Emergency officials were evacuating more than 400,000 people after an earthquake hit southwest China, killing one person, injuring hundreds and flattening more than 18,000 homes. A government relief official in Yao'an county, a mountainous area of picturesque Yunnan province, told AFP that one person had died and 328 had been injured. The US Geological Survey said the moderate 5.7-magnitude quake struck at 7:19 pm (1119 GMT) Thursday at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in Yunnan province. "I was harvesting tobacco leaves... when the quake hit. I felt dizzy and saw villagers falling over. Many houses collapsed," Dong Zhaofu, a farmer in Yao'an county told the Xinhua news agency. A 50-year-old woman was buried in the debris of collapsed houses and died later in hospital from serious blood loss, Xinhua said, citing local officials. The quake was centred on a relatively sparsely populated area 98 kilometres (61 miles) east-northeast of the city of Dali. Eight aftershocks … [Read more...] about China quake flattens 18,000 homes, leaves one dead
20 million dollar homes
HAGL raises US$90 million in offshore bond issue
Vo Truong Son, deputy general director of HAGL, told the Daily on the phone on Wednesday that the fresh capital raised from foreign investors would be used to finance hydropower generation and rubber plantation projects in Vietnam and Laos. Son said Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited had assisted HAGL in issuing the bonds in Singapore. The annual coupon of the dollar-denominated bonds is 9.875% and paid every six months starting November 20 this year until May 20, 2016, he noted. Son said HAGL would pay 20% of the total value of the debt papers in the third year of issuance, 20% in the fourth year and 60% in the year of their maturity. HAGL reserved an option to redeem the bonds three years after the bond sale. … [Read more...] about HAGL raises US$90 million in offshore bond issue
No tax on dollar inflows, customs misunderstanding: minister
Customs officials have collected taxes on dollars repatriated in cash after misinterpreting a circular that called for taxing paper and polymer used to print currency bills, the finance minister said. Circular No. 131 from the Ministry of Finance, effective January 1, imposes a 10 percent value added tax (VAT) on these materials, Minister Vu Van Ninh said in an exclusive interview with Thanh Nien on Saturday. … [Read more...] about No tax on dollar inflows, customs misunderstanding: minister
World Bank, Da Nang undertake $218 million infrastructure project
The World Bank (WB) and Da Nang City launched a US$218 million infrastructure improvement project on Wednesday to enhance urban services and advance residents’ overall standard of living. Many poor households in Thanh Khe District of Da Nang City are expected to receive compensation from the multimillion dollar infrastructure project partially financed by the World Bank … [Read more...] about World Bank, Da Nang undertake $218 million infrastructure project
Scores rush to jungle for million-dollar agarwood
Around 200 wood-hunters are scouring a jungle in O Kha valley in the central province of Khanh Hoa to hunt for rare and precious ky nam and tram huong (agarwood) following a rumor that a large amount of ky nam worth millions of US dollars has been cultivated here. The above information was confirmed on Saturday by Dinh Ngoc Binh, deputy chairman of Khanh Son District People's Committee. Binh said the rumor has promoted about 700 people to rush to the O Khai valley on September 19 and 20 to search for the wood. Vo Ngoc Phi, police chief of Dai Dong commune in Dai Loc district in the central Quang Nam province, told Tuoi Tre on the same day that there is a fast-spreading news that a group of nine local men have cultivated seven kilograms of ky nam at a primeval forest in the O Kha valley in Khanh Son district which they later sold for VND55 billion (US$2.64 million). "This is a rumor because the men, who allegedly found ky nam, are currently not in the locality," Phi said. The … [Read more...] about Scores rush to jungle for million-dollar agarwood