Finance ministry banking division

According to the General Statistics Office, in March the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 3.4-3.5% from the same period last year. In the first quarter prices are expected to rise by 4.2-4.3% year-on-year, with the prices of construction materials jumping by 7.2% and foodstuffs by 4.5%. According to the ministry, the pressure will continue in April and the second quarter in the face of the global uncertainty since domestic prices of many essential goods depend heavily on international prices. At a meeting with the Steering Committee on Price Management chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on March 24, the ministry put forth three scenarios for inflation this year ranging from 3.9% to 4.8%. But it favored the one that envisages prices to rise at the current rate of 0.52% a month in the remaining nine months of this year. Khai said ministries and other agencies should take feasible measures to keep inflation below 4.5%. The head of the General Statistics … [Read more...] about Inflation likely to be 3.9-4.8% this year: finance ministry

The ministry made this proposal in a draft law on special consumption tax that is being reviewed by other government agencies. Taxing online games was last discussed by the National Assembly in 2014 but not approved since many feared it could lower the competitiveness of domestic companies against foreign players. But the situation seems to have changed. In 2020 Vietnam had five of the 10 biggest video game publishers in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, according to ranking platform Data.ai. Out of every 25 games downloaded globally, one was made by a Vietnamese company, which put Vietnamese producers in seventh place in game downloads. In 2021 revenues from online games in Vietnam were worth $665 million, according to the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information. It said many Vietnamese companies are based in Singapore, which makes it difficult to collect taxes. … [Read more...] about Finance Ministry wants online game companies taxed

A customer uses Home Credit’s app. Investment in digitalisation is currently the key for large financial companies to compete and expand their market shares. — Photo thoibaonganhang.vn Large foreign financial groups have actively penetrated the Vietnamese consumer finance market, which has significantly helped accelerate the digitalisation of the country’s financial services. United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) has recently completed the acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking business in Viet Nam, which includes Citibank’s unsecured and secured lending portfolios, wealth management and retail deposit businesses. Not only UOB, multinational financial groups from countries in the Asian region are also strongly promoting mergers and acquisitions (M&A), capital contributions in Vietnamese commercial banks to promote their consumer lending activities. There has been recent information that Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui (SMBC) has reached a number of agreements to buy more than 1 … [Read more...] about Foreign investors expand consumer finance business in Viet Nam

Tran Hoai Nam, deputy general director of HDBank, receives the award from J.P Morgan Chase. — Photo courtesy of HDBank HDBank has won two more coveted international awards adjudged by leading global banking and financial experts for meeting stringent criteria in terms of total assets, net profit, growth index, business orientation, and others. It won The Asset Triple A Award for best bank for sustianable finance in 2022 from The Asset. It also received the 2022 Elite Quality Recognition Award from J.P. Morgan Chase Bank for its MT202 EUR Rate, underlining its exceptional performance in international payment services. The awards continue to underscore HDBank's status in the domestic and international financial markets and its sustainable growth and role as an important capital mobilisation channel, it said. According to The Asset Triple A Awards jury, HDBank has always been at the forefront of environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities - one of the most important … [Read more...] about HDBank gets 2 prestigious awards for sustainable finance, international payments

A road under construction (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has been assigned to coordinate with related ministries to devise and propose policies and measures for attracting international financial funds and capital sources to public - private partnership ( PPP ) projects in Vietnam. This is among the tasks set by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha with regard to PPP investment activities, according to the Government Office. In particular, the MPI was asked to work with other ministries to review the enforcement of the 2020 law on PPP investment, as well as obstacles to the implementation of the Government’s Decree 35/2021/ND-CP, dated March 29, 2021, that guides the law enforcement. They were ordered to propose revisions, supplements, and international capital attraction measures to the PM in the second quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, Deputy PM Ha assigned the Finance Ministry to coordinate with others to review problems … [Read more...] about Ministries to devise measures for attracting int’l capital to PPP projects

Some banks used to be very popular, with hundreds of thousands of customers, but they gradually disappeared from the market because of many reasons. Nam Do Commercial Joint Stock Bank Nam Do was a bank based in Ho Chi Minh City, which operated strongly in the mid-90s of the last century. However, under impacts of the Asian financial crisis in 1998, this bank could not recover debts. In 1998, after a series of violations in credit activities, Nam Do Commercial Joint Stock Bank was insolvent and was placed under special control by the State Bank of Vietnam. To ensure the safety of the banking system as well as stabilize the socio-economic situation in Ho Chi Minh City, the Prime Minister and the State Bank of Vietnam assigned the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) to participate in controlling Nam Do Bank. BIDV established a special working group to assess the entire situation of Nam Do Bank and propose solutions. Photo: Vietnamnet … [Read more...] about Vietnamese banks that ‘disappear’ from the market

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Commercial banks that underwrite and sell corporate bonds have to buy them back if investors so demand, the central bank has said. It followed a meeting with voters (members of the public) the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held in Ho Chi Minh City amid the ongoing bond market troubles. Besides asking for underwriting banks to take responsibility for redeeming bonds, the voters also urged the SBV to tighten inspection of credit institutions to ensure they comply with regulations while investing in bonds. The SBV recently raided 11 banks and fined a number of them for violating regulations related to bond purchases. Under current regulations, banks must have an internal credit rating system and can only buy bonds if their bad debts ratio is below 3%. For bonds sold in the domestic market, when issuers cannot pay in full and on time the bond principal and interest, they must negotiate with bondholders for extending the term … [Read more...] about Banks underwriting bonds should buy back bonds: Central bank

Le Huu Minh (L), deputy managing director of Volkswagen Vietnam, and Trinh Bang Vu, head of the retail lending division at Shinhan Bank Vietnam, at the signing ceremony for the preferential lending programme for buyers of Volkswagen cars on March 23. — Photo courtesy of the bank Shinhan Bank Vietnam Limited has partnered with Trend Motor Vietnam Co., Ltd to launch a preferential loan programme exclusively for people buying Volkswagen cars that provides financing of up to 80 per cent of the value of a new vehicle. Customers who borrow to buy the German carmaker’s Touareg, Teramont, Tiguan, T-Cross, and Polo models get the loan interest-free for the first six months and at a fixed rate of 10.9 per cent a year for the remaining 54 months. They can opt for terms in line with their financial ability, with maximum financing of 80 per cent of the price and loan tenure of up to eight years. The programme will be in effect at all dealers across the country until June 30, 2023. … [Read more...] about Shinhan Bank Vietnam offers special programme for Volkswagen buyers

Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien hands over the President's Decision to Maj. Nguyen Van Phong, former assistant at the political affairs division of Engineer Brigade 229 at the event. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of National Defence held an event in Hanoi on March 22 to hand over the State President’s decision on peacekeeper deployment and review some Vietnamese officers ’ performance at the UN peacekeeping missions in the Central African Republic , South Sudan, and the Abyei Area. Maj. Nguyen Van Phong, former assistant at the political affairs division of Engineer Brigade 229, received the State President’s decision to work as a military observer to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Leaders of the Ministry of National Defence also presented decisions to six other officers who recently concluded their services at other missions. They comprise four … [Read more...] about Ministry reviews officers’ performance at UN peacekeeping missions

A customer uses Home Credit’s app. Investment in digitalisation is currently the key for large financial companies to compete and expand their market shares. (Photo thoibaonganhang.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Large foreign financial groups have actively penetrated the Vietnamese consumer finance market, which has significantly helped accelerate the digitalisation of the country’s financial services. United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) has recently completed the acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking business in Vietnam, which includes Citibank’s unsecured and secured lending portfolios, wealth management and retail deposit businesses. Not only UOB, multinational financial groups from countries in the Asian region are also strongly promoting mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and capital contributions in Vietnamese commercial banks to promote their consumer lending activities. There has been recent information that Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui (SMBC) has reached a number of … [Read more...] about Foreign investors expand consumer finance business in Vietnam