Veteran ethnic singer facing mounting debt

August 30, 2013 | 10:12

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Siu Black, a prominent Vietnamese popular singer from the Central Highlands, has admitted that she in fact owes around VND10 billion (USD476,190), not the recently announced VND2.5 billion.

Siu Black (right) and Phuong Thanh (left)

She said that the figure of VND2.5 billion (USD119,047) is just the original debt, adding that she has to pay compound interest of 20-30% on that, and she really doesn't know how much the total interest amounts to.

“Currently, I and my friend, singer Phuong Thanh and other lenders, are jointly calculating the total debt. I will try to work to pay the debt, but the most important thing to me is now is time. I really hope that the creditors can help by giving me enough time,” Siu Black said.

Earlier, artists held a music show for Siu Black in HCM City on August 11 to raise funds to help the singer. The event attracted the participation of many famous singers. However, the audience had to wait until 22:00 p.m, to see Siu, who appeared on the stage accompanied by security guards.

According to singer Phuong Thanh, Siu Black came to the show at 8:00 p.m but she was immediately surrounded by creditors. Thanks to Phuong Thanh’s plea, she was allowed to perform.

The show raised a total VND100 million (USD4,760). After the performance, Siu Black got into a state of panic because she was still being harassed by her creditors.

Phuong Thanh herself is also shocked at the size of Siu Black’s real debt.

The 46-year-old Ba Na ethnic singer got into financial trouble when she decided to open a cafe, using her house in Kon Tum as collateral for a VND700 million (USD33,276) loan. She also borrowed from friends and family to invest a total of around VND1 billion (USD47,537).

Dat Viet, dtinews

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