Local currency loans

Police in Can Tho City and Tien Giang Province, both in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, conducted administrative inspections at 26 branches of the F88 pawnshop in the two localities to assess their compliance with laws on business operations last week. Such examinations took place at 13 F88 branches in Can Tho on Saturday and at 13 other offices in Tien Giang a day earlier, local police forces reported. The inspections focused on books of accounts, business operation reports, loan and mortgage contracts, and other documents at these branches to detect law violations, if any. These checks came after police in Ho Chi Minh City raided the F88 headquarters in Go Vap District and its branches across the city on March 6. F88, with its full name being F88 Business Joint Stock Company, was established in 2013 as a firm engaging in conditional business lines. It offers loans with customers’ autos, motorcycles, mobile phones, and laptops used as collateral. The company was suspected of … [Read more...] about Police inspect 26 branches of F88 pawnshop chain in two Vietnamese localities

Many banks in Vietnam started cutting deposit interest rates from Thursday, just one day after the State Bank of Vietnam, or the central bank, lowered operating interest. At commercial banks, deposit rates for tenors of one month to below six months are kept at the ceiling rate of six percent per year set by the central bank. The rates for terms of over six months have been revised down sharply compared to those in early March. The deposit rates for a 12-month tenor mainly stand at 8.4-8.8 percent per year, down 10-20 basis points. Some banks have even cut the rates by 50 basis points for the same term. VPBank now quotes its rates at 8.3 percent for online deposits of six months and 8.7 percent for a 12-month tenor, down 50 basis points. VietABank is also applying new deposit interest rates at 8.5-8.8 percent for tenors of six months or longer, felling by 0.5 percentage points. The tenors of 18 months, 24 months, and 36 months are seeing the highest deposit rate at 8.8 … [Read more...] about Vietnam banks rush to slash deposit rates

The maximum short-term lending rate for borrowers in some sectors will be reduced, photo Le Toan The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) last week took bold steps to soften the regulatory interest rates for the first time in two years, in a bid to support the capital-thirsty local business community. The central bank issued two decisions on reducing key interest rates by 0.5 to 1 per cent, which took effect on March 15. Under Decision No.313/QD-NHNN, the rediscount interest rate will be revised down from 4.5 per cent per year to 3.5 per cent. Overnight lending rates in interbank electronic payments and loans to cover capital shortfalls in clearing payments of the SBV for credit institutions will be dropped from 7 per cent per year to 6 per cent. Particularly, the refunding interest rate will remain unchanged at 6 per cent on an annual basis. Meanwhile, under Decision No.314/QD-NHNN, the maximum short-term lending rate in VND of credit institutions for borrowers to meet capital needs … [Read more...] about Careful action required to curb inflation threat

In the 35 years since its establishment, Agribank now has the largest countrywide retail network, with nearly 2,300 branches and transaction offices. Agribank has a network system twice as large as the next biggest bank and is the only commercial bank with a presence in nine out of the 13 island districts. Agribank going from strength to strength In addition, Agribank also has the largest number of employees in the banking system, with about 40,000 people. The wide coverage is a testament to Agribank’s mission to work alongside the agricultural sector, farmers, and rural communities, despite the expense of maintaining this large network and number of employees. Agribank boasts a profound understanding of the market and its customers and their communities. The bank has also set another record with the number of its customers. On average, each Agribank credit officer is responsible for approximately 800 customers. In some localities, each credit offer is responsible … [Read more...] about Agribank going from strength to strength

Under a new deal, IFC is providing a $40 million loan, the first phase of an overall planned $120 million financing package, to help SHB to provide more support for local enterprises and boost their participation in the global supply chain. More than one-third of the funding will be exclusively targeted for women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with support from the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF) and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) through a performance-based incentive, which encourages financial institutions to provide financing to women-owned small businesses. IFC’s investment is expected to help SHB more than double the number of SME loans as well as the outstanding loan volume for women-owned businesses by 2025. While SMEs are critical to Vietnam’s economy, generating 40 per cent of GDP and 50 per cent of jobs, they are having difficulty accessing finance, with about 62 per cent of total SME financing needs unmet. An IFC … [Read more...] about IFC partners with SHB to boost lending for SMEs

At the signing ceremony on Tuesday. — Photo courtesy of IFC The Sai Gon-Ha Noi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) has teamed up with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to increase access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Viet Nam. As part of the agreement signed on Tuesday, IFC is providing a US$40 million loan to SHB, which is the first step towards a total financing package of $120 million. This funding will help SHB support local businesses and enhance their participation in the global supply chain. The investment from IFC is expected to more than double the number of SME loans and outstanding loan volumes for women-owned businesses by 2025. Furthermore, more than one third of the funding will be solely targeted at women-owned SMEs, with support from the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF) and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), through a performance-based incentive programme which encourages financial institutions to … [Read more...] about IFC partners with SHB to boost lending for Viet Nam’s smaller businesses

As part of the agreement signed on March 20, IFC is providing a USD 40 million loan to SHB, which is the first step towards a total financing package of USD 120 million. This funding will help SHB support local businesses and enhance their participation in the global supply chain. The investment from IFC is expected to more than double the number of SME loans and outstanding loan volumes for women-owned businesses by 2025. Furthermore, more than one third of the funding will be solely targeted at omen-owned SMEs, with support from the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF) and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), through a performance-based incentive program which encourages financial institutions to provide financing to women-owned small businesses. This is particularly important, as SMEs generate 40% of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) and 50% of jobs, yet 62% of total SME financing needs go unmet. An IFC study estimates that Vietnam’s financing gap … [Read more...] about IFC helps boost lending for Vietnam’s smaller businesses

Le Nguyen Xuan Vu, CEO of Xuan Nguyen Group JSC, unveiled that for more than four years now, the company has not been able to access bank loans to support production, expedite factory investments, or grow. “Our long-term plans faced a halt in 2018 due to capital access difficulties. Although we have completed 70 per cent of the work volume, several projects are still waiting for capital to procure equipment and allow us to start operation,” said Nguyen. Businesses in agricultural production are facing multiple hardships This does not only affect Xuan Nguyen, many other firms in the food sector need capital advances before each season to make prepayments and build up stock amidst soaring input prices. Nguyen Dinh Tung, chairman of Vina T&T Import Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. said, "Food companies like us all need advances to cover the cost of product purchases and help farmers expedite production." "Sadly, as of now, both input costs and output markets … [Read more...] about Still tough times for food businesses

Stakeholders have much to say about the current state of the tourism industry, and what must be done Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a tourism recovery conference on March 15 and talked to management agencies and tourism businesses about removing obstacles for the industry to thrive once again. Despite being one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen to international tourism after the pandemic, Vietnam’s tourism industry still trails other countries in the region. The PM raised a series of questions about tourism promotion, competitive advantages, products, and visa policies – all factors that are considered to be subjective causes for Vietnam’s tourism to fail its foreign tourism targets thus far. “Tourism cannot develop alone, and tourism cannot develop if culture and the entertainment industry do not develop,” PM Chinh said. He directed the tourism industry to build green and sustainable tourism products, finance tourism activities, and develop … [Read more...] about Tourism breakthrough within reach

The outlying district of Thuong Tin in Hanoi has set itself the goal of developing environmentally friendly handicraft villages, effectively exploiting handicraft tourism combined with cultural values. In Hanoi's outskirt district of Thuong Tin, the lives of villagers in Tran Phu Village in Minh Cuong Commune have improved thanks dramatically to changes in traditional production methods as part of implementing the National Rural New Construction Program. Rural workers are using machinery to make fishing nets. Photos: Trong Tung/The Hanoi Times Nguyen Thi Hue, 70, one of the village's first net weavers, said her family's workshop is the largest in the locality, and she used to earn little money from making fishing nets. "But in recent years, we have developed the production of weaving various kinds of products, such as fishing hooks, nets, bird traps, and construction safety nets, creating jobs for dozens of workers with an increased income of between … [Read more...] about Hanoi craftsmen’s lives improved with modern materials and techniques