It was an honor to speak about our book
It was an honor to speak about our book, Vietnam - Asia's Rising Star, to the MBA students of Professor Bob Baulch's class at RMIT this Saturday (Jan. 21). This was the third time I have had the opportunity to speak at RMIT. The topic was the Middle Income Trap and whether or not Vietnam has what it takes to "escape" the trap in the future. Thank you Professor Baulch, all your students, and RMIT for this opportunity. Great questions and discussion.
Hot off the digital press!
Thanks to Hao Tran and the team at Vietcetera for inviting Brook Taylor and I to talk about our book, Vietnam - Asia's Rising Star, on their Vietnam Innovators Podcast. It was an honor. We are very grateful for the opportunity to share the details of our three-year research and writing journey for this book.
https://lnkd.in/d6vitsZU
Getting ready to speak
Getting ready to speak to a large group of Vietnamese entrepreneurs and investors who have dreams of pursuing an IPO in the future.
Thank you Sam Van and Paul Wan for inviting me to the 'Building Global Markets Community and Access Capital' conference at the New World Hotel today (December 3). Thanks, too, for distributing our book, Vietnam - Asia's Rising Star to the conference participants.
Sam Korsmoe
Dream Big, Build Bigger.
This was the theme of a presentation at The Investing Club at British University Vietnam (BUV) just outside of Hanoi. My colleague Sam Van from New York City and I were invited to speak with the members of BUV's Investing Club. It was so refreshing to see such enthusiasm, curiousness, and intelligence about the world from so many young Vietnamese.
Sam Van spoke about the journey for companies to go from Zero (startup) to IPO (getting listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, and other markets around the world). I spoke about my recently published book with Brook Taylor, Vietnam - Asia's Rising Star. I happily gifted an English and Vietnamese version of the book to the club.
Thank you BUV and the Investing Club for inviting us.
We want to thank everyone
We want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement of the writing and publishing of Vietnam - Asia's Rising Star. The book is available in English and Vietnamese. Please visit our website at www.AsiasRisingStar.com to learn more and place an order for the books.
We have two items to put on your viewing and listening calendar.
First, the news program Talk Vietnam on VTV4 will feature a full program on ourselves and our book. Lina Pham, the VTV4 anchor and reporter, interviewed us several times in HCM City and Hanoi and also conducted an in-depth interview in the VTV studios in Hanoi. We had a great conversation because Lina is a true professional. The show will be aired during prime time on Sunday, November 24 on VTV4 and VTV1. It will be on national TV in English with Vietnamese sub-titles. Please be sure to tune in. We'll let you know when the program's social media links go live.
Second, the local media group Vietcetera hosted us for its Vietnam Innovators program. Co-founder and CEO Hao Tran invited us into Vietcetera's studio for an extensive discussion about the book and about the future of Vietnam. This program will air on December 2 on the Vietcetera podcast and website.
It's been wonderful to see so much interest in Vietnam. We hope our book helps to explain what has been and will be happening in this exciting country.
With best regards,
Brook Taylor and Sam Korsmoe
We made it to the finals!!
Live Theatre in Saigon
We made it to the finals!!
Please support the Arts Community of Saigon!!
One Night Only!!!
November 9 at 7:30 PM
IDECAF Theater at 28D Le Thanh Ton, D1
So what happens when a clueless American PhD student falls in love with a math teacher who, as it turns out, is actually a single Mom with a hardcore, pragmatic, and suspicious Grandma lurking in the background???
OMG! Chaos reigns in the 10-minute play, The Proposal, which will perform in the final round of the Short+Sweet Việt Nam play festival on November 9. Show time begins at 7:30 PM at the IDECAF Theater in D1 of HCM City.
Come see these fabulous actors.
SottyPong Dang as Paul - Fuzzyheaded and clueless only begins to describe Paul, an American PhD student who has fallen in love with a Vietnamese math teacher.
Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy as Huong - Good at teaching math but unlucky in love, Huong has fallen for a hapless American academic who doesn’t know that she is a single mom.
Gigi Brown as Gigi The Kid - Six years old and ready to take on the world, Gigi was just fine without a daddy until an American who speaks terrible Vietnamese shows up.
Thuy Ho as Grandma - Grandma, the glue that has kept the family together with a pragmatic view of the world, has to adjust to the reality that her daughter and the clueless American are in love.
The Proposal
A 10-minute farce about life and love in modern day Saigon written and directed by Sam Korsmoe
The founder of the Saigon Writers Club and Co-Author of Vietnam - Asia’s Rising Star
Use the QR code in the posters to get your tickets today!!!
Good Morning All
Good Morning All,
Dan Tri newspaper just published an essay written by Brook Taylor and I about our new book, Vietnam - Asia's Rising Star [Viet Nam Ngôi sao đang lên của Châu Á]. It is in Vietnamese, but the Dan Tri platform has an effective translation feature. The English translation is quite accurate.
Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gPR8DMFB
Have a good week ahead.
Cheers,
Sam Korsmoe
Please support the arts
Please support the arts in HCM City by attending Short+Sweet Vietnam, the world's largest play festival that is coming to Vietnam for the first time ever. Each play is precisely 10 minutes long and there are 20 plays over two weekends (October 25/26 and November 1/2). By audience vote, the top five plays from each weekend advances to the final round on November 8 and 9.
All the plays are performed at the IDECAF theater in D1 of HCM City. The play festival begins at 7:30 PM. Upon entry, each audience member will receive a ballot to vote for the two best plays performed that evening.
I wrote a play for the festival. I also made an audacious leap to direct my own play. I am blessed to have found four wonderful actors (Sottypong Dang, Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Gigi Brown, and Thuy Ho) who have been working extremely hard over the past month to get ready for the show. Our play, The Proposal, will be performed on October 25 and 26. It is in English with some Vietnamese thrown in to make it interesting.
Here's the pitch: Of course, I want you to support our play and vote for us. More importantly, we need you and all your friends to show up, buy a ticket (only VND 80,000), cast your vote, and show the world that Vietnam has a growing and thriving arts community. Please share this post with your network. Form your own group of friends and colleagues to attend the play together. Enjoy a night out in Saigon while supporting the arts of Saigon. We cannot do this without you.
Thank you and I hope to see you this Friday and Saturday.
Sam Korsmoe
Great to have been able to present Vietnam: Asia's Rising Star
Great to have been able to present Vietnam: Asia's Rising Star to over 130 local and international guests at VinaCapital's 2024 Investor Conference. It was inspiring to see how many of the ideas in our book were also reflected by other speakers. The momentum to define contemporary Vietnam is gaining speed.
We had an great time
We had an great time on the set of ‘Talk Vietnam’ today, discussing ‘Vietnam: Asia’s Rising Star’ with the host, Lina Pham. It was a fantastic opportunity to share insights from our book with an audience of over two million viewers. Catch the episode on VTV and streaming platforms this November!
Dear Friends
Dear Friends,
I hope you will take a few minutes to read this Op-Ed and let me know your thoughts. My thanks to Nikkei Asia for publishing this piece.
Sam Korsmoe
What a night!
What a night!
For the second time in two weeks, Brook Taylor and I talked about our book, Vietnam - Asia's Rising Star, to a sold out venue at the Old Compass Cafe in HCM City. The night was especially memorable because the Old Compass Cafe team donated all the entry fee revenue for the event to typhoon relief. In addition, Brook and I donated VND 100,000 to the same cause for each book that we sold at the event. The photo below shows me handing over to Old Compass Cafe manager Duong Dang VND 4,100,000 from 41 book sales. In the whole scheme of the disaster, 4.1M is not a lot of money for disaster relief, but it is a lot of heart.
Thanks to everyone who joined us last night and purchased a book. I hope you enjoyed the presentation and the robust Q&A. Thanks to the entire Old Compass Cafe team for their hard work and generosity. Please drop by there at 63/11 Pasteur St. D1 for lunch and/or dinner when you have the chance. It's a wonderful venue.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sam Korsmoe
Good Morning Brian
Thank you for your kind and insightful review. I appreciate your comments especially in consideration of how long you have been living and working in Vietnam.
Brook and I have similarly long histories in the country. However, that did not make this an easy project to take on. In some ways, it made it more challenging. For more than three years, we researched, wrote, analysed, conducted interviews, shared our findings with others, and discussed with each other at great length all the issues and drivers for the country. This was very challenging, but also a lot of fun. Vietnam is a good example of not knowing how much you don't know until you begin to learn more and more. The search for a better understanding of Vietnam is constant and ongoing. It should be this way. This is part of what being a 'Tiger Economy' country is all about.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. The best way to order the book is via our website at www.AsiasRisingStar.com The English and Vietnamese version of the books are available. The English version is already in ebook format on Kindle. The Vietnamese book will be in ebook format soon as well as in an audio book.
Have a great week ahead.
Cheers,
Sam Korsmoe
Hey Saigon Friends
Please save this date - the evening of September 12 - and take part in a presentation by Brook Taylor and myself about our three-year journey to research, write, and publish a book about the future of Vietnam. The venue is the Old Compass Cafe on Pasteur Street in D1. It is a fantastic venue for this kind of look into the future. Come with your thoughts, ideas, and especially your questions. The book will be available in both English and Vietnamese.
See you next week.
Sam Korsmoe
https://lnkd.in/ggt4az2p
Thanks Tam Anh
Thanks Tam Anh from znews.vn for sharing some of the background story of Vietnam: Asia’s Rising Star.
The Vietnamese edition is out!
When Sam Korsmoe and I embarked on the journey of writing ‘Vietnam: Asia’s Rising Star’, our primary goal was to explain contemporary Vietnam to foreigners. However, through our conversations, we discovered another crucial mission: explaining to Vietnamese people the dynamic changes happening in their own country and what the future might hold.
This week we are thrilled that this mission has taken a significant step forward with the release of the Vietnamese language edition of ‘Vietnam: Asia’s Rising Star.’
We hope this edition will inspire and inform even more readers about Vietnam’s incredible journey and exciting future.
Congratulations to Madam Ton Nu Thi Ninh
Congratulations to Madam Ton Nu Thi Ninh for having the vision to host the inaugural hashtag #VietnamtheMoment forum focused on defining and promoting the contemporary Vietnamese identity. Sam and I were honoured to be part of this event and present Vietnam: Asia’s Rising Star to a diverse audience of academics and thought leaders.
Vietnam's millionaire population is on the rise
Vietnam's millionaire population is on the rise, making it the country with the fastest-growing millionaires. With wealth accumulation steadily increasing over the last twenty years, the trend is expected to continue for the comming decades.
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