Vietnam Economic Update December 2008

CONTENTS Population Profile by Urban penetration & by Age Consumer Price Index by month Imports & Exports – Vietnam's YTD Trade Deficit GDP Annual & Quarterly Rates Internet Usage Statistics Telephone Subscribers Statistics New Vehicle Sales by month

% of Provincial Population Urban *2007 Estimates - Source: Government Statistics Office of Vietnam Oct 2008 Over 65% 3 provinces 40 – 60% 5 provinces 30 – 39% 6 provinces 17 – 29%21 provinces 0 – 16%29 provinces The latest* official figures put Vietnam’s population at 85.2m. 27.4% live in urban areas, compared with just 21% in This figure has accelerated due to increased internal migration from rural areas.

Vietnam’s Population is Excitingly Young Source: CIA World Factbook 2008 / Euromonitor / National Statistics 2007 Vietnam’s median age is currently s account for over half the current total population of 86m

Vietnam Consumer Price Inflation & GDP Last updated: 2 Dec 2008

Vietnam’s Consumer Prices Index – Nov % Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam %Average Year-on-Year Prices dipped 0.76% month-on-month to reduce the Annual Rate by three percentage points to 24%; December should see a further fall

Month-on-Month Inflation Comparisons The reversal in the Annual CPI Rate started a month earlier than expected, helped by a bumper rice harvest in the Mekong Delta enabling rice prices to drop. Prices should now start to stabilise. (Index 100 = previous month) Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam

The Dong In Your Pocket Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam Continuing falls in the cost of Food, Oil and Construction materials are leading the downward trend in the CPI

Vietnam’s Import & Export Balances 2008 US $bn. YTD Trade Deficit for 11 months stands at $16.9bn, with YTD Exports around $58.5bn compared to Imports $75.4bn. Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam

Jan-Sep 2008 GDP up by 6.52% (Constant Prices) Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam Latest figures released in October show that Vietnam’s GDP growth remained at 6.5% year-on-year, with the year-end target now 6.5% and next year’s target set at 7%.

Vietnam’s 2007 GDP up by 8.48% (Constant Prices) Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam Industry & Construction continue to spearhead domestic growth in VN

From Agricultural to Industrial-led GDP growth in 15 years Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam GDP 2006

GDP Year-on-Year Change (Constant 1994 Prices) Source: General Statistics Office of Vietnam Vietnam’s economy has been steadily growing since 1999, having survived the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 better than the other East Asian countries %

Vietnam Internet Subscribers Last updated: 2 Dec 2008

Internet Penetration in South East Asia (China 19.0%) Brunei 46.2% Vietnam 23.4%* Thailand 20.5% Malaysia 59.0% Singapore 58.6% Indonesia 10.5% Philippines 15.1% Vietnam has one of the highest penetration of Internet Users in South East Asia and – with over 20m users – accounts for over 1.4% of the world’s 1.46billion internet users Laos 1.5% Cambodia 0.5% Myanmar 0.1% Source: Internet World Statistics (IWS) 2008 * As at Jun 2008; the current figure is 24.09% (Japan 73.8%)

Internet Usage Penetration of VN’s Population Source: VNNIC Year End Totals No. of Users % YoY growth 20033,098, ,345, % ,710, % ,683, % ,551, % Latest figure: Oct 2008 – 20, 573,430 (24.09% of the population)

Growth In VN’s Internet & ADSL Subscribers Million +106% Source: VNNIC From zero in 2002, Broadband Internet subscribers now account for over 29% of Vietnam’s 6.5m Internet subscribers, most of whom are with VNPT or FPT Latest figure of Broadband subscribers: Oct 2008 – 1,928,191

Vietnam Telephone Subscribers Last updated: 2 Dec 2008

Total Telephone Subscribers – Oct 2008 Millions Latest official Number of Telephone Subscribers put at 73.7m, but the GSO state that the figure reached 75.5m by end Nov % Source: Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications

Market Share of Mobile Phone Subscribers Source: MIC / Industry estimates A 7 th mobile operator has been granted a licence to enter the mobile phone market: the Ministry of Public Security-backed G-Tel aim to enter the market during Q with the stated ambition of securing 8% market share by the end of 2010 VNPT (Mobifone & VinaPhone) had 32.7m mobile subscribers as well as 10.3m fixed telephone subscribers at end Nov 2008; Viettel nearing 25m mobile subscribers

Vietnam New Vehicle Sales Last updated: 9 Dec 2008

Nov 2008 – Sales drop 49% year-on-year Excluding bus chassis Source: VAMA Units The 7th consecutive monthly decline saw year-on-year sales drop for the third month, although YTD sales are still 47% up

New Vehicle Sales Figures By Month Source: VAMA Units Total Sales Dec-Nov 2008: 112,915 - up 51% on the previous 12 months (Private up 24% - Commercial up 82%)

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