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HOSE - Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange
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Ho Chi Minh City Securities - HSC
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The ministry will delay a new 5% tax levied on dividends to be paid by listed companies to shareholders.
Vietnamese Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh said Wednesday that his ministry and the government are planning to adjust taxation plans soon to help reduce financial difficulties for companies and stock investors, as the country’s stock market index has fallen nearly 70% so far this year.
“The ministry of finance is seeking approval from the National Assembly ( the country’s highest lawmaking body) to adjust some plans to reduce taxes for companies and stock investors,” Ninh told state-run Vietnam Television in an interview.
The ministry will reduce corporate income tax by 30% for all companies in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the full year of 2009, Ninh said.
In 2009, the ministry will delay a new 5% tax levied on dividends to be paid by listed companies to shareholders, and reconsider a new regulation which will levy a 0.1% tax on stock transactions, Ninh noted. “Investors who suffer losses will not be taxed,” he said.
If the National Assembly can’t make a decision soon, because its next meeting will be only held in May 2009, the Ministry of Finance will use its mandate to change the tax regulations for the economy’s benefit, he added.
Vietnam’s stock market ended down 0.4% at 306.22 Wednesday on speculation that the government was considering delaying its taxation plans until mid-2009.
(Source: Dow Jones)
Vietnam’s insurance sector has set a target of attaining an average growth rate of between 12 and 13% during 2009, with additional goals of 8-10% for life insurance and 15-18% for other forms of insurance, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The ministry also plans to develop a comprehensive insurance market to meet increasing domestic demand for insurance services, improve the financial and business capacities of insurers and satisfy competitive and international integration requirements.
It will make amendments to the existing Insurance Business Law and formulate a strategy to develop the Vietnamese insurance market during the 2010-2020 period.
This year, Vietnam’s insurance sector expects to attain a growth rate of 8.22% compared to last year, with total revenues exceeding VND26 trillion.
Vietnam now has a total of 11 life insurance agencies and 26 non-life insurers, one reinsurance company and 10 brokers, with total assets of close to VND18 trillion. There are approximately 800 separate insurance products currently available on the market.
(Source: vnanet.vn)
Many jewelry shops and travel companies in HCM City are likely to be banned from exchanging foreign currencies under a new central bank rule, and banks have been told to submit a list of their foreign exchange agents who cannot meet the new requirements.
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) now requires forex agents to be located in places where there are many foreign tourists – like near three – and five-star hotels and airline booking offices and in tourism areas, shopping malls, and international border gates.
Nguyen Thi Minh Lan, director of the SBV’s Foreign Exchange Management Department in HCM City, said most jewelry shops in the city would become ineligible since they were not located in such areas.
The central bank also requires shops to have separate counters for forex and gold transactions.
Several travel companies recently petitioned to keep their forex services but the SBV rejected their demand, saying their transactions with foreigners should be through transfers rather than cash, while tourists could exchange money at their hotels.
The SBV had instructed commercial banks to send a list of forex agents failing to meet the new requirement by the end of last month.
The banks will have to liquidate their old contracts with forex agents and sign new ones now.
Lan said the central bank had terminated about 600 contracts in HCM City. Around 30 parties have applied for licenses under the new regulation, but only nine have got it.
The SBV has also ordered commercial banks to closely monitor their forex agents, saying they would be punished for any violations by their agents.
Shops caught trading without a license would hereafter be fined VND45-75 million (US$2,650-4,420).
Currently, many jewelry shops, both with and without forex permits, trade foreign currencies openly. Customers can easily buy large amounts of foreign money at these shops without, unlike at banks, having to show the purpose for which they need them.
(Source: vietnamnews.vnanet.vn)
Commercial banks are offering personal loans to increase credit growth and stimulate consumption but a finance ministry official has queried the wisdom of this move, warning it could bring back inflation.
Pham Quoc Thanh, deputy general director of An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank), said his bank is offering incentives to borrowers.
It is offering a 10th of a tael of gold, or 3.75 grams, for every VND100 million (US$6,000) to customers borrowing at least VND500 million for buying a house or vehicle, he said.
Thanh said boosting personal loans would stimulate consumption.
The Vietnam Technological and Commercial Bank (Techcombank) is also offering a promotional program for a loan package worth VND1.5 billion ($90,000) for buying a house and vehicle and household articles.
Personal loans account for 35% of Techcombank’s total outstanding loans.
In the last few months commercial banks limited personal loans as the Government tightened monetary policy in the face of soaring inflation.
Liquidity boost not good: expert
The commercial banks’ plans to provide loans to boost consumption again raises inflation concerns, Vu Dinh Anh, deputy head of the Ministry of Finance’s Price and Market Research Institute, said.
He warned against increasing liquidity in the economy.
If the personal loans are not closely monitored, individuals could use them to invest in stocks and property, causing serious consequences, he said.
To stimulate consumption, analysts said, it is better to reduce prices of goods and services rather than increase credit.
(Source: vietnamnews.vnanet.vn)
VietNamNet Bridge - Commercial banks are offering personal loans to increase credit growth and stimulate consumption but a finance ministry official has queried the wisdom of this move, warning it could bring back inflation.
Pham Quoc Thanh, deputy general director of An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank), said his bank is offering incentives to borrowers.
It is offering a 10 th of a tael of gold, or 3.75 grammes, for every 100 million VND (6,000 USD) to customers borrowing at least 500 million VND for buying a house or vehicle, he said.
Thanh said boosting personal loans would stimulate consumption.
The Bank for Technology and Commerce of Vietnam (Techcombank) is also offering a promotional programme for a loan package worth 1.5 billion VND (90,000 VND) for buying a house and vehicle and household articles.
Personal loans account for 35 percent of Techcombank’s total outstanding loans.
In the last few months commercial banks limited personal loans as the Government tightened monetary policy in the face of soaring inflation.
The commercial banks’ plans to provide loans to boost consumption again raises inflation concerns, Vu Dinh Anh, deputy head of the Ministry of Finance’s Price and Market Research Institute, said.
He warned against increasing liquidity in the economy.
If the personal loans are not closely monitored individuals could use them to invest in stocks and property, causing serious consequences, he said.
To stimulate consumption, analysts said, it is better to reduce prices of goods and services rather than increase credit.
(Source: VNA)
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