Banking & Finance

As of the end of September, customer deposit balances at 32 leading securities companies had reached nearly VND67 trillion ($2.69 billion), down by more than VND3 trillion ($120 million) compared to the end of the second quarter. This shows that the amount of money withdrawn from the stock market is not significant and individual investors still consider securities an attractive investment channel compared to other channels such as gold, virtual currencies, bank savings, and real estate.

Addressing the Conference of Representatives of the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC)’s capital at enterprises on October 21, SCIC Deputy General Director Le Thanh Tuan said the total capital owned by the SCIC currently accounts for nearly 2 per cent of total State capital in enterprises. The SCIC will strive to improve the efficiency of representatives of State capital in enterprises and be a strategic investor of the government.

Circular No. 12/2022/TT-NHNN from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on foreign exchange management in foreign borrowing and repayments by enterprises will take effect from November 15. Enterprises must publish monthly online reports on their website on foreign loans and repayments that are not guaranteed by the government.

Mr. Michael Kokalari, Chief Economist at VinaCapital, said the valuations of Vietnamese bank stocks are currently quite low compared to expected earnings growth of at least 30 per cent in 2022 and 20 per cent in 2023. In the long term, the banking sector will continue to be attractive due to high margins, well-controlled asset quality, low mortgage and retail penetration, and rising earnings.

To ensure Vietnam’s corporate bond market develops stably and sustainably, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction will work together to strengthen supervision over issuance activities and limit real estate enterprises issuing bonds with high interest rates. The Ministry of Construction also suggested supplementing regulations on the financial safety ratio of real estate enterprises after granting construction and investment permits for real estate projects.

A report from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) presented to the National Assembly reveals that as of the end of August, the bad debt ratio on the banking system’s balance sheets remained at a safe 1.9 per cent. The ratio of bad debts, unresolved debts sold to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), and potential bad debts at credit institutions was 4.99 per cent, down sharply from the 6.3 per cent posted at the end of 2021.