Places to Retire in Vietnam

According to several reports published in magazines and newspapers, Vietnam is one of the best places to retire not only in Asia but in the world! Vietnam, along with Thailand and Malaysia is often counted as the most amazing place to spend the retirement years in. The criteria which is used to select the best places to retire include the reasonable cost of living, opportunities for growth and available physical and social activities etc.

Reasons for Retiring in Vietnam

The fact that a person can lead a comfortable life for $500 per month in this country makes it an affordable place to retire. In this price, you can get a nice house, decent food and enough entertainment. Another factor that adds to the suitability of Vietnam as a retiring destination is its climate. The climate of Vietnam is such that you do not need to add layers to your clothing.

One can suffice in a tee and shorts all year round. The hotter temperatures can be dealt with easily and there is no humidity in the air. The social life in this country is amazing and even for expats. If you want to find company, you will be able to do so very easily as the locals are friendly and helpful.

Best Places in Vietnam from the Retirement Points of View

The following is a list of the best places in Vietnam where one can retire comfortably:

Nha Trang

Kiplinger recently put Nha Trang at the 6^th position of the list of the best places to retire in Vietnam. Nha Trang is a beautiful city which offers a wonderful landscape, awesome climate and friendly locals. The fact that the cost of healthcare is low and there is a new and modern hospital opened up in this city recently makes it a good choice for many people looking to retire.

Additionally, the low food cost and a variety of food options like fresh fish, vegetables herbs and fruits adds to the suitability of Nha Trang as a retirement destination. Food here is cheap and therefore dining out too doesn’t cost heavily. Some other factors include cheap accommodation, cheap tours and beautiful beaches.

Hoi An

Hoi An is another beautiful place where one can retire and lead a peaceful and comfortable life. It has stunning architecture and a vibrant culture which attracts many people from across the world.

It is easy to live in Hoi An as it has a lovely climate all year round and consists of pristine beaches where you can enjoy the rest of your life at. The local people are friendly and the cost of living here is definitely under $1000. Moreover, Hoi An is a food paradise where sea food and vegetables are cheap and in abundance. Due to this reason, eating out doesn’t cost heavily and adds to its retirement possibilities for foreigners.

PhuQuoc

PhuQuoc is an island which lies in the very south of Vietnam and is an ideal destination to retire in Vietnam.

This place consists of wonderful beaches and one example of this is the Bao Sao. The cost of living at this island is quite affordable and this is one of the greatest reasons why one must consider this place of Vietnam as a retirement option. Seafood here is cheap and so is buying vegetables and fruits. So if you wish to retire at a place close to the beach and enjoy a relaxed lifestyle then PhuQuoc is surely a good choice.

Apart from these three places, there are several others in Vietnam which can be looked out for retirement. If you are not too tight on the budget then you can also consider the larger cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City which are rich in terms of culture, entertaining places, restaurants, cinemas etc.

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“Bun cha” of Hanoi

“Bun cha” is a signature dish of Hanoi people with special and delicious taste; it is certainly an indispensable dish for Hanoi cuisine lovers.

“Bun cha” is made with familiar ingredients such as noodles, pork, vegetables, fish sauce.

“Bun cha” with slices of grilled pork, grilled chopped pork, add a few pieces of green papaya, enjoy with raw vegetables and fish sauce. In some places, we can also enjoy “bun cha” with traditional spring rolls.

“Bun cha” of Hanoi is voted by CNN into the list of the world’s most delicious summer dish. Earlier, “bun cha” is also included in the list of 10 best street foods in Asia by CNN.

“Bun cha” is not only preferred by foreigners but also many generations of Vietnamese people enjoy it. “Bun cha” is the traditional dish of Vietnam.

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VIETNAM AND EUROPEAN UNION WILL ELIMINATE OVER 99% IMPORT TARIFFS ON EACH OTHER

At a press conference on October 30^th in Vietnam informed of important agreements between Vietnam and European Union (EU), Mr. Bruno Angelet – Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) said that early August 2015, the EU and Vietnam has announced the conclusion of negotiations but the negotiation group continues to resolve the remaining technical issues, while improving documents.

Once completed, the Agreement must be approved by the National Assembly of Vietnam, the Council and the European Parliament. Accordingly, Vietnam and the EU will eliminate over 99% of import tariffs.

For the few remaining tariffs, both parties will grant each other tariff quota or tariff reduction. This can be seen as the highest level of commitment that Vietnam has achieved in the FTA has been signed so far.

In the investment sector, the commitments to ensure an open business and investment environment to help promote high quality investment flows of both the EU and other partners in Vietnam. Thus, Vietnam has the opportunity to become the connection for trade and investment activities between EU and other countries in the region.

In addition, the commitments related to investment, liberalization of trade, service, Government procurement and intellectual property protection… will also open up opportunities for both sides to approach each other’s market sand ensure balance overall benefit.

EU can become the best partner in the future of Vietnam because Vietnam is also becoming one of the most dynamic countries and have good relationship with EU in the region. EU can support Vietnam in many fields such as governance models and provide excellentservices in the field of infrastructure, training and education, the judiciary and law, health, social insurance and sustainable energy.

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EMART HYPERMARKET (KOREA) OFFICIALLY JOINS VIETNAM MARKET

After 5 years of conducting the survey and researching the market of Vietnam, the leading retail group from Korea – Emart (owned by Shinsegae Group) has officially entered Vietnam market by opening the first Emart hypermarket in Vietnam on December 28^th 2015 in 366 Phan Van Tri street, ward 5, Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

Go Vap Emart Hypermarket has over 3 ha in area with a total investment of up to 60 million USD (equivalent to 1,350 billion VND). Starting construction from early 2015 and went into operation at the end of the year,  Emart Go Vap is expected to meet the shopping needs and create modern consumption habits of Vietnamese people with quality products and reasonable price.

Emart Go Vap has two main parts with an area of 6,000m2, serving diverse items from staples, fresh products to household goods, electronics, fashion…; the utility service areas include restaurants, children’s education and entertainment park… The modern shopping space, nonstop improving and upgrading services are differences that help Emart Go Vap conquer local consumers.

Mr. Choi Kwang Ho, CEO of Emart Vietnam said that the growth of Emart will accompany the development of Vietnam. Thus, 95% of goods in Emart are domestic goods. With the quality and best price as well as services that match with shopping habits of Vietnamese, Emart commits to put on great efforts to become a close shopping destination for local people.

Come to the opening of Emart from December 28^th, customers will have chance to visit and shopping with many attractive 50% discount programs plus thousands of gifts and awards such as Emart helmets, Emart environmental bags, SH 150i motorcycles, Samsung TV… At the same time, customers can also participate in many exciting activities such as taking pictures with snow, the rotation of luck, darts and face painting… Especially, customers visit Emart Go Vap will enjoy unique dishes from Korea as traditional kimpap and many other unique Asian dishes… With the shopping discounts and attractive activities, Emart Go Vap promises to bring consumers an exciting and attractive shopping space, especially in the time of Lunar New Year is coming very close.

As the first Emart Hypermarket in Vietnam, Emart Go Vap is an important step in the launching plans and the ambition to penetrate the Vietnam retail market. Pursuing the motto “Every day of customers will be full of joy”, Emart committed to providing goods and best service to customers.

With the desire to grow in breadth and depth in new markets as well as to realize the goal to brand Emart to the world, Emart promises to continue a-20-year-history of impressive development with Emart Go Vap and the future system of Emart in HCMC and Vietnam.

Since the opening of the first low cost shop in Korea in 1993, Emart has achieved impressive growth steps in the past 20 years. Currently, Emart Hypermarket is the no 1 hypermarket chain in Korea with over 160 hypermarkets in Korea and foreign countries. Emart is the largest and oldest low cost store chain in Korea with sales exceeding 13.2 billion USD as of 2014. Through the launching of new series of trade centers and acquired Walmart Korea in 2006, Emart is confirming the leading position in the field of retail and supermarket chains.

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CAN THO GRANTED LICENSE FOR 5 NEW FDI PROJECTS

In 10 months of this year, Can Tho has granted license for 5 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total investment of about 17.1 million USD.

These projects focus on sectors as manufacturing dried rice bran for export; repair and maintenance of agricultural/industrial machinery, commerce, processing industry and cinema.

Also in the past 10 months, Can Tho adjusted 38.4 million USD capital increases of 4 FDI projects, in which Lotte hypermarket project adjusted increase of 31 million USD. Currently, the accumulated until early of November 2015, Can Tho has 66 FDI projects with total registered investment capital of 954.6 million USD, implemented capital reached 346 million USD, accounting for 36% of registered investment capital.

According to the Department of Planning and Investment of Can Tho, total FDI capital into Can Tho till October 2015 was 55.7 million USD, reaching 75% of year target. These are positive signs in FDI attraction of the city.

In particular, Can Tho is reviewing and approving project to establish Pegasus international university with an investment of about 15 million USD and life-skills training school of Singapore. This will be the first international university and life-skills training school in Can Tho and the region, contributing to improve the quality of education and training for pupils and students, promoting education and training development, create high quality human resources for Can Tho and the provinces of the region.

As evaluated by the Department of Planning and Investment of Can Tho, in the near future, investment activities of Can Tho will prosper while many investors come to survey the investment environment in areas such as: resort, 5-star hotel, thermal power plant, solar power, project to produce and sell cosmetics, textile, waste treatment plant, hospital…They are big projects, using many workers will contribute to local and region economic development, creating jobs for local people, increase revenues of the city when implemented.

With the advantage of supplying raw material as seafood and agricultural products, Can Tho City is a potential land and ideal destination for investors come to build processing plants to serve domestic and international demand. In particular, the incubators with technology of Vietnam – South Korea in Tra Noc Industrial Zone promise to help develop mechanical engineering industry, agricultural and aquaculture processing in Can Tho.

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Discover a Small Paris through 5 Architectural Works of Hanoi

Albeit being such a small city, Hanoi’s architecture is a mixture of both domestic and foreign influence. Hanoi contains in it the ancient style of feudal past, modern 21st century to Soviet-inspired monotone blocks, and that ofeternally-valuable French design.

In the process that shapes up Hanoi as of today, a number of the city’s buildings clearly show the distinctive imprint of French architecture. The influence is obvious in the organization of space, technical and construction materials and patterns of expression. The unique French architecture that adjusts for the local oriental style of living has become a characteristic of thousand-year-old Hanoi.

Of the finest French buildings in town, these five works are among the most popular that can not be missed whenvisiting Hanoi.

Hanoi Opera House

Hanoi Grand Opera House, a smaller version of the Opéra Garnier in Paris, was built on 07/06/1901 and completed in 1911. The Opera House was constructed in theater-style which draws its influence from the classical works in Renaissance Europe.

The building occupies an area of 2600 square meter, at its peak reaching 34 meters above the adjacent road and the main auditorium measures 24 by 24 meter. Hanoi Opera House is a unique work with an outstanding value of history, culture, architecture and art.

Nowadays, this is one of the most important hearts of Hanoi where regular cultural activities, art performances, concerts, etc. are often held.

Hotel Sofitel Metropole Legend Hanoi

Situated in the heart of Hanoi, sandwiched between Hoan Kiem Lake and the magnificent Opera House, the hotel was funded in 1901 by two French investors. Sofitel Metropole Hanoi bears that feeling of the colonial period with its white-painted walls, green windows, delicate iron patterns, wooden plank walls and a green lawn.

This is the very first five-star hotel in Hanoi where many ambassadors and celebrities have chosen to stay. Besides, Sofitel Metropole is the only hotel in the entire Indochina region with a unique collection of Citroen classic cars.

The President Palace

The President Palace, built in 1901 and completed in 1906, at first played a role as the palace for the Indochina’s General Governor Palace.

Like many French colonial architecture of this time, it is wholeheartedly European in design, with the only hint of a Vietnamese presence is the mango garden that surrounds the building. The palace’s ground is designed symmetrically, with a big block in the middle and two blocks on either sides. The building is covered in yellow paint and the huge green iron gate still guards its entrance.

At present, it is the office of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Dong Xuan Market

Constructed by a French company called Poinsard Veyret in 1980, Dong Xuan Market is one of the biggest markets in Hanoi as well as the largest market in the Old Quarter area.

The design of the market is relatively simple: its 6500 square meter area contains five blocks with domes of 52 meter length each and steel frame of 19 meter high. The front entrance owes its stunning look to French architecture, including five sculpted triangular arches arranged like a honeycomb and metal roofing.

After the liberation of the capital, Dong Xuan Market remains its full usefulness and civil architecture to Hanoians and now is one of the most important clue markets of Hanoi.

Saint Joseph Cathedral

The church was built in 1886 following the Gothic architectural style of medieval Europe which was popular in the 12th century and the Renaissance.

Saint Joseph Cathedral much resembled the Notre Dame Cathedral Paris with curved domes toward the sky. The church has a length of 64.5 meter, width of 20.5 meter and two 31.5 meter high tower with massive stone pillars at the four corners. On the top of the church lies the huge stone cross. The church also owns a collection of western-made bells including four small and one very large bell which itself costs 20,000 francs to build at that time. It also has a giant clock which the alarm system linked to the five bells hanging on the two towers.

To this day, Saint Joseph Cathedral still holds several masses throughout the day and is usually crowded on weekends and religious holidays.

French architecture in Hanoi has become a heritage which both represents historic significance and combines harmonically with the traditional architectural elements of the urban landscape. It has played an important role in conceiving the beautiful image of Hanoi and creating an unforgettable impression on those who visit the thousand-year-old Ascending Dragon.

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CONTRACTS SIGNED WHEN PRESIDENT OBAMA VISITS VIETNAM

There have been series of cooperation contracts that are signed between the AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam) members and Vietnam businessesafter the first day that President Barack Obama visits Vietnam.

On the trip to Vietnam of President Obama, AmCham and VCCI jointly organized the corporate event in Hanoi. At the event, the signing of agreements between member companies of AmCham and Vietnamese partners are took place.

In particular, the signing of treaties on climate change and clean energy includes 7 records:

– Memorandum of GE on the development of 1000MW of wind power: Estimated that in 2025, there will be 1,000 megawatts from wind power projects. With that capacity, wind power will be enough to supply for 1.8 million households in Vietnam over the next 10 years.

– Agreement on nuclear safety training: US will help Vietnam to train the human resources, equipped with the knowledge of nuclear procurement, design and build factories, licensing and safety checks of nuclear reactors in the future. At the same time, US experts will also advise about the effectiveness of this technology as well as economic benefits when developing.

– Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and Murph Oil Company: Murphy has participated in oil and gas exploration in Vietnam since 2012 and currently is cooperating to exploit gas in Nam Con Son. This memorandum will open up many opportunities for cooperation between the two sides in oil and gas, energy joint venture, accelerating the negotiation of the project in Tho Chu Island and many other contracts.

– Cooperation agreement of the solar energy projects between First Solar and Thien Tan: Thien Tan Investment and Construction Company have signed two major contracts to purchase solar panels worth 35 million USD to serve the solar photovoltaic plant, which has started construction since mid 2015. The plant has a capacity of 19.2 MW with total investment of 800 billion VND and is built on an area of 24 ha in Quang Ngai.

– Memorandum of Biomass Minnesota Plant: Tin Thanh Electricity Company cooperates with US businesses, negotiating the terms related to design and build of boiler biomass power. That helps saving of 10 – 20% electricity, reducing 200,000 tons of carbon each year.

Along with other agreements such as joint researching on lower Mekong, Memorandum of Understanding on climate change in the Mekong Delta…

The signing ceremony of the future investment projects includes the Memorandum of Understanding that The Grand Ho Tram Strip develops its 2nd hotel tower; Memorandum of Traffic Safety Program.

Accordingly, The Grand Ho Tram Strip has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cotec Construction Joint Stock Company (CotecCons) on the expansion of The Grand Ho Tram Strip worth 75 million USD.

The construction of the 2^nd hotel tower with 559 rooms of The Grand Ho Tram Strip will be undertaken by CotecCons, bringing the total number of room of The Grand Ho Tram Strip to 1,100 rooms when completed.

After the completion of the hotel building, the actual total investment for the whole project has reached 1 billion USD.

In addition, in a memorandum on traffic safety program, the US will pour about 1 million USD to help Vietnam solving the challenges of traffic safety problems such as accidents, give helmets for citizens…

In the aviator industry, Vietjet Air (Vietnam) and Boeing (US) have signed contract worth 11.3 billion USD in the presence of President Tran Dai Quang and President Obama. With this contract, Vietjet Air will buy 100 Boeing 737 MAX 200 from Boeing.

Besides the contract signed with Boeing, Vietjet Air also signed contract with United Technologies Corp to buy engines for the aircrafts that Vietjet has signed and ordered with aircraft suppliers. The signed contracts worth up to 3.04 billion USD.

According to the executive director of the US Trade Association (AmCham), the visit of President Obama will further promote cooperation relations between the two countries in many fields; including economy, friendship between the two countries, security, human right, global and area issues of mutual interest.

The timing of the trip to Vietnam of President Obama has very important meaning because this is the time Parliament is preparing to consider ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at the end of this year.

AmCham believes that the TPP will bring many benefits and opportunities for companies, investors, workers, farmers and consumers in both the US and Vietnam. When fully deployed, the TPP will pave the way for the digital economy, strengthen the creative industries; contributing to a fair play ground for businesses and investors.

In addition, TPP will bring many important changes to the business environment in Vietnam and opens up many new opportunities, helping Vietnam to speed up in the industrialization, modernization and globalization process. This Agreement will help the private sector to have more opportunities to reach important markets, stimulating competition, attracting foreign investment and contributing to the construction of supply chain infrastructure; from that creates great opportunities for Vietnam enterprises, creating jobs and raise incomes for Vietnamese employees.

ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation.  Our services are as following:

• Market Entry
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We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

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SAIGON CO.OP COOPERATED WITH WILMAR (JAPAN) TO BUILD SAUCE FACTORY

Nam Duong International Food Co., Ltd will implement the project with a total investment capital of 577.2 billion VND (equivalent to 25.6 million USD) to build a new factory in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone (Nha Be, Ho Chi Minh City).

Accordingly, Nam Duong International Food Co., Ltd is a joint venture between Saigon Co-op (a large retailer in Vietnam) and Wilmar International Limited (Singapore) with the capital contribution ratio is 49% and 51% respectively.

After the joint venture was established, the preparing procedures for the new factory will be conducted expeditiously. The factory will specialize in manufacturing sauces and spices to serve the domestic and export market.

The brand “Nam Duong” owned by Saigon Co.op, which was founded in 1951, is one of the brands in the sauces and spices industry in Vietnam, with products: soy sauce, sauce, chili and tomato sauce. These products are preferred by domestic and abroad consumers. These products are now being exported to markets such as the US, Canada and Europe.

As the leading retailer in Vietnam, Saigon Co.op understands the trend, tastes and appetites of consumers. On the other hand, Wilmar Group which has extensive experience in manufacturing and distribution of food worldwide. Through this joint venture, the Nam Duong’s sauces and spices products will meet the international production standards and safety and will be sold in a global distribution network but still preserve the traditional flavors in each product.

The main objective in the development strategy of Wilmar is aimed at building and developing closed business models with diverse agricultural commodities, proactive from input raw materials to produce and distribute finished products. Currently, the Group has more than 500 factories in China, India, Indonesia, Indonesia, Vietnam and 50 other countries worldwide. The Group develops based on multinational human resources base with 92,000 employees.

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Vietnam Prepares for Wave of Russian Tourist

Currently, there were complicated situations occurred in the favorite destinations of Russian tourists such as Egypt, Turkey and Goa of India, the Russian Government recommend, forbidden or even stop the tours and flights to these destinations. Such names as Vietnam, Cuba and China were recommended as safe destinations for Russian citizens to travel.

Nha Trang Beach of Vietnam

The A321 of Kogalymavia Airlines (Russia) had an accident in the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) on October 31st makes 224 people on the flight were killed. The Security Agency of the Russian Federation determined that this is a terrorist attack after finding traces of explosives in the debris. Soon after, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the suspension of all flights from Russia to Egypt.

On November 11th, Russia officially banned all aircraft of the national airline of Egypt (Egypt Air) and advised their citizens should not come here. This led the Egyptian tourism industry hit hard. According to Al-Ahram newspaper in Arabic of Egypt, there were 72,000 Russian tourists have left this country after the tragedy. Egyptian Tourism Minister predicted that in the last 3 months of 2015, their tourism industry could suffer over 820 million USD losses.

Goa, a state in India is the favorite destination of Russians in the new year holiday continues to go to “blacklist” due to threats to local security problems as well as the increase in prices at tourist sites.

The crisis started in 2014 when the Ruble devaluation, the number of Russian tourists travel to Goa halved. 2016 will continue to decline. The negative impacts caused Transaero Airlines, which often serving 50% of guests are Russians goes bankruptcy. According to statistics, Russian tourists accounted for nearly 50% of foreign visitors to Goa, with nearly 250,000 visitors in 2013.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the House of Russia published a list of the safe destinations, which encouraging its citizens to come after a series of favorite destinations are included in the “blacklist”. In the three alternative candidates, there was Vietnam.

Phu Quoc Beach of Vietnam

At the Russia – Vietnam business forum occurred last November in Moscow, Russia suggested that Vietnam should prepare to welcome waves of tourist to come here after many difficulties in Egypt. Moreover, Vietnam should improve the mechanisms to support the Russian tour operators to penetrate the Vietnam tour market.

This is good sign for Vietnam’s tourism industry after the number of Russian tourists has reduced from the end of 2014 due to the Ruble devaluation causing them to tighten spending. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, as of November 2015, there are 297,384 Russian visitors come to Vietnam, reached only 90% compared to the same period last year. However, from October, the number of Russian arrivals to Vietnam has increased slightly.

The high season of Russian for traditional wintering lasts from October to the end of March next year. Therefore, it is time for Vietnam to attract the large number of tourists coming from Russia. Moreover, it is particularly advantageous in the context of many favorite destinations of the Russian are no longer safe and Vietnam is recommended by the Russian Government.

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