VietNamNet Bridge – Distributors believe that the decision to devaluate the dong by 9.3 percent will not have a big influence on the prices of high-tech products in the first six months of 2011.

Exchange rate adjustment applauded

Sharing the same view, Huynh Nhan Quy, Market Research Director of Vien Thong (Telecom) A Company, said that the exchange rate adjustment is an indispensable move to narrow the gap between the official market and the black market. In fact, the dollar price has been high for a several months. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate was set at a level which was 10 percent lower than the actual rate, thus  causing big difficulties to enterprises’ operation.

Unlike import companies, which complain that the more expensive dollar would make imports more expensive, Bach Khoa Computer’s General Director Tran Viet Quan believes that the exchange rate adjustment would not cause any difficulties to his company. Only a few products, mostly components, would see the prices increase. In fact, the prices of information technology products have increased twice in the past four months.

The exchange rate adjustment has been applauded by high-tech product importers, because they will be able to buy dollars more easily

Previously, high-tech product distributors could not buy dollars at the prices quoted by commercial banks, as they did not have enough dollars to satisfy the demand. Therefore, the distributors still had to buy dollars on the black marketrice levels.

High-tech products’ prices won’t increase immediately

Hue from CMC Distribution said that the Vietnam dong prices quoted by distributors at this moment have been set based on the black marketprice which is always higher than the official exchange rate. Therefore, the move to raise the official exchange rate to the level closer to the black market’s exchange rate, in the immediate time, will not have a big influence on the pricing of information technology products. He added that the prices would be stable at least in the first six months of the year.

Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy General Director of Tran Anh Company, has also affirmed that to date, the prices of the products available at Tran Anh’s chain have not increased.

Huynh Nhan Quy from Vien Thong A also said that in principle, import products should become more expensive because of the weaker local currency, and the prices of laptop and mobile phones should increase. However, businessmen still have to consider other factors (the supply and demand, the stocks and suppliers’ distribution policies) to decide whether to raise prices.

“To date, we have not received any information from suppliers about the sale price adjustment. Therefore, the retail prices at Vien Thong A’s chain remain unchanged,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vo Thi Hoang Quan, Director of FPT Distribution said people would be  more hesitant about purchasing information technology products.

C. V