Prepaid subscribers pushing and shoving to register their personal information at a MobiFone store in Ho Chi Minh City

Several new regulations will come into force on January 1 while others will be amended.

Jobless people who have paid unemployment insurance for at least 12 months since last January when the scheme was first introduced in Vietnam will start receiving benefits starting today.

Under the Social Insurance Law, the compensation rate will be 60 percent of the average salary or wage a person received in the last six months before becoming unemployed.

Employees pay 1 percent of their salaries as unemployment insurance premium and employers match this, with the fund also getting contributions from the government.

2. NEW MINIMUM WAGES

Employees in Zones 1, 2, 3, and 4 will respectively get a minimum monthly salary of VND980,000, VND880,000, VND810,000, and VND730,000.

Foreign companies in these zones are required to increase their minimum wages to VND1.34 million, VND1.19 million, VND1.07 million, and VND1.04 million.

Zone division

Zone 1: Urban districts in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Zone 2: Most rural districts in Hanoi and HCMC and all places in Da Nang, Can Tho, Ha Long; parts of Hai Phong city; and the southern provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Zone 3: Some rural districts in Hanoi; parts of Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Vinh Phuc, Quang Ninh, Quang Nam, Lam Dong, Khanh Hoa, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Long An, and Ba RiaVung Tau Provinces; and parts of Can Tho and Hai Phong cities.

Zone 4: The rest of the country

3. SMALLER FISCAL STIMULUS

The subsidy on medium- and long-term loans has been cut to 2 percent from 4 percent last year. Companies in the agriculture, forestry, seacooking, and processing industries will be able to get subsidized bank loans for 24-month periods.

The short-term loan subsidy program has, however, been wound up as the government seeks to keep inflation below 7 percent this year. Vietnamese banks lent more than VND410 trillion (US$22.2 billion) to companies throughout the course of the subsidy program.

4. GOLD EXCHANGES SHUT DOWN

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered the closure of all gold exchanges by the end of March following concerns about risks to investors and the economy.

The central bank had recommended to the government to either shut down all gold exchanges or require investors to maintain a 100 percent margin. Currently, investors only need to pay up to 7 percent and trade on credit.

There are more than 20 gold exchanges, most of which are managed by commercial banks. Analysts said investors who indulged in massive short sales sent demand for gold skyrocketing last year, causing the metal to hit a record high of VND29 million ($1,587) per tael [37.5 grams] in November. Prices surged by 50 percent over the course of 2009.

5. SINGERS TOLD THEY HAVE TO MORE THAN MOVE THEIR LIPS

Singers who lip-sync at live shows with their songs playing in the background will be fined VND3-5 million, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has decreed.

The penalty is essential for restoring public faith in artists since lip-syncing is becoming more and more popular, Le Ngoc Cuong, director of the ministry’s Performing Arts Department, said.

“But in certain cases, lip-syncing will be allowed,” Pham Dinh Thang, head of the department’s Performance and Discs Management Office, said.

“For example, a chorus can lip-sync if they perform outdoors for a live TV show,” he said.

Renowned singer Anh Tuyet agreed with him, saying, “Lip-syncing is necessary only in outdoor performances during bad weather. I don’t understand why many live TV shows allow singers to lip-sync indoor.”

6. MORE DISCOTHEQUES, KARAOKE ROOMS

The government will resume licensing of discotheques and karaoke parlors more than four years after it stopped issuing or renewing licenses in May 2005.

Under a decision issued by the PM in November, a discotheque dance floor must be a minimum of 80 square meters and karaoke parlors must be at least 20 square meters and have transparent windows and doors and no door locks.

Neither establishment can be located within 200 meters of any school, hospital, religious establishment, historic site or monument, or state office.

They cannot remain open between midnight and 8 a.m. unless they are situated in tourist resorts and hotels rated four-star and above, in which case they can be open until 2 a.m.

7. NO PUBLIC SMOKING

Smoking will be banned at indoor public places like classrooms, healthcare facilities, libraries, theaters, cultural centers, public vehicles, and indoor workplaces. “No smoking” signs are required to be put up at these places.

Other places like airports, bus stations, bars, karaoke parlors, and restaurants must have separate areas for smokers with appropriate ventilation systems.

Violators will be warned and can be fined between VND50,000 and VND100,000. Inspectors from concerned agencies will be assigned to enforce the decision.

Also under the plan, taxes will be increased to make cigarettes more expensive, and only authorized retailers will be allowed to sell tobacco products after 2010.

8. PHONE USERS’ PERSONAL INFORMATION TO BE REGISTERED

All prepaid subscribers have to register their SIM cards by providing their name, date of birth, and ID card or passport details by December 31. People are allowed to register three SIM cards at most.

Those who fail to do so or provide incorrect information will have their service cut under a decision by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The move is part of an effort to crack down on companies and individuals who send out large numbers of unsolicited text messages.

9. NO MORE TAX INCENTIVES FOR CARS

Car buyers will no longer enjoy the 50 percent cut in value-added tax that was in place since February and vehicle registration fees. The latter is 10-12 percent of the value of the vehicle.

The government effected the cuts to boost buying and help carmakers cope with the economic downturn. The auto industry said the car market could see a sharp decline this year without the tax cuts.

Car imports slowed in December on concern sales would decline. Last year, the country imported an all time high of 76,300 cars at a cost of $1.17 billion, up $1 billion the previous year, according to the General Statistics Office.

10. FEWER DEATH SENTENCES

The death penalty will no longer be handed down for eight crimes: rapes, offering bribes, fraud to appropriate other’s properties, smuggling, printing, possessing, and transporting forged currency bills, checks, and government bonds, using drugs, appropriating planes and ships, and destroying military weapons, vehicles, and equipments.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff