Do you think the Dong is really a good investment?

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Originally Posted by redskies

First of all, in my opinion, I don't think so. Do you really think after over 33 years since the fall of Saigon the Dong has appreciated much? What makes anyone think that is going to change any time soon? If you are close to retirement age, betting on Vietnam's currency is not a good choice since you may be dead before seeing a return.

Secondly, we forget that Vietnam is a communist country. Investing in it's currency is like investing in it's government, after all, the central bank is controlled by them. I'm not here to discuss politics, however, one must be socially responsible when investing. I may be biased since I'm a Vietnamese refugee, but it's like having someone you love die from lung cancer, yet you go out and buy stocks in a cigarette company.

Your best bet in Vietnam is investing in it's infrastructure and public stocks. The growth in those mediums has far outpaced the currency tenfold. If you research carefully you can find little known Vietnamese stocks traded on the U.S. exchanges.

redskies

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I personally have some dong and feel it my be more valuable when vincent my son gets out of college.. or possible when he become a man at age 30 .. i know i bought some last year when i purchase my son nike kleats for baseball as he is a firstbaseman and the (nikes were made right there in vietnam) so that night i had talked to my brother who is currently living siapan in the pacific he said the cannon cameras was being made the also many computers ..so if your like me teaching your kids today these things now he will make good choices in the future with some viable investment smarts...... i feel it will have good returns but not for a long time out... better to have some incase were wrong its just that simple for the price heck anyone can afford some dong put it away for a rainy day.....................................musclesjw

Very nicely put. I whole heartedly agree.

I understand what you are saying, but you are reaffirming what I've been trying to say. Sure, go ahead and invest in some Vietnamese currency, but you should not disregard the obvious. Investing in the companies that are growing right now is a good diversification. You mention Nike and Canon.. how many other companies or smaller companies are there in Vietnam that will make you a huge return from Vietnam's growth? Far outpacing the currency. That should also be a lesson to young investors.. diversification.

He knows what he talks about - forget the currency for now and focus on the rest!

I have had my eyes on Vietnam for almost 10 years now. Several times a week I have some kind of contact with Vietnam. And in august to november I travelled around the whole country again. Oh my what had grown since last time! Everywhere new investments where made - mostly by korean and japanese companies in join ventru with Vietnames companies.

The whole Hai Dung area - between Hai phong and Hanoi - is bubbeling with new buildingsites. Everywhere former ricefields transforms in to new modern industries, new roads/highways, new plaza (shopping mauls) and new houses. We are talking about an area that are over 100 km long here.

Att the same time in Da-nang the WHOLE ****ing city is one major building site. Roads, bridges, houses, industries - everything!! Along the coastline company has bought land and destroys houses and even graveyards to make way to new luxius resorts, hotels and villas and so on. Everything is growing to it's limits. A new interantional airport are built and the habor is improving. And this is the case in every bigger city and industrie area in vietnam so it is no question about it - Vietnam is for the moment one of the most expansive economies in the world.

At the same time: For about four years ago $1USD cost right about 15000 VDN and today you get 16000 VDN for $1USD - so you get more vnd today then four years ago. So what has happened? The prices in VDN has risen realtivly quickly. This is not a very big issu in a country that has alot of export and shipping industries at the same time as alot of the people have theire savings in USD, gold or other things.

At the same time as VND has lost some of its value the prices and value on land and realestate has gone up sevral 100% the last couple of years! So if you want to earn money safely and quickly forget the currency and invest in vietnamese companies, infrastructure and so on intead. By tradition Vietnamese people loan less money from the bank and alot more from private investers then many western people do. This also opens up alot more investment prospects then a small private invester have in the west - at least in my country.

But the whole thing can be a big djungle if you don't have trusted perso site since private investments often are looked for with in theire social network and as an outsider it can be extremly hard to get "in" and be trusted.

I'm already "in" and have trusted persons on site so if you want my help you are welcome to send me an email on; [email protected] and I will help you make your money grow in Vietnam even in the short term... Not "maybe(?)" in 30 years time...