VietNamNet Birdge - Vietnam is getting richer with an increasing number of ‘super rich’. At the same time, the number of poor households has been rising rapidly.

A recent report from the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) about agriculture and rural development shows a considerable increase in the number of poor households.

Finn Tarp, professor of development economics, said the survey in Vietnam showed that the number of poor households accounted for 16.2 percent in 2016, while it was 12.9 percent two years before. 

The new poverty line has led to a higher percentage of poor households in Vietnam.

The gap in welfare outcomes between the poor and richest is still large. The households in the northern mountainous areas such as Lao Cai, Dien Bien and Lai Chau continue to lag behind in some welfare indicators. 

The gap in welfare outcomes between the poor and richest is still large. The households in the northern mountainous areas such as Lao Cai, Dien Bien and Lai Chau continue to lag behind in some welfare indicators.

The research team pointed out that poor households find it more difficult than others to access capital. Only 28 percent of poor households have one loan and 71 percent have none.

An Ninh Thu Do quoted CIEM’s head Nguyen Dinh Cung as saying that Vietnam has allocated resources by taking from some people and giving to others. Thus, the program to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty is not being implemented effectively.

While the number of poor households is on the rise, the number of super rich is increasing.

The Wealth Report released by Knight Frank earlier this year showed that Vietnam had 200 super-rich people in 2016 with assets of $30 million and more, an increase of 30 people compared with the year before. 

Vietnam is expected to be one of the countries with the sharpest increase, 170 percent, in the number of super-rich people, reaching 540 in the next decade. The proportion is 150 percent in India and 140 percent in China.

The number of US dollar billionaires is expected to increase from 14,300 to 38,600.

Pham Tat Thang, a leading economist, said the widening gap between the rich and the poor is the reverse of the market economy.

“Rich people are getting richer quickly, while poor people are getting poorer. The widening of the gap between the rich and the poor is a macro problem,” he said.

He cited an Oxfam report released in January 2017 as saying that one year of income of the group of 210 super rich people in Vietnam is more than enough to help 3.2 million people to escape poverty and stop extreme poverty in Vietnam.

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