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Bitcoin Not Giving a Big Enough Hit as ‘Gateway Drug’

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In the fast-paced development of cryptocurrency community, Bitcoin is not enough to hold the attention of this vastly diverse community. So, while it may be the ideal coin to get people hooked on cryptocurrencies, once they are in and settled, there is time to seek out a multitude of other coins that are better suited to their needs or beliefs.

The draw of big growth

Bitcoin’s biggest draw was the incredible returns it was offering as it rallied from 2,000 percent in 12 months. This phenomenal growth continued to increase interest in the currency, and that sparked even further growth in this massive hype cycle. It has been correlated before that searches for on Google for Bitcoin are closely related to its growth – a phenomenon known as the “Satoshi Cycle”. In the lead up to December’s high, the Satoshi Cycle was in full effect as Google trends showed some interesting figures.

Nicholas Colas, a pioneering Bitcoin analyst in the world of traditional investments, has taken this correlation very seriously and states that it plays a big part in his predictions. “Going into December, [searches] skyrocketed,” Colas said on CNBC’s Fast Money. He added that the total number of Bitcoin Google searches worldwide tripled that month: “You saw that correlates to the total increased number of wallet growth, which doubled in December from approximately 5 percent to 10 percent as Bitcoin rallied.”

Already hooked

However, taking this metric into consideration, it could be argued that the new wave of adopters are now starting to disperse and find their way to other coins that are more suited to their individual needs. It makes sense that as people become educated and learn more about options in the crypto community that they begin to diversify and pick out their favorite coins to invest in. This often leads to money moving away from Bitcoin and into Altcoins.

Bitcoin, being the dominant, most adopted and scene-leading coin, will continue to be the ‘gateway drug’ of the community, but it is finding it harder to hang on to total support and dominance.

These sentiments are expressed by Colas, who adds: “Bitcoin is considered the gateway drug to all cryptos and it has acted exactly that way. Right now [the Google search data] is telling me there’s not really that next leg up in Bitcoin because there’s not that interest that leads to wallet growth that leads to price appreciation.”

Proof?

Colas tries to justify this position by explaining how Ethereum has been the only coin that has fared relatively well in the top echelons of the CoinMarket Cap:”Some of the movement in Ethereum, which has traded much better [in January], is just money which is being pulled out of Bitcoin.”

However, it is important to note that Bitcoin’s price fluctuations and movements are still heavily linked to all other coins. The saying that: “the tide moves all boats’ is still true in the cryptocurrency market with Bitcoin essentially being the tide. When Bitcoin is up, most coins follow, and when it is down, the same red graphs appear to follow suit across the board”.

Source: Cointelegraph

Vietnam’s economy classed as ‘mostly unfree’ by global survey

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The country has been advised to continue reforms, reduce red tape and increase transparency.

Vietnam’s economic freedom currently stands well below global and regional averages, according to a new survey.

The country has been ranked 141st on the 2018 Economic Freedom Index compiled by the Heritage Foundation, an American conservative public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Its overall score of 53.1 is up 0.7 point from last year, thanks to improvements in fiscal health, government integrity and judicial effectiveness. But trade freedom, property rights and labor freedom are still inhibited, according to the survey.

Vietnam finished 35th out of 43 countries in Asia Pacific, below China and its smaller neighbors Cambodia and Laos.

The U.S. foundation said that Vietnam could improve its economic environment by continuing to reform state-owned enterprises, reducing red tape, increasing transparency in the business and financial sectors, reducing bad debt in the banking sector and increasing recognition of private property rights.

“Corruption and nepotism are rife,” it said, emphasizing that the problems are more common in public firms subsidized by the government.

Vietnam seems to be on the right track after pushing ahead with various IPOs of state-owned firms in recent years. The country has also imprisoned scores of corrupt members of the public oil giant PetroVietnam, including once powerful officials.

Vietnam’s economy expanded 6.81 percent last year, its fastest growth in a decade and among the fastest in the world.

Although its score has been interpreted as “mostly unfree”, the economy is among 102 that improved this year. Another 75 declined and three remained unchanged.

The world average score of 61.1, the highest recorded in the 24-year history of the index, classes the global economy as “moderately free”.

Only six economies are classed as “free” by earning scores of 80 or above. Hong Kong and Singapore finished first and second in the rankings for the 24th consecutive year, followed by New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia and Ireland.

The number of economically “unfree” economies stands at 63, while 21 are considered “repressed”.

The world’s biggest economy, the United States, ranks 18th globally, while China is far behind in 110th.

Source: Vi Vu

You won’t believe the story behind this 72-yr-old man’s tattoo

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Every tattoo is a story, and this one might leave you in tears. At the age of 72, a man with memory loss in Ho Chi Minh City has just got a tattoo of his home address and daughter’s phone number so he can wander around without losing his way home.

The touching story was shared by Bui Van Quan, a tattoo artist in District 2, who said he had never met such a peculiar customer in his career.

“He likes to wander around a lot, but would often forget his way home due to an age-related memory loss,” Quan said.

“His daughter had tried different ways to have him wear a tag with contact details on it, but they didn’t work.”

The 21-year-old tattoo artists recalled being reluctant at first, as he didn’t know whether the elderly man would be able to put up with the pain of getting a tattoo.

“But when I arrived at their house for the procedure, he seemed happy about the decision. He told me stories about his youth, which was remarkable considering his memory problem,” Quan recalled.

According to the artist, the old man’s daughter had been rejected by many tattoo shops before she finally found one that agreed to perform the task.

The session only lasted for two hours, but it taught Quan many lessons about familial love and filial piety, he said.

Quan has been working as a professional tattoo artist for three years since graduating from high school, and his motto is to put all of his passion into his work and the best outcome will ensue.

“I don’t think a person should be judged by their tattoo. I’m not saying we should all get a tattoo, but let’s not see it as anything more than an accessory,” Quan said.

Tattoo artist Bui Van Quan (R) and his 72-year-old customer. Courtesy of Quan

Source: Tuan Son

Vietnam fears effects of US tax bill on foreign investment

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Tax reform passed by the US Congress at the end of last year may affect Vietnam’s economy as US investors are likely to send their investment back home, where the corporate income tax (CIT) rate has been slashed, Vietnamese economic experts have warned.

The sweeping tax reforms, signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 22, include reductions in the CIT rate from 35 per cent to 21 per cent and a minimum of 10.5 per cent rate on any foreign profits US companies send home.

The tax overhaul should encourage corporations to relocate or build new operations in the US instead of overseas, where the CIT rate is often lower.

The US Government also hopes that US companies will repatriate their foreign cash piles given the attractive 10.5 per cent tax rate.

Countries where US companies are doing business, including Vietnam, see those benefits as challenges for their respective economies, members of an economic advisory panel to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a recent report.

“US companies will transfer profits generated from operations in Vietnam back home rather than keeping the money here for re-investment,” said Mr. Vu Viet Ngoan, Head of the panel. “Vietnam’s economy will be impacted if many US corporations follow this trend.”
But the bigger concern comes from neighboring economies, not the US tax bill itself, Mr. Ngoan noted.

Many countries, including China, have begun to offer new tax incentives to keep US investors, “a trend Vietnam should keep a close eye on,” he said.

According to the advisory panel, China has “taken timely action” by offering tax exemptions for US companies if they retain their investment in the country, while at the same time enacting new measures for those who want to repatriate their investment.

“Vietnam should keep watching developments in China to be able to respond timely, even though there are still not many US investors here,” Mr. Ngoan said.

Upon receiving the report from the advisory panel, Mr. Tran Dinh Chieu, Member of the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee, said Vietnam should pay due attention to the warnings.

“The problem should be taken into serious consideration despite Vietnam’s CIT rate being lower than in the US, at 20 per cent and as low as 10 per cent for foreign businesses eligible for preferential treatment,” Mr. Chieu said, advising the government to review the country’s tax policies and try to reduce “unofficial fees” and petty corruption to retain foreign investors.

Earlier, Prime Minister Phuc asked ministries and relevant sectors to study the effects of the US tax reforms on Vietnam. He has also assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to monitor policy responses of countries around the world, to assess the impacts on Vietnam and help it respond appropriately and in a timely manner.

“It is necessary to review the products Vietnam exported to the US, especially those with of raw materials and components imported from China, in order to provide warnings and guide enterprises when the US imposes anti-dumping duties on these products,” the Prime Minister said.

Source: VN Economic Times

Vietnamese underground: An incomplete list of independent music artists

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From post-punk to electronica, check out some homegrown alt music artists you might not have heard of.

28-year-old Trang ‘Chuoi’ Le, often known as Chuoi, has been part of Hanoi’s indie music scene for a decade. She used to play the guitar for post-punk band Go Lim before moving on to be a bassist at hardcore band MXM.

Chuoi is self-taught, as are many independent Vietnamese artists who got into music purely out of passion. Hanoi in the early 2000s was all about rock, Chuoi said. “We were heavily influenced by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin and Linkin Park.”

“In those days, kids were not really encouraged to study music as you wouldn’t make money off music,” she added. “Underground music was not really supported, it was mainly DIY and did not have a large following.”

Vietnamese audiences today are more open to experimental music, as proved by the success of many underground artists. Some genres like EDM and indie pop, for example, have been well-received by young fans.

Yet for Chuoi and many fellow artists, indie gigs still struggle to sell, and financial pressure remains among their biggest concerns despite the rise of a number of record labels that back indie bands and musicians such as Piu Piu, Develhopes and First and Last. But within the small underground music community, there is a lot of mutual support, Chuoi said.

In 2014, together with Sebastian Urinovsky and Jorn Wind, two expat musicians living in Vietnam, Chuoi co-founded Hanoi Rec Room.

The initial idea, in Sebastian’s words, was to offer services and a platform for young, talented and unconventional underground musicians to come and perform. For over three years, Rec Room was the place to be for young Hanoians. Sitting on the roof of Hanoi Creative City, it was an ideal location for the young artists to play live music, until it was shut down last year.

The platform has not died, however, as the co-founders hope to continue supporting Hanoi’s homegrown underground scene by building a record label of their own.

In honor of Hanoi’s small and independent alt music community, Chuoi helped come up with a list of her favorite indie bands and musicians, some of whom may be new to you.

So here is the list, in no particular order.

1. Ngọt

Ngot are a success story among Vietnam’s underground bands, Chuoi said. Their last show in Hanoi in September sold out within two days to 3,000 fans. The indie pop band, which consists of vocalist-guitarist Vu Dinh Trong Thang, drummer Nguyen Hung Nam Anh, guitarist Nguyen Chi Hung and bassist Phan Viet Hoang, was founded in 2013. They have held shows in Hanoi, Da Nang and Saigon, and their albums sell. “I think in many ways, indie pop bands in Vietnam have their own personalities in terms of music,” Chuoi added. “When we held Ngot’s shows in Rec Room, we saw so many unfamiliar faces, which personally for me was refreshing.”

2. Rắn cạp đuôi Collective

Ran Cap Duoi are an experimental band founded in Ho Chi Minh City. The five members originate from different parts of the world, and play on and off during shows. They have a history of playing in very odd places, from the studio at the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies, the prestigious Salon Saigon, to a tiny CD shop in an old apartment complex. More importantly, perhaps, they are mostly young, rebellious (to an acceptable extent) and very talented people with great taste in music.

3. Empty spaces

Empty Spaces take their influences from Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie. The band name calls to mind Pink Floyd’s iconic eponymous song, which is no surprise, as for Chuoi “their music smells like a mix of Pink Floyd and contemporary Vietnamese folk music”. The band, founded in 2014, has five members: Cuong Le (vocalist/guitarist), Le Minh Thuan (bassist), Nguyen Tien Hiep (keyboardist), Hieu Nguyen (drummer) and Nguyen Quoc Hung (guitarist/vocalist). They have played several shows in Hanoi, and released their debut CD, “Tien Hoa”, two years ago.

4. COCC

COCC are a product of Saigon. The three members who play multiple instruments are still fairly low-key within the community. On their Facebook page, they say the band started out by covering tunes by Smashing Pumpkins, Tool and the Beatles, to recording songs with their own laptops and setting up a recording studio at home. Their songs are about the living low in big cities, from the beggars, the scrap dealers and the cyclo drivers, to the abandoned kids. A major Pink Floyd influence as well.

5. Windrunner

Windrunner play metalcore, and are one of the few hardcore bands in which Chuoi can see “female energy”. The band have played gigs in Hanoi, Saigon, Phnom Penh and South Korea, receiving recognition abroad within the international underground rock community. They have a female lead vocalist, two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer.

6. Gat tan day

One of the rock band’s major hit songs is “Dam cuoi chuot” or “The rat’s wedding”, which was released in 2006. Gat Tan Day became legendary in the early 90s as students with various covers of songs by the Beatles, Deep Purple, CCR and the Rolling Stones. Gat Tan Day’s emergence on the rock scene was phenomenal, and the band became well-known in Vietnam. The band previously said in interviews that music was their passion, not career, which might explain why they have been quiet over the past decade, as its members pursued different jobs away from music.

7. Go Lim

Go Lim were short-lived but remain a much loved band in Hanoi’s underground scene. Despite disbanding in 2012 after just a year, their tracks emerge from time to time to the reminiscence of their devoted and loyal fanbase. Go Lim were important to Vietnam’s indie community, their songs defying gender and politics and transcending time, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that hardly any punk band can overshadow them in terms of both music and coolness.

Aside from the above list, here are a few more indie bands/musicians that could change your perceptions of Vietnamese underground music.

In no particular order: An Nam Co Nguyet, (rock), Thiss.Hard (beatbox trio), Small Fire (nu-metal), Wowy (rap), Hazard Clique (rap), The Children (rock), Ca Hoi Hoang (indie pop), Quan (electronics), Proportions (heavy metal), Hub collective (indie pop), D hustle (hip hop), DSK (rap), The Veranda (experimental).

Source: Bao Yen

Saigon relives football fever as U23 players pay a visit

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Vietnam’s U23 team meets their fans in Saigon one week after returning home as runner-up at an Asian championship.

Fans approach as players of Vietnam’s U23 national football team walk from their bus to Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1 on Sunday to pay tribute to the late President Ho Chi Minh. Many of them have failed to get the free tickets to join the fan meeting that takes place several hours later in District 10 so they managed to see their “idols” here.

The ceremony lasts 10 minutes before the players move to Thong Nhat Stadium in District 10 to meet their fans. Vietnam surprised football lovers and experts when it became the first Southeast Asian country to ever make it to the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship on January 27.

Fans wave outside Thong Nhat Statdium as the bus of U23 Vietnam approaches. Many of them have waited for hours to get the free tickets for the meeting on Sunday afternoon.

Fans are seen inside the stadium. Though the Vietnamese team returned home as runner-up after losing the final match to Uzbekistan, what they performed during the tournament in China has won the hearts of millions of Vietnamese people.

Some fans at the stadium are Korean as it is Park Hang-seo, the South Korea head coach that has contributed a huge part to help the Vietnamese team go that far in the AFC U23 Cup this year.

Fan wait outside the stadium.

Girls cry as the players finally walk onto the stadium.

This little girl is full of spirit.

Most fans choose the tickets that allow them to stand in the field along with the players instead of on the bench. 25,000 tickets for this event have all found their owners and as the demand is so high, the organizer decided to open the stadium for all fans to come in.

Coach Park Hang-seo walks up to the stage. “We will have to try double,” he says.

Midfielder Quang Hai. He has won the best goal award of the AFC U23 Cup as decided by an online voting by AFC.

Luong Xuan Truong, the captain of the U23 team.

The team’s captain Truong answers fans’ questions at the event.

Fireworks mark the beginning of the singing performances.

Players sing “Niem tin chien thang” (We are the champions) with singer My Tam.

Source: Staff Reporters

Understanding Vietnam’s Generation Z

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Finding what makes any group, or subset, of people tick is always a key piece of knowledge for any marketer, and with their emerging spending power and digital literacy, the members of Generation Z are now under the microscope.

There is, naturally enough, some disagreement about the age bracket of the generation that follows the millennials and members of Generation X before them. Generally, they were born between the second half of the 1990s and the mid-2000s, and are unique in that they have never really known a time before the advent of the internet.

In Vietnam, the members of Generation Z number more than 14 million or about one seventh of the country’s population. They are entering the workforce for the first time and exist in a world where the line between the physical and the digital is blurry at best.

A report from Ho Chi Minh City-based market research firm Decision Lab found, not surprisingly, that the online activities such a using social media, streaming movies and music, and chatting to friends using instant messaging apps were their favourite activities.

What was more unexpected was some of the flow on effects of the deep immersion in the digital world. For instance, only 30% of those surveyed said they felt more comfortable interacting with friends face-to-face, with half preferring to communicate via text message or chat apps. Another is the development of a visual-based language, with 47% saying they preferred to express their feeling or emotions using stickers or emojis.

There is a kind of online feedback loop that helps create a sense of identity and validates their lives. Gen Z in Vietnam use an average of 2.77 social media networks each week, and around half agreed that the number of likes a post received demonstrated their popularity and made them feel noticed.

Some of the assumptions about Gen Z, though, were upended by the results of the survey, with Decision Lab Founder Aske Ostergard admitting he was not expecting some of the results. “I was really surprised by how sceptical this generation is,” he said.

For while they derive the vast majority of their information from the internet, it seems Generation Z don’t have a lot of faith in what they are seeing and hearing there. In terms of sources that were trusted, parents and the advice of experts topped the list (72 %), while at the other end of the scale, online reviews were trusted by just 13%.

“One of the reasons [online reviews] seem not to work is it is easy to believe online reviews have been created by the brands,” Ostergard said. “The question is, how do you work out how to make those things trustworthy.”

Trying to bridge this disconnect presents quite a challenge for marketers. According to creative agency Dinosaur Vietnam CEO Sumesh Peringeth, who has work on numerous campaigns targeting Gen Z consumers, abandoning traditional approaches and working to gain a deep understanding of who brands are speaking to is the way forward.

“The idea here is about understanding subcultures. Instead of brands saying I am this and you come to me, it’s time for brands to understand the subcultures and specific groups they want to associate with and find ways to become part of it in a relevant way,” he said. “The influencer movements help a lot in this space at the moment, it’s a good way to begin the spread of an idea.”

Peringeth also said compelling content would always have an appeal, regardless of what platform it was viewed on, and that taking a collaborative approach resulted in more effective and relevant content.

“It begins with a data-lead approach that provides a solid insight for strategic creative direction, and then sharing it with content creators or influencers who can talk to specific subcultures and create appropriate content to distribute among their followers. This is one of the better ways for brands to engage with Gen Z,” he said.

Source: Forbes

Sa Dec flower village drawing crowds as Tet nears

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A wide variety of colourful flowers blooming brightly in Sa Dec flower village in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap have been attracting a crowds of visitors as the Lunar New Year festival (Tet) draws near.

Covering an area of 20 hectares, Sa Dec flower village is one of the most attractive destinations for visitors as Tet draws near. Visitors can take photos and walk through gardens as well as buy flowers to decorate their houses for Tet.

Sa Dec is the largest flower mart in the western region, providing ornamental flowers to different regions nationwide. Since the beginning of December (lunar month), the village has been drawing a lot of visitors. Pictured is Sa Nhien Flower Road with a t

Chrysanthemum morifoliumare in full bloom before Tet due to the frequent rain.

Chrysanthemum morifolium pots are priced at VND160,000 for a pair.

This year, aside from flower gardens, the locality has also opened new destinations such as Happy Land Hung Thi and Cafe Lang Hoa for visitors to take photos.

A garden owner says a large number of visitors, and some French tourists flock to the village to take photos among the flowers.

Vietnamese people maintain a tradition of buying flowers for Tet.

The entrance to the flower gardens is free for all photo happy visitors.

Tet flowers are selling well this year, according to one florist.

Source: VOV

VN Blockchain Developers’ founder: Vietnamese crazy about ICO

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“Many Vietnamese people don’t know anything about blockchain, but are still willing to pour millions of dollars into ICO (initial coin offering) ,” the founder of Vietnam Blockchain Developers Nguyen Sy Thanh Son said recently.

Son is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Tomo and the founder of the first and biggest Vietnamese community of blockchain developers.

Son is also among one of the first Vietnamese who are teaching Smart Contract, the technology used in startups’ ICO projects in which many Vietnamese have invested.

Son said ‘fashionable’ and ‘technological’ word ICO is being used by many swindlers in Vietnam to disguise their behaviors of cheating unknowledgeable people.

“They even cannot understand contracts, but decide to pour money into ICOs,” he said.

Cryptocurrencies have seen prices skyrocketing in the market.

According to Son, only one percent of investors in ICOs in Vietnam have knowledge about business and technology.

Commenting about ICO projects, Son said there is a mixture of ‘dirty sand’ and ‘diamonds’.

Diamond refers to ICOs with long-term vision and the tokens they sell must be used in their products. ‘Dirty sand’ refers to selling tokens just for money, but tokens don’t represent their products and communities.

It appears to be easy to create an ICO or Smart Contract on Ethereum platform, which explains why so many ICOs have launched.

Son said that a qualified developer can create many tokens every day.

Mr. Nguyen Sy Thanh Son

However, he is optimistic about ICO and blockchain, believing there are startups “serious with tokens (while companies issue shares at IPO, startups sell tokens at ICO) and kind to investors”.

They are using blockchain to make big leaps to create new value for the society.

Son said that what is behind cryptocurrencies and ICOs is blockchain technology.

“A flat world, democracy, justice and transparency are what people lust for. And these are all matters which blockchain can bring,” he said, adding that the era of Internet of Value is coming, in which blockchain exists.

People trust blockchain and are willing to store their value on the internet.

Tran Huu Duc, director of FPT Ventures and Vietnam Innovative Startup Accelerator company and a board member of Fintech Vietnam Club, said on Dau Tu that blockchain technology is one of the most viral trends of the internet era. It has brought a considerable amount of opportunity to Vietnam, enabling it to grow into one of Southeast Asia’s blockchain hubs.

Source: VietNamNet

Bitcoin to Get Severely Forked in 2018

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The fear and build up towards Aug.1,2017, and the creation of Bitcoin Cash which forked off the original chain was monumental. However, it was a damp squib for the future of Bitcoin as it actually spiked in value.

Since then, forks on Bitcoin have become almost as common as ICOs, and in fact, forks on the Bitcoin chain look to be the latest trend for 2018 as new companies look to cash in on the familiar Bitcoin name.

Already a forking mess

Bitcoin Cash is, of course, the most well-known Bitcoin fork out there, sitting comfortably in the top five coins in terms of market cap. However, in 2017, there were 19 registered Bitcoin forks. Still, that pales in comparison to the 50 that are expected this year, according to Lex Sokolin, global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research.

That number could still rise further as there is even services out there that are providing rudimentary programming skills to launch a clone. This will of course have a big effect in the cryptocurrency market as hedge fund manager Ari Paul predicted in a tweet:”Both BTC and BCH will continue to hard fork and >10% of the value of each (if held today) will reside in new offshoots”.

What the fork?

There are a number of reasons to fork off the Bitcoin Blockchain, some do it, in the case of Bitcoin Cash, to seemingly improve facets of the old coin, while others may have different motives. As George Kimionis, chief executive officer of Coinomi puts it:

“Unfortunately, most fork-based projects we see today are more of a sheer money grab. Looking back a few years from now we might realize that they were just mutations fostered by investors blinded by numerical price increases rather than honest attempts to contribute to the Blockchain ecosystem.”

Kimionis also sees a new phase in the ICO marketplace with the original hype simmered down somewhat. Forking adds a little edge to a new coin. And Rhett Creighton, who’s working on the upcoming Bitcoin Private fork, predicts: “Bitcoin forks are kind of the new altcoin. We are going to see now a bunch of Bitcoin forks. And they are going to start replacing some of the top hundred altcoins.”

Danger to the vision

It is hard to see these minor forks, even the likes of Bitcoin Gold and Diamond which reached the news, really, truly, adding much to the Blockchain environment. Even Bitcoin Cash has been linked to a money making scheme for the likes of Jihan Wu and Roger Ver. The difference between trying to improve the Blockchain, and to make money off a name, is a very blurred line.

Source: Darryn Pollock

Link: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-to-get-severely-forked-in-2018

Starbucks to open in Da Nang this month

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Starbucks will open its first café in Da Nang City on February 3 to celebrate five years of its presence in Viet Nam.

Starbucks aims to expand its operations this year to Da Nang, the third-largest city in the country. The new store will be at 56 Bach Dang Street in Hai Chau District.

“We have been asked many times when Starbucks will set foot outside HCM City and Hanoi, and now is the time,” said Patricia Marques, general manager of Starbucks Vietnam, who hinted at more exciting plans of the coffee chain for 2018.

Starbucks has completed five years in Viet Nam on February 1. It opened its first shop in HCM City in February 2013 and currently runs 34 cafes in HCM City, Hanoi and Hai Phong.

To mark its five-year anniversary, Starbucks is offering special prices on its menu. Customers can buy any tall-sized beverage at VNĐ50,000 at any Starbucks café across the country. A Starbucks Rewards member can get five times of STARS earned while making any purchase.

Earlier this year, Starbucks announced the return of the Starbucks Reserve® Da Lat coffee after it was first introduced in 2016.
Vietnam Da Lat coffee has a strong flavour, with a hint of sweetness, and is reminiscent of coffee flavours found in Central America.

“Vietnam Da Lat is a popular coffee and is versatile with many brewing methods. It’s great both as brewed coffee in the morning or as delicious espresso, and we are excited by its return,” Patricia said

Source: VNS

USD continue to flow into stock market

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Commercial banks say that people are converting dollar into dong and investing dong in securities.

Vietnam’s forex reserves reached a record high of $54.5 billion last week as announced by the State Bank Governor. Just within two weeks, the central bank bought $2.5 billion, adding to the reserve.

Commercial banks confirmed that the foreign currency supply is plentiful with the supply not only from foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment, but also from businesses and the public. Selling dollars to get dong to invest in securities is the choice of many people.

“People no longer want to keep dollars as the State Bank has curbed the dollar interest rate at zero percent, while the dong/dollar exchange rate has been stable,” said deputy CEO of a HCMC-based bank.

“The VN Index has increased by nearly 50 percent,” he explained, noting that there is a large gap between the zero percent profit expected from dollar deposits and the 50 percent profit expected from securities investment.

The banker said that savings are flowing into the stock market. It is not yet a strong flow, but a growing tendency.

The total deposits at banks, according to an SBV report, has exceeded VND5,500 trillion. If just one percent of the amount of money, or VND55 trillion, heads for stocks, the VN Index will reach a record high.

One percent of savings flowing into securities is likely to happen. While deposits are getting less profitable, profit from securities investments is very encouraging.

Therefore, analysts believe that the plan by SSC to raise the required margin ratio from 50 percent to 60 percent won’t affect the capital flow to the stock market.

An SSC report showed that the total margin loans of the market had reached VND38 trillion by the end of 2017, much smaller than the market scale which is just equal to 0.69 percent of total capital mobilized by banks.

The market size has expanded weekly thanks to the sharp increase in the number of newly listed companies, while liquidity has also increased weekly.

HOSE is coming closer to the daily transaction volume of 400-500 million units and trading value of $500 million. If the current situation is maintained, analysts say, it is quite possible that the Vietnamese stock market would be exceptionally upgraded from frontier into emerging this year.

Foreign investors’ net purchase value has reached VND4.482 trillion after the first two weeks of 2018.

The recovery period of the stock market began last year. However, the VN Index still has not bounced back to the 1,170 point peak set in March 2007.

Source: VietNamNet

E-commerce market had eventful year with B2C turnover of $6 billion

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Foreign e-commerce retailers are dominating Vietnamese firms through ad campaigns, delivery services and money collection services.

Foreign companies took full advantage of the year-end occasion to showcase their financial potential. As always, Lazada Vietnam was a retailer that triggered the 2017 year-end shopping season.

With a goal of increasing sales by five times compared with ordinary days, Lazada Vietnam offered to sell 150,000 product items at preferential prices on November 9-11. One month later, it organized an event called a ‘revolution in online shopping’, offering big discounts for products and free deliveries.

Shopee, a Lazada’s big rival from Singapore, launched a program called Super Sale. On December 12-14, Flash Sale was applied to hundreds of product items, while bank card holders enjoyed another 10-20 percent discount.

Online Fever, applied throughout South East Asia, was the campaign launched by Zalora, a fashion product online retailer.

Adayroi and Tiki, the two Vietnamese retailers, also ran sale promotion programs in mid-December.

In order to prepare for the year’s most important sale season, Lazada Vietnam put four new order taking centers into operation.

In 2017, Lazada Vietnam for the first time applied a 50 percent discount reduction program to sellers.

Analysts said that its offering free delivery for buyers and cutting required discount for sellers was a move to compete with Shopee Vietnam, which has been growing rapidly though it joined the market two years ago.

Players with powerful capital

Analysts say that the Vietnamese e-commerce market bears strong influences from foreign players who have powerful financial capability.

Under SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis model, the challenges in joining industries are mentioned as an important factor.

Meanwhile, the war between Lazada Vietnam and Shopee Vietnam, according to analysts, are generating big barriers for domestic firms.

While Lazada Vietnam creates barriers when spending big money on ad campaigns to attract users, Shopee Vietnam focuses on supporting delivery and money collection services.

Although both companies did not disclose the amount of money they spend on advertising and shipping in Vietnam, experts in the e-commerce industry can estimate.

Analysts estimated that Shopee spends tens of billions of dong every day.

To compete with foreign giants, Vietnamese firms need support from foreign investors.

In the latest news, JD, the biggest rival of Alibaba in China, has reached an agreement on investing in Vietnam’s Tiki.

Source: VietNamNet

Vietnam U23 star goalie hit with image rights scandal

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Bui Tien Dung reportedly signed a commercial deal with a PR company without the consent of his club, which already owns the rights to his likeness.

The goalkeeper of Vietnam’s U23 football team, the country’s heroes after a historic run at the Asian football championship, has allegedly contracted with a local PR firm to sell the rights to his likeness for commercial purposes, upsetting his club, which already owns his personality rights.

Bui Tien Dung was one of the biggest stars emerging after Vietnam’s second place finish at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship late last month thanks to both his talent and his looks.

The 23-year-old goalie now has 2.6 million followers on his verified Facebook account, a surge from only a few hundred thousand before the competition in China, where Vietnam lost 1-2 to Uzbekistan in extra time in a memorable snowy finale.

On Wednesday, a photo surfaced on Facebook of a price list issued by a local PR company to have Dung appear in ads and publicity campaigns.

The company claims to have signed a contract with Dung to exploit his likeness.

Image rights, or personality rights, refer to the privilege of using someone’s image, name, voice, signature, or any other unique characteristics, for commercial purposes.

Athletes and celebrities can sign away their image rights through sponsorship and endorsement deals in order to leverage maximum value from their likeness.

According to the Facebook photo, advertisers must pay US$10,000 for the goalkeeper to attend an event or a photo shoot.

The prices to have him mention a brand in a Facebook post or livestream session are US$2,500 and $5,000, respectively.

Restaurants or stores are required to pay $5,000 to have him check-in at their venue.

The price list also states that Dung is available to serve as a brand ambassador for a one-year contract worth $123,750.

The photo had caused a stir on social media before the goalie’s club, FLC Thanh Hoa, asserted in an official press release on Thursday that any agreements between Dung and the PR company are invalid as they were made without the consent of the football club.

“Tien Dung is currently a player of FLC Thanh Hoa and is therefore prohibited from signing deals with any organizations or individuals involving his publicity,” the club said.

“All activities involving the image of any FLC Thanh Hoa player, including keeper Bui Tien Dung, are managed by the club.

“Players are only allowed to appear in ads run by partners that have reached agreements with the club.”