Indonesia is Asia copyright pirate center: survey

A sales assistant arranges compact discs at a stall in a Jakarta mall.

Photo: AFP

Indonesia has the worst record when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) in Asia and Singapore the best, a survey of expatriate business people showed Wednesday.

"Indonesia seems to have lost its momentum for cracking down on IPR abuses and making the system more compliant with international standards," Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said.

Indonesia "has passed new laws that should improve protection of intellectual property, but those rules are not enforced effectively at all, and piracy levels in Indonesia remain among the highest in the world."

Indonesia was given the worst score of 8.5 out of a maximum 10 points compared to 11 other Asian economies in the PERC survey of 1,285 expatriate managers conducted between June and mid-August. Zero is the best possible score.

More advanced economies fared better, with Singapore heading the list with 1.5, followed by Japan (2.1), Hong Kong (2.8), Taiwan (3.8) and South Korea (4.1).

At the other end of the scale, Vietnam was second worst at 8.4, China scored 7.9, the Philippines 6.84, India 6.5, Thailand 6.17 and Malaysia 5.8.

The rankings largely reflect studies by the global software industry, which is alarmed by the easy availability of pirated movies and software in Asian cities despite governments' pledges to crack down.

"Of the emerging Asian countries, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are all poorly rated not only for their low level of IPR protection but also for such criteria as physical infrastructure, bureaucratic inefficiency and labor limitations," PERC said.

China also came under strong scrutiny because of the sheer size of its economy and the presence of large companies "capable of using pirated technology to compete in foreign markets," said PERC.

"Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia do not have this same ability to inflict global damage through IPR piracy as Chinese companies do."

While China has made strides in clamping down on IPR infringement, its goal of securing transfers of foreign know-how to Chinese firms, using access to its huge market as leverage, remains problematic, it said.

"So far many of the world’s largest multinationals have been convinced that it is worth the risk of transferring key technology to China in order to develop business there," PERC said.

"This policy is not illegal, but it could become a growing source of friction.... The more China consolidates its position as a global economic power, the more other governments will be willing to take off the gloves and fight to protect their interests."

Indonesia is Asia copyright pirate center: survey

A sales assistant arranges compact discs at a stall in a Jakarta mall.

Photo: AFP

Indonesia has the worst record when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) in Asia and Singapore the best, a survey of expatriate business people showed Wednesday.

"Indonesia seems to have lost its momentum for cracking down on IPR abuses and making the system more compliant with international standards," Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said.

Indonesia "has passed new laws that should improve protection of intellectual property, but those rules are not enforced effectively at all, and piracy levels in Indonesia remain among the highest in the world."

Indonesia was given the worst score of 8.5 out of a maximum 10 points compared to 11 other Asian economies in the PERC survey of 1,285 expatriate managers conducted between June and mid-August. Zero is the best possible score.

More advanced economies fared better, with Singapore heading the list with 1.5, followed by Japan (2.1), Hong Kong (2.8), Taiwan (3.8) and South Korea (4.1).

At the other end of the scale, Vietnam was second worst at 8.4, China scored 7.9, the Philippines 6.84, India 6.5, Thailand 6.17 and Malaysia 5.8.

The rankings largely reflect studies by the global software industry, which is alarmed by the easy availability of pirated movies and software in Asian cities despite governments' pledges to crack down.

"Of the emerging Asian countries, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are all poorly rated not only for their low level of IPR protection but also for such criteria as physical infrastructure, bureaucratic inefficiency and labor limitations," PERC said.

China also came under strong scrutiny because of the sheer size of its economy and the presence of large companies "capable of using pirated technology to compete in foreign markets," said PERC.

"Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia do not have this same ability to inflict global damage through IPR piracy as Chinese companies do."

While China has made strides in clamping down on IPR infringement, its goal of securing transfers of foreign know-how to Chinese firms, using access to its huge market as leverage, remains problematic, it said.

"So far many of the world’s largest multinationals have been convinced that it is worth the risk of transferring key technology to China in order to develop business there," PERC said.

"This policy is not illegal, but it could become a growing source of friction.... The more China consolidates its position as a global economic power, the more other governments will be willing to take off the gloves and fight to protect their interests."

Work begins on HCMC 2nd metro route

Construction of a technical maintenance station for Ho Chi Minh City’s metro No 2 began yesterday at Tham Luong in District 12.

The US$1.24 billion Ben Thanh Market – Tham Luong route is expected to be finished in 2016 to become the nation’s first modern mass transit system.

The 19-kilometer system will be funded by loans from German development bank KfW Bankengruppe, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Investment Bank.

Later the route will be expanded beyond the Saigon River to Thu Thiem in District 2 and at the other end to An Suong also in District 12.

It will pass through Districts 12, Tan Phu, Tan Binh, 1, 3, and 2.

The underground system will carry 40,000 passengers an hour, covering the route in around 25 minutes. Commuters will have to pay a flat fare of VND3000.

It will have 10 underground and one elevated stations that will be disabled-friendly.

Work on the route is expected to begin in the next two years using new underground construction technologies that will make it unnecessary to block roads above, Nguyen Van Quoc of the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways said (MAUR).

Since the average depth of the metro will be 18 meters -- and 34 meters at the deepest point -- it will not have any impact on buildings and skyscrapers along the route, he added.

The city, which has a population of eight million that could rise to over 10 million soon, plans to build six metro and two monorail routes and a tramway and has identified funding for almost all of them.

A 12.5-kilometer tram route from Bach Dang Pier in District 1 to Mien Tay Coach Station in Binh Tan District has been awarded to Thanh Danh Co and the Malaysia-based Titanium Management.

But city authorities appraised their bid and have asked them to scale down the amount of VND4.2 trillion ($215.7 million). As a result, work on the project cannot start this month as scheduled, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon Online (The Saigon Economics Times Online) newspaper quoted Nguyen Do Luong, head of the MAUR, as saying.

If they fail to reach agreement, their license will be revoked, Luong said.

Thai, Chinese, and Czech investors are seeking approval to build metro Nos 3a, 3b, and 4. The Ministry of Construction-run Development Investment Construction Joint Stock Corp and Dat Phuong Joint Stock Co have bid for the monorail No 2 project.

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Work begins on HCMC 2nd metro route

Construction of a technical maintenance station for Ho Chi Minh City’s metro No 2 began yesterday at Tham Luong in District 12.

The US$1.24 billion Ben Thanh Market – Tham Luong route is expected to be finished in 2016 to become the nation’s first modern mass transit system.

The 19-kilometer system will be funded by loans from German development bank KfW Bankengruppe, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Investment Bank.

Later the route will be expanded beyond the Saigon River to Thu Thiem in District 2 and at the other end to An Suong also in District 12.

It will pass through Districts 12, Tan Phu, Tan Binh, 1, 3, and 2.

The underground system will carry 40,000 passengers an hour, covering the route in around 25 minutes. Commuters will have to pay a flat fare of VND3000.

It will have 10 underground and one elevated stations that will be disabled-friendly.

Work on the route is expected to begin in the next two years using new underground construction technologies that will make it unnecessary to block roads above, Nguyen Van Quoc of the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways said (MAUR).

Since the average depth of the metro will be 18 meters -- and 34 meters at the deepest point -- it will not have any impact on buildings and skyscrapers along the route, he added.

The city, which has a population of eight million that could rise to over 10 million soon, plans to build six metro and two monorail routes and a tramway and has identified funding for almost all of them.

A 12.5-kilometer tram route from Bach Dang Pier in District 1 to Mien Tay Coach Station in Binh Tan District has been awarded to Thanh Danh Co and the Malaysia-based Titanium Management.

But city authorities appraised their bid and have asked them to scale down the amount of VND4.2 trillion ($215.7 million). As a result, work on the project cannot start this month as scheduled, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon Online (The Saigon Economics Times Online) newspaper quoted Nguyen Do Luong, head of the MAUR, as saying.

If they fail to reach agreement, their license will be revoked, Luong said.

Thai, Chinese, and Czech investors are seeking approval to build metro Nos 3a, 3b, and 4. The Ministry of Construction-run Development Investment Construction Joint Stock Corp and Dat Phuong Joint Stock Co have bid for the monorail No 2 project.

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Market drops below 450 points

An investor seems to be disappointed while looking at stock quotations. The VN-Index dropped 6.92 points, or 1.52%, against the previous session to hit the year’s low of 447.92 - Photo: Le Toan

HCMC – The local market further retreated below 450 points on Monday as a result of dull trade after a mild rally last week. The VN-Index lost 6.92 points, or 1.52%, from the previous session to hit the year’s low of 447.92.

Investors on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange bid for 40.8 million shares, falling by 36.8% from the previous session, while they offered 44.4 million shares, an 18.4% decrease. Liquidity continued to tumble as only 25 million shares worth VND762 billion were traded at the end of the day, dipping by around 27% and 16% respectively.

The market opened lower and fell in stages throughout the day before finally dropping two points at the close to hit the daily low of 447.92.

Up to 187 stocks closed the day down while 34 others gained ground, including three shooting up to the ceiling prices and 28 others dropping to the floor prices. Major sectors were all lower and BVH, CTG, PVF and OGC made the biggest negative contribution to the VN-Index. 

Tan Tao Investment Industry Corp. (ITA) became the most actively traded stock that lost 4.5% to VND18,900 per share with around one million shares traded. Sacombank (STB) followed and closed flat at VND15,900 with volume of 911,000 shares.

Foreigners turned slight net sellers as they bought 1.4 million shares worth VND63 billion and sold 1.9 million shares worth VND67 billion, accounting for 10.3% and 11% of the market’s buying and selling value respectively.

The Hanoi market continued to slide in turnover to VND470 billion. Its stock index slipped 2.32 points, or 1.77%, from the previous session and ended the day at 129.09.

Only 63 stocks advanced and 217 others declined, with two going up to the ceiling prices and seven others declining to the floor prices. Foreigners were slight net buyers and accounted for 1.1% and 0.9% of the market’s buying and selling value respectively.

Fiachra Mac Cana, managing director of HCMC Securities Corp. (HSC), said both markets fell on Monday as late gains on the VN-Index on Friday were reversed while Hanoi continued to slide. Volumes were extremely low even for a Monday and market breadth narrowed.

“Investors largely ignored news that the Prime Minister has asked the central bank to take another look at Circular 13, perhaps given the previous weekend’s confusion they prefer to await an actual confirmation on this occasion. Market volumes have slumped in the meantime, suggesting a kind of capitulation on the part of many investors. HSC continues to recommend that medium and longer term investors buy cautiously while shorter term investors can stand prepared but not jump in just yet,” Mac Cana added.

Viet Dragon Securities Co. in its Monday report said the market technically had moved off the selling area and would create some short-term rallies. However, on Tuesday’s session will continue to challenge investor patience and the VN-Index would fluctuate between 440 and 450 points,” the broker said.

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City promotes prepaid bus cards

Commuters get on a bus in downtown HCMC. The HCMC public transport control center will exempt commuters from the issuing fee for prepaid Smartcards from early September - Photo: TTXVN

HCMC – The HCMC public transport control center has said it will exempt commuters from the issuing fee for prepaid Smartcards from September 1.

Passengers will top up VND69,000 for yearly cards, VND90,000 for monthly cards, and VND63,000 for monthly student cards.

Monthly and yearly cards are transferable excepting student cards, said Le Hai Phong, deputy director of the center.

A passenger getting on a bus must insert the card into a scanning device that will automatically deduct the fee for that trip from his or her card. Bus conductors would ensure those using student cards are eligible.

The two piloted routes using prepaid cards are Route No. 1 from Ben Thanh to Binh Tay markets and Route No. 27 passing through Ben Thanh-Au Co-An Suong.

Prepaid cards previously cost VND30,000. Saigon Bus Management and Cho Lon are the only stations that have been issuing the cards.

Also from September 1, the subsidized bus Route No. 104 from An Suong stop to Nong Lam University would increase Monday-Friday bus services to 166 from 158.  The number of daily weekend trips on that route would rise from 148 to 156.

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Australia wants stronger cooperation to vocational education

Nguyen Thanh Minh (R), president of Saigon Entrepreneur Club, chats with Colin Walters (C) and another member of the Australian delegation at a reception in HCMC last week - Photo: Mong Binh

HCMC - Australia is looking to step up its cooperation with Vietnam in vocational education and training (VET) and to build a bridge between schools of the two countries, said an executive of Australia’s Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

“We are looking at the way for better collaboration and how Australian colleges can work for the benefit of students at Vietnamese colleges,” Colin Walters, group manager for international at the department, told the Daily before leaving Vietnam over the weekend.

Walters led a delegation to Vietnam for a week-long trip, with an emphasis on enhancing the collaboration on VET. He said his delegation had reached some important agreements with Government agencies during this first mission of its kind to this country.

“We have established good links between universities. We want to do the same with vocation training to have much better collaboration and interchange students,” Walters said.

Vietnam wanted VET cooperation with Australia to cover forestry, aquaculture and agriculture. But, Walters saw the opportunity beyond these industries and in the sectors where Australia had a strong advantage.

“I think across the whole economy areas like tourism where Vietnam must meet world standards if it wants people from America, Europe and Australia to come back a second time for their holidays in Vietnam, they need to have good experience in the first time,” Walters said. “I mean the hotels and restaurants here have to be of top standard. We can give top standard training and so that is a kind of thing we can collaborate on.”

According to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office, the country attracted more than 218,000 Australian visitors last year and nearly 167,000 in the first seven months of in 2010. The January-July figure recorded a strong increase of 28.6% over the same period last year.

Walters said Australian colleges were able to help develop curricula and teaching methods as well as provide advice on teachers and development of the Australian system to meet the requirements of employers and teach the students what they need to succeed in their work.

Walters noted both vocational and university education was important because people got decrees from universities and better skills to work from VET colleges. As a growing economy like Vietnam needs people at all levels and all social skills, it is very important to make sure that people can get proper education and training in and throughout their life.

The Australian consul general in HCMC, Graeme Swift, told a reception held for the Australian delegation last week that vocation was a very important part of Vietnam’s education and that more skilled workers should be trained for different industries in Vietnam.

Australia was one of the leaders in vocational education and would help Vietnam in this area, Swift said. He emphasized that skilled employees were those who had the skills to do jobs rather than having a decree and no skills.

Australia has attracted 25,000 Vietnamese students to its both vocational and university courses. Every year, roughly 6,000 fresh Vietnamese students go to that country for further education.

“We are certainly looking at the opportunity for more Vietnamese students to study in Australia. We hope to see many more people from Vietnam to come to Australia to study, run businesses as well as for tourism,” Walters said.

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