A view of the event. Photo cafef.vn

HÀ NỘI — Despite having been present in Việt Nam for more than 20 years, the development and scale of financial leasing debts in the country remain modest and do not reflect the sector’s potential, due to the lack of separate legal regulations, experts said.

At a policy dialogue on financial leasing in Việt Nam on Wednesday, General Director of BIDV SuMi TRUST Leasing Company Limited Nguyễn Thiều Sơn said that as of June 30 this year, the country had 10 licensed financial leasing companies, of which eight were actively operating, with a total outstanding lease debt of about VNĐ47 trillion. This amount accounted for only 0.28 per cent of the total outstanding loans in the entire banking system.

Furthermore, the penetration rate of businesses using financial leasing services in Việt Nam is very low, with an estimated 15,000 lease contracts from the eight companies.

Sơn attributed the modest development of financial leasing in Việt Nam to an inconsistent and unsuitable legal framework for the sector.

“Although financial leasing companies do not receive deposits from individual customers, they are currently subject to many regulations similar to those applied to commercial banks, such as capital safety ratios, credit caps and bad debt ratios,” Sơn said.

He also noted that difficulties in raising capital represent a major barrier for financial leasing companies. Under current legal regulations, financial leasing companies are only allowed to lend to or receive deposits from credit institutions with a maximum term of one year. At the same time, financial leasing companies are not permitted to issue bonds to the public. These regulations have significantly limited their ability to raise medium- and long-term capital.

In terms of products, many financial leasing companies still operate like banks and lack comprehensive product packages that combine maintenance, insurance and asset acquisition, which diminishes their competitiveness with commercial banks, Sơn added.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Vietnam Financial Leasing Association Phạm Xuân Hòe said that in the context of digital transformation, shortcomings among State management agencies cause businesses to waste time and money and miss opportunities.

“The connection and updating of data between ministries and branches remain limited. Enterprises still have to wait and submit paper documents, causing them to lose business opportunities. A typical example is the cancellation of vehicle badges, where vehicles must wait and cannot operate due to lack of documents, resulting in revenue loss,” Hòe said.

According to Hòe, there is also a delay in receiving and addressing the recommendations of enterprises and associations. The current law and decrees stipulate a response period of 15 days but, in reality, many cases are prolonged or even overlooked. Therefore, the association recommends that the Government establish mechanisms to hold ministries, branches and localities accountable for resolving recommendations.

However, Hòe expressed optimism that the Politburo’s Resolution 68 on private economic development has opened unprecedented opportunities for lending institutions, including financial leasing companies that do not accept deposits. This is considered a golden opportunity for financial leasing to become a new pillar in providing medium- and long-term capital for small and medium enterprises and business households.

To develop the financial leasing sector in Việt Nam, Hòe proposed simplifying licensing conditions to encourage the formation of many financial leasing companies and general financial companies, with capital from domestic corporations and foreign direct investment.

In addition, he said, it is necessary to develop a Law on Financial Leasing or a Law on Non-Deposit Lending Institutions, including a dedicated chapter for financial leasing.

Besides upgrading administrative procedure processing software to ensure data connectivity between ministries and branches and shorten processing times, Hòe expects management authorities to also develop and cleanse the national digital database, creating a foundation for the digital economy and allowing financial leasing companies to expand into intangible assets.

“With a clear legal corridor and modern digital infrastructure, financial leasing will have the opportunity to become an important channel of medium- and long-term capital, supporting businesses in technological innovation and improving competitiveness,” Hòe said. — BIZHUB/VNS