VietNamNet Bridge – Ministries and branches, in response to the heavy criticism from the public that their mismanagement has led to a higher consumer price index (CPI), said that the goods prices in Vietnam are lower than many other countries.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said at a workshop on November 27 that the housing prices in Vietnam are not “overly high”.

“You must not say that houses in Vietnam are the most expensive in the world, because Vietnam is not among the top 20 countries with the highest house prices,” Nam said.

Vietnamese keep complaining that the houses in Vietnam are expensive and that a state’s employee cannot buy a house after a lifetime of work.

In reply, Nam said this should be blamed on overly low salaries, not on high housing prices.

“A Vietnamese worker receives VND2-3 million a month, salaries defined in the Vietnamese conditions. Meanwhile, construction works are valued in accordance with the world’s prices,” he said.

“It is unreasonable to request real estate developers to set up the prices to fit the low VND2-3 million salaries,” he said.

Petrol price

Anticipating the public’s reaction to the petrol price increases, the Ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade tried to calm the public down, saying that the petrol price in Vietnam was always lower than that in the other regional countries and countries in similar development conditions.

In July 2014, director of the Tax Policy Department under the Ministry of Finance Ngo Huu Loi said taxes and fees made up 32 percent of the retail petrol price, compared to 34 percent in China and 36 percent in Thailand. Thus, the retail price was lower in Vietnam.

Electricity price

Vietnamese have been living in constant anxiety about electricity price increases. The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has not raised the retail price over the last year, but said the fuel costs had increased by trillions of dong, which means that a price hike is inevitable.

In 2011, Nguyen Manh Hung, who was then the general director of NPT, the power transmission company under EVN, said the electricity price in Vietnam was the cheapest in the world, suggesting that the electricity price should be closer to the regional average price level.

“We have told the government that if the electricity price is not adjusted, Vietnam will not be able to develop,” he said.

Bui Van Thach, deputy head of the Central Economics Committee, also noted that Vietnam now sells electricity at a price below the production cost because of subsidization.

Coal and gas suppliers also have to sell products to power plants at low prices to help power plants reduce the electricity production cost.

“The government has been subsidizing enterprises, including the foreign ones investing in Vietnam,” he said.

“People always stir up a racket to show their disappointment with the price increases. However, they must understand that the prices must be defined in accordance with market rules,” he said.

Dat Viet