Vietnam’s production rises at fastest pace since Nov 2018 People work at an auto plant. The improvement in Vietnam’s manufacturing sector in April 2021 was the strongest since November 2018 - PHOTO: VNA New orders rose at a sharper rate, with firms responding by upping their rate of job creation and ramping up purchasing. Input costs continued to rise sharply, leading to the fastest increase in selling prices in nearly a decade. Meanwhile, there were some signs that supply-chain disruption had started to ease during the month. The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased for the third straight month, posting 54.7 in April following a reading of 53.6 in March. The manufacturing sector was boosted in April by signs that customers were willing to commit to larger orders than they previously did, given the general improvement in demand and control of the Covid-19 pandemic. The total new orders increased for the eighth straight month running and at the fastest pace in close to two and a half years. New export orders also continued to rise amid an improving international demand climate. Higher new orders led to a similarly-sized expansion of manufacturing output, with production also up at the fastest pace since November 2018. Companies boosted production by increasing workforce numbers. Staffing levels were expanded for the third month running and to the greatest extent since December 2018. This increased capacity, however, was not sufficient to prevent a first rise in backlogs of work in 15 months due to the strength of new order growth. Besides raising staffing levels, firms also posted a sharp and accelerated expansion of purchasing activity. Respondents indicated that the increase in input buying was both in response to higher new orders and as part of efforts to build reserves to support production growth in the months ahead. Efforts to expand inventory holdings were generally successful in April, with both …
Luxury apartment
Purchase of second homes by well-off families rises in rural areas outside big cities
The play of children in Hoa Binh was interrupted recently by luxury cars passing by driven by wealthy people who were seeking to buy land in their home village. The land plots in the countryside outside Hanoi are selling very well. A two-sao (1sao = 360 square meters) land plot in the deep forest where there is no road and no electricity sold for VND1 billion. A land plot nearby sold for VND2 billion. Local people are surprised that the land in ‘the middle of nowhere’ has become pricey. Even experienced speculators never imagined that land in the suburbs would escalate in price so dramatically. The prices of many land plots have increased by 200-500 percent just in the last year. According to Batdongsan.com.vn, in the third quarter of 2020, people ‘hunted’ for land in the districts of Luong Son and Ky Son, and Hoa Binh City in Hoa Binh province, with search growth rates of 81 percent, 41 percent and 35 percent, respectively. Hoa Binh is not the only province witnessing real estate price escalation. Right after the Tet holiday, land prices began rising in many localities. The Vietnam Association of Realtors (VAR) reported that land prices escalated rapidly, causing incredible land fever with a monthly 10 percent increase. In some areas, the prices increased by 2-3 times within one or two months. Analysts noted that the land prices of many projects with developed infrastructure are still hovering around VND30-40 million per square meter, while prices in areas with underdeveloped infrastructure have skyrocketed, now offered at VND20-30 million per square meter. In some provinces, the land prices became so high that local authorities intervened in the market to stop the price escalation. Land plots in the countryside with relatively good transport conditions are seeing the sharpest increases. Rush to the countryside According to Batdongsan.com.vn, in the third quarter of 2020, people ‘hunted’ for land in the districts of Luong Son and …
Vaccinations will not lead to vacations
The hope is that the vaccination will allow for a full return to economic activity and recovery. When it comes to international tourism, the prospects for a quick recovery remain very uncertain. Vaccination programs and travel bubbles are still in their infancy. They could help revive tourism in Asia and the Pacific but governments need to pave the way with the right policies. Countries around the world are undertaking enormous efforts to vaccinate against COVID-19. The hope is that the vaccination will allow for a full return to economic activity and recovery. When it comes to international tourism, the prospects for a quick recovery remain very uncertain. Regional or international agreements on vaccine passes are still lacking. Current travel bubbles between places with low COVID-19 risks are rare and fragile. Going forward, countries need urgently to come together to establish harmonized protocols that ease international travel. International travel is not only important for the tourism sector, but for international business and cooperation in general. The introduction of COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020 raised hopes that vaccine passes could help accelerate the recovery of the travel and tourism sector. As long as vaccines would provide sufficient immunity and avoid transmission, it was expected that it would allow travelers to move across borders without lengthy quarantine and testing requirements. To gauge the possible effect of vaccination on international travel in Asia, we conducted a simulation exercise. Under the assumption that vaccine passes would be implemented and allow vaccinated people to travel to the same extent as before the pandemic, the tourism sector is expected to recover by 2023, at the earliest. Furthermore, our research found that a six-month delay in the vaccination roll-out would postpone the recovery of the tourism sector by a full year. The days of tourists relaxing on the …
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