Lunar

CPI in February highest in 8 years

February 28, 2021 by en.nhandan.org.vn

This is the highest February CPI growth recorded in the last eight years.

However, the index in the first two months decreased 0.14% year-on-year.

Compared to the previous month, an upturn was seen in the prices of ten out of 11 main groups of goods and services, with housing and construction materials taking the lead (4%). It was followed by food and catering services (1.61%); transport (1.55%); drinking and tobacco (0.9%); garment and textile, headwear and footwear (0.25%).

The price of education services remained stable compared to the previous month.

The GSO’s Price Statistics Department explained that the CPI in February saw a strong rise due to the higher demand for food and foodstuffs for the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The prices of medicine and medical supplies in January-February increased by 0.88% compared to the same period last year, the price of gas in the month climbed 3.05% year-on-year.

There were a number of reasons for the decrease in CPI in the last two months. The petrol and oil prices decreased by 15.78% year-on-year while the electricity price in January fell by 16.88% over the same period last year, making the average electricity price in the first two months of 2021 down by 9.95%.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for travel and tourism decreased compared to the same period last year. On average, in the last two months, the air ticket price dropped by 35.65%, train fares down 12.39%; and tour prices decreased by 4.99%.

At the same time, domestic gold price in February was up 0.25% over the previous month, while that of US dollar was around 23,145 VND per USD, down 0.17% month-on-month and 0.76% year-on-year.

GSO said the core inflation in February, which is CPI excluding grain food, fresh foodstuff, energy and the State-managed medical and educational services, increased by 0.48% from the previous month, and 0.79% compared to one year ago.

The two-month core inflation grew by 0.64% year-on-year.

The core inflation rates in February and the first two months of 2021 compared to the same periods last year were the lowest in the past five years.

Millionaire story of a “buffalo boy”

February 28, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

A man from the southwestern region of Vietnam started his business with a female buffalo that was then extended to hundreds of buffaloes, earning him annual revenue of over a billion VND.

Though busy during the last days of the lunar year, Mr. Nguyen Hong Ngu, a resident of Long My district in Hau Giang province, spent time to tell us his “destiny”: becoming wealthy from buffaloes.

Resting on a meadow, he shared his childhood memory about buffaloes. When he grew up, he chose the buffalo to start his business.

“Twenty-seven years ago, Luong Nghia land was so heavily contaminated with alum that there was only one crop per annum. Only about 600 kilograms of grain per labor per crop were harvested. What frustrated me was thzt no buffalo was available for the crops.

Back then, I had just got married. I decided to take the money and gold received from the wedding to purchase a female buffalo for VND5 million. I just thought of using the buffalo for our own crop, not yet getting rich from it,” said Ngu.

The buffalo was not only used for his own farm. It was rented by his neighbors too. At the end of the harvest, Ngu bought nearly one tael of gold. A couple months later, the buffalo got pregnant. Ngu started to develop her breed. “So far, I have had a herd of hundreds of buffaloes. The first buffalo was dead after delivering 16 calves.”

His buffaloes are raised in different southern provinces, namely Hau Giang, An Giang, Dong Thap, etc. for trade convenience. Every day, the buffaloes are out in the grass field and soak in the water for about an hour. Then, they return to the stables for the lawn. “Cutting lawns is a hard job but does not cost much money as food does for pigs, chicken, and ducks,” said Ngu.

Ngu uses 20 acres of land for grass for the buffaloes. When there is no grass on the meadow, he has to buy rice roots from newly harvested fields. During these times, the buffaloes are well fed and chubby.

VND3 billion house from buffalo sale

Ngu bought cheap thin and weak buffaloes to nurture them. He sells them when they are healthy and meaty. Annually, he sells 500 buffaloes for meat, bringing him a profit of over VND500 million (nearly $25,000). He also sells the calves of 40 female buffaloes, earning about VND600 million.

Other strong and healthy male buffaloes are rented out for crops. “At the year end, those male buffaloes return to me. They don’t cost my energy or time but bring income.” Totally, he earns more than a billion per annum.

From his childhood experience, Ngu knows what buffaloes like and how to take care of them. Understanding them well, he can sell them at a better price than other people. “The good and healthy buffalo has small hips and big buttocks. Buffaloes are gentle when meeting humans,” said Ngu.

Nowadays, Ngu owns such a huge number of buffaloes that whenever tens of buffaloes are caught in the West, they probably belong to him. Whenever there is a good meadow, there are Ngu’s buffaloes. They are a great asset. Thanks to the business, he owns 200 acres of land.

The cost of a female buffalo is about VND50 million. A young female buffalo costs VND30-VND40 million. “I sold 110 young female buffaloes for over VND3 billion to build a house. My family has a better life from the buffalo business. Whenever I hear about land opportunity, I sell some buffaloes for land,” said Ngu.

Chuyện làm giàu của tỷ phú trâu ở miền Tây ai nghe cũng mê

Mr. Ngu and his buffaloes.

Thien Chi

Being stranded here due to Covid-19: Not really bad

February 28, 2021 by english.thesaigontimes.vn

Being stranded here due to Covid-19: Not really bad

By My Huyen

During the current Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam, many expatriates strained here have had to survive with the meager income they earn here.

The story about a French visitor getting stuck in Vietnam during the Covid-19 pandemic who had to sell local snacks to earn a living went viral before Tet, the Lunar New Year. This story moved many social media users who showed their sympathy for the French traveler. However, to some other foreigners who became stranded here because of the pandemic, the situation was not so miserable.

Several foreigners in Vietnam are not happy with the question posed to them that why they have got stuck here during the pandemic. “Why not stay in a safe place? Where should we go now?” these expatriates would reply. In fact, in some countries Covid-19 may kill thousands of people a day. What’s more, finding a job back home may be a nightmare at this moment, several of them say.

Some of the expatriates who have remained in Vietnam since the outbreak of Covid-19 think differently, though. One argues that only foreigners, especially those from Western countries, who are in financial distress, did not get on board an airplane to go back home although they had no stable job in Vietnam.

To this specific contingent of expatriates in Vietnam, the fear of a homecoming was so big that they chose to stay here although they could board an outbound flight to get home by the time the pandemic began to spread in the country. According to the above expatriate, foreigners who work from home, or are YouTubers, disc-jockeys or performers at bars in Vietnam’s big cities, and many others are practicing thrift to make both ends meet with their current meager income. Some are in fact dodgers of unemployment in their home countries.

One of the most common occupations followed by the above expatriates in Vietnam is teaching English. This job earns them fairly enough, about US$1,200 per month. However, several will find it difficult when they come to the retirement age because they have virtually no savings though their salaries are high compared with those of the majority of Vietnamese.

The expatriate mentioned above says his life in Vietnam has been wonderful. However, a jobless expat would have to prepare for a final homecoming sooner or later regardless of his or her will, argues this expatriate.

According to Vietnam’s immigration department, foreigners entering the country with a visa waiver or with a visa as of March 1, 2020 were eligible to an automatic visa extension until June 30, 2020. If they entered Vietnam prior to March 1, 2020 but got stuck in Vietnam due to Covid-19 and were certified by diplomatic agencies for isolation because of or treatment for Covid-19 or other force majeure events, their visas were also automatically extended until June 30, 2020. However, the chance to come back to Vietnam easily again after such a return would not be big because the Vietnamese border is still closed to many countries. Many expatriates may find it more difficult to land a job or build a career in their home country. Yet a multitude of them still revalidate their visas to Vietnam every month to remain here.

Unemployment in the United States and Europe has yet to abate while the high number of Covid-19 infections is still going on with no definite end in sight. These are pieces of bad news received by some expatriates in Vietnam. Some of them may rent a room for US$100 per month here. But if they come home immediately, they would have to spend about US$4,000 for the airfare, quarantine costs and health checks.

Out of money, visa invalid

Adrian (name has been changed), who comes from a country in Eastern Europe, ran into a problem when his visa expired last year. This 28-year-old man is an independent film director. Coming to Vietnam last January, Adrian faced no problem with immigration during a few months that followed his arrival.

Adrian then easily found a job as an instrumentalist in a music band working for some bars. He soon tried to make short films and engaged in other artistic activities. Initially, he felt Vietnam was a source of happiness as the country provided him with a good environment for his short film projects which was his major in university.

When all bars and all entertainment activities were closed and banned nationwide following the wide spread of the coronavirus in April and later once again in July, Adrian’s income here soon went flat. He became lonely in a strange country. To make matters worse, his girlfriend parted him as he ran out of money. Anyway, Adrian still wanted to stay here.

Money was not the only problem for Adrian. The worse, he says, came when his visa expired on April 15. At the time, he asked some service firms to do the visa extension procedures for him. However, says Adrian, they told him to pay VND16 million for the overdue visa and VND3.5 million for the monthly extension. At the end of last year, while everybody around him were celebrating the New Year’s Eve, Adrian anxiously prayed for the visa extension.

Finally, Adrian was able to take a deep sigh of relief when he received his passport with the needed extended visa. What made him happier was no fines had been imposed on him. After a long time of stress, Adrian can now be calm to focus on his job of making films.

Despite a hard time in Vietnam due to Covid-19, Adrian still thinks being stuck here during the pandemic is not bad at all, at least because he has found out a playground where he could demonstrate and put into use his talents.