Posted: 13 February 2013 2128 hrs
HANOI: From growing numbers of people with depression to families bankrupted by stock market investments, many are suffering in Vietnam’s slow-burn economic crisis — and blame the communist regime for their woes.
After swapping Soviet-style central planning for free-market reforms in the mid 1980s, Vietnam became a regional poster-child with high economic growth rates, soaring foreign investment and a burgeoning middle class.
But with the economy now in the doldrums and experts pointing to decades of economic mismanagement as the cause, many Vietnamese are now saying that not only has their cash run out, but so has their trust in the government.
“This is the worst moment ever for my family… All our assets have vanished,” said Nguyen Thi Huong, a 37-year-old who works in real estate and has seen her income dry up as the country’s property market stagnates.
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