Central bank exchange rates

According to Pham Dang Khoa, deputy director of Vietinbank’s Card Centre, the biggest problem for banks when it comes to replacing magnetic strip cards is the cost. Banks have to pay for the new cards and invest in devices that accept them, such as ATMs and POS machines. Meanwhile, most customers are not willing to pay to switch. With more than eight million existing customers using magnetic strip cards, Khoa estimated his bank will have to spend a large sum as the cost of producing a chip card is roughly eight to ten times higher than magnetic strip cards. To encourage customers to use chip cards, Khoa said VietinBank would help customers replace their old cards due to the advantages of the new ones. According to Khoa, the information contained in the chips was encrypted and only the issuing bank could read the data on it. Thus, they reduce the risk of information being stolen and counterfeits. There have been no issues regarding security with the new cards, which shows how … [Read more...] about Banks issues more chip cards for security

Consumer credit has grown by five times in the last five years, according to the State Bank of Vietnam. The Financial Times newspaper noted that Vietnam’s consumer lending field remains ‘young’. Vietnam has great potential to develop the field thanks to the young population (70 percent of people are 15-64 years old) and the high economic growth rate (over 6 percent). It's easy to access consumer loans In late 2012, total consumer loans were VND230 trillion, accounting for 8 percent of total outstanding loans of the economy. By late 2017, the figure had reached VND1,100 trillion, or 4.8 times higher than 2012, accounting for 18 percent of total outstanding loans. As of December 31, 2018, the total assets of finance and finance leasing companies had reached VND167.822 trillion, up by 18.27 percent over the end of 2017, while their chartered capital had increased by 17.2 percent and regulatory capital by 39.4 percent. The consumer lending market includes … [Read more...] about Consumer credit: risks loom large

This is one of the goals set for the province under the Politburo’s Resolution No.54-NQ/TTW on the building and development of Thua Thien-Hue till 2030 with a vision to 2045. The province is also set to become one of the country’s hubs in the fields of science, technology, multidisciplinary education and training, national defence-security. Thua Thien-Hue is envisioned to become a festival city of Asia by 2045. The central province of Thua Thien-Hue During the 2021 -2025 period, Thua Thien-Hue should work to earn the status of a centrally-run city and complete the expansion of Hue city before 2022 as planned. The province should strive for an annual growth of 7.5-8.5 percent in gross regional domestic product while the total social investment capital will increase by 12 percent each year. By 2025, the rate of poor households will be reduced to 2-2.2 percent, forest coverage will reach 56 – 57 percent, the rate of trained workers in the workforce at … [Read more...] about Thua Thien-Hue aims to become a cultural, tourism centre of Asia by 2020

Cover of the photo book  11 intangible cultural heritages include the Belief in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms, a traditional practice with a long history in Vietnam; Tugging rituals and games; Vi and Giam folk songs; “Don ca tai tu” (southern folk music); the worship of Hung kings; Xoan singing in Phu Tho; Giong festival of Phu Dong and Soc temples; Ca Tru singing; Quan ho Bac Ninh folk songs; the space of Gong culture in the Central Highlands and Nha Nhac – Vietnamese court music. To complete this photo book, photographer Nguyen A traveled across the country in 2016 to take the photos of these heritages and meet with heritage artisans. The photo book will be showcased at the Hanoi Old Quarter Culture Exchange Center till January 3, 2017. Translated by Chung Anh … [Read more...] about Photo book on 11 UNESCO-recognized intangible cultural heritages of Vietnam published