The profitability of Vietnamese banks is strengthening as robust economic growth fuels credit demand and supports an improvement in asset quality, but challenges are also apparent, Moody’s Investors Service says in a recent report.

The United States has maintained its leading position as Việt Nam's largest export market having spent US$21.6 billion on Vietnamese products in the first half of the year, accounting for 19 per cent of the country’s total export value as of July 15.

The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio at Việt Nam’s credit institutions has dropped from 3.61 per cent in 2013 to 2.18 per cent currently, according to the Việt Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC).

Vietnamese enterprises need to improve their capacity to produce raw materials, components and machines of high quality to meet requirements of Japanese manufacturers in the country, experts said at a meeting held on July 27 in HCM City.

Shortage of capital is hampering the operation of many small cashew factories in Việt Nam, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS).

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and HCM City Computer Association ( HCA) has signed a memorandum of understanding to foster trade and economic co-operation.

The consumer price index (CPI) dropped by 0.09 per cent in July from the previous month, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on Sunday.

Vietnamese shares are expected to go up in August as investors look forward to listed companies’ earnings prospects in the remaining five months of the year, especially banks and financial firms.

The northern province of Vĩnh Phúc promoted its potential and called for investment at a conference held in Gyeonggi Province in South Korea on Friday.