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Tag: tet

  • Vietnam Airlines reports $430M loss on fuel price

    Vietnam Airlines reports $430M loss on fuel price

    Vietnam Airlines reported a loss of VND10.09 trillion ($430.3 million) last year and blamed it on rises in fuel prices and exchange rate volatility.

    Its revenues were worth around VND71 trillion, equivalent to 70% of revenues in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic hit but higher than the combined figures of 2020 and 2021.

    As of last year the carrier had accumulated losses of VND34.2 trillion.

    Yet it remains optimistic about 2023 since global markets have been recovering since late 2022 and said it would take measures to address the losses issues.

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  • Vietnam Airlines adds 108 flights for Tet

    Vietnam Airlines adds 108 flights for Tet

    Vietnam Airlines has expanded its Tet schedule for a fourth time with 108 additional flights with 20,000 seats.

    The airline said most of the flights are from HCMC and Hanoi to Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Hue.

    In all there will 9,200 flights with 1.9 million seats between January 1 and February 5.

    Vietnam Airlines had earlier announced three additions in August and December for Tet in late January.

    Other carriers like Vietjet, Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines have also added flights.

    Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam showed that more than 90% of seats on flights from HCMC to central and northern destinations between January 14-21 had been booked as of January 12.

    Many people from the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Binh work in the southern city and return to their hometown to celebrate Tet with their family.

  • Hanoi ride-hailing services struggle to cope with Tet demand

    Hanoi ride-hailing services struggle to cope with Tet demand

    Hanoians are struggling to book ride-hailing and delivery services during the runup to Tet (Lunar New Year holidays).

    Hoang Viet of Nam Tu Liem District had an interminable wait before he could get a motorbike on a ride-hailing app on January 15 evening.

    He said: “The apps kept saying all drivers nearby were busy. It took me nearly an hour for a motorbike driver to accept my trip.”

    On the morning of January 16, Nguyen Linh of Tay Ho District had to wait longer than usual to get a GrabCar and the fare had nearly doubled from just a few days ago.

    On January 15 morning, Phuong Anh, who sells Tet gifts, could not find drivers to deliver goods to her customers though fares were higher than usual amid.

    Seeing the surging demand, more ride-hailing and delivery firms have decided to apply surcharges during Tet, Vietnam’s biggest festival, which this year is celebrated from January 20-26.

    Grab has a surcharge of VND5,000 ($0.21) on motorbike rides and delivery orders and VND15,000 on taxi rides.

    Other ride-hailing companies Be and Gojek charge VND5,000-20,000 extra, and delivery service provider Baemin charges VND10,000.

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  • Coca-Cola Vietnam sets record of Vietnamese Tet table with the most participants

    Coca-Cola Vietnam sets record of Vietnamese Tet table with the most participants

    Coca-Cola Vietnam set a world record for the largest Vietnamese Tet meal table with the participation of 1,000 multi-generation families in Ho Chi Minh City on January 8.

    The meal was recognized as a record-setting event by the World Records Union (Worldkings). This record honors the tradition of family reunions over Tet meals and conveys the message that Tet may change, but the magic remains.

    A total of 436 tables were arranged into the shape of two Coca-Cola bottles at Hoa Lu Stadium. More than 3,000 people from 1,000 Vietnamese families were seated around the tables to enjoy a Tet party with various traditional dishes and share memories of family reunions.

    After two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Coca-Cola’s Tet event has returned, highlighting the meaning of family reunion that Coca-Cola wishes to bring to Vietnamese consumers.

    Leonardo Garcia, General Director of Coca-Cola Vietnam and Cambodia, said: “Coca-Cola has been part of millions of Vietnamese family dinners for almost 30 years. We know how important the Tet reunion meal is for Vietnamese. This year, with the Timeless Magic Table event, we bring back the memories of old Tet family meals with an ice-cold Coke, because we know those meals can connect family members of all generations, something that never changes.”

    Also in this event, Coca-Cola together with partner Al’s Fresco set the record for “The organization that gives away 1,000 pizzas to serve the most families in the same event in Vietnam.”

    The World Records Union officially recognized the record (Worldkings).

    Proud to be part of the Tet meals of millions of Vietnamese families, Coca-Cola strives to preserve and promote the values of friendship and community every Tet season.

    This year, Coca-Cola Vietnam has supported more than 5,400 underprivileged people across Vietnam with a total value of VND5.3 billion to help them celebrate Tet. This was achieved thanks also to the contribution of the community, the companion of associations, unions, strategic partners of the company as well as local authorities.

    Early on, Coca-Cola launched a campaign to contribute VND15,000 to the Vietnam Red Cross Tet Fund each time consumers interacted with the brand on its website. Coca-Cola and Vietnam Red Cross have supported 3,000 underprivileged people across the country through “0 VND Tet Market.”

    Under the campaign, more than 4,000 chung and tet cakes will also be sent to students, homeless, and self-employed people in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, who cannot return to their hometown to celebrate Tet.

    In addition to the partnership with Vietnam Red Cross, this year, Coca-Cola has continued its tradition of handing out Tet gifts to families and disadvantaged people in the neighborhood of its factories. The program is supported and accompanied by the local People’s Committee, Women’s Unions and Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to present 2,400 Tet gifts to underprivileged people and families in 13 provinces and cities.

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  • Food, beverage prices soar ahead of Tet

    Food, beverage prices soar ahead of Tet

    Consumer goods, including vegetables and seafood, have seen prices surge by double digits in the last month.

    Oanh in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 said prices have risen in recent weeks at a traditional market she often shops at.

    “The price of snakehead fish this morning was VND20,000 up from last week to VND90,000.”

    The Tra Vinh Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said fish prices have been rising because of increasing demand as input for making products for Tet, Vietnam’s biggest holiday, which falls in January.

    Besides, the supply of some fish, such as snakehead has dropped by 50-60% compared to a year ago, it said.

    Soft drink and beer prices have risen by VND2,000-15,000 per carton this month, according to shops, who said transportation and storage prices have been rising.

    Vegetable prices have also been increasing. Cauliflower now costs VND70,000 per kilogram, up 7.7%. Scallion prices have risen by 15.4% to VND75,000 per kilogram.

    Hue, a vegetable vendor at Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh District, said prices are at their highest levels this year.

    Hoang Thanh Hai, director of the Hai Nong Vegetable Cooperative in Cu Chi District, HCMC, said prolonged rainfall in November has hit output by up to 70%.

    His cooperative used to deliver 2.5-3 tons of vegetables to the city daily, but now only sends 0.7-1 ton, he said.

    Vegetable farming costs have risen by 40-50% year-on-year to record levels, and declining consumption has caused farmers to reduce production.

    Vietnam’s consumer prices in November rose 4.56% from a year earlier, fueled by rising costs of educational services and construction materials, according to the General Statistics Office.

    For the first 11 months of 2022, average consumer prices rose 3.02% from a year before, it said.

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  • Airfares double as Tet holiday approaches

    Airfares double as Tet holiday approaches

    Air ticket prices for Vietnam’s upcoming biggest holiday Tet has doubled year-on-year as tourism demand resumed after a Covid-19 induced hiatus.

    A return trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi from Jan. 19 to 26, when most people return to their hometown to celebrate Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, which costs at least VND5.5 million ($222.51), double that of last year and the same as 2019.

    Vietravel Airlines charges VND6.2 million on the route during the same period. Bamboo Airways charges VND6.9 million and Pacific Airlines, VND7.1 million.

    Earlier this year, before Tet, passengers could get the same tickets for half the price at VND2.5-4 million

    Air tickets from HCMC to central and northern provinces are also at a high level.

    From HCMC to Thanh Hoa Province, return tickets are priced from VND7 million at Vietjet and VND7.1 million at Vietnam Airlines.

    From HCMC to Da Nang prices start from VND4.6 million and to Vinh, from VND7 million.-

    Some passengers are considering changing their travel plans to either later or before the high demand Tet holiday.

    Minh Trang, a communications employee in HCMC, will return to Vinh four days after Lunar New Year’s Eve, as ticket prices for her family will be 50% cheaper at VND8 million.

    Quang Anh, who works for a foreign company in HCMC, will request an early holiday break to travel to Bangkok and then to Hanoi, as ticket prices for both trips are lower than flying directly from HCMC to Hanoi.

    The Hanoi–HCMC route is among the world’s five busiest domestic air routes.

    “I will get more days off in Thailand and won’t have to queue for hours at Tan Son Nhat International Airport,” Anh said.

    Even with the surging prices, airlines are expecting an increase in travel demand.

    Vietnam Airlines has seen bookings for the upcoming Tet, which runs from Jan. 20-26, 2023, rising 23% from Tet 2020 when Covid-19 had yet to have a major impact on Vietnam tourism.

    The airline said that major bookings are on the Hanoi–HCMC route, and from HCMC to Da Nang and Hai Phong.

    Bamboo Airways plans to increase its capacity by 15-20% for the upcoming holiday and could offer up to one million seats.

    Vietravel Airlines said that its flights from Jan. 7 to Feb. 2 next year are 60% booked. It is working with authorities to increase the number of flights.

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  • Over 90 pct of Samsung, Intel workers return to work after Tet

    Over 90 pct of Samsung, Intel workers return to work after Tet

    Major factories in Ho Chi Minh City reported over 90 percent of employees returning to work after the nine-day Tet holiday, abating employer concerns of a labor shortage.

    Some factories with high return rates are Samsung electronics manufacturer HCMC CE Complex (95 percent) and motor parts maker Nidec Sankyo (94 percent). Other manufacturers like Intel and Jabil also reported a return rate of over 90 percent.

    Eight factories in Saigon Hi-tech Park of Thu Duc City, which utilize over 45,000 employees, reported between 80 percent and 95 percent of workers returning to work Tuesday after the annual Lunar New Year’s holiday Tet, according to park data.

    Over 17 industrial zones and manufacturing areas where 273,000 employees work posted a return of 82 percent.

    The high return rate is considered a relief to HCMC employers who, before the holiday, had expected a shortage of workers after Tet as many preferred to stay in their hometown.

    Tet, Vietnam’s biggest national holiday, is a time when workers of large industrial parks leave en masse for their hometowns for family renuions.

    Some factories of Vinatex, one of the biggest garment companies in Vietnam, posted a worker return rate of 100 percent as the company started off the year three days before the holiday ended to meet the surge in order numbers.

    Pou Yuen, footwear maker and biggest employer in HCMC, is expected to see its return ratio rising from 64 percent Monday to 90 percent Wednesday.

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  • Vietnam stock market makes bright start after Tet holidays

    Vietnam stock market makes bright start after Tet holidays

    The VN-Index began the new lunar year with a 1.5-percent jump Monday morning, led by aviation and energy stocks. It gained 22 points to 1,503 points at 11.20 as the market reopened after the nine-day Tet break, reaching a near four-week high. It represents a 4.1-percent recovery from the bottom of 1,439 points reached on January 18 as investors booked profit before the holidays.

    Most brokerages expect the index to rise this week since no negative news came out during the holidays. Analysts at ASEAN Securities and BIDV Securities said the VN-Index is set to stay in the 1,500 levels this week. It closed in the green on an opening day on five of the last six years since 2016, only dipping in 2020 when Covid-19 first hit Vietnam.

    The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 24 of them gain Monday, led by VJC of budget airline Vietjet, which rose by 6.6 percent as investors expect a recovery by the aviation industry after the government announced plans to revive international tourism by March-end.

    Vietnam Airlines (HVN) gained 7 percent to the ceiling and its highest in over three months.

    Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) rose by 7.4 percent with volumes reaching 321 percent of the average of the last 10 sessions.

    Energy stocks also rose, with PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex climbing by 6 percent and GAS of state-owned Petrovietnam Gas gaining 6.2 percent. POW of electricity producer Petrovietnam Power Corporation was up 6.5 percent. Companies expected to benefit from rising consumer demand, such as VRE of real estate retail firm Vincom Retail and MSN of conglomerate Masan Group were the other gainers.

    The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid-and small-cap companies, was up 1.2 percent, and the UPCoM-Index on the Unlisted Public Companies Market had gained 1 percent at the time of publishing.

  • Thousands strike work after Nike supplier cuts Tet bonus

    Thousands strike work after Nike supplier cuts Tet bonus

    Thousands of workers of Taiwanese-invested footwear maker Pouchen Vietnam, a Nike contract manufacturer, struck work Friday, demanding the same Tet bonus as last year.

    They refused to return to work after finishing their lunch to protest the company’s policy to pay less bonus than last year for the coming Tet (Lunar New Year) festival. Tet, the most important Vietnamese festival, falls in early February this year. The workers stood on national road 1K in front of their factory’s entrance, causing traffic congestion for hours. The strike affected others and all 14,000 workers of the factory in Bien Hoa Town, southern Dong Nai Province, stopped working.

    A mobile police team was dispatched to maintain order in the area. A female worker said that the company had announced Thursday that employees who have worked for it a full year or more will be given Tet bonuses of 1-1.54 months’ salary – around VND5 million ($217) to nearly VND20 million.

    The highest bonus in 2021 was 1.87 months’ salary, and in previous years, 2.2 months. “With this (coefficient), workers’ Tet bonus in 2022 will be lower than before,” she added.

    A Pouchen representative said that in 2021, the company had faced difficulties in production and business. When the fourth wave of Covid-19 broke out, the factory had to stop working from July 12 to Sept. 30, 2021. On Oct. 5, 2021, it resumed production, but at 60 percent capacity.

    Due to the failure to fulfill the production plan, profits fell, so the Tet bonus, the biggest and most anticipated reward for workers, could not be the same as the previous year. The rep also said that under the collective labor agreement, the company would pay Tet bonus to employees based on its business performance.

    Nguyen Thi Nhu Y, head of the Dong Nai Provincial Labor Confederation, said the union was coordinating with authorities to resolve the situation. She noted that Pouchen’s Tet bonus was higher than the local industry average.Nguyen Huu Nguyen, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bien Hoa, said relevant agencies are trying to negotiate with the board of directors of Pouchen to increase the Tet bonus. “However, employees need to share the company’s difficulties, because Covid-19 has caused businesses to suspend operations for months,” he said.

    Pouchen Vietnam, part of Taiwan’s Pouchen Group, has one more factory in Dong Nai and six others in HCMC and the three southern provinces of Tien Giang, Tay Ninh and Ba Ria – Vung Tau for a total of 130,000 employees. The group is expected to spend more than VND1.2 trillion on Tet bonuses this year.

  • Holiday air tickets in low demand as Covid stirs fear

    Holiday air tickets in low demand as Covid stirs fear

    Air tickets for the upcoming Tet holiday are in low demand as people are reluctant to make travel plans due to the long quarantine time and a rising number of Covid-19 cases.

    In previous years, Loan’s family had usually finished booking six Tet (Vietnam’s Lunar New Year) air tickets for the Ho Chi Minh City – Da Nang route at a total price tag of over VND40 million by the end of August.

    But this year, she has yet to make a decision.

    “My two children are not vaccinated so we are reluctant to travel. We plan to stay in HCMC this year and visit our parents later when the pandemic situation is stable.”

    Hanh and her husband in Thu Duc City initially planned to bring their children to her hometown in the central highlands province of Kon Tum, but the 14-day quarantine policy for those yet to be vaccinated discourages her.

    “There are only a few days of holiday, we don’t want to spend all of them in quarantine.”

    Ticket agents are reporting an unusual drop in demand compared to previous years in a time when sales often boom as people make travel plans for Tet, which falls in early February next year.

    Hong, the owner of a ticket office in Phu Nhuan District, said by this time last year she had sold hundreds of tickets for the biggest holiday of the year, but this year she had sold none.

    “I have texted frequent customers but none have made any travel plans.”

    Airlines have also not released specific Tet travel plans as per usual.

    Only Bamboo Airways and Vietjet Air have begun selling Tet tickets but with volume totaling 20 percent in the same period last year with prices around 15-20 percent lower.

    A media representative of Vietnam Airlines said it is difficult to plan for Tet ticket sales.

    The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) currently only allows airlines to sell Tet tickets for two routes a day or less.

    Some insiders say the rising number of Covid-19 cases and the migration of workers from HCMC and Hanoi to their hometowns would lower air travel demand this year.

    Vietnam recorded 10,250 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, the highest in nearly eight weeks.

    As Tet ticket sales often account for a third of an airline’s revenue for the year, plunging demand is set to cause even more financial challenges to carriers, which have struggled to survive the pandemic

    Vietnam Airlines posted a loss of VND8.58 trillion in the first six months, increasing its accumulative loss to VND17.77 trillion ($781.23 million).

    Vietjet Air posted a first-half post-tax profit of VND121.8 billion, most of it coming from financial services.

    The two airlines have not released earning figures for the third quarter, but most flights were suspended in the third quarter due to the fourth Covid-19 wave.

    Bui Doan Ne, deputy chairman of Vietnam Aviation Business Association, said it is difficult to make forecasts about the recovery of airlines this year as the Covid-19 situation remains unpredictable.

  • Vietnam’s sixth carrier making plans to take of by mid-January

    Vietnam’s sixth carrier making plans to take of by mid-January

    Vietravel Airlines, Vietnam’s sixth carrier, has received permission to fly aircraft for commercial purposes, and plans to begin operations in mid-January.

    It received the aircraft operator certificate from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) last week, the last permit it needed to fly.

    Vietravel would start selling tickets in January, Vu Duc Bien, its general director, said. It targets breaking even in its second year of operations, he said

    Starting amid the turbulence created by the pandemic has helped the carrier acquire good aircraft and pilots and engineers at competitive rates besides benefiting from low fuel costs and a stimulus package from the government, he added.

    It recently took delivery of its first 220-seat Airbus A321CEO plane and is due to get two more soon to meet the increased travel demand during the Lunar New Year Tet in Februrary, 2021.

    Based at Phu Bai International Airport near Hue, Vietnam’s former imperial capital, it will start with services to Hanoi and HCMC before expanding to major tourist destinations like Nha Trang, Da Nang and Da Lat.

    It has hired some 200 pilots and flight attendants, and is looking to expand its fleet to 30 to prepare for international operations.

    It plans to fly to Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, the Middle East and Northeast Asia, markets that Vietravel services.

    The airline enters a fiercely competitive aviation market which already has five players, Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Jetstar Pacific, Vietnam Air Services Company, and Bamboo Airways, at a time when the industry has gone through one of its most challenging years ever due to Covid-19 restrictions, which have caused airlines huge losses.

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  • Tet shopping frenzy at Hanoi supermarkets

    Tet shopping frenzy at Hanoi supermarkets

    With a week to go before the Lunar New Year, or Tet, supermarkets in Hanoi are thronged with shoppers.

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  • ATMs stutter during busy Lunar New Year lead-up

    ATMs stutter during busy Lunar New Year lead-up

    Many people in Hanoi and Saigon were unable to withdraw cash from ATMs while online bank transfers also took longer than usual during the weekend.

    Three ATMs belonging to a bank on Hanoi’s Pham Ngoc Thach Street stopped working several times in the past few days, including on early Saturday evening when all simultaneously flashed that services were “not available at the moment”.

    Nguyen Hoang, a customer who tried to withdraw money, said: “I came here because the ATM in Ha Dong District did not let me withdraw, but not only did the transaction fail but my card was also swallowed. I have urgent things that require cash but when I called the hotline, they said I had to wait until Monday to get my card back.”

    Two ATMs belonging to Vietcombank and BIDV in the area also failed to deliver cash, as did others belonging to VietinBank and PVCombank elsewhere in the capital.

    At around 5 p.m. on Saturday a long queue could be seen outside two ATMs in front of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Hai Ba Trung District.

    Lien, who had to queue for over 10 minutes to withdraw cash, said: “There are three BIDV ATMs next to each other on Ton That Tung Street, but two of them showed errors resulting in a large number of people queuing up. So I came here.”

    The ATMs have been frustrating customers in Ho Chi Minh City as well.

    Two ATMs on Le Duc Tho Road in Go Vap District saw dozens of customers entering and leaving the cubicles Sunday evening after being informed they had insufficient cash. Some of them said they had already tried four or five ATMs earlier.

    In an industrial zone in District 7, Minh Buu, a blue-collar worker, said many ATMs in the area reported errors when he tried to withdraw cash.

    “There are already very few ATMs in the suburb; now errors keep popping up, tiring us out.”

    The run-up to Lunar New Year is a peak time as demand for shopping and payments skyrocket, especially during weekends, causing even transfers through some banks’ online systems to become slow and error-prone.

    This month, especially during the past week, many Agribank customers have reported being unable to use the bank’s mobile application, which has been showing the “service not available at the moment” error.

    Some have also reported not receiving notifications about money being transferred to their account several days after transactions. The bank’s employees have claimed it was due to system maintenance.

    To meet the soaring demand, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has instructed banks to make specific plans for ATM operations during the end of the year and the Lunar New Year holidays, and closely monitor their ATMs to ensure they operate normally.

    It also told them to take appropriate measures to reduce the load on ATMs in busy areas, warning they would be fined if an ATM is out of order for over 24 hours without customers and the local central bank branch being notified of it.

    But technical issues and local congestion could still occur during peak hours, especially in the case of banks that have yet to upgrade their ATM systems.

    According to the SBV, in addition to existing solutions to supply ATMs with enough cash, banks also need to promote cashless payment methods such as internet banking, mobile banking and paying through POS terminals and by scanning QR codes.

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  • Banking systems experience intense Tet surge

    Banking systems experience intense Tet surge

    Banks, ATMs, and online banking systems have been overloaded towards the end of the Lunar New Year, forcing customers to wait long hours.

    Hoa went to a major bank on Hanoi’s Duy Tan Street early one recent afternoon to process the payment of a loan.

    She was happy to notice that her turn would come soon, based on the token number she received, but it took an hour for her to be called.

    The bank was full of faces weary from the long wait, which seemed 30 minutes on average. People found ways to occupy themselves, with some even taking out laptops to work while they waited. Others grew restive and frustrated and left early without bothering for their turn to come.

    A similar scene has been enacted for several days in many banks. On Tuesday (27th of the last lunar month),  the waiting room of a bank in Hanoi’s Dong Da district had around 50 customers waiting at around 3 p.m. Each and every counter was occupied, and the staff had barely any time to break.

    Long queues in front of banks have become a common sight these days. At a mall on the city’s Ba Trieu street, people were also lining up in front of ATMs. Some of the machines are broken, some were overloaded due to a large amount of transactions, and some ran out of cash.

    In highly frequented places, the number of customers seeking banking services kept increasing day after day, slowing down every operation.

    The situation was not much better with online banking systems, which have also been overloaded. Many users complained they could not access their apps, experienced system failure and encountered long delays in carrying out a transaction.

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  • Taxis, ride-hailing apps hike Tet ride charges

    Taxis, ride-hailing apps hike Tet ride charges

    Taxis are refusing to charge by the meter and ride-hailing apps have doubled ‘peak hour’ prices and added surcharges as Tet draws close.

    Monday evening, five days before the Lunar New Year (Tet), Hoang Viet requested a car on ride-hailing app Grab. He was surprised to find that his 14-kilometer trip from an office block in Duy Tan street to the Gia Lam Bus Station cost VND280,000 ($12.11), more than double the usual price.

    When he tried to request rides on other apps like Be and Fastgo, he found that the prices were cheaper, but was unable to find a driver who would accept his request.

    Many others have reported running into similar situations since last week, especially during peak hours when travel demand is high as people rush to shop before Tet.

    Ngoc Mai, another resident, said it took her half an hour to call a taxi home after taking her child to a shopping center in downtown Hanoi.

    “Before opening the door, the driver asked me for VND120,000 ($5.2) for a 5-kilometer trip. This usually costs VND60,000-70,000 ($2.6-3) on regular days,” she said.

    Mai then asked three other taxis parked around the mall, but received similarly high quotes, with drivers saying they were charging more because of traffic jams around the city. Mai ended up requesting a ride on an app, but it took 20 minutes for the driver to come to pick her up.

    During the ride, Mai’s driver apologized and explained that the roads had become heavily congested over the last few days. Despite his company charging higher fees, he was making only VND1 million ($43) from less than 10 rides, while on normal days, his revenue could go up to VND1.5 million ($65), he said.

    “It’s not that we want to reject passengers, but roads are now very busy, especially in downtown streets, where it could take an hour to go just one kilometer. Yes, we have raised prices, but Grab has done so as well,” said the driver of a traditional taxi who did not wish to be named.

    Taxi prices are expected to go even higher, with most-ride hailing firms adding a surcharge to support drivers during the Tet holiday – from January 23-27.

    From Wednesday, passengers will have to pay an extra VND10,000 ($0.43) per trip on GrabBike and VND15,000 ($0.65) on GrabCar, the Singapore-based company has announced.

    Local ride-hailing firm Be also said it was adding a surcharge of VND20,000 ($0.86) per car ride during Tet peak times, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 4 p.m.-11 p.m.

    Meanwhile, Indonesia-based Go-Viet has said it will charge an additional VND20,000 ($0.86) for GoBike rides for the first 2 kilometers, and an additional VND5,000 ($0.22) for every kilometer after. It will also charge an additional VND10,000 ($0.43) fee per trip during the night.

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