The Land of Rising Opportunity

‫؛‬ ‫؛‬ Қ ߁ Land of rising

opportunity Ho Chi Minh City’s entrepreneurial spirit has taken hold of many of its Japanese residents, inspiring them to take a leap into new ventures ഐ࢑Ҵ‫ص‬ϡࡶ‫ظؘ׬‬䩟ൠчϦϤվӡ࢒ԄсϡяӆϪᆧор൅й֔ϡ ࡔϣ༛Ѩ‫׬‬䩟፪‫۔ז‬Ҍϡ֨෢

BY CO N N L A S TO K E S P H OTO G R A P H Y C H R I S TI A N B E R G

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Ho Chi Minh City / ഐ࢑Ҵ‫ ص‬

Ho Chi Minh City / ഐ࢑Ҵ‫ ص‬

on’t worry. If you’re hungry, you don’t have to move,” says Ken Umezawa as he nurses a glass of oolong hai (shochu iced tea) at Birdy, a cocktail bar he opened “by accident” in 2016. “I persuaded the owner of Toride, the izakaya right behind us, to let me punch a hole in the wall so we can order tsukemen and soba through that hatch, and their customers can order our cocktails. It’s a win-win situation.”

When he came to Ho Chi Minh City as a visitor 10 years ago, the gregarious Umezawa says he immediately knew that he wanted to live here. “Ho Chi Minh City’s a melting pot, like New York, only friendlier and, well, a lot cheaper. The city has this unbelievable energy. It’s infectious.” The well-travelled Tokyo native had been studying in Australia and soon returned to Vietnam’s largest city with a handful of belongings, not knowing anyone or what he would do until he landed his fi rst job here as an English teacher. Later, he moved into interior design. “I rented this space before I knew what I was going to do with it. Nobody would dream of doing that in Tokyo.”

Ultimately, Umezawa decided to convert the rented space into a cosy cocktail bar which, despite being located in a low-key, mainly residential part of town – known to all by the name of its main street, Pham Viet Chanh – quickly became a hip hangout for expats of all nationalities and Vietnamese living in the area. It’s the sort of place where the music is always on point, the people come for one and stay for many and, unlike cocktail bars in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, there is zero pressure to dress up. (The owner himself invariably sports shorts and flip flops.) Playing into Umezawa’s favour, word soon spread throughout 2017 that this neighbourhood had a disproportionately high number of excellent Japanese restaurants.

There’s over a dozen within walking distance of Birdy alone.

In fact, hang around some of the city’s Japanese restaurants and bars long enough and you will soon realise Umezawa’s unanticipated move into hospitality is something of a trend in Japanese circles here. Even Yosuke Masuko, the Japanese co-founder of Pizza 4P’s, one of the most rapidly growing restaurant businesses of any kind operating in Vietnam today, had never worked in hospitality until relocating to Ho Chi Minh City. “I came to Vietnam with a venture capital company. In those days, I was meeting a lot of startup entrepreneurs, many of whom I found very inspiring,” says Masuko, who, with the help of his best friend and business partner Takaaki Yoshikawa, once built a brick oven in his backyard in Tokyo, where they threw pizza parties every weekend.

The formula they devised for Pizza 4P’s involved strict attention to detail when executing a classic Neapolitan-style crust, and a refreshingly irreverent attitude toward toppings. Exhibits A, B and C: edible flowers, salmon miso cream and calamari seaweed. Pizza purists, fear not. You can, if you like, stick to more traditional Italian ingredients and opt for the Parma ham margherita. But when not in Rome, it seems more fun to do as a former fi nancial strategist from Tokyo would do.

From his observations of the consumer market as a venture capitalist, Masuko knew several key factors were in his favour: “Ho Chi Minh has a growing middle class and a dynamic F&B scene, and locals tend to be open-minded. I could also see the parallels with the pizza market of yesteryear in Japan and guessed that there would soon be a trend for Neapolitan pizza here. I sensed this was the time, so, I quit my job and persuaded Yoshi to move here, too.”

In 2012, they opened a 35-seat restaurant, which they soon expanded, and things after that escalated quickly. Now, there are five Pizza 4P’s outlets in Ho Chi Minh City, three in Hanoi and one in

“Ho Chi Minh City’s a melting pot, like New York, only friendlier and, well, a lot cheaper”

“D

䦯ഐ࢑Ҵ‫ص‬ϥϣϫϽṗტ䩟ϲҒኯएϣҊ䩟 ԔӠዝѸҎ৖䩟Т҅‫ُ܋‬ЇࠍЏЄ䦰

䦯Ϥ

OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: KEN UMEZAWA, OWNER OF COCKTAIL BAR BIRDY; YOSUKE MASUKO, OWNER OF RESTAURANT CHAIN PIZZA 4P’S; FOOD OFFERINGS AT PIZZA 4P’S; PHAM VIET CHANH IS NOW A HIP HANGOUT FOR EXPATS AND LOCALS ALIKE ਅ‫ॄޏ‬Жఴ্֖в䩭 যഅ‫ܦܦ‬щ%,5'<ϡ ‫ނ‬ֆ.(1 80(=$:$䩮 ‫ྠۀ‬૗ખ࠼೏3,==$ 3䦦6ϡ‫ނ‬ֆ<268.( 0$68.2䩮3,==$ 3䦦6 ϡ‫ؘ‬Ѥުܴ䩮3+$0 9,(7 &+$1+ป‫ײ‬ϣծ ѳӔϥ‫ٿ‬л֋֔ῶ‫؂‬ф ߅ֶք۪Ϫϡుऍչѡ

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Ho Chi Minh City / ഐ࢑Ҵ‫ ص‬

LEFT TO RIGHT: THE CHIC INTERIOR OF A PIZZA 4P’S OUTLET; YASU SEKINE, STANDING IN FRONT OF HIS IZAKAYA AND YAKITORI JOINT, TORISHO ЎҤਅ۠ૼ䩭3,==$ 3䦦6 ԷЅϣҼд‫ނ‬ϡЖᦳ‫آ‬ ​䩮࢒‫ܦ‬൙ᄦ၌਩֟՞‫ނ‬ 725,6+2ϡ‫ނ‬ֆ<$68 6(.,1(ۖҿԷ࠼೏ӓҤ

Danang, with plans to expand across Southeast Asia, and to complete the circle, eventually, in Japan.

The original Pizza 4P’s in Ho Chi Minh City is located in downtown District 1, on the periphery of what locals and expats call Japantown, an affectionate nickname rather than an official name. All around this area, you will fi nd dozens upon dozens of Japanese eateries as well as bars, apartments, hotels and mini-marts, all of which initially catered to Japanese expats living and/or working in the vicinity.

On a typical evening, you’ll see plenty of non-Japanese expats and Vietnamese traipsing around, eating at ramen joints, imbibing sake and shochu bars or simply posing against a backdrop of Kanji script for their followers on social media. All of the alleyways are, thankfully, too narrow for four-wheeled vehicles, making Japantown a pedestrian-friendly zone that has the look and feel of a designated food and drink quarter.

Yasu Sekine, who runs Torisho, a lively izakaya and yakitori joint in the area, explains why his adopted home holds such an appeal for his compatriots with a metaphor: “We come from a culture of eternal employment. After we graduate, many Japanese feel under great pressure to get on the train for their career. Once this train leaves the station, we’re often too scared to jump off and start again. But in a city like this… you can try, and even if you fail, you can try again.”

With the Japanese economy being sluggish in recent decades, it’s easy to see why more Japanese F&B businesses and entrepreneurs have set up shop in Ho Chi Minh City, an energetic metropolis that teems with life every day and every night of the week. According to Kaoru Kawaguchi, the executive editor of Sketch, a monthly Japaneselanguage guide to Vietnam, there are close to 10,000

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registered Japanese expats but perhaps as many as 15,000 living in the city.

And let’s not forget about the nearly 10 million locals with a growing appetite for Japanese culture, too.

“Everyone – Vietnamese, Japanese and all the other expats – absolutely everyone eats out regularly in this city,” says Kawaguchi, who moved here in 2001. “These days, Vietnamese are especially eager to eat more Japanese food, which is a huge shift. When I fi rst came here, locals couldn’t believe that Japanese liked eating raw fish… now sushi is everywhere.”

Wandering away from Japantown, and through the heart of District 1 today, a visitor will quickly see any number of landmarks associated with old Saigon and French Indochina: the Opera House, the Post Office, Notre Dame Church and many other heritage buildings, all of which were built at a time when the city was being billed as the “Paris of the East”.

But now, in the 21st century, this is a city that is leaning to the east and Japan is, in many ways, leading the way.

Two years ago, the Saigon Tax Trade Centre (known in colonial times as Grands Magasins Charner) was demolished to make way for a spanking new hotel, the Okura Saigon Prestige – operated by Japan’s Okura Nikko Hotel Management – which looks set to open in 2020. One block away from here is a Takashimaya Department Store, which opened in 2016 and spans 15,000m2. There’s also the metro project being built with funding and expertise mostly coming from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and Japanese conglomerates.

One could even argue that the days when French cuisine was considered the epitome of high-end dining are long gone. For the last couple of years, the distinction of being one of the hottest tables in town has gone to Rei – an

Ho Chi Minh City / ഐ࢑Ҵ‫ ص‬

“We come from a culture of eternal employment. After we graduate, many Japanese feel under great pressure to get on the train for their career”

A YE N FOR JA PA N яӆ༸‫ױڏ‬Ѕଵ

䦯ϢИϰІϣϫԳ؆䦱‫ٽ‬ӱῶѓ䦲ҹ٩ϡлр䦚

8A/11B1 Thai Van Lung; fb.com/8a11b1thaivanlung

ഋ‫׬‬ћ䩟ϤվяӆϪЁାҿϨѨ‫׬‬Ҥӌ䦱٫ϼӝ䦲䦰

This cheap and cheerful izakaya located in the heart of Japantown will make you feel like you’re in Tokyo.

TORISHO

ѶӿО‫܊‬ϡяӆ૗ખ‫ص‬ԾᏡϩ࢕֡ҏ‫؛‬䩟ӛй‫ڛ‬ᇾѦ૗ખ ԕϾϽҲԷѬ䦚ϢҺࡦϺЖҚю়䩟ӛй۬ᏰЧ֍ӆϡ֞ ӑ䩟М‫ע‬7DNDDNL௄࢒‫ױ‬с䦚䦰 јИϨ ёы‫ޗ‬ϦϣҼ‫ޗ‬ϩ ϫӏ֧ϡ࠼೏䩟Ϥ‫ڜ‬Ѹ ᇕ‫׬ॺפ‬䩟‫ࠔ׬‬Ҫ‫ݬ‬чࣁ䦚ѳϨ䩟3L]]D 3䦦V‫؁‬Ϩഐ࢑Ҵ‫ص‬ ۬ϩٚҼд‫ނ‬䩟૯ֶѧҼ䩟⤭୯ϣҼ䩟‫۔‬ϰ‫੿ذ‬Ք‫ݲ‬ֆ۪ ਐԷј‫ص‬Ծ䩟Ѹ؆яӆЊ‫ࡗٽ‬۵࠳䦚 3L]]D 3䦦Vϡഐ࢑Ҵ‫ص‬ӆ‫ނ‬䩟֧ҿ‫ص‬ЅКҷϣ∩ϡ䦯яӆ భ䦰ࣹ֔䩮䦯яӆభ䦰࢚ۘ‫ܥ‬ҤӜ‫ܒ‬䩟Ԕϲ‫ٹ‬իӆсϪӿ ֔лϪ়๐ӿӍД䦚ُй֐‫ذ‬ϡяӆ‫ৄނې‬ॡ߅ֶ䩟‫֔ױ‬ Уϩ‫ܦ‬щ䦙֙ྎ䦙‫ނܦ‬фࣿϧս‫ص‬䩟з२Ёϥӹ‫׎‬Ϩ‫ױ‬Т ҅ф֞ӑϡяӆϪґы‫ޗ‬䦚 ‫כ‬яԉϼ䩟ϧϾЃϺϤվۘяጭ֔лϪфք۪ϪϺ‫؛‬ਖ਼ ఆ䩟Ϩࠁୣఖѷࠁୣ䩟Ϩ֜‫ܦ‬ф਩㈣‫ܦ‬щ‫ܦ܅‬䩟ҍ‫ٷڈ‬Ϩ ఈ‫੷ܒ‬नӓӌ௮༙ۢ‫ؕޛ‬䩟ϼՙ۠घ‫ے‬෪Ղ䦚Ϩяӆభ䩟 ‫ף‬ਈଋӝ‫۔‬ЌეՔԷᙔᝡЩᝀ䩟ٍ϶ѶюЊϣϫҲϪ߅䩟 ѩ‫ں‬Ϩ֔޲‫ڈ‬Ӡዝϼ䩟ЁϥϣϫϤऽϤ൥ϡѤ‫ې‬਱с䦚 7RULVKRϥϣҼչજ֪ܷϡ࢒‫ܦ‬൙ᄦ၌਩֟՞‫ނ‬䩟ҡඒ <DVX 6HNLQH‫ث‬ౠЊ‫ص؏ح‬хяӆϪ‫ݣ‬ϩҒ‫ױ‬਌৉Ҩ䩟юЊ јИϡҷԏϫр䩭䦯ϢИϰІϣϫԳ؆䦱‫ٽ‬ӱῶѓ䦲ҹ٩ ϡлр䦚ഋ‫׬‬ћ䩟ϤվяӆϪЁାҿϨѨ‫׬‬Ҥӌ䦱٫ϼ

ӝ䦲䩮Ԅ࠶ӝыоћ䩟јИ֡‫׶‬Ёߛ‫ܜ‬Ѕಬ৤ӝ䩟Ϥ‫ٲ‬Գ ӰӐϰ䦚ԔϨ϶Ҋϡϣϫ‫صڵ‬Ѷ䩟ϧНйӵໝෲՅ䩟‫ٍس‬ ‫׹‬ਟϦ䩟ЇНԳϰ䦚䦰 ‫ײ‬ӫ֐ё䩟яӆҬ௵߾ᣛϤӓ䩟‫ױݞ‬ϤԢԑ‫ث‬Њ‫ح‬ք ϰքЄяӆ࠼ୗఌ‫׬‬фࡶ‫ٷ׬‬䩟Ё‫ࡸק‬Ϩഐ࢑Ҵ‫׬ࡶص‬䦚 ϶ϥϣϫ҅Ҩ᧨᩼ϡϽЁϾ䩟яя١١Ёࣘ‫ٴ‬சӠ䦚яҹ ֊ᑂ䦭6NHWFK䦮ϥϣӆԳѡೀཿք۪ϡ૝௨䩟ԷҲूഹফ .DRUX .DZDJXFKL‫܋‬о䩟‫ֶص‬ϩ‫ײב‬ϣ‫ݛ‬ӜӔ֮ࠪϡяጭ ֋֔ῶ‫؂‬䩟ԔӢগُ‫ܒ‬НЌЄܺϣ‫ݛ‬࡛ٚϪ䦚 ґॸ䩟ԇ۲֮ഐ࢑Ҵ‫ص‬ϡϣ࡛‫ݛ‬Ӝ‫ھص‬䩟јИхяӆҹ ٩ϡࣱঙяࠊ೼ധ䦚䦯‫ֶص‬ϡӛϩϪ䩟‫د‬၉ք۪Ϫ䦙яӆ Ϫ䩟УϩԷј֔лϪ䩟ЁϩҬ‫֔׶‬оѓ࠼ϡ‫܄‬১䦚䦰 ё௄࢒‫ױ‬сϡ.DZDJXFKLМ䦚䦯‫ײ‬ё䩟ք۪ϪЁӀҿෲՅ ѸЄяӆѤ‫ܴުې‬䩟єୄӿй‫္܊‬ѼϤӎ䦚ԄϢ२२ϰϺ ϶ѶЖ䩟ӆсϪЁϤԚҞяӆϪफ़ѼӍӨѷТϡ‫־‬䩟Ԕѳ Ϩႎ‫ޅ‬Ӕۘ‫׶‬૦ৄ䦚䦰 ࢿ‫ڐ܌‬ыяӆభ䩟ҬОҷϣ∩ϡಚКс߅Ж䩟ӛϩ߫ ‫ۺ‬ЁϾ‫گ‬о଒՝ᕠЖ‫׈‬фӓ֚٥ᜊ‫ھ‬сϡЄӏс࠳䩭Ͻঁ ࡨ䦙௎ू঵䦙๦আࡨ䩟УϩԷјࣲቶࠃန䩟ЁϨ؏‫ص‬Ԡኲ Њ䦯ֆҤ࣬ሑ䦰ϡЖ‫߃ࠃ׈‬䦚 ϺϦ Ԓઔϡѵϳ䩟϶ϫ‫صڵ‬ԩЄҤӌ‫ז‬ਐರлрԼ

LEFT: A TORISHO STAFF MEMBER KEEPS A WATCHFUL EYE OVER YAKITORI BEING GRILLED ਅ֖䩭725,6+2‫֞؂‬ ԜϨЃ‫܉‬ಮ३яܴ၌਩ ϡ‫ڮ‬ԃ

϶Ҽ֧ҿяӆభК༻с‫ݫ‬ϡ࢒‫ܦ‬൙ ૽۬௱ҍࣘ‫ٴ‬Өಶዝࣹ䩟ਘϪᘗҒ ঞӱֆߟϣҊ䦚

BIRDY

80 Pham Viet Chanh, Binh Thanh District; fb.com/ birdy80pvc Whether you’re looking for umeshu, sake, a classic gin and tonic or a bottle of madein-Vietnam craft beer, Birdy is happy to oblige. ѩ‫ں‬ϧЂԘᅎႰ‫ܦ‬䦙֜‫ܦ‬䦙 Ҭਹ₮௡Ҩ䩟‫ڈ‬ϥք۪‫ؘ‬ᗟ ጂ‫ܦ‬䩟%LUG\ЁЌ‫߿ٴ‬ϧӛؒ䦚

PIZZA 4P’S

8/15 Le Thanh Ton, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1 (Japantown branch); pizza4ps.com Even Italian expats admit that Pizza 4P’s has the best pizza in Ho Chi Minh City.

There are now four downtown restaurants to choose from – including the one in Japantown – but the outlets in District 3 or Ben Thanh Market are also worth visiting as they were designed by Tokyo-born Shunri Nishizawa, a former student of celebrated architect Tadao Ando. ‫ٍس‬ϥϰІҺϽ۱ϡ֔ጭϪࡲඩ໧໧ ‫گ‬Њ3L]]D 3䦦Vϡ૗ખϥഐ࢑Ҵ‫ص‬ зоաϡ૗ખ䦚3L]]D 3䦦Vѳҿ‫ص‬ЅК ‫ޗ‬ϩ‫ף‬Ҽд‫ނ‬䩟ъВ‫ڃࡸק؏׎‬ ϣҼ䩲ϤᏲᦘ‫ק‬ҷѧ∩‫ڈ‬%HQ 7KDQK 0DUNHWϡд‫ނ‬䵋Ҕ‫ۥ୐ٷ‬яጭ ‫ؓذޗ‬6KXQUL 1LVKL]DZD୙ఋ‫ذޗ‬䦚

REI

10E1 Nguyen The Minh Khai, District 1; sushirei.vn The sister branch of the acclaimed Sushi Masuda in Tokyo flies in seafood from Tsukiji seafood market in Japan. There are only eight seats at the bar so advanced reservations are essential.

5HLϥֆߟЯӜ‫ې‬௞6XVKL 0DVXGDϡ ᐕࠒ‫ނ‬䦚Է൵ѓϡ֋৬‫ې‬୰ԩяӆ နс‫ص‬ԾЈ৬‫ػ׺‬Ϻഐ࢑Ҵ‫ص‬䦚࠼೏ ϡщ䌩঍‫ࡂޗ‬ຟ䩟ࠃ৶٤ӓ๓ӏ䦚

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Ho Chi Minh City / ŕ´?ŕ˘&#x2018;Ň´â&#x20AC;Ť Řľâ&#x20AC;Ź

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A tall, bearded man dressed in a yukata strides past the noodle stall next door before ducking down an alleywayâ&#x20AC;? 䌯ϣ֧ӹâ&#x20AC;ŤÜ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;ŹŃ&#x201E;â&#x20AC;ŤŕĽ¸×˘â&#x20AC;Źá&#x2014;&#x160;ĐŻá&#x203A;ŤĐśĎĄŇ&#x2122;ϽԲॲäŠ&#x; á&#x2C6;Ťâ&#x20AC;ŤÜ&#x152;â&#x20AC;Źŕł&#x2014;Đ&#x17E;ŕ´­á&#x2C6;¨ĎĄŕ­Łâ&#x20AC;ŤŢ&#x201A;â&#x20AC;ŹäŠ&#x;á&#x192;&#x2018;Đ&#x17D;ÓąáĄ&#x2019;â&#x20AC;Ť×&#x2026;â&#x20AC;ŹŐ&#x160;ϣָЊá?&#x20AC;䌰 TOP TO BOTTOM: TORIDE, AN IZAKAYA LOCATED BEHIND BIRDY; KOUGI INOUE, THE OWNER OF TORIDE ĎźÖ&#x2013;ßľŕ¨&#x2026;Ö&#x2013;䊭֧ҿâ&#x20AC;ŤÜŚâ&#x20AC;ŹŃ&#x2030; %,5'<Ń&#x203A;Ҥϥŕ˘&#x2019;â&#x20AC;ŤÜŚâ&#x20AC;Źŕľ&#x2122; 725,'(䊎Ř?ŕ˘&#x2019;â&#x20AC;ŤÜŚâ&#x20AC;Źŕľ&#x2122;â&#x20AC;ŤŢ&#x201A;â&#x20AC;ŹÖ&#x2020; .28*, ,128(

eight-seat branch of Tokyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two-Michelin star Sushi Masuda â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where the omakase menu will set you back about HK$1,030.

The more you look around, the more you see how Japan, the second-largest contributor of foreign direct investment to Vietnam, behind only South Korea, is clearly playing a huge role in determining the future of this rapidly developing, multicultural city. So it should come as no surprise that more young Vietnamese are learning Japanese â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and not necessarily because they want to climb on the â&#x20AC;&#x153;train leaving the stationâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The other day, I interviewed ďŹ ve young Vietnamese for a job vacancy and they were all ďŹ&#x201A;uent in Japanese,â&#x20AC;? says Sketchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kawaguchi. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I asked them all why they were curious about Japanese culture, and they all said the same thing: anime and manga.â&#x20AC;?

At the same time, it seems thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no stopping the increasing numbers of Japanese expats moving to Ho Chi Minh City, falling for the local charms and the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relentless entrepreneurial spirit. Back at Birdy, as the monsoon rains arrive, Umezawa has switched to Ricard, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sipping on umeshu, when a tall, bearded man dressed in a yukata strides past the noodle stall next door before ducking down an alleyway. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mr Kougi Inoue, the owner of the izakaya, Toride, behind us. He came to Vietnam as an engineer,â&#x20AC;? says Umezawa with a shrug, as if to say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;see what I mean? It can happen to anyone in this townâ&#x20AC;?.

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Hong Kong Airlines flies to Ho Chi Minh City five times a week. For more information, visit hongkongairlines.com â&#x20AC;ŤÜŤâ&#x20AC;Źŕ­Żŕą&#x192;â&#x20AC;Ť×şâ&#x20AC;ŹŇ&#x;â&#x20AC;ŤŢ&#x2014;ÚŹâ&#x20AC;ŹĎŠŮ&#x161;â&#x20AC;ŤÚĄâ&#x20AC;Źŕą&#x192;Ň&#x2039;Ď°Ň&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;ŤÜŤâ&#x20AC;Źŕ­Żßľ ŕ´?ŕ˘&#x2018;Ň´â&#x20AC;ŤŘľâ&#x20AC;ŹäŚ&#x161;â&#x20AC;ŤÝ&#x201C;â&#x20AC;Źŕź&#x2039;ѸĐ&#x201E;ŕ°łÖĽäŠ&#x;Ő&#x17D;༞ŕ¤&#x2039; KRQJNRQJDLUOLQHV FRP

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