Feb. 15 – The State Bank of Vietnam decided to lower the Vietnamese dong by 9.3 percent to VND20,693 to a U.S. dollar. The decision came into effect February 11.
Dr. Tran Hoang Ngan, member of the national advisory council for monetary and financial policies, said the decision will help reduce the psychological need to hold dollars. It will also make transactions in U.S. dollars more transparent. Continue reading
Jan. 25 – Vietnam’s government recently approved a proposal to extend the declaration time of value added tax (VAT) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and family businesses, removing cumbersome elements of the country’s tax code for emerging entrepreneurs.
Under Resolution 68/NQ-CP, which takes effect this month, SMEs will only need to declare VAT every quarter. Family-run businesses will need to declare their VAT dues biannually. Previously, companies of both categories had to declare VAT every month. Continue reading
Jan. 19 – Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance lowered import duties for petroleum products from January 14 onwards, according to the ministry’s web site.
The import tax for gasoline was cut to 0 percent from 6 percent, and the tax on diesel was decreased to 0 percent from 2 percent. The tax on kerosene was reduced to 2 percent from 6 percent, and on mazut from 5 percent to 2 percent. Continue reading
Jan. 10 – Beginning January 1, 2011, several new rules have come into effect.
Minimum wage increase
Minimum wages at both local and foreign firms in Vietnam have increased by VND100,000 and VND370,000 per month, respectively.
Depending on region, with urban areas having a higher minimum wage, local companies are required to pay a monthly minimum of VND830,000 to VND1,350,000 per month, while foreign companies must pay VND1.1 million to VND1.55 million a month. Continue reading
Dec. 22 — Twelve commercial banks in Hanoi entered an agreement with the State Bank of Vietnam’s Hanoi branch and the Vietnam Banking Association (VNBA) to cap deposit interest rates at 15 percent.
The agreement, which takes effect immediately, was struck after news broke that Techcombank and SeABank were offering interest rates as high as 18 percent per year for deposits. Continue reading
Dec. 21 – Vietnam decreased its import tariff on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) on Friday from 5 percent to 2 percent.
A circular from the Finance Ministry said the move was aimed at stabilizing gas prices after a period of sharp fluctuations. Continue reading
Dec. 15 – Vietnam’s Central Bank said Thursday that it was cutting the reserve ratios of five lenders that all have a large amount of capital loaned to the country’s agricultural sector.
The central bank said the reserve ratios of the country’s top lenders Agribank, Vietnam International Bank, Kien Long Bank and Mekong Housing Bank would be cut to one-fifth of the current level. Agribank’s current reserve ratio requirement is 1 percent. But bankers say that ratios differ from bank to bank and from one type of capital to another. Continue reading
Dec. 14 – The State Bank of Vietnam and HSBC Bank held a joint meeting on derivative products, the adoption of which the central bank considers important in integrating Vietnamese capital markets more closely with the rest of the world.
The aim of the workshop was to share experiences in using and managing derivatives, and to discuss what legal and practical issues would arise if the financial products were to be introduced to Vietnam. Continue reading
Dec. 10 – Presenting an opportunity for investors, Vietnam’s banking industry seeks to apply more advanced information technology and security infrastructure in the near future, the government said on Thursday.
“Developing more useful banking services, widening the use of the new Point of Sale (POS) for plastic money, and seeking more idle capital in rural areas are new trends in the banking industry,” Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Glau said at the opening ceremony of Vietnam’s 2010 annual banking conference in Ho Chi Minh City. Continue reading
Dec. 8 – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a conference in Quang Binh Province on December 6 to call for further investment into the agricultural and rural development sectors in six north-central provinces, from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue.
From 2011 to 2020, provincial governments will request businesses to step up investment in rubber plantations, the raising of cattle, and the development of aquaculture and seafood processing. Investors in these sectors will be granted incentives such as land tax exemptions, financial support in the form of 50-100 percent of the cost of training workers, 50-70 percent of the cost of advertising and 50 percent of the cost of transportation. Continue reading
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