Việt Nam News

According to the Foreign Investment Agency, in the first five months of the year foreign direct investment in new projects was worth US$4.66 billion, 17 per cent down from last year’s figure for the same period.

On May 29 the State Bank of Việt Nam adjusted the đồng-US dollar exchange rate, weakening the Vietnamese currency by VNĐ9 to VNĐ22,605 per dollar, which represented the greenback’s biggest rise so far this year.

The Government plans to develop three special economic zones, which it hopes will spearhead the country’s growth. They will be located in the coastal district of Vân Đồn in the northern province of Quảng Ninh, Bắc Vân Phong in the central province of Khánh Hoà and Phú Quốc Island.

Many other companies too have opted to go down the equity path to raise funds rather than borrow from banks. Intriguingly, many of them have sold their stakes to strategic partners at several times higher than the market price.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade confirms this saying more than 160 franchises have come to Việt Nam so far. But the movement in the reverse direction has been very modest.

After making an entry into the automobile manufacturing industry, Vingroup, the country’s leading property company, has set its sights on the US$5.3 billion pharmaceutical sector.

The global price of oil has increased from US$60 per barrel early this year to $70 now, and the uptrend is forecast to continue.

Uber’s withdrawal from the Asian market is expected to redraw the ride-hailing market including in Việt Nam.

The central bank has instructed commercial banks to maintain credit growth in these sectors within safe limits.

Since last year there has been a churn in the banking sector with some foreign investors selling their stakes in local banks and others buying in.

After stopping car exports to Việt Nam for more than a month, Japanese auto giant Honda Motor suddenly decided to import around 2,000 vehicles from Thailand in early March.

Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petro Vietnam or PVN) plans to reduce its ownership of Petro Vietnam Gas Joint Stock Company (PV Gas) from the current 97 per cent to 65 per cent.

Last year saw a lot of merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in the Vietnamese property sector, with transactions totalling US$1.5 billion and the participation of many major foreign players.

Since Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) seized Sài Gòn One Tower using the authority conferred on it by Resolution 42 on settling bad debts, several banks have followed suit and offered mortgaged assets for sale to help pay their bad debts.

The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) office in the southern province of Đồng Nai is investigating the delay in repaying principal and interest by the Thái Bình People’s Credit Fund to 82 customers in Biên Hòa City’s Tân Hòa Ward.

Vietcombank recently said it has received permission from the State Securities Commission to sell its stakes in the HCM City-based Saigon Bank for Industry and Trade (Saigonbank) and Việt Nam Cement Finance Company.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of September 20 banking credit growth was only 11.02 per cent against a full-year target of 21 per cent.

Earlier this month Idemitsu Q8 Petroleum LLC opened its first retail outlet in Hà Nội’s Thăng Long Industrial Park, marking the first time a wholly foreign-owned company has entered the fuel retail sector.