Vietnam: Asia’s fastest growing economy may be ripe for speculators

Vietnam is poised to become Asia’s fastest growing economy as the VN Index rebounds from a record 66% drop last year.  The 161 companies on the exchange are worth $16 billion, less than the market value of Yahoo.  Vietnam’s 9-year-old stock market is on the move toward significantly increasing its capitalization.  The Vietnamese Government has acknowledged that the development of Vietnam’s stock market is an important component to raising capital and elevating the emerging market-based economy.  They understand that structural  improvements are needed to make the market more and more attractive to investors.  Overseas fund managers are starting to take notice.  The VN Index rallied 60% in the second quarter, the best performer in Asia and second in the world to Ukraine’s PFTS Index, which jumped 78% according to Bloomberg.  The VN Index is up 42% this year, the world’s 9^th-best performer.

Investing in Vietnam can be very risky and many would say it’s premature. Vietnam is very vulnerable to the global economy and any drop in exports.  There may be an excess of exuberance and the market’s recent gains may not last.

Nevertheless, Vietnam is a dynamic, emerging market that should no longer be ignored. So, I’ll be doing the research on how investors can play the developing Vietnamese market.  Watch this space for more on Vietnam.

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Sweet Spots in Tech Stocks

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Sweet Spots for Energy Stocks

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Sweet Spots in International Equities

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MicroPlace.com: The Real Solution to Alleviating Poverty WorldWide

With the holiday season coming around many people are making their new years resolutions. Well one should be to give back to the world, this is a number one priority on my list. Youmight say how? By helping eliminate worldwide poverty within developing countries. So next questions, how is this even possible? Well actually its not that hard. Thanks to an innovative idea, MicroPlace we can now microfinance the third world. Let me describe.

MicroPlace.com

What is MicroPlace?

MicroPlace was founded in 2006. It is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and it specializes in microfinance for retail investors. Started by Tracey Pettengill Turner it was bough by eBay in 2006.

What is the Goal of MicroPlace?

MicroPlace was founded when Tracey Turner realized that the microfinance industry needed over $250 billion to get capital to the entire world’s working poor who need it to fund their business ventures. The problem was at the time; roughly only $25 billion has been raised. The key distinction he noticed was that Americans give roughly around $300 billion to charity a year, however very little actually goes to microfinance. He believed that there were not enough charities to address all the worldwide poverty problems. As a result he founded MicroPlace to direct socially responsible investment capital to microfinance investments. Since 2006, American’s have loaned over $2.4 trillion to microfinance third world investments.

Why MicroPlace is Special?

MicroPlace allows the everyday investor the ability to make investments in the microfinance industry. You can give as little as $25 yet every dollar counts. Before MicroPlace it was very hard for ordinary investors to microfinance unless they had significant capital.

What is Micro Financing?

Microfinance tries to alleviate global poverty by offering small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries who would otherwise not have access to credit.

Why I Support Micro financing?

I believe that Microfinance has been proven to be a highly effective poverty reduction tool in developing countries. I support it because instead of giving a handout to people such as charities it give people a hand-up and gives them the opportunity to get their career started and a new life. In developing nations around the world, many people have innovative ideas and the hard work ethic/determination to end their life of poverty. Problem is they have no foreseeable way out of this life. They have the lack of money to grow a business and do not have the ability to access banks/financial services to obtain the capital necessary to start off their venture. Fewer than 10 million of the 100 million people obtaining microfinance are able to obtain loans from a bank. As a result, they are stuck in a rut. Now with MicroPlace it gives them a feasible option to grow their business by receiving small loans, most of which are under $100. MicroPlace invites people in developed countries to invest in their company that in turn takes the money to local lending organizations. You can find an individual venture to loan the money by searching through geographical region. Then the entrepreneur is liable to pay back the loan and the interest, usually somewhere between 2%-6%. 97% of all loans are paid back.

What is my Goal?

Within the New Year, I will be creating my own MicroPlace account with the goal of helping to alleviate global poverty. The best part is you can wire your account easily via paypal/credit card and you are paid quarterly with both interest and part of the loan. It’s a win, win situation for both parities.

What attracted me to MicroPlace?

Last Christmas, my family and I made a trip to South Africa touring the countryside and visiting the fabulous sites. One of which was the shantytowns outside of Johannesburg. This is where I was first exposed to true poverty that exists within the world. These people lived in mud huts with no possessions or assets. They were all stuck in these situations and barely supported by the government. Problem was many had the work ethic, innovative ideas to make it in the business world yet lacked the access to the financial resources that we take for granted in the U.S. As a result, I looked into Micro Financing and found out about MicroPlace and the opportunities it give to these people. In addition, I love the fact that it incentives these people to work hard. The problem I have with charity is its only short-time fix; micro financing creates a long-time opportunity to allow these people to sufficiently support themselves. Like the famous quote:

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”

As a result, this year instead of donating to charities, sign-up for a MicroPlace account and truly help out these people and help alleviate global poverty.

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