Financial Markets

Super-committee makes its debutThe Saigon Times Daily HCMC – After eight months of establishment, the State Capital Management Committee was officially launched on September 30, starting to manage over VND2,300 trillion of the State assets at 19 corporations and groups, Lao Dong news site reported. The committee is expected to help remove poor capital management policies at State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that have been in place for a long time, as well as change these enterprises’ management methods and operations and improve State capital efficiency. Following the launch, the handover of the State capital at the 19 State-owned groups and corporations will start in October, while the transfer of ownership representation rights, including appointing State employees, approving production plans and resolving issues related to investment, remains undecided. Earlier, there was a handover of SOEs to the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), which now represents State … [Read more...] about Super-committee makes its debut

All emerging East Asian bond markets, except Vietnam, expand in Q2By Thanh Thom The cover picture of the latest Asia Bond Monitor. All emerging East Asian bond markets, except Vietnam, expanded in Q2 – PHOTO: ADB HCMC – Vietnam’s local currency bond market was the only emerging East Asian market that contracted in the second quarter of this year, falling 1.4% quarter-on-quarter to roughly US$51 billion, following a 10.8% quarter-on-quarter rise in the first quarter, according to the latest quarterly update of the Asia Bond Monitor by the Asian Development Bank. The latest issue of the Asia Bond Monitor, titled “Emerging East Asian Local Currency Bond Markets: A Regional Update,” reported that local currency bond markets in the region grew 3.2% from the first quarter of this year to a combined value of US$12.6 trillion in late June, with government bonds expanding 4% and corporate bonds rising 1.8%. In Vietnam, local currency government bond yields … [Read more...] about All emerging East Asian bond markets, except Vietnam, expand in Q2

SBV concerned over lending to risky sectorsThe Saigon Times Daily A bird’s eye view of HCMC. The State Bank of Vietnam has expressed concern over the increasing credit for risky sector including real estate – PHOTO: THANH HOA HCMC – Although credit growth and lending to risky sectors are kept under control, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has expressed concern over the increasing credit for the real estate sector and build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) traffic projects, reported Sai Gon Dau Tu Tai Chinh newspaper. According to SBV, the outstanding loans of credit institutions reached VND6,700 trillion (US$288.2 billion) in the first five months of the year. Of this amount, credit for the real estate sector and BOT and BT traffic projects increased by 3.65% and 3.58% over late last year and accounted for 6.41% and 1.6% of the total outstanding loans, respectively. Meanwhile, credit for securities was down 9.61% in the five-month period and … [Read more...] about SBV concerned over lending to risky sectors

Banks banned from disclosing client informationThe Saigon Times Daily Clients wait to make transactions at a bank. The Government has banned banks from disclosing their clients' information - PHOTO: UYEN VIEN HCMC - The Government has issued Decree 117/2018, effective November 1, directing local credit institutions and branches of foreign banks to ensure that information remains confidential about their clients, and only provide information in line with the 2010 Law on Credit Institutions and relevant legal documents, reported news website VnEconomy. Information about bank account passwords, as well as clients’ biometric data and identification information, must not be disclosed unless banks receive approval in writing from customers. Further, state management agencies and other individuals and organizations can only ask credit institutions and branches of foreign banks to provide such information within their jurisdiction, in accordance with the regulation, and must … [Read more...] about Banks banned from disclosing client information

VAMC, banks auction mortgaged assets to recover bad debtsThe Saigon Times Daily VAMC and multiple banks have auctioned mortgaged assets to settle bad debts - PHOTO: THANH HOA HCMC - Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) and multiple banks have put up the mortgaged assets for auction to speed up the settlement of bad debts, according to Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper. VAMC announced its business plan earlier this year, which stated the company would buy a maximum of VND32 trillion (US$1.4 billion) worth of nonperforming loans using its special bonds and would use cash to purchase VND3.5 trillion worth of bad debts. VAMC targeted settling some VND34.5 trillion worth of bad debts this year. VAMC recently seized entitlement certificates over 13 land plots and land-attached properties, including a plot of land and assets on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street in HCMC’s District 3. Green City Construction Investment JSC had used the assets as collateral for loans taken from Vietnam Bank for … [Read more...] about VAMC, banks auction mortgaged assets to recover bad debts