- the subject is divided into 191 parts, which doesn't include 32 more in precalc -- Khan's components seem to hit the sweet spot of length and substance. And he covers an astonishing array. There are the core subjects in math -- arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and statistics -- and the de rigueur science offerings, like biology, chemistry, and physics. But Khan also gives lessons in Economics of a Cupcake Factory, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Alien Abduction Brain Teaser.
The seeds of education
Like so many entrepreneurial epiphanies, Khan's came by accident. Born and raised in New Orleans -- the son of immigrants from India and what's now Bangladesh -- Khan was long an academic star. With his MBA from Harvard, he has three degrees from MIT: a BS in math and a BS and a master's in electrical engineering and computer science. He also was the president of his MIT class and did volunteer teaching in nearby Brookline for talented children, as well as developed software to teach children with ADHD. What he doesn't know he picks up from endless reading and cogitation: His gift, like that of many teachers, is being able to reduce the complex. "Part of the beauty of what he does is his consistency," says Gates. Of Khan's capacity to teach, Gates, who says he spends considerable time trying to help his three kids learn the basics of math and science, tells Fortune, "I kind of envy him."
In the summer of 2004, while still living in Boston, Khan learned that his seventh-grader cousin, Nadia, in New Orleans was having trouble in math class converting kilograms. He agreed to remotely tutor her. Using Yahoo Doodle software as a shared notepad, as well as a telephone, Nadia thrived -- so much so that Khan started working with her brothers, Ali and Arman. Word spread to other relatives and friends. Khan wrote JavaScript problem generators to keep up a supply of practice exercises. But between their soccer practices, his job, and multiple time zones, scheduling became impossible. "I started to record videos on YouTube for them to watch at their own pace," Khan recalls. Other users tuned in, and the blueprint for Khan Academy was created.
Khan continued to work for the small hedge fund he had joined after Harvard, Wohl Capital Management. He said he took away "under $1 million" before the Silicon Valley-based hedge fund wound down, and briefly started his own fund in mid-2008, which didn't really get off the ground because of the financial crisis. ("I called it Khan Capital," he says, "but it never got much beyond 'Khan's Capital.'") He used his nest egg to buy a house with his wife, Umamia, a rheumatology fellow at Stanford Medical School, and as a reserve when he gave up his investment career. On a typical day he tapes a few tutorials, answers posts from students, calls experts when he's stuck on how best to explicate a concept, and fields queries from curious potential backers.
He maintains he has no interest in monetizing the operation by charging subscriptions or selling ads. "I already have a beautiful wife, a hilarious son, two Hondas, and a decent house," he declares on his website. But that hasn't stopped the inquiries, the most notable from John Doerr, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist, and his wife, Ann. Not long ago a PayPal donation on Khan's site came in for $10,000 (a typical gift is $100). Khan e-mailed the donor. Her name was Ann Doerr. He knew of a John Doerr but just assumed the name was more popular than he realized. He e-mailed her to say thanks. She suggested lunch.
When they met, Ann Doerr told him she couldn't believe hers was the largest donation. "This is, like, criminal," she said. "I love what you're doing." When he got home, he found a message from her: "There's $100,000 in the mail."
Khan is using that money to pay himself a salary. Later, he met John Doerr and has since relied on both Doerrs for entrée to others in the philanthropic establishment. After Gates mentioned Khan in Aspen, John tweeted it to his Silicon Valley legions. In July the academy received another $100,000 -- from John McCall MacBain, a Canadian entrepreneur who made a fortune in publishing. "If I had a million dollars," Khan says, he'd fund software development of more automated problem sets and extensive translations of his videos. Gates, whose foundation spends $700 million a year on U.S. education, plans to talk to Khan soon as well.
An academy or a library?
Khan has his skeptics in the education business. They don't doubt he means well and is helping students, but they question the broad impact of any tutorial that doesn't test performance or allow student-teacher discussion. "It's a solid supplemental resource, particularly for motivated students," says Jeffrey Leeds, president of Leeds Equity Partners, the largest U.S. private equity firm specializing in for-profit education. "But it's not an academy -- it's more of a library."
But Khan intends nothing less than "tens of thousands" of tutorials offering the "first free, world-class virtual school where anyone can learn anything." The advances envisioned by Leeds and others wouldn't hurt either. The education industry can use all the innovation it can find. 

State tax hikes could go too far

The teacher who spends $1,000 on her kids

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Vicky Halm spends a $1,000 a year out of her own pocket to equip her Brooklyn classroom. She buys star stickers to help motivate her students, but she also spends a great deal on basic supplies -- such as pencils and paper -- that the parents in her area cannot afford.
In years past she would get some of that reimbursed from the Teacher's Choice fund. But this year, the New York City Council hacked the pot back to just $9.2 million, down almost 30% from last year's allocation. That breaks down to just $110 per teacher -- or roughly $4 per student per year.

"Even before the cut, the amount was a joke," said Halm, who has been a special education teacher for nearly three decades. "But knowing me, I'll spend more of my own money. But it's getting tough, and I may have to cut back because we haven't gotten a raise in a few years, and things are tight."
Halm is not alone. A whopping 97% of teachers frequently dip into their own pockets to purchase necessary classroom supplies, according to a national survey conducted by Kelton Research.
Last year, teachers spent more than $350 on average from their own income on school supplies and instructional materials, according to the National School Supply and Equipment Association, and experts say that number could jump as teachers embark on the new school year with fewer funds to spend.

What 6 teachers spend on their students

Shriveled budgets have pushed government officials to make cuts so deep that the remaining teachers are digging deeper into their own pockets with hopes that their students won't feel the pinch.
"The downfall of the economy has meant severe reductions in education across the board, including resources devoted to classroom activities," said Al Campos of the National Education Association. "They're not required to, but teachers will pay out of their own pockets to make sure their students have the supplies they need to receive a quality education."
The fact that New York City teachers are getting even $110 is shocking to some, considering that the Teacher's Choice fund was slated for elimination all together.
"In once sense, I'm proud to say we were able keep $9.2 million despite this being a terrible economic year the city," said council member Daniel Dromm, who was an elementary school teacher in Queens for 18 years before being elected to council last year. "But as a former teacher, I empathize with them. The council knows the amount is not even close to how much teachers need, but we want to show that we appreciate everything they layout."
Parents are also strapped for cash, so asking them to buy extra supplies isn't an option either, said Ruby Sheets, a third grade teacher at a dual language school in Brooklyn.
"In areas that are more affluent, teachers can get away with asking parents to pay for school trips, or supply paper and tissues for the classroom," said Sheets, who has been a teacher for 10 years. "In our neighborhood and in this economy, the situation is more difficult, and we can't ask our students to supplement what we can't provide."
Sheets spends about $1,000 each year to ensure there are enough resources for her students, but also applies for grants at online charity DonorsChoose.org, which allows individual donors to funnel money directly into classroom supplies.

0:00 /1:56New teachers see fewer openings

Teachers are also having to decide whether they can pay for textbooks and field trips because a majority of schools across the country are not buying news books right now and are eliminating field trips, according to a study by the American Association of School Administrators, which surveyed more 450 school administrators across 45 states.
"This recession has had disastrous effects and is limiting our ability to adequately ready our children for the future," Campos said. "Teachers will continue to pay out of their pockets to provide their students with a quality education, but it will become more challenging as budgets continue to dwindle and salaries and benefits are cut."
In Alabama, school districts are trying to cut costs elsewhere to help teachers through the crisis. In this state, teachers will go a second straight year without a stipend for classroom supplies, which last stood at $400 per teacher.
"We cut everyone's budget at the central office building by half and said the teachers need this help," said Nez Calhoun, spokeswoman for Alabama's Jefferson County school district.
Still, overall supply budgets at those schools remain tight, and teachers continue to spend their own money.
"Students are distracted by televisions, gaming systems and computers at home, so as their teachers, we're competing for their attention and have to find creative ways to make them enthusiastic about coming to school and learning," said Kathy Casaday, a first grade teacher at the county's Gardendale Elementary who spends about $400 on her classroom.
Gardendale Elementary has delayed replacing student computers and purchasing multimedia projectors and interactive white boards for classrooms for two years, said principal Ellen Andrews, who also spends about a $1,000 year from her own paycheck to help her school's teachers out with classroom supplies and materials.