New riches fuel Vietnam luxury car dreams<\/p>\n
Nguyen Nhat Lam,
\nReuters\/Hanoi<\/p>\n
Le Anh Hung is doing what his father and grandfather only dreamed
\nof.<\/p>\n
Sitting in a plush BMW showroom, the 32-year-old owner of a
\nfire protection business in communist Vietnam watched with
\nsatisfaction as clerks counted his US$50,000 stack of U.S. bills,
\nto be exchanged for a gleaming new black car.<\/p>\n
Hanoi, once renowned for its colonial charm and bicycles, now
\nfeatures the purr of luxury cars such as Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and
\neven Hollywood's brawny vehicle of choice, the military-based
\nHummer.<\/p>\n
\"The car is not just a means of transport any more, it has to
\nbe fast and be a statement about yourself,\" Hung said.<\/p>\n
Unlike in neighbouring Thailand and Malaysia, the sight of an
\nexpensive sedan is still relatively rare in Vietnam, a country
\nwhere average income still ranks among the world's lowest, around
\n$400 a year.<\/p>\n
While about two-thirds of its people still farm as their
\nancestors did, the speed at which young Vietnamese entrepreneurs
\nare amassing wealth has led to a luxury car boom.<\/p>\n
Sales of Mercedes, a brand of DaimlerChrysler, jumped more
\nthan 30 percent last year to 3,376 -- nearly eight percent of
\nVietnam's total 2003 car sales.<\/p>\n
More Mercedes were sold than in much richer Malaysia, where
\naverage earnings are 20 times that of Vietnam, as explosive
\neconomic growth spawns a burgeoning class of nouveaux riches.
\nHaving made a mint in real estate or some other enterprise, they
\nhave shrugged off the country's socialist past.<\/p>\n
They are not shy of displaying their new-found wealth on the
\npotholed roads of Vietnam, up to three-quarters of which remain
\nrural dirt tracks.<\/p>\n
A group of young drivers went too far last year when they
\noffered police $400 in bribes after organising an illegal street
\nrace in southern business centre Ho Chi Minh that featured a BMW,
\nMercedes, Lexus and a Toyota.<\/p>\n
Local newspapers were filled with denunciations of reckless,
\nfree-spending youth, all said to be children of wealthy business
\npeople. The 17-year-old ringleader was jailed for three years.
\nVietnam has moved to slow the boom. It has raised the tax on
\nimported car parts and last year slapped a 24 percent special
\nconsumption tax on locally assembled vehicles.<\/p>\n
Sales by Vietnam's 11 foreign-invested auto assemblers dropped
\na quarter from the first quarter of last year to the first three
\nmonths of 2004.<\/p>\n
However, businessmen with money to burn can look past the
\nlocally available Mercedes and BMW luxury brands, and dodge
\ntariffs of up to 400 percent on cars imported for private use.
\nThey turn to middlemen who earn thousands buying the importation
\nrights Hanoi grants to diplomats and aid workers.<\/p>\n
Lai, a former embassy driver, now makes $3,000-$5,000 a deal
\nbuying importation rights from diplomats and aid workers and
\nselling them on to car buyers for around $20,000 to $25,000.
\nNorth Korean diplomats are particularly keen sellers of their
\nright to import one car each, a trade confirmed by a diplomatic
\nsource.<\/p>\n
While the sale of the diplomatic car rights raises eyebrows,
\nthose involved in the deals say they don't break any laws.<\/p>\n
\"The trade is completely legal,\" said full-time luxury car
\nimporter Lai, who nevertheless only wanted to be identified by
\nhis first name.<\/p>\n
Having paid out the equivalent price of a locally assembled
\nFord five-seater sedan, most buyers of importation rights go for
\ntop-of-the-line models worth around $100,000, such as the BMW 7
\nSeries or Toyota's Lexus S400.<\/p>\n
Lai said diplomats have the right to sell their assets
\nincluding rights to quota-free imported cars. Buyers must then
\nconvert the diplomatic plates to Vietnamese ones.<\/p>\n
Those who don't wish to go that route can wait for Vietnam to
\njoin the World Trade Organisation, which it aims to do in 2005,
\nwhen import tariffs will be scrapped.<\/p>\n
Hung, who 10 years ago was riding around on a locally built
\nmotorbike, is already looking forward to that day.<\/p>\n
\"I would go for a Ferrari when we can import tax free, for now
\nI am happy with my car,\" he gloated.<\/p>\n
REUTERS<\/p>\n
GetRTR 3.00 -- MAY 26, 2004 08:39:14<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-riches-fuel-vietnam-luxury-car-dreams-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }