Banking & Finance

Tax payments continue to be delayed as taxpayers still face difficulties in production and business. Tax debts as of September 30 totaled nearly VND118 trillion ($5.2 billion), an increase of 23.5 per cent compared to December 31, 2020.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has set a credit growth target of around 12 per cent for 2021 and believes that although credit in areas of risk is growing rapidly it remains under control.

With abundant liquidity in the system and the continuous addition of VND from foreign currency repurchase contracts, interbank interest rates are expected to not fluctuate to any great extent. In the long term, however, they may be under a degree of upwards pressure, especially at the end of the year.

According to the Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC), large-scale joint-stock commercial banks are currently offering the lowest deposit interest rates since 2017. Experts believe that rates will not be able to be increased before the end of the year.

Large-cap stocks, which account for 54 per cent of stock market capitalization in Vietnam, have not been a driving force in the short-term, with third-quarter business results revealing negative growth or slow growth.

Large-cap stocks should be given priority because they have been able to withstand the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and will exhibit the most resilience as Vietnam’s economy enters the “new normal”.