Banking & Finance

According to the Ministry of Finance, the total volume of corporate bonds set to mature in the three years from 2022 to 2024 is some VND745.4 trillion ($31.95 billion), primarily those of real estate businesses and credit institutions, which have around VND208 trillion ($8.9 billion) each.

Fitch Ratings has put Mcredit’s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at “B” in its long-term and short-term ratings, with an outlook of “Stable”, which is its highest rating for financial companies in Vietnam. It said Mcredit’s rating will continue to be upgraded in the future if current stable operations are maintained.

The USD/VND exchange rate quickly cooled last week after flexible regulatory moves from the State Bank of Vietnam. Interbank interest rates, meanwhile, skyrocketed over the last week. In just one and a half months, the interbank overnight lending rate has increased more than ten times and the one-week term lending rate more than five times.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc has signed Decision No. 1484/QD-BTC promulgating the Ministry of Finance (MoF)’s digital transformation plan to 2025 and orientation to 2030. The goal is to establish a modern, public, and transparent digital financial platform by 2025 based on big data and open financial data. By 2030, a rich and modern digital financial ecosystem is to be formed in all fields, ensuring the effectiveness and safety of information.

Despite being a relatively new concept, bancassurance is growing rapidly and been identified by insurance companies, especially life insurers, as one of two main distribution channels, along with the agent channel. With the revised Law on Insurance Business to take effect from January 1, 2023, the channel will develop even more strongly and sustainably.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is commenting on a draft amendment to a circular on the lending activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches. There will be additional regulations prohibiting credit institutions from providing loans to joint ventures. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), however, said the reason provided by the drafting committee was not sufficient to completely support a ban on all lending activities for capital contributions, joint ventures, and capital transfers.