I have been meaning to right here for a very long time. Most of you would know that I have moved on from the “those were the best days of my life” phase to a more mundane and routine job of a banker in a not so mundane & routine country. This country has a history that was the tumultuous, Geography shapeless & economics ridiculous!
Good morning Vietnam – Factiva for the uninitiated
This is my 3 rd month in Vietnam. On the exterior Vietnam would remind you of India in more ways than one but the façade is misleading! Through the best part of the 20th century the country’s main occupation was to fight. Vietnam is the only country that can boast of warring 3 permanent members of the UN Security Council and “Supposedly” winning all of them. Vietnam was America’s first nemesis.
The story of the Impossible – “Yes we can”
Vietnam was the Afghanistan of the 1980’s. Predicted to be in the darkest doldrums of the world civilization forever. Vietnam took its time to understand that there is no glory & no winner in a war. In 1980’s Vietnam chose the flawed but still appropriate path of communism. Out of the blues people were asked to swap the guns with sickle. Through the 80’s it suffered the infant pains of communist policies. All the men were back home with no war to fight and no knowledge of business. When normalcy was restored and commerce took its roots, people were evidently happy. It seems happy people produce a lot of babies and so did the Vietnamese. There was a baby boom in 90’s. Quite strangely the chromosome combination defied the law of averages and remained stubbornly XX. Women outnumber men by almost 1.5:1. When you go to shops and restaurants you can’t help but wonder “Where are the Men!”
To me, Vietnam was the underdog of Underdogs. From a war ravaged country in the 80’s to a haven of economic activity in 30 years. It’s been a determined journey for this young country with brimming optimism & unbridled ambitions for the future. Rocky said “It’s not how much you can take but how much you can take & still move forward. That’s how winning is done”. Only Vietnam and Barack Obama epitomize that spirit. At the moment I am sitting in one and watching the other!
It’s the economy stupid- On the workfront
I work for a Vietnamese conglomerate akin to TATA’s (Not as big though) who want to start a financial services business. They Hired an Indian CEO, who hired some Indian BU Heads, who in turn hired some Indian Business Analysts. Needless to say I am the last one in the chain. There has been a decent amount of starting troubles and learning opportunities. By now I am very comfortable in the clothes of a banker. My entry into the world of banking is certainly not well timed. “A banker is a fellow who lends his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” At the moment we are just waiting for the sun to shine to lend out umbrellas. Some of the banking statistics is clearly absurd in Vietnam. You get close to 20 % int. rate for a FD. That means if you put 10 Lakhs in a Bank. In a year you get 12 Lakhs back! (Now figure out how much you pay when you borrow). That’s some thing even the sensex can’t assure. Only 8 % of 65 million people have a bank account. The rest of them put the money under their beds! Only 100,000 credit cards exist in the whole of Vietnam. A decent meal in Saigon costs 2 Lakh Dongs and you pay your servant maid a few million Dongs! That’s 300 dongs to a rupee.
10 million people are going to come out of school this year and join the work force,
and that’s where the opportunity beckons.
And if any of you want to check this place out, you have got a warm host to welcome you in Saigon. Good morning Vietnam!
