Draft law to get tough on real-estate brokers

They suggested the draft law should clarify requirements on licensing real estate brokers.

Phan Trung Ly, chairman of the NA Legal Committee, said currently there were too many real estate and house brokers who worked "underground".

Therefore, he said the draft Law must increase requirements on becoming real estate brokers and the method to measure their credibility.

Ly suggested allowing the Viet Nam Real Estate Association to be given responsibility for testing and issuing licences to brokers.

However, others say that job must be the task of the construction ministry as real estate brokers, which can work nationwide and that can ensure the system is coordinated.

Construction Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said other countries impose tight management on real estate brokers. For example, he said that in Australia, real estate brokers must be lawyers with previous experience who have licences to operate.

The NA Economic Committee also suggested that the draft law should demand VND50 billion (US$2.3 million) as the minimum required charter capital for organisations and individuals who want to engage in the business.

The NA Standing Committee also discussed the draft law on management and the use of State capital in production and business.

According to NA Standing Committee members, the issuing of a law on this matter must aim to meet the requirements of State companies in re-organising. The law must also clearly define the State's role in managing capital.

They said that the law must address shortcomings in the management of the State's stake invested in businesses as well as the management of State enterprises.

The draft law should also lay out the consequences for enterprises that use State capital for the wrong purpose, they said.

It was also essential to clearly define areas that the State should invest in, they said.

Civil aviation law

Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Tong Thi Phong yesterday urged that the Minister for Transport should be assigned authority over the civil aviation sector.

Phong made the statement at a meeting of the NA's Standing Committee to review the draft law on aviation.

At the meeting, deputies agreed that regulation concerning authority over the aviation sector needed be included in the draft law.

The 2006 Law on Civil Aviation did not specify the agency that would be considered for oversight over the sector. However, Vice Chairwoman Phong said the title needed to be assigned to the Minister of Transport instead of the Viet Nam Civil Aviation Administration. The authority would need to have the competence to manage the issues and policies of the aviation sector.

Regarding prices for aviation services, the deputies said that the high cost of rent and abuses of market power were to blame for high prices. They suggested that the draft law incorporate actions to axe some of the services to incentivise improvements in the management of airport services by state agencies and deliver lower prices.

During the meeting, the deputies also discussed Article 7 of the Law on Advertising, agreeing that it was necessary to explain the article's provisions on infant milk products.

The deputies said that substitute products for breast milk needed to be defined as powdered or liquid milk formula, originating from cow's milk and including the appropriate components.

Currently in the market there are two kinds of formula for infants: infant formula for babies under 12 months old and another for babies between six months to 24 months, also known as "follow-up formula".

Despite both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF saying that follow-up formula should not be used as a food supplement, the Ministry of Health maintains a contrary position that it can be used as a supplement.

The conflicting positions is expected to lead to some confusion among mothers over the appropriate use of follow up formula. The deputies said that the Government would need to develop a clearer definition and make suitable adjustments.