Tag: Singapore

FICO and self

For a small fee, we can take a look of our credit worthiness.

But it takes a long time to realize  self-worthiness.

None among us has the future vantage point to look backward.

We often hear about the magic power of MLM. In good times, yes.

In bad times, those multi “levels” quickly become weakest links.

Big banks and big boys have faced Inquisition of their own.

Even when interest rates nearing zero, the engine still refuses to crank up.

It seems as if the confidence game itself can use a reboot.

The Asian tigers found their FDI level decline.

Now the Fed got money printer’s jam, and China refuses to extend credits (so much for country’s FICO).

Meanwhile, people in places like Singapore can’t get enough “satisfaction”. They are on shopping steroid (and smoke).

I can feel the energy of commerce.

But not at the gym.

People just punch in and go through their motion.

Even Todai dropped its all-you-can-eat prices.

So my recommendation (to myself as well) is to reboot our self-confidence and rebuild our FICO scores.

One step at a time. Until we got wings on our back and feel the sun in our face, “fly robin fly”. Just make sure those wings are not made of wax. All along, remind ourselves that we are worth more than our FICO scores, the same way we love our kids not because they bring home an A+ from school.

The Y bridge

Years ago, I met a GI in West Virginia. He couldn’t recall the name of a bridge in Saigon, only that it’s a fork on the road.

I blurted out, “the Y bridge”. Something came rushing out of the man’s eyes albeit well-hidden behind thick glasses.

He was instantly transported back to a time and place. When he was younger, more eager to help (he served as a chaplain in the Army)

and perhaps, more idealistic. For me, the Y bridge was the bridge we took to my grandpa.

We took the right of the fork, leading to and pass the Slaughter House (Lo Heo Chanh Hung).  And on our way back, of course, we made a left turn to go home to District 3.

Vietnam now has a bunch of forks on the road to take, most critically, how to get through “valley of death” to join the league of middle-class nations (Singapore, Taiwan, S Korea)  or stand on the side line and watch others zoom by (like the Philippines). In short, middle-income trap. (As of this edit, Vietnam’s Leader is visiting Washington in a series of talks about Trans-Pacific Pact. Another Y bridge after Clinton’s initiative to normalize relations).

It’s common knowledge that each Vietnamese thought highly of him/herself  (one upmanship) e.g. my girlfriend got a whole mouth of crooked teeth – more than yours who has only two.

In that vein, we don’t need a panel of judges to decide which Vietnamese Got Talent. It is happening naturally, every day. Yet, each person needs to make that choice at his/her Y bridge. I learned from a cousin recently about my now late father who once said, ” just to take the turn and deal with the consequences later”. To my Dad, there were no indecision (imagine each traveler stops at the Y bridge, undecided which turn to take).  A dilemma of pre-mortem brain-storming. Calculate the risks. Take the plunge. Fall not into the paralysis of analysis.

A friend shared a YouTube clip on “Ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things”. In it, I found heroes who also faced life dilemma, a fork on the road, their “Y bridge”. But their choices left great intended consequences to this day.

Only after they paid hefty prices.  My Dad lived on until he passed away at the age of 93. Apparently, whatever consequences he had to sort out did not bring him down, otherwise, he would have been dead much sooner.

Put my Dad up against the x-Army chaplain who couldn’t recall the name of the bridge, I would classify my Dad in the first group (Three types: those who made it happen, those who wait for it to happen, and those who ask “what happened?”.) Take the right turn. Then take the left. It’s 50-50 chance, rather than no chance.

 

Saigon heat

Rain and heat, the yin and yan of Saigon.

I saw sugar donuts on sale, so I thought of my niece who used to love those melted brown sugar donuts. I tried one. It chipped away my tooth, which happened to be the base  for neighbouring crown. So I had to plant back all three. Costly donuts in Dakao!

Last night, I saw hundreds of bikers circling the block. People said, No, this was just a dry run. The race will be on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the McCain carrier is docking in China Beach these days.

I can’t help notice the irony of naming an USS carrier the McCain.

The presidential aspirant was once incarcerated in Hanoi Hilton, cell bound.

Now, the carrier bore his name is free to roam the seven seas, least of which South China Seas.

There is a certain attraction here in Vietnam.

High-end tourist resorts in old Hoi An (featured in Huffington Post). Hanoi celebrates its 1000th year. Hello Vietnam video (Bonjour Vietnam).

WEC, APEC, VN even took turn as one of the UN security council members etc… And recent visit by Madam Secretary all paint a picture of a newly integrated Vietnam. Internet users and mobile phone users grow fast, up there in the top ten. A conference on open source, software testing and automation, strategic venture funds etc…all paint a brighter picture on this new Vietnam wall, one which is not black on marble, but on white canvas. The future is what you make of it.

Math anybody? English then? Everybody wants to travel to Singapore.

Makes me curious as well. The distance from Saigon to Singapore is quite reachable and even affordable. But for Saigon to morph into the like of Singapore, everyone here agrees, takes decades, not years.

It is no surprise that former leader of Singapore is often invited over as consultant. How do you do it? tell us.

The secret sauce which made Vietnam what it is today varies. It depends on who you ask. Some say the country needs not forget the years of hardship before Renovation (85). Others might argue otherwise.

All I know, like the weather here, and the pace of tourism, it comes and goes.

Merchants and Middle-men stay on. Build your brand, invest here, sell that to survive the down turn.

I notice revenue pressures at every turn: from A/C offices to open-air beer stalls. People pour Heineken first, then ask for the main course order later.

Same way they ride their bikes on narrow streets, away from noise, dust, stress, heat and congestion on the street. And surely, the young bikers on Saturday night can’t wait to try out their newly paved race track as well.

It’s good to be young and restless. It’s better to harness that energy to good use. It’s not Saigon that needs to learn from Singapore, but it’s young Saigonese that need role models, not Rebels without a cause (Marlon Brando).

The consensus has yet been reached. Many young people want to go the Korean way. And none want to imitate their neighbor to the North.

Among Vietnam’s former nemeses, it’s the US  that got away clean and clear.

It got docking rights at China Beach these days, and I am sure the USS McCain naval officers are more than welcome to stay in any hotel of their choice. Unbound. And if they can afford the “platform” resort in Hoi An, all the more better. Huffington Post recommends it.

butterfly in the sky

Amidst traffic and smog, a black/yellow butterfly dances its way through the intersection, bouncing from motor bike to motor bike.

I shouldn’t have paid too much attention to the creature. I need to worry about my safety. But it struck me as odd.

All concrete in the city with only few trees left in old Saigon. Yet we saw a rare beauty. Just like Nha Trang, south of China Beach, where Miss World took place.

But I can’t pass on learning from this creature, whose primal instinct is to survive.

Human beings instead took their own lives (in this recession, it happens a lot). Or like a Vietnamese student studying in Singapore, on her boyfriend’s support. When the well runs dry, she committed suicide and found dead in her closet (her love story and financial support ironically have been well hidden, a closeted affair).

And the Fashion TV channel keeps unveiling many thin couture, very chic.

So, the co-existence of what’s ugly and what’s beautiful, what’s shameful and what’s honorable is a norm.

The Prime Minister of Singapore, on the country’s birthday celebration, touches on this issue: many conflicting interests.

One of his solutions is to allow immigrant workers, unlike Japan who opted for automation over immigration.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, tourists’ expectations are varied.  Many are from China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Singapore. Hence, inter-regional business interests arise naturally due to proximity. Reverse tourist flow has also been on the rise. One of these days, the imbalance in trade and tourism will find its equilibrium, and incidents such as dorm-room closet suicide will be a rarity. For now, going abroad to nearby countries,  to study, to settle and to sight-see have been and will be a boost to the ego: look at me, I have it made. Let’s book that regional flight and shop til we drop. Long live luxury goods and those can afford them. High living and up-stairs living. The once-colonies now turn new crops of shopper colonialists.

Who gives a damn about wolves in Mongolia, or butterflies in Dalat? Just cut down those trees and make ways for the flow of goods made else where to come and conquer. The shoppers are invited foreign elements in. No need for Trojan horse.

Even butterfly wants to swing out of the congested situation, much less the nouveaux riches who never seem to run out of options to shop.

 

Saigon in motion

A couch floats down the river right pass Bong Bridge a while ago.

As of this edit, there was a “hot” clip about police trying to stop a girl from jumping to her death on another bridge.

Vietnam still has to battle with forces of nature, (typhoon Utor) and economic pressures  (bad debt).

Here, before the rain stops, people already start moving.

A poncho, two people. Total trust. You drive, I ride.

Street vendors spread out merchandise on tarp, just to wrap them up five minutes later.

The lucky few zoomed by on Toyota Runner or Lexus.

Progress by osmosis.

Henry Ford reincarnated will be happy to find this land where automobile market has yet been saturated

Despite, people have managed to move about efficiently and effortlessly on two, not four wheels, defying all odds.

High rises are up. So are bridges in the city.

People are in constant motion, on Mobil phones and motor bikes.

People honk at every hour of the day.

(Unlike in the States, honking would invite road rage.)

I get to call on a few ICT companies. I found the work force young, intelligent and responsive. The marks of top students (learning), and soon becoming top workers (unlearning).

Post-war baby boomers grow up with no legacy.

Order a beer, shoot the breeze and hop on the bike.

Competition is tough at all level i.e. entry-level workers, mid-level manager, small companies and mid-size ones. Meanwhile, the nation itself strives to become the next Malaysia and Indonesia. If failed, or not trying hard enough, caught in “Middle-Income trap”.

So, back to two wheels, while the rest of the world on four.

As long as things and people are in motion. A couch that floats and a girl who tries to jump. Keep moving. Keep fighting gravity and inertia. Keep up with progress. Endure the pain to surely gain.

I am not here for solitude and reflection. I am here to move with the flow.

Just to survive. And the fade out music today is “rain and tears….”

More from Saigon on my next blog. Got to hop on a “xe om” to fight traffic.

 

tricycle economy

Easy to propel forward. Easy to stop and stand still.

No fear of falling (gravity) and no incentive to pedal forward (inertia).

The blessing and curse of a stimulus-dependent economy.

To move  forward, one needs to fight both gravity and inertia.

An extra wheel offers the illusion that things are stable and safe. But it does not create momentum.

If we start with Apple and ATT network, then where are the “B”‘s companies which are the engines of growth? BP?

Then we got C for China. They are going to play soccer today on world’s stage.

This comes after their space exploration and oil exploration.

China has government subsidies as well, But it empowers the province level to bid for businesses.

And if we skipped to S, we have Singapore. And it is a success story there.

Singapore now allows casinos. But only after it opened to tons of industries and foreign companies with rep offices.

Singapore economy is not run on three-wheels.

When you are busy, like Apple having sold 1.7 million I-phones 4 in a  few days, you don’t rely on third wheel, or any wheel.

You start flying, on adrenaline. Confidence feeds itself. Fear of falling on this side of  winning keeps one humble, but not from moving forward.

The wheel needs to come off to return our economy to a fast-moving Tour-de-Lance. G-20 countries seem to agree. Our muscles will be sore.

It will be good for us because muscles toned are muscles healed. Just another paradox.

Other countries, like China, have to struggle with limited language, limited natural resources and limited world trade (it barely joined WTO at the turn of the century), yet it hums along. Hence, besides IQ, EQ and SQ, we will need CQ (not the magazine, but C for confidence. Yes, we can). History tends to reward those who tried and failed than those who failed to try. We need that frontier mentality. Bold thinking, ballsy moves and gut-level execution. Time to take off that extra wheel.

 

low-emission Recession

The Law of Unintended Consequences kicks in: we got 25% lower in carbon emission this past year, and maybe lower gas prices toward year-end.

Extra cash for Christmas shopping: kids need shoes.

Nation leaders are flying in to NY to attend a Summit on the Environment.

Big boys (and powerful women) club.

Hope they represent the human race well.

Those trees will still be standing when we, one by one, passed away.

But it is more desirable to hand over a clean (green) baton to gen Y.

As a side note.

There are some area restaurants refusing to serve Libyan and Iranian leaders.

(dream on, they aren’t going to stop by for a burger and fries. They are not inspector Clouseau “I would like a hamburger” in French accent).

My head spins just trying to follow the news: health care talk shows, Afghan terrorist plot uncovered, Emmy Award lowest broadcast audience, and the UN summit on the environment.

But there are tectonic shifts underneath: we are living longer and healthier due to medical awareness (proliferation of information available on the Internet), less time devoted to Idiot Tube and more time on YouTube.   Talking about tech. Dell is buying Perot System, trying to diversify away from its core PC business.

Companies and countries have to reinvent themselves every few years. Jumping the curve to the next bubbles (Educational loan? Life insurance?)

The US is no longer number 1 on competitiveness. And Singapore is right behind at number 3.

Instead of meeting in Pittsburgh, the G-20 should try to meet in Singapore, and observe and learn.

It’s humbling when one has to change. Lower emission should be achieved by design, not by default. Granted that, I celebrate this good news nevertheless. In Recession we got lower emission.