The banking and finance sector in Vietnam has plenty of room to develop, however, there is a lot happening already. In this section, we look at banking and finance regulations in Vietnam, lending, finance, and monetary and fiscal policy.

Vietnam corporate bond issuances up 29.1 percent in April

the-shiv May 18, 2024

This is another positive sign for corporate bond issuances after a slow start to the year–there were just VND 5.96 trillion or US$242 million of corporate bonds issued in the first two months of 2024.

Vietnam securities firm suggests September 2 launch of new stock trading system

the-shiv May 17, 2024

Of note the exchange said that the KRX trading system, imported from South Korea, would go live on May 2, however, this was promptly shut down by the State Securities Commission on the grounds that the exchange had failed to provide evidence trading firms were ready for the new system and because it hasn’t consulted all relevant stakeholders.

MSCI Frontier Markets Index review see Vietnamese stocks shuffled

the-shiv May 16, 2024

Vietnam’s stock market indexes have been in the news a lot lately as the country pushes for an upgrade from a frontier to an emerging market. There are, however, a number of obstacles still standing in the local bourse’s path before an upgrade can be made and, as a result, it may still yet be languishing in MSCI’s Frontier Markets Index for some time to come.

State Bank sells US$400 million of forex reserves on Wednesday: ACB

the-shiv May 16, 2024

Research from WiGroup last week estimated Vietnam’s reserves to be only about US$90 billion. That being the case, with the IMF recommending enough foreign currency on hand to cover three months worth of imports, and imports reaching just shy of US$30 billion in April, these reserves are dangerously low.

US dollar still at 25,450 dong level, more FX reserves needed

the-shiv May 13, 2024

US dollars were being sold for 25,484 Vietnamese dong Sunday at some banks. This is above the 25,450 mark at which the State Bank of Vietnam has intervened by spending foreign currency reserves in the past. On the black market, US dollars were even higher selling for 25,800 a piece.

State Bank to audit income, assets of 58 bank workers selected at random

the-shiv May 13, 2024

The State Bank of Vietnam has selected 58 workers in the banking industry through a random lottery that will be audited as part of moves to clamp down on corruption in Vietnam’s central bank. The bank will review the employees’ income and assets to make sure that they are not

Foreign investors in Vietnam undertake the biggest net withdrawal in a month

the-shiv May 9, 2024

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange registered a net withdrawal by foreign investors of US$50.8 million, the bulk of which was withdrawn from Vinhomes–a total of VND 900 billion or US$35.4 million, Zing News has reported. Though not mentioned in the linked article, Vinhomes has been under the spotlight

This estimate of Vietnam’s forex reserves spent on propping up dong

the-shiv May 8, 2024

The State Bank of Vietnam has spent an estimated US$500 to 700 million of its foreign exchange reserves over the last few weeks in an attempt to prop up the dong, The Investor is reporting. This estimate came from WiResearch which also estimated Vietnam’s forex reserves to be at around

No new contagion risk in Vietnam from SBV support of distressed bank: Fitch Ratings

the-shiv May 8, 2024

Reuters reported earlier this year that the State Bank of Vietnam–the SBV–had been injecting cash into Saigon Commercial Bank which was at the centre of Vietnam’s biggest bank fraud ever. This was to the tune of about US$24 billion. Fitch Ratings, however, has said that it is maintaining its current

This quote about Vietnam’s new stock trading system

the-shiv May 8, 2024

Vietnam’s new KRX stock trading system which was slated to begin operating on May 2 but has been delayed, is not up to scratch according to sources quoted by The Investor. Of note, one ‘representative of… a securities company’ told the publication that: “The testing process still has many errors,