Feng Shui Guidelines for Selecting Artists Studio Apartment

For an artist their studio is their haven! Great pieces of discovery and new art is made here and feng shuing your artist apartment will not only make your studio liveable but also promote good creativity and bring prosperity and good business opportunities towards you. Being an artist myself the study and deep search for great feng shui tips after reading material from everywhere I could lay may hand on I have come up with few simple guidelines for artists for their studio apartments.

Around the west people often stay in rented or own studio apartments that have only a single room or one room and a  half along with attached washroom facilities or maybe common bathroom facilities. Artists may not be able to afford an studio apartment in the beginning of their art career and many also opt for a rented apartment. If you are considering for a rented apartment for your studio for living cum working purposes follow certain feng shui simple rules.

As you enter the building feel the path, by this I mean look around and concentrate on your feelings, how is the entrance of your building, locality and surroundings. This will affect your career in unknowing manner. See the plants whether they are growing healthy or barren, dried surroundings as this is bad feng shui for an entrance and will only bring ill luck for the inmates according to feng shui along with making your mood depressed as you enter and leave daily.

The stairway and the lift , what vibes do you get, is it welcoming or dirty and out of order, which will again affect your personal as well as professional life. Imagine you are in a hurry for a meeting and the lift is out of order or you are hell tired and just want to jump to bed and you have to take the stairs! All these experiences will create bad chi which so not good for you and I doubt whether your career will take a positive move!.

Contact the neighbours (very very important)Think about everyday when you return tired in anticipation of a good nights sleep and you are disturbed by loud music and noises! Or you are painting a great spiritual piece in meditation and you are disturbed with blaring music from your next door restaurant or neighbours teenaged children. Here I know all artists will agree with me, though I know a few who can paint great with only music playing on!. You as an creative person will need some quiet and calm along with a good locality where there are galleries and art dealers nearby for keeping professional contacts.

As you enter your studio apartment how are the vibes? Now if you are going to work here or also stay here will effect how you furnish your artists studio. So think accordingly. Water facilities, sunlight, privacy and ventilation all are important aspects from feng shui point of view for selecting a good artist studio apartment. Keep small plants to act as energy up lifters in this small studio enclosure. Finally keep all the clutter free and all your work related tools and materials organized. This does not mean your artist studio is clean, spik and span, which according to f eng shui is good for your home where you need to relax, but here in your artist studio you need to get your creativity level high so keep things that will boost your creativity and encourage you to make good art. Focus on the north and north east for good career. The south and south east for fame and money and the west direction for creativity.

See that the artist studio you see fulfils all your professional and personal needs and select such an artist studio which will not only promote good health, but also bring along good friends as well as promote your career and prosperity. Artists studio is the place where you produce good art, and another important aspect is that art has to sell for your sustenance. Feng shui helps to improve the chi of any area and also bring along good luck and prosperity. For good feng shui think what it is all about..wind and water and of course sunlight, but all in balance, this would be the ideal place having best feng shui energy. Even if you are staying in a rented apartment studio or are not satisfied with the progress in your career or personal life you can use simple feng shui cures to solve these areas and attract luck in any field.

The An Phu Complex

VNRE - The An Phu complex is located in An Phu An Khanh Urban, District 2, the fastest developing region of Ho Chi Minh City and is the east gate of the city connected to the South-East provinces.




The prject has total land area of 6.9 ha and total building floor area of 350,000 m2. This is a complex project including shopping center - service - entertainment, luxury apartments, offices and five star hotels.

The project is invested by the Saigon Co-op Investment & Development Corporation and Mapletree Investment Co., Ltd Vietnam - a member of Temasek Holdings (Singapore), one of Asia's leading investment group.

As planned, the project will be implemented in three years, it will be started construction in Q4 2012 and completed in late 2015.

Recently, the Saigon Co-op and Mapletree has also started SC VivoCity project in Saigon South Place complex.

Leadership Lessons From TouchPoints

Some of my favorite parts of Douglas Conant's and Mette Norgaards' 2011 book, TouchPoints, are these lessons for leaders:

• You need to have dual vision. You need to be able to address the most pressing need and do it in a way that makes your employees more capable and ready to take on the next issue.
• No leader can succeed by being only tough-minded or only tender-hearted. The perfect balance is to be both tough-minded on the issue and tender-hearted with people.
• Leading with heart doesn't mean you always decide in favor of the individual. It just means that when you need to make a tough-minded decision, you are acutely aware of how it will affect the people involved.
• The people who are the most committed to mastering their craft are often the most humble. That is because, instead of comparing themselves to others, they are moved by an inner vision of what they might achieve.
• Ask often, "How can I help?" Doing so at the start of an interaction opens up space for people to voice their ideas, concerns and viewpoints.

Why Experience Should Come Last When Hiring And Promoting

In Leigh Branham's terrific book, The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, he quotes these sound insights from Dee Hock, the founder and former CEO of Visa:

• Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience.

Hock explains that:

• Without integrity, motivation is dangerous
• Without motivation, capacity is impotent
• Without capacity, understanding is limited
• Without understanding, knowledge is meaningless
• Without knowledge, experience is blind

She concludes that experience is easy to provide and quickly put to use by people with all the other qualities.

Singapore to promote investment in industrial zones in Vietnam

VNRE - Singapore has been approved to build the No. 5 industrial zone in Vietnam, with total investment capital is 330 million U.S. dollars.

Expected that this industrial zone will be built on an area of 600 hectares in Quang Ngai province in Central of Vietnam, including 520 hectares for commercial purposes and housing.

Singapore's Sembcorp will development, marketing and manage the project. So far, there have been 30-40 partners interested in this project, representatives of Semcorp said.

Phase 1 of the project will last approximately 3 years, and is expected in that period will also have the first plant is established and profitable here.

Recently, during an official visit to Vietnam, Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam met with leaders of Vietnam government and leaders of Vietnam's largest city. President Tan said Singapore wants to invest more into Vietnam, and he said he would note the proposal to open two industrial zones in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

So far, four industrial zones were invested by Singapore has been operating in Vietnam include: VSIP 1 and VSIP 2 (Binh Duong), VSIP 3 (Bac Ninh), VSIP 4 (Hai Phong). The total investment estimated at more than 20 billion U.S. dollars.

Source: VNA

Office Market in the Limelight

Ending the first quarter of 2012, the real estate market continued challenging the tolerance of investors, especially in the housing segment. The market is supporting end-buyers as housing prices are still on the downtrend and investors paying closer attention to customer requirements. Vietnam Business Forum summarizes the main events of the real estate market in the first quarter of 2012.

Housing market - Business ethics of primary investors

In the first quarter, the apartment market witnessed slow offering from investors. The supply was quite limited, with only 1,100 units, compared with 25,000 units in 2011. Not only buyers but investors are in a "wait and see" mode, pending market developments. New buyer-catching projects are mainly for low-income earners in Hoang Mai, Long Bien, Tu Liem and Cau Giay districts, Hanoi.

For the quarter, many projects were delayed or suspended although investors had sold apartment units to customers while many other projects still ensured construction progress although it was a bit slower. This highlighted business ethics and confidence of investors.

According to CBRE Vietnam Company, a property consultant and researcher, in 2012, the supply was forecast to reach 20,000 units. However, the real supply may be much lower if present market conditions keep lacklustre. The economy is showing signs of recovery; hence, the secondary price downtrend will slow down. Customers distrust investors’ ability to complete their projects, making construction progress and quality the top determining factor. For this reason, sale is better when the projects are nearing the final stage.

For villas and semidetached houses in urban zones, many wondered whether prices reached the bottom. Like three previous quarters, secondary prices continued to drop sharply in nearly 50 percent of projects in this quarter

Price decrease, despite lower than in the past quarter, remained at 5 - 10 percent. The degree of price reductions depended on construction progress. Newly constructed projects saw a 5 percent rebate, even 10 - 15 percent in some projects. Meanwhile, prices were slightly changed in completed projects. However, compared with rates in the first or second quarter of 2011, secondary prices in all projects slid 20 - 50 percent.

Buyers continued to wait because they expected further fall and they only looked for projects developed by reputable investors. Mr Richard Leech, Managing Director of CBRE, said the housing demand of end-buyers needs to be tested. Till now, the effect of recent interest rate cuts remains vague on the property market.

Office market - Positive signals

In the first quarter of 2012, the office market had no new supply, total supply stably approximated at 985,000 m2.

The Hanoi office market remains positive signs. Typically, the total newly rented area was over 14,000 m2, a high demand. Vacancy ratio fell to 25 percent from 30 percent in the previous quarter. According to statistics, nearly 390,000 m2 of office space are expected to enter the market in 2012. Experts said that rented area will hit a refresh record in 2012 although vacancy rates and supplies continue to rise.
In the western area, prices are forecast to slide to let more while owners in the downtown will not compete in price. In addition, investors will also apply more strategic steps. For new projects, investors can apply more competitive price policies for tenants and brokerage units. For old projects, they will focus on restoring and upgrading.

Retail space market - On the tenant side

After the special fourth quarter with three large commercial centre projects brought into operation, adding 109,500 m2 to the market, there were no new projects inaugurated in the first quarter of 2012. The total supply stood at 250,000 m2.

Occupancy rates across the market slightly slid although there were some big tenants like Home Entertainment Centre and New Cinema because their leased spaces belonged to others earlier, or from newly operated projects like Vincom and Centre Long Bien. In the downtown, the vacancy rate in the business centre was 5 percent, down 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, while vacancy rates out of the business centre was 14.9 percent. In the downtown, rents are quite stable because vacancy rates are unchanged. However, rates in non-business districts decline because of a rise in vacancy rates.

Serviced condos - more choices for buyers

Keangnam Landmark 72 opened in January 2012 with 378 serviced apartments for the area west of Hanoi. With this huge supply, the project has offered attractive incentives and promotions for customers. While rents offered by most investors were almost unchanged from the previous quarter, some projects, especially those in the west, were ready to negotiate rental prices to catch the attention of with customers in the face of competition from serviced apartments of Keangnam Landmark 72. Occupancy rate reached 81 percent, a slight increase from the previous quarter. Customers are interested in serviced apartments in the western region because many companies rented offices here. - Source: VCCI News

Office Market in the Limelight

VNRE - Ending the first quarter of 2012, the real estate market continued challenging the tolerance of investors, especially in the housing segment. The market is supporting end-buyers as housing prices are still on the downtrend and investors paying closer attention to customer requirements. Vietnam Business Forum summarizes the main events of the real estate market in the first quarter of 2012.

Housing market - Business ethics of primary investors

In the first quarter, the apartment market witnessed slow offering from investors. The supply was quite limited, with only 1,100 units, compared with 25,000 units in 2011. Not only buyers but investors are in a "wait and see" mode, pending market developments. New buyer-catching projects are mainly for low-income earners in Hoang Mai, Long Bien, Tu Liem and Cau Giay districts, Hanoi.

For the quarter, many projects were delayed or suspended although investors had sold apartment units to customers while many other projects still ensured construction progress although it was a bit slower. This highlighted business ethics and confidence of investors.

According to CBRE Vietnam Company, a property consultant and researcher, in 2012, the supply was forecast to reach 20,000 units. However, the real supply may be much lower if present market conditions keep lacklustre. The economy is showing signs of recovery; hence, the secondary price downtrend will slow down. Customers distrust investors’ ability to complete their projects, making construction progress and quality the top determining factor. For this reason, sale is better when the projects are nearing the final stage.

For villas and semidetached houses in urban zones, many wondered whether prices reached the bottom. Like three previous quarters, secondary prices continued to drop sharply in nearly 50 percent of projects in this quarter

Price decrease, despite lower than in the past quarter, remained at 5 - 10 percent. The degree of price reductions depended on construction progress. Newly constructed projects saw a 5 percent rebate, even 10 - 15 percent in some projects. Meanwhile, prices were slightly changed in completed projects. However, compared with rates in the first or second quarter of 2011, secondary prices in all projects slid 20 - 50 percent.

Buyers continued to wait because they expected further fall and they only looked for projects developed by reputable investors. Mr Richard Leech, Managing Director of CBRE, said the housing demand of end-buyers needs to be tested. Till now, the effect of recent interest rate cuts remains vague on the property market.

Office market - Positive signals

In the first quarter of 2012, the office market had no new supply, total supply stably approximated at 985,000 m2.

The Hanoi office market remains positive signs. Typically, the total newly rented area was over 14,000 m2, a high demand. Vacancy ratio fell to 25 percent from 30 percent in the previous quarter. According to statistics, nearly 390,000 m2 of office space are expected to enter the market in 2012. Experts said that rented area will hit a refresh record in 2012 although vacancy rates and supplies continue to rise.
In the western area, prices are forecast to slide to let more while owners in the downtown will not compete in price. In addition, investors will also apply more strategic steps. For new projects, investors can apply more competitive price policies for tenants and brokerage units. For old projects, they will focus on restoring and upgrading.

Retail space market - On the tenant side

After the special fourth quarter with three large commercial centre projects brought into operation, adding 109,500 m2 to the market, there were no new projects inaugurated in the first quarter of 2012. The total supply stood at 250,000 m2.

Occupancy rates across the market slightly slid although there were some big tenants like Home Entertainment Centre and New Cinema because their leased spaces belonged to others earlier, or from newly operated projects like Vincom and Centre Long Bien. In the downtown, the vacancy rate in the business centre was 5 percent, down 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, while vacancy rates out of the business centre was 14.9 percent. In the downtown, rents are quite stable because vacancy rates are unchanged. However, rates in non-business districts decline because of a rise in vacancy rates.

Serviced condos - more choices for buyers

Keangnam Landmark 72 opened in January 2012 with 378 serviced apartments for the area west of Hanoi. With this huge supply, the project has offered attractive incentives and promotions for customers. While rents offered by most investors were almost unchanged from the previous quarter, some projects, especially those in the west, were ready to negotiate rental prices to catch the attention of with customers in the face of competition from serviced apartments of Keangnam Landmark 72. Occupancy rate reached 81 percent, a slight increase from the previous quarter. Customers are interested in serviced apartments in the western region because many companies rented offices here.

Reported by Luong Tuan | VCCI News

Thailand’s Amata commits more investment in Vietnam

VNRE - Mr Vikrom Kromadit, the founder of Thailand’s Amata Corp, said that the industrial zone infrastructure developer will continue investing more in Vietnam after some success of Amata IZ project in Dong Nai province.

He made this statement on Mach 28 in Dong Nai on the occasion of his Asia caravan to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Mongolia.

He also confirmed Amata is pursuing a new industrial urban development project with large scale in Long Thanh, Dong Nai without detailed elaboration on the project.

In an interview with Saigon Economic Times Online, Mr Huynh Ngoc Phien - General Director of Amata Vietnam JSC spoke that the above project with total area of 1,300 hectares and estimated investment capital of US$20 billion will be defined by Dong Nai municipal governance in next month. US$500 million of US$20 billion will be invested for infrastructure as from 2013. Amata will call for investors to develop each item of the new industrial urban development project.

Mr Phien expected the industrial urban development project will be more modern than the existing one in Thailand.

Currently, Amata Vietnam is developing the trade area on 20 hectares in Amata IZ, Bien Hoa City. It needs US$2 billion to complete the project consisting of trade centre, resident area, hotel, international school, hospital, entertainment and service areas…

Amata Vietnam JSC is a joint venture between Bien Hoa IZ Development Co and Thailand-based Bangpakong Industrial Park 2 Company. Amata has invested total US$60 million in Vietnam.

Source: VietBiz24

Vincom Center A was handed over to customers

VNRE - After three months of sales, the commercial center (retail floor) at Vincom Center A was filled to 70% of area for fashion, jewelry, high-end accessories; 60% of area for restaurants, cafes, fast food; 70% of area for electrical equipment... Until now, Vincom Center A has completely finished raw building and is installing 70% of electromechanical system, the handover to tenants to finishing interior from April 1, 2012. The project was scheduled to open on October 10, 2012.



Besides the commercial center, Vincom Center A includes 5-star hotel named Vinpearl Luxury with nearly 300 rooms, is located from L5 to L8 floor of the building, 3 floors of underground parking (25,000 sqm) with a capacity of about 1,000 cars/10.000 motorcycles.

Source: VinGroup

Work to begin on Lavenue Crown in Q3

VNRE - Lavenue Crown project, located in HCMC’s commercial district and comprising a commercial center, five-star hotel and serviced apartments, will start construction in the third quarter this year, according to investors.

As one of three investors of the project on Le Duan Boulevard in District 1, Tran Le Nguyen, managing director of Kinh Do Corporation (KDC), was speaking of this plan at a shareholders’ meeting last weekend.

The Lavenue Crown project is developed by Lavenue Investment JSC, a joint venture between KDC with a 50% stake, HCMC Housing Management & Trading Co. and Mayflower Investment Co.

The project will be built on 4,900 square meters in a prime location near the city’s landmarks like the Notre Dame Cathedral and the French-built Post Office. The 36-storey building, which has total floor space of 66,000 square meters, is set for completion by 2014.

Reported by Quoc Hung | The Saigon Times

To Life, To Love, To Dance: A Spring Celebration

Kate Badgett and Michael Rodriguez delight. Photo courtesy Robert Ivey Ballet

The second post of today - and one I shared on my personal blog, LauraCatherine.co.  I'm sharing with you here as well and hope you enjoy the short break from marketing posts for something that will delight your soul.

The tiniest of sounds – a satin covered pointe shoe ever-so-softly tapping the floor with every Bourré she made – took me back to the time when I was a ballet dancer. I wasn’t expecting it, but I welcomed it. I was taken back to a time when I had dreams of becoming a ballerina and spent much of my high school years dancing ballet, even beginning my college career as a dance major.

Last night my family and I watched the Robert Ivey Ballet performance “To Life, To Love, To Dance – A Spring Celebration” at the Burke High School Auditorium in downtown Charleston. It was a truly delightful show that I hope to share with you. In full disclosure, I was gifted the tickets from the dance company and agreed to share my experience with you on this blog. If you live in the area, I encourage you to treat yourself to their encore performance this afternoon at 4 pm. Details here.

Their spring celebration of a performance was one that included a variety of styles of dance – from traditional ballet to modern to what I’m calling folk. Take a break from your day and follow me on this journey. I’ve included video and photos to awaken your senses, and hope you enjoy!

The Opening Act: “Toys”
A gold-covered box sat in the middle of the stage with dancers surrounding it for the opening performance, called “Toys.” For some reason, I wasn’t expecting the tiniest of dancers to emerge from the toy box. Watching her pirouette on top of the box reminded me of a different box - the jewelry boxes that little girls cherish with the spinning ballerina. She was a living doll. This sweet little dancer (Satya Tranfield), no more than 7 years old, delivered a brilliant dance - both technically and in the way she captivated the audience. Her long little legs and arms made it look easy, but I knew the precision and practice that were put into every step. Every relevé and pirouette made the audience melt.


I’m sharing a short video snippet below of one of her later performances of the evening, called “The Doll.”


(Youtube performance link for those reading by email here).

A Modern Performance, “Sail”
I turned to my mom after a modern performance called “Sail” (short snippet below) featuring the Robert Ivey Junior Company to ask her what she thought. She knew I struggled with “getting” modern during my freshmen year at Columbia College. I liked the discipline and beautiful restraint I sometimes felt when dancing ballet. Modern felt too much like “anything goes” to this 18 year old. Years later, not only do I “get” modern dance, but I love it. I like that it pushes the boundaries a little. I like the edgy music, a far cry from the soundtracks behind most traditional ballet performances. Maybe it’s the rebel in me, after all these years. Or the creative soul. My mom said she liked it too, but couldn’t get over dancers rolling on the ground. That’s what makes it fun!

(Youtube performance link for those reading by email here).

Ballet – A Classic
Speaking of beautifully traditional ballet, there was some of that, too. Just when my mind was thinking about how much I loved modern and that maybe it wasn’t too late for me to take an adult class, I was pulled into a pas de deux danced by Katie Badgett and Michael Rodriguez (snippet below). Katie and Michael were both stunning. I especially liked that they both took the stage individually to put on their own performances within the pas de deux. I expected that for Michael (and was impressed), but Katie took me by surprise when she covered the stage by herself for spans of time. Her grand battements surprised me. Together and individually, they were wonderful.


(Youtube performance link for those reading by email here)

First of Autumn
Later, the stage was covered in deep hues of red (worn by the dancers). Not a detail left untouched, the warm yellow leaves on the tops of their buns caught my eye as they moved about the stage. “Was that jazz or modern?” my mom asked me. I’m not sure, but it was yet another performance that I enjoyed. The soundtrack to this dance in particular was especially entrancing.

Photo courtesy Robert Ivey Ballet

The Second Half
After a short intermission, the second half of the show began. This part felt more like a cohesive performance instead of individual dances. The stage, with a white picket fence and tulips, was the same throughout (unless my memory has failed me). The Junior and Children’s Company put on this half of the show, and did a great job keeping the audience’s attention. The costumes were well done, the dancers were animated.

There was another modern/jazz performance sprinkled in, called “Friends” that was a nice change of pace leading into another beautiful pas de deux. Then, the finale. It was impressive to see the stage filled with so many enthusiastic dancers in their grand attire, proud of the show they’d given us.

Today's Performance
If you’ll be in Charleston today, they’ll be performing at 4 pm. Visit http://www.robertiveyballet.net/ for details. Tickets available at the door - $15 adults, $10 senior/student rate. The Burke Auditorium is very close to the Citadel, but is located at Burke High School in the downtown Charleston area at 244 President Street. Allow yourself a few extra minutes to make your way around the school.

"Like" Robert Ivey Ballet on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter (@RobIveyBallet).

I hope you enjoyed this (my first official) dance performance review! It was fun to stretch my writing muscles with something new.

 Photo courtesy Robert Ivey Ballet

Laura is a marketing professional and blogger who has been active in social media since 2005.  If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to this blog via Email or  RSS. Laura can also be found on Twitter (@LauraCatherineO), Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

New Favorites: Blogs I’m Reading

I’ve been doing some housekeeping to my trusty iGoogle reader lately.  Adding in new inspirational / DIY / marketing / crafting / you-name-it blog feeds to keep me motivated and feeling creative. This reminded me that I have been thinking about sharing some of my favorite new blogs with YOU, in the hope that you'll also enjoy their offerings and spark your inner creative self.

Spending time as a designer (web, print, social, etc.) means finding colorful inspiration in sometimes surprising places is good for me.  I think that’s part of the reason I enjoy DIY craft and style blogs.  Lots of color, texture, creativity.  Although they leave me with more than a few too many “I want to do that” projects on my list, I enjoy them!

One of my favorite new finds? A Beautiful Mess blog.  She can transform a white t-shirt into a sophisticated part of your “look” or show you how to make wall art of out paint samples. 

Hop over to her blog for your daily fill of creative goodness: http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com.

Enjoy!

Laura is a marketing professional and blogger who has been active in social media since 2005.  If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to this blog via Email or  RSS. Laura can also be found on Twitter (@LauraCatherineO), Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

Hanoi and HCM City to build 5.9m m2 of social houses in 2012- 2015 period

Hanoi and HCM City will build 5.9 million square metres of social houses in 2012-2015 period, the Ministry of Construction said, adding that this target is to early realise the plan in the National Housing Development Strategy.

The ministry said that in urban centres, the demand for social houses is very big, therefore, Hanoi and HCM City should strongly encourage many state-owned groups and corporations and enterprises in all economic sectors to invest in building this type of housing.

Hanoi expects to build 3.2 million square metres of floor area for social houses in 2012-2015 period and HCM City targets a figure of 2.7 million m2.

Of which, Hanoi plans to spare 1.5 million m2 of housing area to meet the demand of 230,000 workers while HCM City will earmark 800,000 m2 of floor area for 93,000 workers.

Regarding the housing issue for students, both cities target to build about 600,000 m2.

About houses for sales and rent for low-income earners in urban areas, Hanoi targets to reach the threshold of 1.1 million square metres, equalling to 15,500 apartments and HCM City at 1.3 million m2 or 17,500 apartments.

Initially, the two cities will focus on amending and supplementing the mechanisms and policies related to housing programme development plan yearly, in five years and long term and specify indicators of social housing development for each group of customers who face difficulties in accommodation issue according to regulations. - Source: Vietbiz24

Quote of the day

 "The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor" - Voltaire

(Nguồn: The Economist)    

HAGL to undercut other Vietnam developers with cheap apartments

HAGL Joint-Stock Co., Vietnam’s second-biggest listed property developer, has announced plans to sell apartments at half the price of similar products on the market, saying the price cut would not hurt its diversified business.

The company cut prices by 20 percent last year and further reductions will be made in June, news website VnExpress reported Saturday, citing Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc.

He said HAGL has a large and cheap land bank to develop 16 residential projects with a total of two million square meters of housing. It will launch 2,000 apartments at “competitive prices” to the market each year, Duc said.

“The company will stay strong even after the price cut, since revenues will be reinvested in rubber, hydropower and mining projects for high profits,” he said at an annual shareholders’ meeting.

Fitch Ratings in March revised the outlook for Vietnam’s top property developer HAGL to negative. According to Fitch, the company faced higher credit risks due to a sharp drop in property sales in Ho Chi Minh City. It began selling iron ore in 2011 and three of its planned 17 hydropower projects have begun generating power and more are likely to come on stream in 2012, the ratings agency added.

Duc said real estate accounted for 55.9 percent of total revenues for his company last year, but the ratio will fall gradually to around 15 percent. He said rubber and electricity will become the top priorities for HAGL.

The company has set a pre-tax profit of 1.2 trillion dong (US$57.6 million) for 2012, down from 1.7 trillion dong last year. It will pay shareholders a dividend of 15 shares for every 100 shares they own, retaining profits to invest in its business projects, according to an announcement after the annual meeting. - Source: Thanh Nien

HCM City to build US$500m twin towers

Bitexco, a multi-industry group, announced on April 26 that it will pour US$500 million into a trade centre-office complex to be built in district 1, HCM City.

The General Director of Bitexco Group, In-Suk Ko, said that The One Ho Chi Minh City will get off the ground on April 27, covering a total area of 8,600 square meters.

The complex will include two towers, a trade centre, offices, and apartments for rent, and a six-star Ritz Carlton hotel.

According to Bitexco Group, the project has demonstrated its determination to maintain and develop investment activities, in spite of difficulties in the national economy and instability in the real estate market.

The complex is expected to be completed and put into operation by 2015.

Established in 1985 as a textile firm, Bitexco has become a multi-industry corporation. It covers real estate investment and development, hydro-power plants, infrastructure, mining and mineral water production. - VOV

How To Be A Good Coach

Former Verizon Wireless CEO, Denny F. Strigl offers these tips for how to be a good coach to an employee. He explains that good coaches help performers by:

• Keeping them focused.
• Giving them objective, helpful feedback.
• Acting as a sounding board for new approaches.
• Identifying blind spots that may be holding the performer back.
• Reinforcing key values, principles, and behaviors that improve performance.
• Recognizing positive behavior and performance.
• Providing encouragement after setbacks and failures
• Setting "stretch" goals.
• Acting as an accountability partner.

Strigl believes that some managers fail in their coaching roles because they:

• View coaching as babysitting.
• See coaching as only correcting performance.
• Don't spend enough time with their employees.
• Are reluctant to criticize.
• Have social relationships with their employees.
• Have a "sink-or-swim" philosophy.
• Believe coaching is not helpful or meaningful.

"Coaching may actually save time by preventing extensive retraining or intervention to get a failing employee back on track or keep the person from falling off course in the first place," explains Strigl in his new book, Managers, Can You Hear Me Now?


Every conversation you have with an employee has the potential to be a coaching conversation!

Work to begin on Lavenue Crown in Q3

Lavenue Crown project, located in HCMC’s commercial district and comprising a commercial center, five-star hotel and serviced apartments, will start construction in the third quarter this year, according to investors.

As one of three investors of the project on Le Duan Boulevard in District 1, Tran Le Nguyen, managing director of Kinh Do Corporation (KDC), was speaking of this plan at a shareholders’ meeting last weekend.

The Lavenue Crown project is developed by Lavenue Investment JSC, a joint venture between KDC with a 50% stake, HCMC Housing Management & Trading Co. and Mayflower Investment Co.

The project will be built on 4,900 square meters in a prime location near the city’s landmarks like the Notre Dame Cathedral and the French-built Post Office. The 36-storey building, which has total floor space of 66,000 square meters, is set for completion by 2014. - Source: Saigon Times

Big muscles needed to get property moving

Industry insiders are striving to warm up a frozen local property market. A lack of capital and high bank interest rates have left customers with low confidence with many taking a ‘wait and see’ approach hoping for a further possible easing of property prices.

Ministry of Construction’s project appraisal expert Nguyen Truong Tien said further property price easing was unlikely.

Tien’s housing investment ratio cost breakdown consisted of 10-15 per cent of land prices, 70-75 per cent construction costs and investment costs for relevant public utilities for common use. Of this, construction costs included direct and indirect expenses.

At this point of time, the cost of building hi-end living blocks with incomplete interior fetches around VND11-13 million ($520-$620) per square metre, hiking to VND18-25 million ($850-$1,200) per square metre if indirect expenses are factored in.

The price of some hi-end properties rolled out in the recent past such as FLC Landmark Tower and Ho Guom Plaza are around this price range.

Vinaland chairman Tran Minh Hoang assumed it would be hard for the housing price to further drop. Successful transactions in the past months were mainly in the apartment segment with prices averaging VND12-14 million ($560-$660) per square metre.

With current investment cost structure, such a price range means a loss to developers who have their backs to the wall on the back of a flat market and credit squeezes.

“In this current context, an adequate market approach by relevant government agencies will restore homebuyers’ confidence. This should be handled as soon as possible to break current impasse in local property market,” Hoang said.

Vietnam Real Estate Association general secretary Phan Thanh Mai assumed the property market had shown signs of recovery after central bank decided on loosening the valve on property market credit.

“The move will help rev up investor sentiment and with current ceiling mobilising rate dropping to 12 per cent, per year people will weigh over putting money into bank safes or hooking into [property] business ventures,” said Mai.

CBRE Vietnam chief executive officer Marc Townsend said property firms and individual investors could reap up profits from market opportunities. In fact, albeit a fall in the rate of successful property transactions against some previous years on the back of a fruitful new supply, the number of successful home purchases was not lower than past years’ average, meaning the demand for housing property is real and that would be a potential market segment. - Source: VIR

Hochiminh City: $500 million to build The One complex

VNRE - On April 26, Bitexco has officially introduced the implementation of the project named The One Ho Chi Minh City at No.1 Pham Ngu Lao Street, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City with total investment capital $ 500 million.

Mr. In-Suk Ko, chief executive officer of Bitexco, said: The One Ho Chi Minh City will be ground breaking on April 27on a land area of 8.600 m2, gross floor area is 195,000 m2.

The project includes the functions of the trade center, office, serviced apartment and 6-star standard hotel named Ritz Carlton. The One Ho Chi Minh City includes two towers which are connected by the shopping centre at the podium.

The 55-storey West Tower (240m) contains office floors in the lower half and a hotel in the upper half. The 48-storey East Tower contains the office in the lower floors of the tower, from the 24th floor to 48th floor is the area of ​​the Ritz Carlton hotel.

The architectural design has a cultural context as it refers to the Vietnamese myth of the Two Dragons. The podium represents the coiled tails, while the two dragons rise from the land. The cantilevered tops represent the dragon's heads. The glass cubes are figurative depictions of Vietnamese pearls in the mouths of the dragons.

The image will provide a powerful reminder to current and future generations of both the Vietnamese myth and the symbolic representation of the city's fame as the 'Pearl of the Orient'. When completed, The One Ho Chi Minh City, with its iconic design and strategic location, will represent the new and dynamic Vietnam and will be a new city landmark.

The One Ho Chi Minh City will be completed and put into operation in late 2015.

Phillips curve IV

(Tiếp theo)

Quay lại câu hỏi đầu tiên liệu inflation expectation của VN đã giảm xuống hay chưa? Tất nhiên với chỉ một đồ thị rất định tính và 2 đường Phillips curves AB/CD vẽ theo ước lượng bằng mắt, câu trả lời không thể chính xác tuyệt đối. Tuy nhiên tôi tin rằng nếu sử dụng một phương pháp ước lượng econometric hiện đại kết quả cũng sẽ không khác quá xa. Do vậy vào thời điểm Q1 2012 inflation expectation vẫn còn cao và nới lỏng tiền tệ lúc này quá sớm. Nhìn vào đồ thị bên dưới (khu vực đường AB), với mức tăng trưởng khoảng 6% lạm phát (yoy) phải giảm xuống xấp xỉ 5% thì mới có cơ sở tin rằng inflation expectation đã hạ nhiệt. Nói lỡ miệng nếu 1-2 quí tới nền kinh tế trượt về điểm cực trái của CD (tăng trưởng 2%, lạm phát 10%), các bạn hãy nhớ đến đồ thị này để đừng quá hốt hoảng với những lời cảnh báo stagflation sẽ tràn lan trên mặt báo.

Trong 2 năm qua những supply-siders như Bùi Kiến Thành, Trần Hoàng Ngân đã không dưới một lần "dọa" rằng lãi suất cao sẽ làm tăng chi phí đầu vào và làm tăng giá thành sản phẩm, do vậy lạm phát sẽ tăng chứ không giảm. Đến giờ này các chuyên gia đó không còn nhắc đến vấn đề "chi phí đẩy" nữa mà cho rằng phải giảm lãi suất không thì các doanh nghiệp sẽ thua lỗ và phá sản hàng loạt. Cũng trong 2 năm qua tôi luôn cho rằng lạm phát của VN là do AD quá cao, bởi vậy thắt chặt tiền tệ là chính sách đúng để kéo AD xuống. Trong mấy tuần gần đây báo chí cho biết vấn đề đau đầu nhất hiện nay của nhiều doanh nghiệp là không bán được sản phẩm và tồn kho tăng cao. Đó là biểu hiện rõ ràng AD đã giảm xuống với một độ trễ khoảng 4-6 quí, hoàn toàn phù hợp với lý thuyết. Cái mà tôi chờ đợi là inflation expectation giảm để nền kinh tế quay về đường AB.

Đến đây một câu hỏi có lẽ nhiều bạn sẽ đặt ra là tại sao sau khi Paul Volcker chấp nhận 2 lần suy thoái để kéo inflation expectation xuống thì kinh tế Mỹ không bao giờ quay lại khu vực CD nữa trong khi inflation expectation ở VN dường như không thể anchor được. Gốc rễ của vấn đề là credibility của ngân hàng trung ương. Không kể tính độc lập của Fed đã được luật định và được chính phủ và QH Mỹ tôn trọng trên thực tế, việc Paul Volcker kiên quyết không đếm xỉa gì đến tăng trưởng và thất nghiệp khi lạm phát cao là điều đã giúp Fed bảo vệ được credibility của mình, cái mà NHNN VN không/chưa thể có được. Cho đến nay Fed vẫn luôn đặt credibility lên đầu khi tính toán chính sách của mình, lập luận chính của Bernanke khi không chịu đưa ra QE3 là ông không muốn credibility của Fed suy giảm. Chừng nào NHNN còn chưa có credibility thì inflation expectation của VN sẽ còn "dancing" qua lại cho dù đó là ông Thúy, ông Giàu hay ông Bình làm thống đốc. Credibility của NHNN cũng là điều kiện tiên quyết để người dân tin tưởng vào VND chứ không phải các biện pháp hành chính cấm vàng miếng hay cấm niêm yết giá bằng ngoại tệ.

Về vấn đề giới doanh nghiệp đang gặp khó khăn và nhiều doanh nghiệp phải dừng hoạt động tôi cũng có quan điểm khác với ông Bùi Kiến Thành, Trần Hoàng Ngân. Như tôi đã viết trước đây, đó là cái giá phải trả cho những sai lầm trong quá khứ dù không ai muốn như vậy. Một điểm cần lưu ý là trong khi các doanh nghiệp VN kêu ca lãi suất họ vay xấp xỉ 20% quá cao không thể chịu đựng được, trong giai đoạn 1980-1981 khi Paul Volcker tăng lãi suất chính sách (FFR) lên trên 17% mặt bằng lãi suất cho vay của Mỹ đã vượt 20% (prime lending rate - lãi suất cho các đối tượng vay có credit rating tốt nhất). Với chi phí nhân công rẻ và nền kinh tế chủ yếu vẫn là labor intensive đáng lẽ các doanh nghiệp VN phải chịu được lãi suất cao hơn thế. Nhưng như có lần tôi đã nghi ngờ nhiều doanh nghiệp VN có leverage quá cao nên mới không chịu nổi chi phí lãi suất. Trong số những doanh nghiệp VN ngừng hoạt động trong thời gian qua, có bao nhiêu doanh nghiệp thuộc loại này (có leverage quá cao)? Một cuộc thanh lọc những doanh nghiệp có business model liều lĩnh như vậy có thể là một creative destruction cần thiết cho nền kinh tế. [Ngoài lề: Tuy nhiên vấn đề các doanh nghiệp quốc doanh được ưu tiên tiếp cận nguồn vốn, nghĩa là một hình thức crowding out vốn của các doanh nghiệp tư nhân, góp phần không nhỏ vào tình trạng khó khăn của khối doanh nghiệp tư nhân khi chính sách tiền tệ bị thắt chặt thông qua trần tín dụng. Đây là một chủ đề khác tôi sẽ viết riêng khi nào có điều kiện.]

Ông Trần Đình Thiên cho rằng cái giá mà VN đang phải trả (để chống lạm phát) quá đắt. Nếu so với cuộc suy thoái kép mà Mỹ phải trả giá khi Paul Volcker thắt chặt tiền tệ trong những năm 1980 thì tình hình kinh tế suy giảm của VN chưa là gì. Một điểm khá thú vị là nếu nhìn GDP từ phía income, bằng tổng thu nhập của toàn bộ người dân và doanh nghiệp, thì nếu GDP không giảm trong khi khối doanh nghiệp thua lỗ sẽ đồng nghĩa với thu nhập của người dân tăng lên. Theo ông Thành và ông Ngân, giới doanh nghiệp đang rất khó khăn và làm ăn thua lỗ (50 nghìn doanh nghiệp đóng cửa trong năm 2011, 12 nghìn đóng cửa trong Q1 2012). Như vậy khi GDP thực tăng 6% trong năm 2011 và 4% tại thời điểm Q1 2012 (GDP danh nghĩa còn tăng cao hơn thế nhiều), income trong thời gian qua chảy vào túi ai nếu giới doanh nghiệp làm ăn thua lỗ?

Nhiều người chỉ vào giới ngân hàng với bằng chứng họ đã có lợi nhuận khủng trong năm 2011. Tôi chia sẻ quan điểm này và từ trước đến giờ vẫn cho rằng giới ngân hàng VN có market power quá lớn. Tuy nhiên khi những doanh nghiệp có leverage cao lần lượt phá sản, lợi nhuận ngân hàng sẽ teo dần và họ buộc phải cạnh tranh mạnh hơn để giành những khác hàng tốt còn lại. Như vậy cuộc thanh lọc các doanh nghiệp liều lĩnh (high leverage) còn có thêm một tác dụng phụ nữa là giúp quá trình tái cấu trúc hệ thống ngân hàng thuận lợi hơn. Nhưng ngay cả khi giới ngân hàng vẫn cắt xén được một phần lợi nhuận đáng kể từ doanh nghiệp, tôi cho rằng xét tổng thể trong năm 2011 hay 3 tháng đầu năm 2012 giới doanh nghiệp vẫn làm ăn có lãi dù gặp nhiều khó khăn vì AD giảm vì không có bằng chứng nào cho thấy income của người dân tăng lên trong thời gian qua. Một đồng nghiệp cũ của tôi, anh Nguyễn Xuân Thành, đã chỉ ra một điểm rất quan trọng là muốn nhìn tình hình lợi nhuận của giới doanh nghiệp thì phải xem số thuế họ đóng. Cả anh Thành và tôi đều không có số liệu thuế nên chưa thể có kết luận gì ở thời điểm này. Ông Ngân đang cổ súy cho một gói kích cầu tài khóa mới, hay ông có số liệu cho thấy doanh thu thuế của chính phủ vẫn tốt?

Điểm cuối cùng tôi muốn nêu ra là trong những bài toán chính sách các chuyên gia và quan chức bàn thảo trong mấy tuần qua, người ta nhắc nhiều đến giới doanh nghiệp nhưng hiếm thấy ai nói đến người dân. Nhiều lời kêu gọi phải khẩn cấp "cứu" giới doanh nghiệp nhưng không ai bàn về tác động đối với đa số dân chúng ra sao, có lẽ trừ một bài của tác giả Cảnh Thái cảnh báo một làn sóng thất nghiệp sẽ tràn đến. Cứ cho rằng viễn cảnh kinh tế vài quí tới sẽ rất xấu, một lượng lớn doanh nghiệp sẽ phá sản, tăng trưởng sẽ tụt xuống dưới 2% (giảm 4 điểm phần trăm so với năm 2011, đồng nghĩa với thất nghiệp tăng thêm khoảng 2 điểm phần trăm), các biện pháp hỗ trợ dân nghèo phải được đặt tương đồng với các biện pháp "cứu" doanh nghiệp. Giảm viện phí, học phí, và các loại phí người dân đang/sẽ phải đóng, một chương trình trợ giúp xăng dầu, lương thực (như chương trình food stamp của Mỹ), trợ cấp trực tiếp (direct transfer), micro credit cho dân nghèo... là một số trong rất nhiều biện pháp "vì dân" mà nhà nước có thể thực hiện trong thời buổi khó khăn. Cứu doanh nghiệp trong khi người dân vẫn phải oàn lưng chịu lạm phát cao thì lợi ích ai được hưởng?

Cushman&Wakefield puts market under microscope

Vietnam’s real estate market has attracted many foreign investors. On his visit to Hanoi last week, VIR talked with Arsh Chaudhry, executive managing director of Cushman&Wakefield Southeast Asia, about his assessment of Vietnam’s real estate market.

Your visit this time came after the last trip of Asia-Pacific executive managing director of Cushman&Wakefield (C&W) Vietnam Sanjay Verma seems to prove C&W’s concern about the Vietnamese market’s gloomy status. Should it be understood that Vietnam needs special care from C&W Southeast Asia?

The two visits are not connected. Our CEO visited Vietnam last month as he had not been here for a while and he was keen to meet with our staff, our clients and discuss growth strategies for the future. In my role as executive managing director for South East Asia, I visit all our South East Asia offices at least once a month. The same is true for Vietnam. We are committed to the growth of our business in Vietnam and while the current economic conditions are tough for all businesses, we are excited at the medium to long term prospects that the market has to offer.

What are some common strengths and weaknesses of real estate markets in the region? How do you assess Vietnam’s real estate market to other markets and in particular to Indonesia where policies for real estate investment are now very open and appealing to foreign investors?

Every market is different and has it nuances. In 2011, the Singapore office market saw tremendous demand take up of circa 200,000 square metres. This was on the back of pent up demand from 2009 and 2010. 2012 will see demand closer to 80,000-100,000sqm, hence rents will be soft.

Jakarta on the other hand is a rising market lead by strong demand which is coming from across various industries: oil and gas, banking and finance and fast moving and consumer goods in particular.
Vietnam on the other hand saw rents sky rocketing to $80-100sqm in 2007 and 2008 and are now hovering in the mid 30s for Grade A office. These rents are more realistic for the market and comparable to rents in Malaysia and Indonesia.

In my opinion, comparing Vietnam to Indonesia doesn’t offer a like-for-like comparison. Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world after China, India and the US, with a population of nearly 250 million with a growing middle class that is getting more affluent by the day. Unlike Singapore or Hong Kong, due to the sheer population size Indonesia’s economy is a domestic consumption based growth story.

Though a few years behind in the economic growth maturity curve, Vietnam has the same ingredients for growth – large population base of nearly 88 million with nearly 70 per cent between the age of 15-59 years.
The fact that it is a low cost manufacturing base and a strong alternate location to China, its strategic location in Asia, the growing middle class that is consuming and urbanising quickly.

What can we learn from other markets to improve Vietnam’s market?

Any savvy investor understands the concept of risk and return. Strong monetary and fiscal policies are needed to keep the VND steady. The rate is between the VND and the US dollar is a separate issue. The bigger issue is that it should not fluctuate too much. Interest rates and inflation also need to be in check. All this coupled with transparency and a level playing field will attract foreign investors.

As said above, Vietnam is challenging. How has this impacted on C&W’s business?

No doubt the market is challenging. With rising interest rates, home sales have slowed and this has affected our residential business. However, we have gained market share in the office leasing sector as we have created a niche for ourselves in advising both tenants and landlords. We see a lot of opportunity in capital markets, project management, consulting and valuations.

Some people may think that it is wiser to focus on Indonesia’s real estate market where the conditions are more favourable, does it mean that in some case Vietnam’s market be ignored? So then what is C&W’s growth strategy for Vietnam and Hanoi in short and long terms?

Our brand, Cushman & Wakefield, was set up in 1917. For the last 95 years, we have traded as Cushman & Wakefield. No other real estate firm can claim that. When we enter a market, we do so for the long term. When markets are slow, it does not mean that they should be ignored instead business strategies need to be aligned to suit the market conditions and should be set up such that when things do improve, we are geared to derive maximum opportunity. We are in Vietnam because our clients are here. We will continue our focus in Vietnam and plan to grow from strength to strength over the years. - Source: VIR

Property market needs unfavorable policies removed

Credit supply at affordable lending rates is considered a necessary measure to stimulate the property market, but beyond capital supply, the market also needs a liberal environment with improper regulations removed, experts said.

While housing products being developed can easily change hands, trade of completed apartments is being restricted by current regulations.

Property developers have been complaining about Circular 16/2010/TT-BXD providing guidelines for Decree 71/2010/ND-CP, which allows buyers of unfinished housing products to freely transfer their properties to other parties, while those already receiving completed houses find it difficult to do so.

Once the properties were handed over to them, buyers need home ownership certificates so that their apartments can change hands. The point is it often takes a couple of years for homeowners to get such certificates.

“Homebuyers are not to blame for late home ownership certificate granting. The responsibility falls on property developers and the State agencies,” said Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA).

The fact that the property transfer is restricted goes against property rights of citizens, damaging the interests of homeowners and secondary investors in need of housing transfer, as well as affecting the market liquidity.

Sharing this view, Nguyen Phung Thieu, general director of Saigon-Gia Dinh Real Estate JSC, said such a policy is unreasonable and should be removed soon, in order to enable apartments to change hands with no need to have home ownership certificates.

Relieving burden on input

Housing prices are now too high compared to people’s incomes. Apart from speculation, difficulties in project development are also ascribed to exorbitant property prices.

Property product prices are dependent on many factors, especially site clearance cost, land use fee, capital cost, material expenses, and possibly high management cost caused by prolonged administrative procedures.

At a recent seminar held by HoREA, Nguyen Xuan Quang, general director of Nam Long Investment Corporation, shared his experience of being tortured by cumbersome procedures.

In 2008, Nam Long cooperated with a foreign partner to carry out a project. After signing the contract, the two parties conducted regulatory procedures such as seeking approval for project planning and applying for an investment certificate.

The procedures were expected to last one year, but in fact, it took three years for the project owners to complete all the procedures.

When the partner decided to join in the project, the local realty market was thriving. However, as the market worsens, the foreign investor has pulled out of the project, leaving his company with huge expenses and the possibility of project revocation due to slow deployment, Quang stressed.

Another headache is land use fee calculated on market prices under Decree 69. With this calculation, property developers have to pay both site clearance compensation and land use fee in accordance with the market prices, meaning double land purchase.

Therefore, many real estate enterprises are afraid of executing their projects. As a result, the market comes to a deadlock and tax agencies have difficulty collecting land use fee.

Property firms said land use fee would end up pushing up home prices, and homebuyers will suffer. - Source: Saigon Times

Experts discuss ways to break real estate logjam

Experts gathered yesterday at a Hanoi conference to review real estate market investment opportunities and discuss solutions for the stagnant sector.

"Challenges faced by investors and businesses in the real estate market would be an opportunity to purge the market, reduce weak investors and make it more professional," said Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

Experts participating in the event agreed that the market had undergone a long slowdown, making businesses and investors in the sector face difficulties.

They said the market had been nearly frozen and reduced to the lowest possible level.

Statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that in the first quarter this year, around 2,400 enterprises dissolved while 11,600 ones registered to cease their operation.

Can Van Luc, senior advisor of the BIDV bank's Management Board said more than 350 real estate transaction floors in the first three-months had been quiet despite of some trading in March.

Luc said estate prices in all segments of commerce, housing and tourism continued decreasing.

Sharing the ideas, Phan Thanh Mai, general secretary of the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA), said estate shares tended to decline strongly due to effects of the market and policies.

"Investors were reserved with share groups as they were worried about financial risks from estate businesses," Mai said, adding that the group would continue to cope with difficulties. Investors therefore should consider to choose good performing shares to avoid losses.

VietRees' survey conducted in eight provinces also showed that the reasons for the "quiet" market were due to extended investment, capital shortage, unstable macroeonomy factors and incomplete legal framework.

Mai added that 70 to 80 per cent of capital for estate projects were bank loans.

"Businesses have been under the pressure of capital costs because of high lending interest rates. Several firms tended to transfer a part or whole projects to others," he said.

In addition, it was a struggle for estate businesses, which had participated in the market for the last three to five years while the market was "hot", to take their investment back.

A survey of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) said around 30 per cent of businesses could not access loans due to complicated procedures, mortgage shortages and high interest rates, though the Government had loosened credit for the estate market.

John Gallander, director of Savill, said the market needed professional marketing and sales people to attract buyers, while long-term capital would be the most important.

He said the Vietnamese estate businesses often mobilise capital from customers and bank credit. Listed enterprises could raise capital on the stock market while big ones could issue bonds with banks' guarantee.

Apartment complex

Nguyen Trong Ninh, deputy head of the Ministry of Construction's Housing and Real Estate Management Department, said the ministry would submit to the Government in the second quarter to allow construction of 25-square-metre apartment.

Ninh said the area would suit the market demand and financial capacity, thus help investors sell their projects.

"The market shortcoming was that its development did not link to the market orientation and lacked planning," he added.

The ministry would work with banks to review estate projects, especially social housing ones which could be completed this year.

It asked banks to limit personal loans investing in the market.

A real estate investment trust fund would also be established to seek mid-and long-term capital with reasonable interest rates for projects. - Source: VNA

Introducing Featured Apps: Diptic App

I’m excited to tell you I’m adding area of focus to my usual blog writing – favorite apps.  This is just one of the new features I'll be adding to the blog, so expect more posts and some new twists this year! Useful apps, sometimes with ties to design/marketing, sometimes those that make life more beautiful or are just plain fun! One of my favorite things to ask my tech friends when we get together is “what are your favorite apps?”  I’ve found many apps this way – sort of like an old “word of mouth” referral for a relatively new tool. 

Some of the apps I’ll be sharing are free, others are just a few dollars.  I may not cover the apps that we’ve been using and hearing about for months – unless I can think of a new twist or way to use them that we may not have thought about yet!

It’s always a bit scary when introducing a new (to this blog) concept. For some reason I feel a bit of pressure and am not sure how to launch it just right! I’m going to jump right in by sharing one of my favorite apps!

Name of app:

Diptic.  

How I heard about it:

The lovely Kim Jamiesonintroduced me to this fun app over dinner!  

About the app:

Diptic allows you to create a collage of 1, 2, 3 (or more) photos and save it to your phone as a single photo.  At the time I’m writing this, there are 52 layouts to choose from! There are also lots of sharing possibilities with just one-click (such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.). 

If you’re an Instagram addict (or just love taking photos with your phone), you already know there are lots of great ways to make otherwise ordinary phone photos look a bit more magical. 

Think about this:

Since you can save the Diptic collage to your phone photo gallery, you can then take that collage and “instragram-it” to add photo effects. 

Cost of app:

Just 99 cents! Look for it in the App store. 

Tweet them:
Tell them how much you love it by tweeting @dipticapp.
Here are a few photos I created with Diptic recently using photos I’d already taken on my phone.  Totally transforms the look of things! (I usually tweet and instagram my Diptic photos - follow me @lauracatherineo).

 
Laura is a marketing professional and blogger who has been active in social media since 2005.  If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to this blog via Email or  RSS. Laura can also be found on Twitter (@LauraCatherineO), Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

Comments and Art Critiques in our Lives - by Rizwana Mundewadi

absolutearts.com Portfolio

Artists are a crazy lot, really I used to feel bad at first but I have accepted that we are a bundle of jangled nerves, eccentric, moody, gushing with energy, confused, aloof, social or loners but whatever the attributes I give to our identity we are a lot of happy souls!

As we create, that which was not existing before the brush loaded with paints splashes over our canvas, and we make great art. Critiques play a very important role in our lives. We are always in our own world and especially me, I am going all the way headstrong doing paintings without being affected by any one or any where. I do not know whether this is the right path I am following, my dreams, my emotions and my thoughts in this spiritual journey of discovery of my identity. I have never bothered to be affected by any body’s view point and do not understand whether this will affect my career in long term. Listening to my spirit guides is enough for me as I get the right guidance for the path to be followed, and well I am not complaining as the journey so far has been adventurous, challenging as well as nourishing to my body and soul.

In my early years there were tears, depression, sadness, mental blocks and frustration of not making beautiful art. Now I have understood that art is art, just art, let it be! I am as I am and I paint what I feel like. I like my healing art and believe in my symbols and the rest of the world can be of their opinion as they wish. The frustrated souls, the sick bodies all will be attracted to the healing emitted and I wish to heal the mother earth on this spiritual journey. Yes I have heard people doubt the power of symbols, the works have been commented as childish sometimes, the paintings have been termed as past time works and so on and so forhte, but you get over this gradually over the years and as the years pass you become more and more confident about your art and your style and as this happens the rest of the world begins to notice.

Though I do not say that critiques are not an important part of our lives, as they make us grow, not only as artists,  but also as good artists and human beings. There is no right or wrong in art and no ugly or beautiful, all art is great and all works are beautiful babies, a part of every artist’s soul. The passion and the desire to make art is only fired up by any new comments and critique statements. So just continue making art , and do not get carried away by critique comments be it good or bad as every one has a right to their opinion, and happy journey to all artists around the globe,  I wish just in case we meet we meet for art!

I wish to make simple, colourful, understandable art.

absolutearts.com Portfolio

FPT City Da Nang – A Truly Smart and Green City

VNRE - Alongside the romantic Co Co river toward the South-East of Danang City in Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, FPT City Da Nang is invested by FPT City Da Nang Joint Stock Company and covers an area of over 181 hectares.  The project is designed to be the first smart and green urban environment in Da Nang and the central region based on FPT’s strength in technology and is built with a long term vision of sustainable city following international standards.


FPT City Da Nang is aimed to be a modern urban development with complete social infrastructure including commercial complexes, office towers, hotel, shopping streets, entertainment facilities, schools, international hospital… A wide choice of modernly designed residential houses such as townhouses, apartments and luxury villas of various sizes and at reasonable prices are offered at FPT City Da Nang.

This eco-smart city in the dynamic and green Da Nang City promises to be not only a great place to live and relax but also offer great investment opportunities.




For further information, please contact:

FPT City Danang Joint Stock Stock Company

Add: Building FPT, An Don Industrial Park, Ngo Quyen Street, Son Tra, Da Nang City

Tel: 84.511.391 3913 - Email: fptcity.support@fpt.com.vn

Vietnam to get tough on wasteful use of land by state-owned firms

The government will take tough action to prevent the wasteful use of public land in Vietnam by state-owned companies, an official said Friday.

“If you look around, all the best spots belong to government agencies and state enterprises,” said Pham Dinh Cuong, head of the State Property Management Bureau under the Ministry of Finance.

The problem is, he said, land resources have not been used effectively as many organizations and companies just lease their land to get money instead of using the land to serve their main business purposes.

They try to hold onto land even though the government has ordered them to return it so that the resources can be reallocated, he told a conference in Hanoi.

“When everyone still thinks about their own interest rather than the greater good, it’s very difficult for the government to reclaim the land,” Cuong said, noting that the government is nevertheless determined to reorganize land resources.

According to the State Property Management Bureau, state enterprises are now managing a total 155 million square meters of land. Although many of them do not have enough capital to restructure their business, they refuse to sell or put their land into good use, the bureau said, citing shipbuilding company Vinashin with 1,200 hectares of unused land as an example. - Source: Thanh Nien

FPT City introduces Smart Nano Flat in Danang

VNRE - FPT Smart Nano Flat is high-quality apartments are designed, intelligent management and is located in an ideal location in the heart of FPT City Danang Urban.

On April 21, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam, visited project and Smart Nano Flat. General Director of FPT City Danang JSC Bui Thien Canh introduced Deputy about this high quality apartments.

FPT City Danang project has a total area of 181 hectares was built in Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang City. As planned, this will be an urban area with complete infrastructure including office buildings, commercial - services, schools ... and the housing products such as townhouses, villas and high-quality FPT Smart Nano Flat.

FPT Smart Nano Flat has an area from 25 to 50 m2 (can increase the area under the demand of the buyer) is built fully functional use of quality standards as the current luxury apartment.

As planned, the condominiums will be 10-15 storey building with over 10,000 apartments of all kinds. Early in 2013 the buildings will be officially built and the first apartments will be completed and handed over in 2015.

FPT Smart Nano Flat is located in an ideal location in the heart of urban FPT City Da Nang, only 10 minutes from the Danang City Center and Da Nang international airport by the car, near schools, hospitals, sport center, offices, large parks and public services.

Customers can own a FPT Smart Nano Flat based on income from steady work without bank loans. Time payment for each unit can be extended to a maximum of 5 years and get home before paying off without the mortgage.

Especially, FPT staffs want to buy apartment, they will be entitled to incentives. Registration time is from now until June 30.