Vietnam's Consumer Spending Doubles in Five Years

The annual average expenditure for goods and services per capita of Vietnam has been doubled over the past five years, surging from VND3.5 million (US$218,750) to VND6.9 million (US$431,250), said the General Statistics Office (GSO).

 

However, there remained a considerable gap in spending between residents of urban and rural areas, said the office.

 

Expenditure of citizens in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi were between 10 and 13 times, and seven and nine times, respectively, higher than those of people in the northwestern provinces, or from four to six times higher than those of residents in central highlands provinces.

 

The southeastern region was home to the highest per capita per annum spending, reaching VND12.9 million (US$806,250) in 2005.

 

The region’s average expenditure per capita per annum over the past five years was between 6.5-8 times higher than that of the northwestern region that sat at the bottom of the scale, or 3-5 times higher than those of the central highlands, the northern central and the northeastern regions.

 

Vietnamese people rank the fifth in term of Global Consumer Confidence Index (GCCI), according to a survey in the first half of 2007 by market research company AC Nielsen.

 

Vietnam’s total retail sales of goods and services in the Jan-Jul were estimated to have risen by 23.1 per cent on-year to VND394.5 trillion (US$24.7 billion). (VNA)