Nation's touch enlivens Double Eleven in Vietnam

HANOI - It is almost midnight of Nov 10, a Sunday, and Dinh Thi Thu Huong, a 26-year-old Hanoian, is still keeping her eyes wide open. Her fingers swipe on the mobile phone's screen, selecting items from the online shopping platform Shopee and depositing them into the e-cart.

"I've been waiting for this 'big day' for months," Huong said, explaining that she is preparing for the sales on the Singles Day - the Double Eleven online shopping festival celebrated every year on Nov 11, an invention of China's Alibaba e-commerce platform.

This 11-11 has shown the festival is now popular in Vietnam. "Double Eleven is becoming a phenomenon in Vietnam, a version of 'Black Friday' for online shopping," Huong said, adding she is impatiently waiting to place some 10 orders at the stroke of midnight.