Small and medium enterprises (SME) have flooded most developing countries, especially in ASEAN ones, as a new model, and Vietnam is no exception. SMEs can operate with a small capital and get adjusted easily to changes in the market, and prove to be appropriate to level of managerial skills of most Vietnamese businesspersons. At present, however, they are facing many difficulties from both the inside (managerial skill, technologies employed, and shortage of capital, etc.) and the outside. To survive, develop and make some profit, SMEs need help and financial support from the State and banking institutions. This paper estimates current financial solutions to SME problems and suggests new solutions for the coming years. Methods employed here are generalization, analysis, and comparison. In addition, statistics, induction, and deduction are also used. Based on these methods and estimates of application of financial solutions to the SMEs in Vietnam in the past few years, the paper suggests new financial solutions for the coming years.

One of the greatest achievements in HCMC since the early 1990s has been its success in alleviation of poverty. Proportion of poor families reduced from 17% in 1992 to 1.34% in 2008 . The poverty can only be reduced by a system of solutions, not by a single measure. Both theories and realities show that, microcredit is an important instrument for reducing the poverty. Failing to summarize causes of success and arising problems is really inadequate for the effort to perfect the microcredit model. The article, therefore, discusses three aspects: (1) an overview of the microcredit for poverty alleviation; (2) factors affecting the efficiency of the microcredit; and (3) suggestion of coming problems to discuss and policies to be adopted.

"HCMC is considered as the Vietnam’s biggest economic center. With this advantage, it has been among the list of top destinations for foreign investment since the early 1990s when Vietnam was open to foreign investors. According to the HCMC Service of Planning and Investment, however, the FDI in HCMC has decreased in recent years and showed signs of promising recovery in mid 2007. There are many causes of the fall in the FDI flow, but the main ones are the global economic recession, saturation of strategic investment flows, keen competition between developing countries for the FDI, changes in investment strategies of investors in different provinces, and financial health of investors. This papers wants to discuss two aspects of the investment promotion in HCMC: (1) efforts to promote the FDI in HCMC in the past few years, and (2) strategy to attract the FDI to HCMC. Based on numerical data and secondary information gathered from statistical offices, the paper analyses and explains factors affecting marketing effort to promote the FDI, thereby suggesting measures to enhance performance of these efforts in the near future. To support arguments and explanations in the paper, I also interviewed experts to get their opinions about these measures. Many authors have analyzed methods and strategies to promote the FDI in HCMC, so I decided to apply marketing principles to the efforts. The stress is put on actual causes of success or failure for the efforts to promote the FDI in HCMC shared by many foreign investors. And I hope my suggested measures are feasible."

English is perhaps the most rapidly advancing language in the world today. Deep concerns about developments and controversies in English language instruction appear virtually every day in the media. When we look back at the history of language development, the quest for improved English teaching methods has been a major aspect of educational activity since the beginning of the twentieth century. Technological development has brought the whole world so much closer. English language radio and television programs, videos, and films are readily available in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting, along with newspapers and magazines. In addition, Internet usage now provides many opportunities to interact with Englishspeaking peers on various topics and to develop grammatical, discourse, and socio-cultural competence. World Wide Web sites can supply students with an almost infinite range of information. Teaching General English and teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in a variety of professional fields is a developing major in Vietnamese universities - especially at University of Economics in HCMC (UEH). Designing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curricula and materials, conducting program evaluations, testing and organizing workshops and conferences, are of great importance to English instruction.