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A Starbucks latte is an extravagance in many countries, and Vietnam is no exception.
The country is the third most expensive place to buy a Starbucks latte, according to the latest “Latte Index” conducted across 40 economies by research firm ValuePenguin.
Customers here feel like they’re spending over $8 or VND180,000 on a cup of coffee, while in the U.S. it only costs $2.75.
The index also showed that Southeast Asia appears to be the worst choice for the Starbucks’ drink when it comes to the cost.
The latte index is similar to the famous “Big Mac Index”, which aims at calculating the strength of currencies. The latest Big Mac Index updated in January this year revealed that the Vietnamese dong is undervalued by 47.5 percent.
The dong will also devalue by 4-5 percent in 2017, Juliana Lee, a senior research economist at Deutsche Bank, said.
“For 2017, we [Deutsche Bank] see upside risks to our outlook for the Vietnamese dong,” she said.
The dong devalued 1.1-1.2 percent last year.
The global economy is forecast to remain unpredictable this year, with a number of countries likely to exploit currency devaluations to support trade.
In the meantime, with the value of the dong uncertain, enjoy a traditional ca phe sua da.
