Understanding Vietnamese Life Partner

[Honey Boon]

bro, exact name for the village? might need to drive up further north now cos can't pump petro in jb, what an excuse right?

Originally Posted by X_plorer

Near Batu Pahat.. Just a 1 hour plus drive..

[SingViet]

Vietnam Stocks Turn Into World's Worst Market on Ratings, Dong

By Chen Shiyin and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen


May 30 (Bloomberg) -- The worst may not be over for Vietnam's stock market, the world's biggest decliner, as the stock exchange returns to business after a computer breakdown halted trading for three days.

The benchmark VN Index may extend this year's 55 percent retreat after a government report showed prices jumped the most since at least 1992, Morgan Stanley said Vietnam is heading for a ``currency crisis'' and Fitch Ratings cut its outlook on the nation's debt rating.

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange fixed the computer error that interrupted the VN Index's 16-day tumble, the longest streak since October 2003, according to a statement yesterday from the bourse. The gauge had tripled in value from the end of 2005 through 2007.

``We'll see a continuation of the selling,'' said John Shrimpton, a director of Dragon Capital Group, a Ho Chi Minh- based fund manager with assets of $2 billion. ``Inflation is one aspect causing the drop. The market was clearly overvalued.''

The VN Index, started in 2000, surged almost fivefold in the two years through its March 12, 2007, peak as the economy grew at the fastest pace in a decade and a government equity sale program helped lure foreign and domestic investors. Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Joint-Stock Co., the Ho Chi Minh City- based maker of air conditioners and electrical appliances, rose 523 percent from the end of 2005 through 2007. The company's shares have slumped 74 percent in 2008.

Lost Savings

Local investors who own about 75 percent of listed shares in Vietnam, a Communist Party-led nation of more than 85 million people, are reeling from the plunge. Nguyen Van Hai lost almost 700 million dong ($43,000), and his parents sold their house to help repay loans he'd used to invest.

``I entered the stock market with hopes that I could earn enough to own a house and get married,'' the 29-year-old Hanoi- based taxi driver said. ``Those wishes have now vanished.''

Even after the tumble, Vietnamese stocks aren't cheap enough to prompt Templeton Asset Management Ltd.'s Mark Mobius to buy.

The 151 companies in the VN Index trade below 10 times estimated earnings, down from as high as 30 times, according to data from Dragon Capital. Stocks in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index trade for 13.5 times profit, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

`Little Way to Go'

``It's got a little way to go down still,'' said Mobius, who oversees $47 billion in emerging-market equities at Templeton in Singapore. ``If you're going to go in there, you better think long-term, otherwise you can get stuck with a very illiquid security.''

About 52,000 stocks and bonds changed hands on average each day this month on the Ho Chi Minh exchange, plunging from the 2007 daily average of 965,000.

The International Monetary Fund said last November that inflation in Vietnam was more ``entrenched'' that in any other Asian country.

Consumer prices jumped 25.2 percent in May from a year earlier, the most since at least 1992 and the fastest pace in Asia, according to May 27 figures from the General Statistics Office in Hanoi. Food prices surged 67.8 percent.

Vietnam's central bank raised its key interest rate to 12 percent on May 17, the highest since it was introduced in 1998, from 8.75 percent. The country is heading for a ``currency crisis'' because the bank has kept the dong too strong as inflation soars and the trade deficit widens, Morgan Stanley said in a May 28 report.

Rating Outlook

Fitch Ratings cut its outlook for Vietnam's BB- rating to negative from stable yesterday, citing risks to the banking system because the government was too slow to respond to higher inflation.

Property developers slumped amid concern higher borrowing costs will curb home purchases. Idico Urban & House Development Joint-Stock Co., a Dong Nai province-based builder, retreated 80 percent, the most this year for any company listed on the Ho Chi Minh exchange.

Some foreign investors say the market is attractive enough to add to their holdings.

``We're increasing our investments in Vietnam even more,'' said Beat Lenherr, who oversees more than $20 billion of assets as Singapore-based chief global strategist at LGT Capital Management. ``This is an embryonic market that had a strong birth. Now the baby is struggling a little, but we think it'll get its strength back.''

Luong Minh, a 53-year-old state employee, who earns 5 million dong a month in Ho Chi Minh City, is less sanguine after losing 100 million dong in the stock market.

``I don't want to sell the shares I have, but the longer I keep them, the bigger the loss,'' Minh said. ``It is hard to sell now anyway as the market is almost frozen. We are desperate.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at [email protected]; Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen in Hanoi at

[technofreak]

Originally Posted by Torres_Mok

An Giang is it near Ba Chuc? this is the place where many vietnamese r slaughtered by the cambodian during vietnam and cambodia war??

Absolutely clueless too as I've never been there before...Only know that An Giang shares the border with Cambodia...

Originally Posted by Honey Boon

bro, exact name for the village? might need to drive up further north now cos can't pump petro in jb, what an excuse right?

Can still pump bro...The ban will only kick in mid of June.

[Honey Boon]

i tot started today?

Originally Posted by technofreak

[COLOR="blue"]Can still pump bro...The ban will only kick in mid of June.

[JaViEr84]

hi bros ,

Xiao Di here just wants to know as my gf(vietnamese) is having 'S' pass now when will be the suitable time for her to apply S'pore PR? 2 yrs , 3 yrs later?

[jackbl]

The Ba Chúc Massacre was carried out by the regular soldiers of Democratic Kampuchea's army on April 18, 1978 in Ba Chúc, Tri Tôn, An Giang province, southern Vietnam. Of the 3,157 civilians who had lived in Ba Chúc, only two survived the massacre. The attack was one of the events that prompted the Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea.

Story about this massacre : MEANWHILE : When the Khmer Rouge came to kill in Vietnam - International Herald Tribune

[QUOTE=Torres_Mok;2797498]

Originally Posted by technofreak

Mine's from An Giang. Capital is Long Xuyen.

An Giang is it near Ba Chuc? this is the place where many vietnamese r slaughtered by the cambodian during vietnam and cambodia war??

[Torres_Mok]

[QUOTE=jackbl;2800742]The Ba Chúc Massacre was carried out by the regular soldiers of Democratic Kampuchea's army on April 18, 1978 in Ba Chúc, Tri Tôn, An Giang province, southern Vietnam. Of the 3,157 civilians who had lived in Ba Chúc, only two survived the massacre. The attack was one of the events that prompted the Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea.

Story about this massacre : MEANWHILE : When the Khmer Rouge came to kill in Vietnam - International Herald Tribune



gd info. Bro, it seen like u r quite well verse in Southeast Asia History.

Vietnam is one of the country that is rich in history!!

[Thom07]

Originally Posted by SingViet

Oh.. tien giang. Capital of Tien Giang is My Tho. My wife's province is Ben Tre, just across the river from My Tho.

My gf is from Tra Vinh. But I had no idea where it is?

[mao86]

wah my gf cumin back spore soon...mass kana.. she tell mi she no $$ le... i must gib her cos i her husband... then she wanna eat crab...!!! besides that she actuali wanna mi go back vietnam 2dae... @@ parents... i dun understand wts the rush in goin over there !

[SingViet]

Originally Posted by Thom07

My gf is from Tra Vinh. But I had no idea where it is?

If i am not wrong, tra vinh is located at the southern part of Vietnam, near the Mekong Delta. Its around the same region as my wife's province of Ben tre. But tra vinh is further south, around 4 to 5 hours drive from HCMC. Used to hear some stories from local friends about some Khmer (cambodia) influence in Tra Vinh. Seems that lots of people there speak cambodian.

[X_plorer]

Originally Posted by Honey Boon

bro, exact name for the village? might need to drive up further north now cos can't pump petro in jb, what an excuse right?

quite near to Senggarang.. I think called Leng Neng.. Dun know how to spell..

[Thom07]

Originally Posted by SingViet

Used to hear some stories from local friends about some Khmer (cambodia) influence in Tra Vinh.

Stories? Khmer influence? Hmm I'm interested.

[Honey Boon]

I have 2 frends recently, applied and got their PR approved after they got their respective S pass. They applied less than 3 months after their S pass. ^6 months will be good if you scare too rush.

Originally Posted by JaViEr84

hi bros ,

Xiao Di here just wants to know as my gf(vietnamese) is having 'S' pass now when will be the suitable time for her to apply S'pore PR? 2 yrs , 3 yrs later?

[Honey Boon]

ya, I have given you mine.

try to write more FRs or provide some useful information, your points will come automatically without asking........

Originally Posted by X_plorer

can anyone ups my pts a bit? So pathetic 3 pts only...

[SingViet]

Originally Posted by Thom07

Stories? Khmer influence? Hmm I'm interested.

Bro, want real khmer favour, then go Phnom Penh lor. When in HCMC, go to Mai Linh transportation and ask for bus ticket to Phnom Penh. Air con bus leh. 2 trips a day.