Banking & Finance

Despite freight rates having been adjusted, it remains difficult to cope with escalating gasoline prices. To remove difficulties facing businesses and to implement solutions to stabilize prices and control inflation, the Directorate for Roads has proposed cutting VAT rates for transportation services as well as corporate income tax rates.

The Ministry of Finance will compile a list of bond-issuing businesses showing unusual signs, such as “hidden” issuances by subsidiaries in the same ecosystem, issuances with high interest rates, and outstanding loans many times larger than equity. It has also assigned the State Securities Commission to review and amend regulations relating to the offering and trading of corporate bonds.

According to VnDirect Research, the total value of individual corporate bonds maturing in the third quarter of 2022 is nearly VND65 trillion ($2.7 billion), 82.7 per cent more than in the second quarter and 244 per cent more than in the third quarter of last year. Real estate accounts for the most, followed by banking.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has directed the Ministry of Finance to continue calculating plans to cut excise taxes and VAT on gasoline, carefully assessing the impact on the State budget and making preparations if feasible.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has released information on the macroeconomic situation and the implementation of State budget revenue and expenditure estimates and their structure. It has also proposed five key solutions for the financial sector in the closing half of 2022.

While inflation is rising globally, forcing central banks to increase interest rates, in Vietnam, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has not shown any indication of doing so in the immediate future. According to analysts, increasing interest rates at this time would go against the government’s policy on supporting economic recovery and development.