Industry

The record-breaking movie Old Dad (Bố Già) (Photo courtesy of the film)

According to experts, the film industry in Vietnam can only develop to new heights when supported by State policies that ensure a balance between the needs of filmmakers and concerns of society.

By Mai An – Translated by Tan Nghia

The price tag is 2.6 times the luxury segment average in the city at $6,900 per square meter, according to data from real estate consultancy CBRE. Most real estate consultancies define a luxury apartment as one that is priced $4,000 or higher.

The project is located on Ton Duc Thang Road that runs alongside the Saigon River in District 1. Its apartment prices range from VND18-24 billion ($780,000-1 million) per unit, with areas depending on acreages from 40-110 square meters.

The project has low construction density with trees covering 60 percent of the total area. Each floor has 10 apartments and eight elevators.

Data from real estate consultancy Savills shows that Vietnam is among the top 10 fastest growing branded residences real estate market in the world, alongside Malaysia, the U.K. and Australia. Branded residences are products created by a real estate developer with a well-known manager.

Matthew Powell, director of Savills Hanoi, said that in Vietnam, many buyers looking for property in the luxury segment with the highest quality for either rental or residence purposes.

The boom in this type of apartment is changing the structure of the real estate market. The luxury segment accounted for 39 percent of total apartment supply in HCMC as of the end March, exceeding the 20 percent of the high-end segment, according to CBRE.

However, observers are concerned about the imbalance this implies. Nguyen Loc Hanh, CEO of HCMC-based Asia Gem Real Estate Investment, said that 39 percent is too large a ratio for the luxury segment and it does not represent a sustainable real estate market.

Experts have been advising for the last several decades that the ratio is kept at just 1-2 percent, he noted, adding the the current ratio shows developers are only aiming at very rich buyers.

Other industry insiders say that there is still a lot of ambiguity on the criteria for the luxury segment, and that it is too early to identify whether the record-high prices correctly reflect the value of the asset.

Among the affected, 540,000 lost their jobs during the period while 3.1 million had their working hours reduced or took unpaid leave, with 6.5 million others reporting reduced incomes, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported Friday.

The country’s labor force shrunk by 1.1 million against the previous quarter to 51 million, the report stated.

Pham Hoai Nam, head of the GSO’s department of population and labor statistics, blamed the dark picture on the resurgence of Covid-19 before the Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest festival.

Vietnam encountered a new wave of Covid-19 on Jan. 28 in what the government said was caused by the U.K.-originated variant. In February, many areas in Vietnam were placed under lockdown as authorities raced against time to contain the spread of the virus.

The service sector was hit hardest by the crisis with 20.4 percent of workers affected, followed by the processing and manufacturing industries, along with agriculture.

The average monthly income in the first quarter was VND6.3 million ($272.95), down 2.3 percent over the previous year.

According to the GSO, the unemployment rate in the first quarter was 2.42 percent, down 0.21 percentage points against the previous quarter and up 0.08 percentage points year-on-year.

Severe Covid-19 impacts have seen as many as 40,300 companies shut up shop in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent.

GSO hoped the government would soon implement a Covid-19 vaccine passport so aviation, tourism and services could recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

Vietnam’s GDP grew 4.48 percent in the first quarter.

The 1,500-megawatt Ca Mau Power Plant 3 is set to begin operation in 2026 when it will produce nine billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year and employs 2,000 locals.

PV Power will require 26 hectares in Khanh An Commune to begin construction in 2022. This is PV Power’s third gas-fired power plant in the province.

Ca Mau chairman Le Quan supports the project and has tasked departments with assisting the company in completing administrative procedures.

Several other LNG power plants have received approval or are having feasibility studies done amid growing power demand in Vietnam.

Southern Long An Province last month licensed a 3,000-MW liquefied natural gas power plant to be built by South Korea’s GS Energy and fund management company VinaCapital.

The northern port city of Hai Phong has approved construction of a $5.09 billion LNG plant by America’s Exxon Mobil.

Singapore’s Delta Offshore Energy will build a plant in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu in 2024.

Customers buying Vinamilk products in a supermarket. The company shares posted the biggest loss in market capitalisation on Friday, down over 2 per cent. Photo vinamilk.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Shares edged lower yesterday as selling pressure persisted but falls were capped by strong performance of real estate stocks.

The market benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) closed the last session of the week at 1,238.71 points, down 0.68 per cent or 8.54 points.

The market breadth was still negative as 355 stocks declined while 81 stocks increased during the session. But the market’s liquidity stayed high with nearly 986.9 million shares traded on the southern bourse, worth nearly VNĐ21.8 trillion.

Friday’s losses are expected to extend to next week, according to Saigon – Hanoi Securities JSC (SHS).

The securities firm expected that the index might struggle and fluctuate around 1,250 points in the last trading session of the week. “The close of above or under 1,250 point-level of the index can suggest the trend for next week,” SHS stated in a daily report to customers.

Bảo Việt Securities Company said that the VN-Index is expected to test the support territory of 1,225 – 1,232 points again in the next sessions.

Selling pressure weighed on almost every sector, especially materials, banking, utilities and transportation sectors.

The VN30-Index lost 0.57 per cent, or 7.33 points, to finish Friday’s trade at 1,276.87 points. Twenty-one of the 30 biggest stocks in the VN30 basket fell while only seven rose.

Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk, VNM) posted the biggest loss in market capitalisation, down 2.22 per cent. Followed by Vietnam Rubber Group JSC (GVR) and Vietcombank (VCB), down 4.32 per cent and 1.23 per cent, respectively.

Big stocks like JSC Bank For Investment and Development of Vietnam (BID), VPBank (VPB), Techcombank (TCB), Saigon Beer – Alcohol – Beverage Corporation (SAB), Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (VJC) all lost more than 1 per cent.

However, gains in real estate and construction stocks limited the losses. Of which Vingroup JSC (VIC) still led the rally, up 1.49 per cent on Friday. Other stocks like No Va Land Investment Group Corporation (NVL) and Investment And Industrial Development Corporation (BCM) also rose more than 5 per cent.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index slid by 1.02 per cent to 293.11 points due to falls in large-cap stocks. The HNX30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks in HNX, declined 0.76 per cent to 440.43 points.

During the last session, domestic investors poured over VNĐ3.8 trillion into the market, equivalent to a trading volume of over 225 million shares.

On the contrary, foreign investors were still net sellers in the market with a total value of VNĐ535.27 billion. Accordingly, they net sold a value of VNĐ560.83 billion on HoSE and a value of VNĐ3.48 billion on UPCOM, while net buying a value of VNĐ29.04 billion on HNX. — VNS