Banking & Finance

A pioneer in digital transformation, Vietnam’s banking sector has invested VND15 trillion ($628.94 million) to date in the endeavor. As a result, Vietnam has become one of the leading countries in terms of digital banking application, which has increased from 41 per cent in 2015 to 82 per cent in 2021; higher than the average increase of 33 per cent in emerging markets.

The General Department of Taxation has said that five months after introducing an e-portal for foreign e-commerce providers, 30 major players such as Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Netflix, TikTok, and eBay have registered and paid taxes totaling $22.2 million.

Analysts have made positive comments about the government’s new regulations on supplementing compulsory credit ratings in certain cases for corporate bonds issued for private placement, which will apply from January 1, 2023. Some 700 businesses have bonds in circulation, totaling VND1.5 quadrillion ($63 billion), more than 43 per cent of which are enterprises subject to credit ratings.

The average transaction value per session in the stock market reached nearly VND23 trillion ($963 million) in the first nine months of 2022, down 14.5 per cent compared to the average in 2021. In the derivatives market, the average trading volume of futures on the VN30-Index reached 210,910 contracts per session, up 12 per cent from the average last year.

Under pressure from global USD prices and rising demand for foreign currencies, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is trying to identify a new exchange rate intervention point. The USD selling rate has been increased from VND23,700 to VND23,925. This is the fourth time the SBV has increased the price this year, totaling VND905, or 3.9 per cent.

The Ministry of Finance has issued Circular No. 59/2022/TT-BTC stipulating a number of fees and charges. Many types of transportation business fees will be cut by 20-50 per cent. The Ministry of Finance said the reduction of fees and charges aims to help transportation businesses overcome difficulties in the context of rising fuel prices and contribute to cutting business costs. Circular No. 59 takes effect from October to the end of the year.