Banking & Finance

Four major state-run banks account for nearly half of total deposits in the banking sector.

It is projected that FDI and remittance inflows to Vietnam would also weaken this year due to the global economic slowdown, providing less support to VND.

Fitch Solutions has revised its forecast for Vietnam to record a fiscal deficit of 3.8% of GDP (excluding debt principal repayments) in 2020, versus 3.4% previously.

Banking and real estate continue to be the top two sectors in the stock market in terms of profit and growth rate.

The deceleration of credit growth in the two-month period showed difficulties that enterprises are facing as some have to scale down operations due to impacts of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The current Covid-19 epidemic has led to delay in debt payment and higher rates of bad and overdue debts , according to a senior official of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Fitch Rating keeps the positive rating outlook for Vietnamese banks.

A higher disposable income as a result from the adjustment would boost household spending and economic growth, said the Ministry of Finance.

The recent and on-going healthcare emergency caused by the Covid-19 also highlights the need to review how employers manage and deliver healthcare benefits.

Restructuring debt maturities would be considered upon requests from customers and assessment from the banks regarding borrowers’ financial capabilities and their losses.

The increased total limit of US$294 million will enable these banks to improve their capacity to cover payment risk in granting trade financing to local companies, mostly small and medium enterprises.

Experts believed European investors would eye Vietnamese banks which have some good criteria.

Over 50% of the Vietnamese population does not have a payment account at banks, therefore, mobile money would offer a non-cash payment method for a large base of customers.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has requested the creation of favorable legal environment and regulatory sandbox for IT companies.

A survey by Corporate Investment and Mergers & Acquisitions Center also showed that one of the obstacles to M&A deals in Vietnam is the time consuming approval process.

In case the epidemic persists for around four to five months, or even longer, manufacturing sectors with high dependence on input materials from China would be in trouble.

If penetrating through resistance zone of 940- 943, the index will head toward 960-970 points in the short term, said a brokerage firm.

Part of blame is the business performance of the FDI firms which lack stability and significant growth in annual profits, which discourages investors.

Nearly 100 Vietnamese companies will need to hit the road for share auctions by the end of 2020 to meet the government’s target of privatizing state firms.

Foreign ownership limit could affect the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the field of intermediary payment services in particular and fintech in general.