Work With Vietnamese
  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author

vietnam cultural literacy

Where Midas is welcome

Despite the increasing popularity of credit card and internet banking, Vietnam is still a cash economy in general. Most of the transactions are in cash and even for such big things as a car or a house, payment is usually made in cash, and onetime. The concept of mortgage is quite new to most people. Only those who works in big cities with stable and official incomes (mainly the white collar) can apply for mortgage. So unlike in many Western countries, most of your Vietnamese friends and co-workers are likely debt-free. That can be, ironically, considered as one "positive" side about the immaturity of our credit system.
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Many Vietnamese still pay for real estate in cash
Generally speaking, social welfare (healthcare, unemployment allowance, retirement allowance, etc.) in Vietnam is not very good and reliable, so most people do not rely on it. Basically everyone needs to save money for their retirement or for such difficult time as illness or unemployment. But how do Vietnamese people save and invest money? Besides such common channels as saving bank account, real estate, stock market or mutual fund, many Vietnamese, especially the old generation, prefer to keep gold as their savings. According public news, Vietnamese individuals privately hold some 300-400 tons of gold. This can be explained by either a traditional habit, the lack of trust in the economy or the unfamiliarity with modern channels of investment.
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SJC is the most famous brand name for gold in Vietnam. Each "piece" of gold (or "lượng" in Vietnamese) has a weight of 37.5 grams.
One interesting thing to know here is that people in the North of Vietnam are usually more provident than those in the South. This may be explained by the different in the living environments between the two areas. Most land in the North is less fertile than in the South, which used to make food scarcity an issue in the past. The cold winter in the North also requires people to have a proper house whereas in the South you can basically survive without one. So generally speaking, due to the fact that the living environment is tougher, people in the North of Vietnam tends to be more provident than those in the South.
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Key takeaways

  • Mortgage is not very popular in Vietnam. Most people still buy houses and cars by cash
  • Many Vietnamese keep gold and strong currencies (such as USD) as savings and investment.
  • People in the North of Vietnam are usually more provident than those in the South

More to read...

  1. Who is Ms. Nguyen?
  2. How old are you?
  3. When it's time for siesta...
  4. To hear what isn't said
  5. Tet = Christmas + New Year
  6. Smart casual? What does it mean?
  7. Rubber time
  8. We request the honor of your presence...
  9. Do you want to relax, Sir?
  10. Where Midas is welcome
  11. From outings to the company trip
  12. The rising rainbow flag
  13. Song of a thousand honks
  14. To bribe or not to bribe...
  15. It is more than just money...
  16. The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
  17. Good luck, bad luck
  18. The ugly Vietnamese
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  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author