VIETNAM - boom brings soaring prices

The Straits Times, 23-05-2007

The cost of everything - from petrol to pork to property - has surged alarmingly in Viet Nam as the national economy continues to boom and investment floods in.
But the downside is a worrying rise in prices, especially of fuel and food, which has hit consumers hard.
Earlier this month, petrol prices rose again, the second hike since March and the third in less than a year.
Officials said the increases were due to a rise in global oil prices combined with the government's desire to gradually remove petrol subsidies.
The result has been a price rise of more than 20 per cent so far this year.
Naturally, the fuel price hike has had a knock-on effect and the costs of other products, including basic commodities such as rice, vegetables and fruit, have shot up.

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