Travel to Malaysia and Vietnam in the name of Web3

This time I spent ten days in Southeast Asia, first in Malaysia and then in Vietnam, let me tell you about my feelings.

The climate in Malaysia is not too good, 40 degrees in China and 26-30 degrees in Penang. W Labs, as the advisor of Masverse, has five friends here this time, including KK, there are six people. Just to attend the inauguration ceremony of Masverse's web3 hub in Penang. I went there purely to eat, drink and have fun. The other two friends arrived for several days first, and rushed over after finishing work for Masverse in the Kuala Lumpur office. WEB3 is really exciting.

Penang is a state with the highest proportion of Chinese (40%+) among the 14 states in Malay, and it has also been a state governed by Chinese for a long time. There is almost no obstacle to speaking Chinese here, and it is also the same as Singapore, using Simplified Chinese. When you go out, you only need to meet yellow faces and chat in Mandarin directly. Compared with Kuala Lumpur, Penang is more casual, has more delicious food, and has a better environment. Some restaurants in the old area of the island are really delicious, and you can find them in Dianping.

The WEB3 in Penang was blank before Masverse. This time, Masverse directly set up a second office in Penang, and held such a sensational opening ceremony. It invited the leaders of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Energy. It was indeed a sensation. Many WEB3 builders drove three hours from Kuala Lumpur to learn from it. They wanted to find out why Masverse was able to successfully raise nearly 10 million U.S. dollars after only one year of establishment. It is now the first WEB3 ecological public chain project supported by the Malaysian government. Thinking back to a year ago, KK and I were on the roadside in Shanghai, patting their heads and calling a few Malay partners to return to Malaysia to start a business. WEB3 can indeed give young people opportunities.

Compared with WEB3, Penang is more famous for the so-called "pan circle". It is said that the world's largest football betting server center is located in Penang, so the fund pan is actually very popular in Malaysia, and the common people are more accepting of Ponzi model products. Otherwise, Lin Ruiyang and Zhang Ting, who were fined more than one billion in micro-business in China in the past ten years, would not have moved their headquarters to Malaysia.

A little friend also went to have lunch with the youngest deputy governor of Penang. He is in charge of digital economics and encouraged web3er to come to Penang WEB3 to start a business. The policy, education and life are very good, and the key cost is much lower than Singapore. It is said that the ultimate dream yacht model of the leeks will soon come true here, hahaha.

I stayed in Malaysia for five days, but I was upset that many of the credit cards of major domestic banks could not be used. Whether it is UnionPay or Visa/Master, it seems that China Merchants Bank is the best at present. In addition, the efficiency of the airport is really slow, so everyone has to be patient when entering the customs.

Vietnam has often come to Vietnam in the past few years, especially after Vietnam's overall opening to the outside world in 2017, it has been deployed in Vietnam. Here are some of the deepest impressions of my visit to Ho Chi Minh City:

1. There are more and more coffee shops, but fewer and fewer rice noodle shops. And the decoration of coffee shops is getting more and more petty. Many young ladies are taking pictures inside and outside the store, and at night everyone is sitting on a small bench by the roadside. You can try some new varieties of coffee, such as my favorite egg coffee.

2. Although the construction of infrastructure is slow, there is still progress, and some new roads have also been opened. It's just that the subway has been closed for five years, and the efficiency of Japanese construction is really incomparable with the infrastructure madman.

3. After the epidemic, Vietnam's economy will rebound quickly in 2022, with a direct GDP of 8%, attracting global investment attention. However, this round of U.S. interest rate hikes has dealt a heavy blow to Vietnam, and many foreign investors have partially withdrawn their capital back to the U.S., so the growth rate in Q1 in 2023 will only be 3%, while the unemployment rate will skyrocket. However, the exchange rate of the Vietnamese Dong to the US dollar is actually good, because there is still potential, and it will still undertake some manufacturing opportunities overflowing from China in the next 5-10 years. Everyone is optimistic about the future development.

Comparing the exchange rate of Vietnamese Dong to RMB in the past two years, it is really hard to say anything...

4. When the economy is not good, the political struggle at the top is also serious. The four carriages are dead and arrested, and the political situation is chaotic. Not long ago, the downfall of the second-in-command brought out the richest Chinese woman. Because the richest woman mainly relies on real estate, it has caused the stagnation of thousands of real estate projects, and the problem of approval and construction has been checked from the beginning.

5. The efficiency of the public sector is still as bad as ever. This time, I simply transferred a few accounts at the counter and ran back and forth in the bank for four days. I was really speechless. Fortunately, the girls at the counters of the big banks are really beautiful, and there are even several mixed-race beauties. When you are bored, you can admire them more and chat more when you handle business. I don't know if young people's return to the system is a common problem in socialist countries.

This time I came to Ho Chi Minh City to deal with some WEB2 business. I didn’t have many contacts with WEB3 friends this time. After chatting with them, I have some feelings: first, the government’s strict control; I feel that I still haven’t gotten to the core point of Vietnam’s web3. If anyone recommends an excellent team or KOL in Vietnam, it is very welcome~