Hanoi, Sep 28 (IANS): The 2017 Expat Explorer survey from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) shows that expats in Vietnam make an average income of $88,096 a year and 36 per cent of them said their income has increased by a quarter since they began working in the country.

Some 72 per cent of expats in Vietnam said they have managed to save more money and over 67 per cent agreed that their disposable income had improved compared with the time they worked in their home country and the two rates were higher than the world's average, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, only 18 per cent of expats own real estates in Vietnam, and the rate is half of the world's average.

Nearly half of expats in Vietnam said they have longer holidays and more convenient accommodations and enjoy more services relating to local human resources such as house-keeping and baby-sitting.

Up to 79 per cent of expats in the country receive many benefits in labour contracts, mostly healthcare, accommodation, and air-fare allowances. The rate is higher than the world's average.

Three most common reasons for foreigners to work in Vietnam include seeking a new challenge, improving quality of life and following their companies' transfer requests.

In the previous HSBC survey, Vietnam achieved high points in terms of benefits as part of employment package, work-life balance and fulfillment in work.

Now in its 10th year, the HSBC Expat Explorer survey is the world's largest and longest running study of expat life, asking over 27,500 expats about their experience abroad.