CORDIAL DISCUSSION ON CURRENCY MANIPULATION RUMOURS
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue last week arranged a phone call with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to discuss a number of bilateral topics. High on the list was Vietnam’s currency and foreign exchange policy, which recently came into the spotlight as Vietnam ran the risk of being labelled as a “currency manipulator” by the US Treasury.
EXCHANGE RATE FORECAST TO BE STABLE IN 2019
According to analysts from the Fitch Group’s Fitch Solutions Macro Research, the dong will weaken slightly against the dollar to VND23,700 by the end of the year, and average VND23,440 per dollar over 2019, which represents a 1.8 per cent depreciation from the average of 2018.
VCCI SUGGESTS CENTRAL BANK RECONSIDER CASH LOAN PROPOSALS
The Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) this week suggested the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) reconsider a proposal on limiting unsecured personal loans in cash by consumer finance companies.
CENTRAL BANK ASKS FOR TIGHTENED CONTROL OVER REAL ESTATE LOANS
The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) has asked for the control over real estate loans by credit institutions to be enhanced, especially in areas showing signs of land price fever.
REMITTANCES TO HCM CITY REACH $1.2 BILLION IN Q1
Remittances to HCM City were estimated to reach US$1.2 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s branch in the southern city.
CREDIT GROWTH RATE ESTIMATED AT 2.28 PER CENT IN Q1
The central bank reported that in the first three months of 2019, exchange rates and the foreign exchange market remained stable, supported by the abundant foreign currency supply, good liquidity in the market, and credit organisations’ continued purchase of foreign currencies from their clients. These have created optimum conditions for the SBV to continue buying foreign currencies to add to foreign exchange reserves, it noted.
MINISTRY PROPOSES LOWERING CIT FOR SMES
The ministry said that SMEs played a significant role in the country’s socio-economic development and were recognised to be the driver for economic growth, citing statistics that Việt Nam had more than 600,000 firms, nearly 500,000 of them were private firms with 96 per cent of being small and micro scales.
PUBLIC DEBT A BIG RISK FOR VN'S ECONOMY, SAY EXPERTS
According to Professor Dat, Vietnam’s economic performance has showed positive signs with last year’s GDP growth rate at 7.08 per cent, the highest rate in the last ten years. The primary contributions to growth come from Foreign Direct Investment, the processing and manufacturing industry, domestic consumption and a trade surplus.
