Mortgage

In mid-June Vietcombank hiked its from 9.2 percent to 9.8 percent for the first three years. At least three other banks have increased its rates. United Overseas Bank has raised its rate from 6.49 percent to 7.69 percent. Vietnam International Bank has adjusted its rate up by 0.2 percentage points since last month to 8.7 percent. Bank managements said the pressure of rising deposit interest rates and tightened credit has forced them to hike loan interest rates. Trinh Bang Vu, director of retail lending at Shinhan Bank, said since there is little room left for lending this year and the State Bank of Vietnam has not increased quotas, banks have to be selective in their loans. Some lenders like Orient Commercial Bank have not yet increased their mortgage rates, but expect to do so by 0.1-0.2 percentage points in the next few months. SSI Securities analysts expect home loan interests to continue to rise even if new credit growth quotas are announced. KB Securities analysts … [Read more...] about Banks hike mortgage interest rates

Though 6 percent inflation prompted calls for action, a policy rate widely seen peaking by year-end at 2.75 percent - five times higher than at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic over two years ago - would pile pressure on the world's most indebted consumers who are also contending with mortgage rates at nine-year highs. The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.25 percent, the biggest increase since the bank adopted the current policy system in 1999, and coming even as it expects gross domestic product growth "below the May forecast of 2.7 percent". Twenty-seven of 32 analysts in a Reuters poll expected the bank to announce a half-point hike, while the remainder expected a quarter-point. "Considering inflation and economic conditions, though economic downside risk is indeed high, uncertainties remain elevated, and thus the Board sees it as important at this time to curb the spread of inflation expectations through a 50-basis-point rate … [Read more...] about S.Korea takes aim at inflation with unprecedented half-point rate hike

Given weak consumption and cooling global demand, it makes sense for the country’s producers of everything from cargo ships to lava lamps to try to seize overseas market share from neighbours. It will sting if they do. It is hard to believe that an economy under roving lockdowns during the three months ending in June really outperformed the same period in 2021, when life was normal. Property, an industry that drives up to a third of activity, is approaching a state of near-collapse; angry home buyers are defaulting on mortgages en masse. Officials also have to worry about a looming unemployment crisis. They have opened the credit taps and front-loaded infrastructure spending, but falling returns on investment means that stores up trouble for later. Thus the central bank has remained conservative on interest rates. Fortunately, there’s the export sector. China managed to boost its share of world exports by two percentage points during the pandemic to control a whopping 15 percent … [Read more...] about China’s economy could beggar its neighbours

China logged its slowest economic growth since the initial Covid outbreak Friday, expanding just 0.4 percent in the second quarter with lockdowns and property market weakness pushing the government's target further out of reach. Beijing has dug its heels in on a zero-Covid policy of stamping out virus clusters with snap lockdowns and long quarantines, but this has battered businesses and kept consumers jittery. The slowdown comes after China's biggest city Shanghai was sealed off for two months as it battled a virus resurgence, tangling supply chains and forcing factories to halt operations. "Domestically, the impact of the epidemic is lingering," National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Fu Linghui said Friday, noting shrinking demand and disrupted supplies. "The risk of stagflation in the world economy is rising" also, he told reporters, adding that external uncertainties were growing. Economic expansion for the April-June period in the world's second-largest economy was also … [Read more...] about China growth falls to two-year low on Covid, property woes

Proptech has been revolutionising real estate spaces in Vietnam and many other markets, le Toan On June 13, Houze, a proptech startup based in Vietnam that offers a fully integrated real estate ecosystem for agents and customers through its offline-to-online platform, has become the latest player after successfully raising $2 million of funding led by DKRA Group, giving the company resources to continue expanding its services and growing its team to meet the demand in Vietnam and beyond. Houze has created a multi-platform for both real-estate agents and home-buyers, offering integrated services from the transaction, management, investment, and financing options. The startup features services such as digital brokerage, a property management platform, fintech, and more. According to founder Pham Lam, the fund will help complete the leadership team as well as enhance core products. “Technology will disrupt geographical limitations and human capital, close the gap between agents … [Read more...] about Core products being altered with proptech

VIR held another successful event last week, dedicated to issuing advice and delving into experience of investment management Despite a stable macroeconomic environment and the high earnings growth of listed companies, Vietnam’s stock market has long been “undervalued” relative to other markets as it remains a frontier market, according to KB Securities. At a VIR seminar last week, attendees were told that the valuation gap will narrow on market reclassification, which is expected over the next 2-3 years and reflects the positive outlook of the market in the long run. Tran Duc Anh, head of Macro and Strategy at KB Securities Vietnam assessed, “The dominant factor affecting local and global stock markets in the second half of 2022 is the risk of the US economic slowdown under the impact of inflation, interest rate rises, and the resistance of the US economy against aggressive rate hikes,” Anh noted at the seminar, themed on managing investments in a flexible environment. “In … [Read more...] about Investors implored to expand funding channels to benefit

Solar panels at PVI Long An Consumers in the ASEAN region are recognising the impact that climate change may have on their children’s well-being and are changing their purchasing behaviour to play their part. According to the UOB ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study 2021, 58 per cent of respondents in the region are motivated to spend more on a sustainable product as they believe it will contribute to a better future for their children. In Vietnam, consumers are even more conscious, with 67 per cent sharing the same view – 14 per cent more than in 2020. 91 per cent of respondents said they want more sustainable investment and financing options. In Vietnam, it is a similar picture, with 87 per cent agreeing that sustainable investing will become more common in the next 3-5 years. Consumers are recognising that their everyday choices, from where they live and how they commute, to which merchants they use and what they invest in, make a difference for the environment. Along with this … [Read more...] about Green finance for a sustainable future

Prices of Seoul apartments last week reported their sharpest decline in 26 months, while transaction volumes in the capital dropped 73 percent in June from a year earlier. The 2.6 quadrillion won ($1.97 trillion) debt tied to the property market faces a major test as borrowing costs rise, with a slump and higher mortgage repayments likely to result in weaker consumption. With nearly three quarters of household wealth tied to real estate, policymakers worry higher mortgage rates could increase defaults and take the economy closer to a financial crisis. Ordinary Koreans are already feeling the squeeze - for Jane Jeon, a 36-year-old mother of a six-month old in central Seoul, growing mortgage stress means she has had to make some hard choices. "My husband's pay now isn't enough to cover our monthly repayment so I need to cut my maternity leave short and return to work," said Jeon, who had initially planned to take 15 months off. Her family now pays 720,000 won more each month … [Read more...] about S.Korea’s sudden property slump tests world’s most indebted consumers

A number of Vietnamese fresh lychee are sold at AEON supermarket in Japan. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The recent fluctuations in the US dollar and Japanese yen have both positive and negative impacts on Vietnamese traders, according to experts of the Ministry of Industry and Trade ( MoIT ). The Vietnamese dong has strengthened by 12% against the Japanese yen this year while it has weakened 2.6% against the US dollar. Officials said the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has tightened monetary policy to curb inflation in the US. Prices in the US have been rising at their fastest rate in almost 40 years while the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has continued with monetary easing to support the economy's recovery from the pandemic. According to experts, the depreciation of the Japanese yen has partially benefited some businesses with loans to pay in Japanese yen and Vietnamese importers . Many Japanese food and household items are favoured by Vietnamese consumers. The weaker yen has … [Read more...] about Importers, exporters impacted by exchange rate volatility

Australian home prices slid for a third month in July and the pace quickened as Sydney suffered its worst decline in almost 40 years amid rising borrowing costs and a cost-of-living crisis. FILE PHOTO - Properties can be seen in the Sydney suburb of Clovelly, Australia Figures from property consultant CoreLogic out on Monday showed prices nationally fell 1.3% in July from June when they dropped 0.6%. Prices were still 8.0% higher for the year reflecting huge gains made over 2021 and early 2022. The weakness was concentrated in the capital cities where prices dropped 1.4% in July, while annual growth slowed to 5.4% having been above 20% early this year. The pullback in Sydney gathered momentum as values fell 2.2% in the month, while Melbourne lost 1.5%. Annual growth in Sydney braked to just 1.6%, a long way from the heady days of 2021 when prices rose by a quarter. "Although the housing market is only three months into a decline, the national Home … [Read more...] about Australia home prices slide, Sydney suffers worse month in 40 years