Cam Ranh Airport opens new terminalBy Le Anh Terminal T2 of Cam Ranh Airport enters pilot operation on June 29 - PHOTO: VIETNAM AIRLINES HCMC - Vietnam Airlines will officially move all flight operations at Cam Ranh Airport in the coastal province of Khanh Hoa to the new terminal T2, which was just opened yesterday, June 29. The new three-level terminal is much larger than the old terminal, with 50,000 square meters in floor space, and expects to handle eight million passengers per year by 2030. The salanganes bird nest-inspired terminal is designed to become the first cultural attraction when passengers land in Khanh Hoa. Vietnam Airlines will open eight check-in counters in the terminal’s left wing. Its business lounge is set up on the second floor, with an area of nearly 210 square meters, and is able to accommodate 70 guests. Khanh Hoa Province, known for its beach city of Nha Trang, welcomed 5.5 million visitors last year. According to the Vietnam National … [Read more...] about Cam Ranh Airport opens new terminal
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Hard-up hotels must check out new growth strategies – Hotels & Restaurants – Travel
The Hanoitimes - Hospitality businesses must be alert to new opportunities during tough economic times by changing their business strategies and researching the market, experts said at the second annual Hospitality Management Conference held in Ho Chi Minh City. Co-organised by Irving Seminar and Training in collaboration with the LEAN media group, the conference attracted the participation of domestic and foreign investors, hotel owners and operators, consultants, and service and technology providers. According to Grant Thornton's Vietnam Hotel Survey 2012, at least 50% of respondents last year said the hospitality and leisure market was an attractive sector, but that dropped to 38% in the fourth quarter of this year. Kenneth Atkinson, managing partner of Grant Thornton Vietnam, said the first few months of 2012 showed signs of a slowdown in the five-star market, with several hotels reporting lower occupancy and room rates than last year. This was due in part to new room supply in the … [Read more...] about Hard-up hotels must check out new growth strategies – Hotels & Restaurants – Travel
HSBC launches online savings account
By Thu Thuy - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC - HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd., or HSBC Vietnam, has just launched a high-interest online savings account to help customers earn bigger returns on their savings. Customers can simply transfer funds from their existing regular personal savings or current accounts to the new online account via the internet to earn a higher, flexible rate of interest. The interest rate for this online account is a non-term one but is subject to change everyday by the bank and higher than its regular non-term rate. For example, the interest rate for this kind of product on Wednesday was 7.99% per year, 10 basis points higher than normal non-term rate at HSBC. Funds can be placed or withdrawn at any time, with no minimum deposit required. There is no account opening or closing fee, and the interest sum is accrued daily and credited to the account at the end of every calendar month. This is an addition to current internet banking applications, which allow customers … [Read more...] about HSBC launches online savings account
Vietnam cbank wants to forbid foreigners from opening savings accounts in local currency
The Vietnamese central bank is looking to ban foreigners from opening savings accounts in VND, after the foreign citizens were prohibited from depositing in foreign currency pursuant to a government decree issued two years ago. The Vietnamese central bank is looking to ban foreigners from opening savings accounts in VND, after the foreign citizens were prohibited from depositing in foreign currency pursuant to a government decree issued two years ago. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has recently published a draft of its new circular that lays out guidelines for deposit transactions in the country, in which “depositors of Vietnamese and foreign currencies” are limited to “resident Vietnamese citizens” only. According to the SBV, the country’s current Ordinance on Foreign Exchange includes no provision on allowing resident foreign individuals or non-residents to have savings accounts in Vietnamese dong. Should this new regulation come into effect, … [Read more...] about Vietnam cbank wants to forbid foreigners from opening savings accounts in local currency
Riot police open way for torch through Rio protest
Police used stun grenades and tear gas to clear protesters in the path of the Olympic torch in a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, two days before South America's first Olympic Games open under tight security. Olympic Brazilian sailors earlier delivered the torch to the host city's mayor after crossing Guanabara Bay near the end of a 20,000-km (12,400-mile) journey through one of the world's largest and most diverse countries. The flame landed on terra firma at 9:15 a.m. (08:15 a.m. EDT) while just kilometers away 450 heavily armed police battled drug traffickers to carry out dozens of arrest orders in the Alemao slum, an area near the international airport and close to the main road to Olympic venues. Armed soldiers stood patrol on highways and on many corners throughout the iconic beach city in Brazil's largest security operation ever. Some 85,000 police, soldiers and security personnel will be deployed in Rio, more than double the amount in London in 2012, to deter both … [Read more...] about Riot police open way for torch through Rio protest