A group of 16 commercial banks, accounting for 75% of total outstanding loans, has committed to foregoing around VND20.6 trillion ($906.3 million) in waiving and lowering interest rates for customers in the remainder of the year. From January 23 to August 31, banks have foregone a total of VND26 trillion ($1.14 billion) in profit to support customers, while 16 banks have reduced their profit by VND8.86 trillion ($390 million) from July 15 to August 31, or 43% of their committed amount. Since the first Covid-19 outbreak last year, commercial banks and credit institutions under the instruction of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) have been actively providing support for businesses struggling with the Covid-19 impacts and stabilizing the macroeconomy for a speedy recovery. Vietnam Bank for Social Policies at Ba Vi District, Hanoi, provides preferential loans for customers. Photo: Hong Dat In 2020, the SBV cut the policy rates three times with a total of 1.5-2 …
Insurers hail health and tech awareness
Insurers hail health and tech awareness, illustration photo By the end of August, total assets in the insurance market were estimated at $27.9 billion, up 22.1 per cent over the same period last year. In which, non-life insurance businesses were estimated at $4.4 billion and life insurance businesses’ total assets at $23.6 billion, cited the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Similarly, total insurance premium revenues in this period also increased by nearly 17 per cent. In a more detailed assessment from the MoF’s Department of the Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA), insurance revenues in the first five months of 2021 recovered strongly compared to the same period last year. The loose social distancing after the first outbreak created favourable conditions for insurance selling activities. Fierce competition continued to narrow market shares among the top five insurers while creating more opportunities for smaller players. The competition among the sector has become fiercer. In …
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Real estate market waits for amended Investment Law
The amended 2020 Investment Law is expected to expand housing supply. According to the HCM City Real Estate Association (HOREA), the total number of housing projects approved by the HCM City People’s Committee has been decreasing in the last five years, from 130 in 2016 and 2017, to 122 in 2018, to 22 in 2019, and to 53 in 2020. The total number of housing products created on the basis of capital mobilization has fallen sharply over the last three years (34.2 percent in 2018, 46.8 percent in 2019 and 60.7 percent in 2020 compared with 2017). One of the reasons behind the fall is the regulation on investor recognition, which makes it difficult for owners to implement projects. Clause 4, Article 23 of 2014 Housing Law stipulates that only investors with 100 percent of residential land-use rights are recognized as the owners of commercial housing projects. In HCM City, in 2015-2020, 126 projects used mixed types of land, not 100 percent of residential land, so the investors …
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Start-up business in Bắc Ninh Province grateful for provincial support
Chu Văn Đạo in his rice milling workshop, where he has invested in modern machines. — VNA/VNS Thanh Thương BẮC NINH — The trend of youth business start-ups in Bắc Ninh Province has grown rapidly in recent years, thanks to the support of the provincial Youth Union. As a result, many jobs have been created and many more young people are attracted by the opportunity to start their own business. Chu Văn Đạo, 30, in Cầu Gạo Yên Phú Commune, Yên Phong District, is one of the success stories. He borrowed capital to invest in his family’s rice processing business. Đạo, who has a passion for technology, graduated from the Hà Nội University of Industry in 2006. At first, he borrowed VNĐ600 million (US$26,300) to buy new rice processing machines, such as milling machines, husk separators, threshing machines and a polishing machine. Then, with confidence and acumen, he went to agents, stores and supermarkets to introduce his products to the market. His business has been growing ever …
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Vietnamese youths push sustainability message by promoting environmental protection awareness
For almost a decade now, a group of Vietnamese veterinary engineers and volunteers have been devoted to the rescue and care of endangered animals and plants while fighting hard to curb biodiversity loss in the central and Central Highlands regions. GreenViet Biological Diversity Conservation Center, a Vietnamese animal rights and environment group founded in 2012, has been conducting research and raising people’s awareness of the biodiversity in the regions. Its members, many of whom are young people, try to reach locals’ hearts and help them engage in environmentally conscious behaviors. Their efforts are focused on conserving the red-shanked douc population, a primate species indigenous to Son Tra Peninsula in Da Nang. Though its founders have doted on the doucs as the main beneficiary of their conservation drive, the members still pay attention to how to cushion the ecosystem and wildlife elsewhere from harm. The group’s other initiatives include ‘Mot trieu cay xanh do …