Topic: Ministry of Finance

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.

The Ministry of Finance has said that of the five revenue sources that exceeded estimates in the first nine months, the collection of house and land taxes did so by 18.4 per cent and the collection of personal income taxes by 8.8 per cent. However, many analysts believe that budget revenue from land is still quite low compared to many other countries.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued Official Letter No. 9691/BTC-CST to ministries and branches on September 23, seeking opinions on a draft Resolution from the National Assembly on reducing the special consumption tax (SCT) on gasoline and VAT on oil and gasoline.

The Ministry of Finance has said that total State budget revenue reached VND106 trillion ($4.48 billion) in August, a fall of VND46 billion ($1.94 billion) compared to July. Revenue increased in the first eight months, however, by 19.4 per cent year-on-year and posted a surplus of more than VND250 trillion ($10.56 billion).

Under Directive No. 02/CT-BTC issued recently by Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc, the State Securities Commission (SSC) will closely examine registration documents for listing / registering for securities trading, especially for companies that raise capital quickly and also newly-established enterprises. The SSC will also work with the country’s three exchanges to closely monitor stocks with large liquidity, making unusual movements, or having valuations that are not suitable with the production and business situation.

The Ministry of Finance has reported that reductions to floor levels in environmental protection taxes for gasoline, oil, and grease will cut State budget revenue this year by more than VND33 trillion ($1.4 billion).

In order to consolidate and improve the quality of appraisal services and contribute to limiting negativity in the management and use of assets, avoid wasting social resources, and ensure similarity among services, the Ministry of Finance is actively collecting comments on its draft revised Price Law. Many regulations have attracted conflicting opinions, however.

According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), corporate bonds are mostly purchased by credit institutions and securities companies, who often then sell them on to individual investors, resulting in the volume of bonds held by these investors standing at 32.6 per cent. In order for the bond market to develop transparently and effectively, the MoF will report to the National Assembly on amending a number of provisions in the Law on Securities and the Law on Enterprises.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has issued Official Letter No. 7955/BTC-QLG to ministries, branches, people’s committees of cities and provinces, and corporations proposing that price management and stabilization be strengthened. Tasks proposed to be implemented include balancing the supply and demand of goods and services and actively advising authorities on stabilization.

According to the Ministry of Finance, ten out of eleven groups of main consumer goods and services saw prices increase July and this will maintain pressure on inflation control over the remainder of the year. Some factors, however, ease that pressure, such as the supply of consumer goods being abundant along with ongoing and planned fiscal policies.