The number of the poor in Hanoi will double, to about 700,000, whenthe new poverty standard becomes effective during the 2011-15 period.

According to the new standard, which was approved by the municipalPeople's Committee, poor households are categorised as those with anaverage income that is less than 750,000 VND (38 USD) per person permonth in urban areas and 550,000 VND (28 USD) in rural areas.

The new level is about 200,000 VND (10 USD) higher than the current category.

Average income levels for households near the poverty line will bebetween 38.5 – 51 USD in urban areas and 28-38 USD in rural areas.

The municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairsestimated that with the new standard the capital city would have morethan 148,000 poor households and nearly 61,500 households living nearthe poverty line, which account for 3.98 percent of the population.

Deputy chairman of the municipal People's Committee Phi Thai Binh saidthe city would need about 5 trillion VND (256 million USD) foranti-poverty programmes in the next five years to bring the capital'spoverty rate down to 2 percent by 2015.

"An increasingamount of impoverished citizens would create many challenges, especiallywith financial resource in the future," said head of the city's LabourDepartment Nguyen Dinh Duc.

"We will have to mobiliseresources from businesses and individuals to help reduce the capital'spoverty rate by at least 1.8-2 percent each year," said Duc.

With current regulations that were applied during the 2009-2013 period,4.48 percent of the city's population (nearly 7 million) areimpoverished. 8.43 percent of households in the capital wereimpoverished during the beginning of 2009./.