HO CHI MINH CITY POPULATION: Approximately 8 million
VIETNAM POPULATION: 86 million
NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.3 percent (2007)
FOREIGN VISITORS TO HCMC (2007): 2.7 million
NATIONAL GDP: $70.02 billion (2007)
NATIONAL GDP PER CAPITA: $2,600 (2007)
GDP COMPOSITION BY SECTOR: Industry, 42.3 percent; Services, 38.2 percent; Agriculture, 19.5 percent (2007)
MAIN INDUSTRIES: Food processing, garments, shoes, machine building, mining, coal, steel, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil and paper.
MAIN APPAREL MARKETS FOR EXPORT: U.S., European Union and Japan.
VALUE OF TEXTILE EXPORTS: $4.19 billion (2007)
LEADING VIETNAM FASHION FIRM: Minh Hanh
TYPICAL RETAIL RENT IN AN UPSCALE SHOPPING CENTER: $50 per square meter, or about $4.65 per square foot.
CURRENT EXCHANGE RATE: $1 = 16,855 Vietnamese dong
SOURCES: Statistical Office of HCMC, CIA World Factbook — Vietnam, Vietnam Venture Groups, The Economist Intelligence Unit — Vietnam, The Economist, ExchangeRates.org, xE.com