The US dollar has devalued against the Vietnamese đồng in the second quarter of 2020. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Firms with US dollar-denominated debts estimate to regain significantly in the second quarter of this year as the US dollar has devalued against the Vietnamese đồng in the period after reporting a surge in the first quarter.

In the first quarter of 2020, the USD/VNĐ exchange rate increased by nearly 2 per cent to VNĐ23,644 per US dollar in the context that the global greenback price hit a three-year high with the US Dollar Index on March 20 reaching 102.8, up 6.7 per cent compared to the end of 2019.

The domestic foreign exchange rate was also affected adversely when currencies of many major trading partners of Việt Nam devalued and the domestic market sentiment was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to experts, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the global financial market to plummet. The need to withdraw capital from risky assets to pour into secure, safe assets was the main reason for the rise of the dollar.

The appreciation of the dollar against the đồng in Q1 2020 significantly affected firms with large dollar-denominated loans, causing them to report losses related to the foreign currency exchange rate.

However, the situation has changed since the second quarter. The USD/VNĐ exchange rate has reversed and is continuing on a downward trend. The dollar is currently traded at around VNĐ23,265, down 1.6 per cent compared to the beginning of Q2 2020 because the supply of foreign currencies in the domestic market has been good, especially when the country’s trade surplus is still high.

Therefore, firms with large dollar-denominated loans, such as Bình Sơn Refinery and Petrochemical Joint Stock Company, Vietnam Aviation Corporation JSC and PetroVietnam Power Corporation, expect to benefit from the move in the second quarter.

On Wednesday, the State Bank of Việt Nam set the daily reference exchange rate at VNĐ23,240 per dollar, down VNĐ9 from the previous day.

With the current trading band of  +/-3 per cent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is VNĐ23,937 per dollar and the floor rate VNĐ22,542.

During the day, Vietcombank listed the buying rate at VNĐ23,090 per dollar and the selling rate at VNĐ23,300, both down VNĐ10 from the previous day.

At BIDV, both rates were cut by VNĐ5 to VNĐ23,120 for buying, and VNĐ23,300 for selling.

Techcombank cut VNĐ1 for both rates, listing the buying rate at VNĐ23,104 for buying, and VNĐ23,304 for selling. — VNS