Indonesia's Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Minister Maman Abdurrahman on January 14 emphasised his ministry's commitment to supporting food security by providing financing for equipment to MSME players.

While private joint stock commercial banks have increased capital significantly so far this year, the capital for State-owned commercial banks has remained stagnant.

Several private and State-owned banks have reduced interest rates and offered debt relief for customers affected by Typhoon Yagi.

SJC-branded gold bullion is sold at 77.98 million VND (3,069 USD) per tael on June 4 as approved by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will directly sell gold to state-owned commercial banks starting June 3 and the banks will sell gold to the public, Deputy Governor Pham Quang Dung said in a recent meeting with the media.

Deposit interest rates at four major banks of Vietnam were adjusted sharply, down by 0.4% per year from the previous listings, bringing the rate to 1.8% per year at the lowest.

Vietnam’s four biggest State-owned banks have an urgent need for capital increase in 2023 as their charter capital is too low, with some unable to ensure the regulated minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR), according to industry insiders.

Total credit supply in 2022 reached over 11 quadrillion VND (474.3 billion USD) as of May 20, up 7.66 percent compared to that at the end of 2021 and doubling the figure recorded in the same time last year, according to Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu.

The group of State-owned banks has continued to maintain their leading position in terms of network coverage in the country’s banking industry.

Interest rates of home loans at commercial banks have tended to reduce significantly since the second half of July due to low capital demand from business and production.

Banks, especially State-owned banks, are expected to increase their capital significantly this year as they are allowed to retain profits or pay dividend in shares instead of cash as previously.

Total assets of credit institutions and foreign banks in Vietnam by the end of the first quarter of this year inched down 0.72 per cent to 12.48 quadrillion VND (521.76 billion USD) compared to the end of last year.

The Government supports the policy of allowing four State-owned banks to raise charter capital, said Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Le Minh Hung.

Vietnam Electricity's (EVN) long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating stands at 'BB' with a positive outlook, according to Fitch Ratings.

The Finance Ministry of Thailand will need more than 100 billion THB (3.28 billion USD) to sponsor the sustainable development strategy for the rural economic area with around 30 million low-income households nationwide.

Some banks have unexpectedly announced they would cut interest rates on VND loans in the Government’s priority sectors to support firms in 2019, starting from August 1.

Vietnam’s credit growth in the first two months of this year expanded by just 0.77 percent against the end of 2018, the lowest level in the past few years, a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) showed.

Many banks have seen their service earnings accelerate, buoyed by increasing investment for the business segment and rising market demands.

Many banks have seen their employee efficiency increase significantly, with each member of staff earning them more than 1 billion VND (43,000 USD) in pre-tax profit on average last year.

Many banks have issued a large amount of bonds to raise capital in a move to meet high demand during year-end’s peak lending season and prepare to meet the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s regulations on tightening the use of short-term funds for long-term loans from early next year.