The number of people owning more than $30 million in Vietnam, or the ultra-rich, will cross 1,500 in 2026, a 26 pct increase from 2021. This is an estimate contained in the latest annual Wealth Report released by U.K. property consultancy Knight Frank. It says Vietnam is expected to have 1,551 ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) by 2026, compared to 1,234 last year. The company also predicts that the number of rich people, or those with a net worth of $1 million or more, including their primary residence, will rise sharply by more than 59 percent from last year to 114,807 in 2026. “We have witnessed prime apartment selling prices break the $10,000 per square meter barrier this year, driven by local demand, and with Vietnam expected to increase the number of UHNWIs between 2021 and 2026 by 26 percent, on par with Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan, we can see the potential for ongoing growth well into the future beyond that,” said Knight Frank Vietnam Managing Director Alex Crane. The report also notes a marked trend in spending by ultra-rich and rich people on watches and wines. Vietnam’s import of watches increased 28.2 percent annually in 2016-2020 despite the impact of Covid-19. Read more at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/economy/good-days-ahead-for-vietnams-ultra-rich-report-4433564.html
EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD
Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.
“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”
