We read a good quote about Ha Noi the other day. 'Ha Noi is a big enough city to attract interesting people , and a small enough city to get to meet them all'
Well you all know that I am an accountant but I haven't yet bombarded you with any numbers . Accountants just love numbers. It's a bit of a 'soap box' theme of mine that accountants measure far too many things with numbers, and should maybe step back sometimes to consider some apparently less definitive units of measurement. I will quickly step off the 'soap box' though and give you some numbers according to the Word Ha Noi magazine April 2012:
75% of Vietnamese earn between 1750 to 5000 GBP per annum (sorry I can't find the sterling sign on my Vietnamese computer)
2% of Vietnamese earn over 10,000 GBP
The market share of 'known' global banks like HSBC/ANZ in Vietnam is 3%
32% of adults in Hanoi have an ATM card
1% of adults in Hanoi have a credit card
Inflation in Vietnam was over 20% last year and is hoped to be 10-13% this year
The interest rate is 12%
Recently I went to a talk where one of the guest speakers was a banker in Vietnam. He said that the banks in Vietnam are looking forward to taking consumers on their 'customer journey'. I took this to mean the development of retail lending via credit cards. So I plucked up some courage and asked a question. This is always a hairy moment, when you get passed the microphone and you ask your question, hoping that it isn't stupid and you surreptitiously look for raised eyebrows or sniggers in the audience. I said ' Is it possible that the Government here will help the banks to learn any lessons from such places as UK/USA in respect to the social distress that uncontrolled lending to people who cannot afford to borrow creates?'
I was told afterwards that my question was 'Question of the Day'. So my 'back of an envelope' calcuation is as follows.....low salaries plus high inflation plus high interest rates plus aggressive lending plus an aspirational society equals.......the need to be very careful..
To a different subject. We live in a beautiful place. Very close to Westlake, one of the main lakes around which Hanoi is based. Every morning and evening I take Sally, the dog, for her stroll along the side of the lake. At 6.30a.m. there are cyclists, runners, people exercising and loads of rowing teams ( like Oxford v Cambridge) on the lake. In the evening it's a different place. There is a grass area maybe 300 yards long and 30 yards wide between the pavement and the lake, and it is here that couples arrive on their scooters in droves after dark. It's a hugely romantic place in the evening. They come to make their plans for the future whilst gazing at the ripples in the water, under the moonlight, with the neon lights on the other side of the lake and the cooling breeze. But there are some couples who don't come for the view or to make plans. They come for slightly more physical pursuits. So to the ripples in the water, the moonlight, the neon lights , the cooling breeze, you can add ' the occasional gently rocking scooter'.
I do struggle with the names here. I try very hard to ask what my colleagues names are then to remember them. Some are very hard to pronounce (some begin with an 'ng' for instance). One girl who sits close to me told me her name but advised that I should call her 'chewpee'. This being easy to pronounce was seized upon by me and everything went well.. Now for an auditor I am sometimes not very observant. But I noticed the other day that some people have written their names on the back of their chairs. And what did I see on the back of this girl's chair?........'chubby'. I am awaiting a visit from HR.
So to some photos..........
1 We live in an absurdly large house which I will share more about in due course. We have a lift. It was very funny the other day (to me anyway) when the lift arrived at the same floor as the dog, the doors opened and the dog just got in ........there is a real party trick here I'm sure.
2 My Work Permit.....some interesting stories about getting this.....
3 Karen had a couple of traditional dresses made, and here is one with the lady who made it. She also made me a linen suit. This photo highlights my lack of skill as a photographer (why did I think it was necessary to include a pillar in the photo?)
Cheerio everyone
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