Finance

Debate over the promising future of mergers and acquisitions in Vietnam following the country’s plethora of free trade agreements overshadowed the Vietnam M&A Forum 2016, organized by VIR and AVM last week in Ho Chi Minh City. Dr Christopher Kummer, president of the Institute of Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliance in Switzerland, said Vietnam has climbed the ranks as an active mergers and acquisitions (M&A) location worldwide since 2014. The Vietnamese M&A market recorded US$5.2 billion worth of deals in 2015 and US$3 billion in the first half of 2016, rising 28% year-on-year. The majority of foreign investors participated in deals worth US$30 million and above, especially in mega-deals of over US$1 billion. “I believe international interest in the Vietnamese M&A market will continue for a considerable time, as Vietnam is poised for stable economic development while many other countries are still experiencing slower growth,” said Dr Kummer. Similarly, … [Read more...] about Firms eager to buy into Vietnam’s M&A market

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is working on a new decree to regulate cryptocurrency. E-wallet firm MoMo is expected to promote non-cash payments in public services in Vietnam. — Screenshot from momo.vn According to the drafting agency, cryptocurrency is not a new currency but only an expression of legal currency in the form of a tool or means of payment, which is used to make payment transactions. Many countries around the world have issued regulations on the management of cryptocurrency, in which cryptocurrency is considered a means of payment. In Vietnam, in current legal documents, the term "cryptocurrency" is mentioned in the Law on Anti-Money Laundering, but this term has not been explained in sub-law documents. To keep up with the development of payment products, the drafting agency said it is necessary to clarify cryptocurrency, synchronise legal regulations to develop payment products provided in the form of cryptocurrency and facilitate the development of … [Read more...] about Cryptocurrency rules need to be clarified

From morning to early afternoon Nguyen Van Chiem in HCM City’s District 1 is bustling with food vendors selling breakfast and lunch and customers coming to eat. A juice stall on District 1's Nguyen Van Chiem Street has QR codes for Momo and GrabPay e-wallet services. It is somewhat startling to see some of the vendors accepting payment by scanning QR codes using e-wallets since it is still a relatively new trend among street vendors in the city. Nguyen Thi Mai Huong, owner of a juice stall on the food street, told Viet Nam News that she had been accepting e-wallet payments since around Tet in early February, including Momo and GrabPay by Moca. Though not many customers used them normally, some five or six people a day would pay using e-wallets during promotions from GrabPay, she said. "It is convenient, it does not take a lot of time, I don't have to return any change and customers don't need to bring cash. It's just that there isn't really a lot of people using it right … [Read more...] about E-wallets’ latest converts: HCM City street vendors

A member of staff at FE Credit introduces financial packages to a customer. — VNS Photo The move was made after the SBV recently released a draft circular to amend Circular No. 43/2016/TT-NHNN stipulating consumer lending by financial companies. The proposed changes under the draft circular include limiting unsecured personal loans in cash to existing customers with good credit and no overdue debt; and limiting the maximum amount of such cash loans to 30 per cent of total loans. In financial companies, cash loans are one of the main products besides instalment loans and credit cards. Target customers of these product packages are more than 50 per cent of the country’s population who do not have a bank account and have an average income of only VND3-5 million (US$129-215) per month, depending on the requirements of each company. As explained by the SBV, cash loans are at high risk of becoming non-performing loans (NPLs) as they don’t require collateral and … [Read more...] about VCCI suggests central bank reconsider cash loan proposals