For years it has been an underdeveloped backwater of south-east Asia, best known throughout much of the world for its devastating war against the US. Nevertheless, Vietnam is very much an up and coming country, particularly in an economic sense. Never has the Dong been so powerful.
At the start of this year, a US dollar could buy you around 23,000 Dongs, which is quite a handful until you realise that that is only worth about one dollar. Few other currencies worldwide were worth so little - maybe the Salvadoran Colon, but you can still fit many Dongs into a Colon.
Since February though, the Dong has shot up, and it just keeps on growing. The Dong/Pound ratio is high, and the Dong/Bhat index is also swelling.
An Asian currency hasn't grown this fast since South Korea's boom, when it had a really big Won. That didn't end happily though, and if the Vietnamese isn't to overheat and blow up, then they had better calm down their Dongs with careful fiscal policy.
