The Camry and the Lexus, which two of the boys "borrowed'' from their parents' car repair shops, were returned to their owners. "I wouldn't say it's the dark side of Vietnam, but here people say they suffer food shortages for three months a year." Today, these individuals constitute up to only 10% of the population in the regions biggest economies, but by 2030, the ranks of the mass affluent are expected to reach 136 million and represent 21% of the population. This rather linear price ladder makes it easy for consumers to upgrade as they gain affluence, and it has helped establish Vietnam as Heinekens second-biggest market worldwide. Heineken provides an example. They are well fed. [Source: Xinhuanet, June 11, 2002 \^/], "Explaining the trend of divorce among young couples, Nguyen Minh Hoa of the Ho Chi Minh City Teacher College, who studied 5, 000 divorce cases, offered that young couples have to face big challenges during the first five years of marriage. New York tends to have the best prices, according to survey respondents, while Hong Kong, London, Paris, and Shanghai are preferred for convenience, the availability of luxury goods, and being family friendly. Milan, Seoul, and Tokyo, by contrast, have reputations for being the best one-stop shops, having authentic products, and the latest trendy products. Erni, a 39-year-old Indonesian, said that when her family of five travels to a place such as Bangkok, they just do some quick planning and hop on a plane. When they take a large dong note from a tourist to get change they leave their things behind on the tourist's table so the tourist doesnt worry about the kid running off with his money. Copyright 1997 VnExpress.net. The houses on both banks are newly-built. Today the canal banks are lined with trees. The group plans to expand into orange, longan and lychee trees, to green the hills, improve the villagers' diets and earn cash. The difference for spending on household appliances was 7.2 times, education 5.2, transport 12.1, and culture, sports and entertainment 69.8. Poverty rates among some chronically poorer groups was reduced by at least half between 2010 and 2020, including ethnic minorities and households in the Midlands and Northern Mountains regions. ////, "It was Cuong who tried to give us $400,'' said Thuyet, whose $140 monthly salary is the highest in his department. Leaders face an uncertain landscape. "Vietnam wants to open up economically, but the ruling Communist Party also wants to keep political control," said Faulkner. Yet spending on cars, restaurant dining, travel, and spirits dramatically accelerates as consumers enter the ranks of the affluentand keeps rising in step with increases in income. "Maybe in 2020", Mr Vong says. They survive by selling newspapers and lottery tickets, shining shoes and begging. This compares with 76% of established middle-class respondents and 56% of emerging middle-class respondents. [Source: Agence France Presse, November 8, 2007 ], In 2006, Reuters reported: "World Bank senior poverty economist Carrie Turk said the rate at which poverty was being reduced in Vietnam was "almost globally unprecedented" and the benefits widely shared. In 2020, they accounted for 20 percent of that groups consumer spending and this will rise to nearly 25 percent in 2030. The World Bank assigns the worlds economies to four income groupslow, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income countries. The corresponding chart tracks USD-VND values from March 2014 to March 2019. The affluent also tend to live in urban centers more than the members of other income groups do. International Business, "The rate of change means that in some product categories, whole normal evolution cycles are skipped. [Source: Reuters, October 8, 1998 |+|], In 2002, Xinhua reported: "With Ho Chi Minh City's divorce rate increasing in recent years, more kids make a home on streets of the Vietnamese city.