Vietnamese spend big on luxury goods
Despite economic difficulties, Vietnamese people still spent billions of US dollars this year buying luxury cars or mobile phones.
The General Department of Customs estimated Vietnamese people paid out up to US$1 billion purchasing high-class mobile phones this year.
Statistics show Vietnam consumed around 17 million mobile handsets in 2013, of which 7 million were smart phones.
The country’s smart phones market grew by 156% this year, ranking it first in Southeast Asia.
Over the past 11 months, more than 31,000 automobiles were imported into Vietnam worth US$640 million, up 29% in volume and 16% in value compared to the same period last year.
Luxury cars imported from the UK, France, Germany and the US are favourites with Vietnamese consumers.
