An agreement on Economic Development Cooperation Fund of the Republic of Korea (EDCF) loans, worth US$76 million, for three projects in Vietnam was signed in Hanoi on October 29. The deal will provide for the construction of a southern coastal highway section with US$70 million, the supply of medical equipment for a provincial hospital in the southernmost Ca Mau province with US$3 million, and the supply of equipment for the Ayunpa vocational... 

The State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, said Thursday that it will keep the base interest rate unchanged at 8% per annum in November in a move to stabilize the monetary market and to boost economic activities. The move extends the central bank’s unchanged decision on benchmark interest rate for a 12 consecutive month after raising it to 8% from 7% in November last year. The decision came in after the General Statistics Office’s... 

The end of year is approaching, but some banks will only be able to tell whether they fulfilled their yearly business plans on the last days of 2010. An Binh Bank (ABBank) provides updates on its businesses results every month. The reason for this regularity seems to be the bank’s overall smooth operation. In the first nine months of the year, ABBank had 546.2 billion dong in pretax profit. Earlier this year, the board of management set... 

The capital demand for production and business activities of firms usually increases in the end of the year. However, there are various disadvantages for commercial banks to boost lending during that period. Enhance capital support As usual, in the last days of the year, many banks began launching promotion programmes for business borrowers. Housing Bank of Mekong Delta (MHB) has considerably reduced lending rates to many business subjects. Businesses... 

Officials said the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) had better keep a stable value of the dong, the domestic currency rather than devaluate it against the greenback, the local newswire Phap Luat reported October 25. The dong devaluation will hardly help to bolster export, said Pham Thi Loan, a National Assembly (NA) delegate from Hanoi, reasoning that Vietnamese firms’ brand names are still weak in the global market, and local firms must import... 

Viet Nam’s robust economic recovery from the global crisis has experts optimistic about next year’s prospects. “We remain cautiously optimistic because of the risks in the foreign exchange and financial sectors,” Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank Country Director told local businessmen and members of the Indian Business Chamber of Commerce (Incham) at a seminar yesterday. Despite the recent global economic downturn, the country had become a ... 

Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank has raised its gold deposit interest rates to the highest of 3% p.a.for 3-month terms, the local newswire Tuoi Tre reported October 22. The lender also boosted up its gold deposit interest rates to 2.76% p.a. and 2.88% p.a. for one-month and two-month terms, respectively. The move has made SCB the most attractive destination for depositing gold as these rates at other local lenders are mostly 2% p.a. SCB also... 

Vietcombank last week cut the dong lending interest rates to 11.5% p.a., among the lowest rates in the market however these interest rates are not really that “low” in the long run, especially when dollar prices tend to increase over time, the state-run online newspaper VnEconomy reported October 21. The lending interest rates of 11.5% p.a. are only applicable for exporters who must enter a forward contract to commit dollar sale in the future... 

Local lenders are struggling to meet their pretax-profit targets this year, the local newswire NCDT reported October 20. Local lenders are struggling to meet their pretax-profit targets this year as they faced many difficulties in 2010, the local newswire NCDT reported October 20. The banks’ targets of pretax-profit are expected to beyond their reach as the SBV will likely take actions to tighten credits on accelerating expected inflation, the...