A supply increase and a major overhaul of government policies were two key solutions recommended by experts on ways to deal with Vietnam’s skyrocketing real estate prices.

Nguyen Tran Nam, Deputy Minister of Construction, said supply was consistently less than demand and developers were taking advantage of the situation by raising prices.

A rash of international symposiums and conferences have put the spotlight squarely on Vietnam’s beefed up investment environment.

Global banking giant, HSBC, was the latest to organise promotions in London, New York and Boston which introduced the development of Vietnam’s capital markets, equity investment and government policies to more than 50 investment houses. The Vietnamese delegation attending the conferences included officials from the National Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform and Development, the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City stock exchanges, banks and businesses. 

First Asian life insurer set up in Viet Nam; SanDisk broadens memory card business in Viet Nam; Bac Ninh province houses third Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park; Bao Viet group gets green light to set up bank

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung arrived in Oman on December 8 for the first leg of his mission across the region to attract potential investors for Viet Nam’s oil refinery plants and expand the labour market.

As part of his Oman visit, Hung met acting Prime Minister Say Farad Bin Mahmoud Al Said, the ministers of oil and gas, economy, human resources, commerce and industry, and the vice president of the Finance and Enerfy Council. 

Overly high chicken and pork prices have kept housewives buying tofu; resultantly, foods are selling slower and retailers are forced to lower prices

Housewives are now being forced to cut back on their families’ meat intake due to high pork and chicken prices. A representative from Pham Van Hai wholesale market in HCM City said that overly expensive meat has led to low purchasing power.