Salaries of mid and senior level employees to rise by 5 25 vnexpress international

It is now nearly impossible to buy a new apartment at the VND 2 billion mark. According to a report in 2022 from Rever, a Southeast Asia technology firm in real estate brokerage, for VND1.5-1.8 billion, one can buy a 30-55 square meter apartment built 6-10 years ago in Thu Duc City, on the secondary market. The average income of workers in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) this year is about VND148 million a year, according to property listing platform Batdongsan.com.vn. By that calculation, it will take up to 24 years to save, with no spending on anything, just to buy an apartment. The type of apartment used in this survey costs VND3.5 billion per unit. The data also shows that Vietnam ranks first in Southeast Asia in terms of the gap between house prices and average worker incomes. From 2018 to 2021, the ratio of the difference between real estate prices and the average income of Vietnamese has continuously increased, surpassing even Singapore. On the other hand, Indonesia, Malaysia and … [Read more...] about A laborer needs to save for 25 years to buy an apartment

The index closed 8.11 points higher after gaining 9.33 points on Tuesday. Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) increased by 3.89% to VND8.65 trillion ($367.77 million). The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 17 tickers gain. VHM of property giant Vinhomes surged 5%, followed by VPB of private lender VPBank with a 3.2% rise. VCB of state-owned lender Vietcombank went up 2.9% and PDR of Phat Dat Real Estate Development gained 2.6%. Nine blue chips closed in the red, led by MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World with a 1.4% drop. HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation both fell 0.7%. Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of VND173.44 billion, mainly buying VHM and DCM of Petro Vietnam Ca Mau Fertilizer. The HNX-Index at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, was up 0.42% while the UPCoM-Index at the Unlisted Public Companies Market was up by 0.30%. … [Read more...] about VN-Index continues to rise

The first step towards getting out the door and into her work world is smiling in the mirror and whispering words of encouragement to herself. Hang said her self-encouragement session usually entails a few minutes of reminding herself about the benefits brought by her job, including an income that helps cover life expenses, health insurance, and year-end bonuses. Then, and only after a few deep breaths, can the 31-year-old Hanoi office employee muster the wherewithal to go to her telecommunications company job in the capital. Hang suffers from insomnia every night. Her high-pressure job consumes most of the time that could otherwise be spent with her family and on self-care. "I’m so sick of my job," she says. However, Hang doesn’t dare to quit because she doesn’t think she can find another job at the same pay rate. "But is it appropriate if I stay like this until the end of my life?" Hang often asks herself, knowing that there is no one definitive correct answer. … [Read more...] about Office workers ‘stuck’ in 9-to-5 doldrums

Due to the impact of a powerful low-pressure area, weather stations in Son La recorded temperatures of around 38 degrees, while those in Hoa Binh Province recorded temperatures of 36 degrees, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. Several central Vietnam localities also saw temperatures as high as 39 degrees (Ha Tinh) on Tuesday, with moisture levels at around 40-55%. Tourists wear T-shirts amid high temperatures in Hanoi, March 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Chieu Sunny days arrived in Hanoi and other northern Vietnam localities on Wednesday, pushing temperatures up to 37 degrees. Areas from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ngai in north central region saw temperatures at 35-38 degrees, with certain areas going above 39 degrees. U.S. weather forecast service AccuWeather forecast Hanoi's temperatures would hit 23-37 degrees on Wednesday, before gradually dropping to 23-34 degrees by Friday, and then 19-25 degrees over the weekend. Son La will see … [Read more...] about Sweltering heat descends upon northern Vietnam

Kam Thon and other women who live by the Mekong have been collecting river weed, or khai, for decades, but their harvest has fallen since China built nearly a dozen dams upstream. The dams have altered the flow of water and block much of the sediment that is vital for khai and rice cultivation, researchers say. "Generally, the water is clear and the level is lower in the dry season, and we can easily wade in and harvest khai. But now, the water level is higher during dry season, which makes it more difficult," said Kam Thon, who sells khai at the local market. "We need to spend more time collecting khai, and there is also less khai, which has affected our income," the 48-year-old said, as she rolled handfuls of the stringy green weed into balls and placed them in a nylon bag slung on her shoulder. Kam Thon, who lives in Chiang Khong by the Thai-Laos border, said she only makes only about a third of what she used to earn when the Mekong’s waters ran low in the dry season and the … [Read more...] about China’s Mekong dams turn Thai fishing villages into ‘ghost towns’

Open from 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next day, the shop is a favorite late night haunt for many of the capital's night owls. The restaurant's daytime set up of 7-8 tables expands with an additional 10 tables on nearby sidewalks during the busiest hours of 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Up to 80 diners can dine at the shop during this time. Three sellers, 58-year-old Kim Oanh, her sister Kim Cuc, and the sisters' sister-in-law, manage the restaurant at No.3 Tran Phu Street. The business is separated into three distinct shifts, each of which is overseen by one of the trio. On average, the shop sells about 400 to 500 bowls of pho per day. According to Oanh, each shift she and her employees serve customers while simultaneously preparing food for the following day. The shop was opened by Oanh's grandfather to serve north-south train commuters in the early 1970s. The business was then passed on to her mother. After her mother passed away, Oanh and her sister took over the business in 1998. Duong … [Read more...] about Eaters enjoy train sounds at Hanoi pho joint

The index closed 2.04 points higher after gaining the same points on Tuesday. Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) fell by 25.93% to VND8.30 trillion ($353.37 million). The VN-30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 14 tickers unchanged. MBB of lender MB went up 1.7%, followed by TCB of the largest private lender Techcombank with a 1.6% rise. MSN of conglomerate Masan Group gained 1.5% and SSI of leading brokerage SSI Securities Corporation closed 1.2% higher. Fourteen blue chips dropped, led by MWG of electronics retail chain Mobile World with a 1% decline. Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND208.91 billion, mainly selling STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank and VPB of private lender VPBank. The HNX-Index at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, where mid and small caps list, was down 0.08% while the UPCoM-Index at the Unlisted Public Companies Market was up by 1.52%. … [Read more...] about VN-Index hovers around 2-week peak

Gold ring dropped 0.09% to VND55.85 million per tael. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces. Globally gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, with investors looking forward to the Federal Reserve policy meeting as expectations grew that the U.S. central bank would slow its monetary policy tightening given the upheaval in the banking sector, Reuters reported. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,982.59 per ounce, as of 0317 GMT. U.S. gold futures also rose 0.2% to $1,986.30. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in a 26.2% chance that the Fed will stand pat at the end of its March 21-22 meeting, with a 73.8% chance of a 25 basis-point (bps) hike. "Gold is trading around the $1,980 level and well within yesterday's range, which was clearly a game of two halves," said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index. "A pause (in rate hikes) could send gold back above $2,000 initially, but for it to hold onto those gains, we'd need to see a lower dot plot and … [Read more...] about Gold prices retreat

Less than 2.5 million smartphones were sold in Vietnam this January and February, down 30% year-on-year, according to an industry report reviewed by VnExpress . "This year consumers have tightened their spending, even during the Tet holiday, which has been peak shopping season for years," said Nguyen Lac Huy, a media representative at retail chain CellphoneS, referring to the Lunar New Year holiday which fell at the end of January this year. Industry insiders estimate that sales since the beginning of this year have dropped to levels not seen in at least two or three years. In recent years, growth over the same period has often been within the 5-15% range. This decline is in line with global trends. Smartphone sales worldwide in the last quarter of 2022 plunged 18.3% year-on-year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). It was the steepest decline in a quarter since 2013, IDC reported. Total smartphone sales in 2022 dropped by 11.3% from 2021. In Vietnam, … [Read more...] about Smartphone sales tumble in Vietnam

The maximum airfare on four out of five flight distances will rise in the second or third quarter, according to a recent price report of the Ministry of Finance. The biggest increase will be 6.67% (to VND4 million or $170) for one-way tickets on flights of 1,280 kilometers (Hanoi to Phu Quoc Island) and longer. Flights between 1,000 and 1,280 kilometers will see their ticket cap price rise 6.25% to VND3.4 million. Flights of smaller distances will see their maximum price rise by between 2.27% and 3.58%. Flights under 500 kilometers will see no ceiling change. Their prices will remain at a maximum of VND1.7 million per one-way ticket. The cap price increase will likely bring Vietnam’s 2023 Consumer Price Index up by 0.07% points. Earlier this year, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways proposed increasing the cap ticket price to take into account rising in costs. The airfare price cap was last increased in 2015. By November last year, fuel costs had surged more than 80% … [Read more...] about Vietnam to raise air ticket price cap