Vietnam Market Watch: E-tax Refunds, Low Cost Housing, and Vietnamese Airline Expansion

November 30, 2016 Posted by Vietnam Briefing Reading Time: 4 minutes

E-tax Refund to Debut in More Cities, Provinces

The government has come up with an online tax refund project which will be put in place in 13 municipal tax departments and further expanded the following year. The 13 areas include Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Da Nang, Can Tho, Quang Ninh, Kon Tum, Khanh Hoa, Vinh Phuc, Binh THuan and Thai Nguyen. The move is projected to speed up refunds in value added tax and will be strictly reviewed as it uses the state budget.

Tax payers will be able to access the online portal at any time and can see their application status. The service is expected to reduce time and money for tax payers and the tax departments. The online tax refund project has been submitted by the General Department of Taxation to the Finance Ministry for approval and if approved will be implemented in the next month.

Foreign Investors Developing Low-cost Housing in Ho Chi Minh City

Foreign investors from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia have recently entered the low-housing market in Ho Chi Minh City below US$44,040 (VND 1 billion). Apartments in Binh Tan district launched in mid-2016, have a Taiwanese investor. In September 2016, Global Group – a Japanese real estate developer signed a cooperation agreement with a Vietnamese partner to pour US$50 million in housing projects under construction. Hankyu Realty – another Japanese investor plans to develop housing projects in the eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City.

While earlier, foreign investors had invested money into high-cost housing, the recent trend is that such investors are joining the low-cost housing market segment. Analysts say that this is because the demand for such housing is increasing in urban areas. In addition, such housing has lower risks and investment is recouped much quicker due to high liquidity. While high cost housing brings in higher profitability, demand for such housing appears limited for the moment.

Vietnamese Carriers to Buy Airbus Jets to Expand Fleets

Commercial passenger jet manufacturer Airbus, stated that Vietnamese carriers are expected to order around 40 passenger jets at around US$6.5 billion as the airlines’ expand their fleets in the country’s fast growing aviation market. This is due to strong economic growth and a growing middle class resulting in demand for travel both domestically and internationally. Vietnamese Airlines signed an agreement to buy 10 A350 planes worth US$3.1 billion. The carrier hopes to expand its long route network with services between Ho Chi Minh City and Los Angeles in the US.

Jetstar Pacific which is controlled by Vietnam Airlines and part owned by Qantas Airways finalized an order for 10 A320 jets with a value of around US$1 billion. Vietjet, the country’s only private airline ordered 21 A321 jets with a value of US$2.4 billion. The airline has expanded domestically as well as in Southeast Asia. The carrier already placed an order for 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets in May worth US$11.3 billion. The CAPA Centre for Aviation said that the country’s aviation market will continue to expand; Vietjet has 40 percent of the domestic market and will likely surpass Vietnam Airlines this year to become the largest domestic airline.

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