Vietnam Aims to Slow Credit Growth to 25% Next Year

VNStockNews.com - Vietnam’s central bank said it aims to slow credit growth to about 25 percent next year after last month’s inflation accelerated to the fastest pace since May, keeping its “cautious” monetary stance.

The Asian nation plans to ease credit growth from more than 37.7 percent this year on inflation concerns, according to a central bank statement released at a conference of bank officials in Hanoi today.

Inflation in Vietnam accelerated to 4.35 percent in November as the government used loan subsidies and reduced tax payments to boost the economy. The country’s central bank may have to maintain a “tight” monetary policy into 2011 to keep inflation under control, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said earlier this month.

“The State Bank of Vietnam will continue to manage its monetary policies in a cautious manner,” central bank Deputy Governor Tran Minh Tuan told bankers at the conference today. The bank will increase the coordination with ministries in making monetary, fiscal and foreign-exchange policies aiming to control inflation and ensure macroeconomic stability, according to Tuan.

Vietnamese inflation may accelerate until February, the Finance Ministry said in a note distributed earlier this month. The year-on-year rate will probably rise to at least 10 percent next year, the International Monetary Fund said last week.

Liquidity Goal

Vietnam’s central bank is also targeting a 25 percent expansion for total liquidity in the economy in 2010, less than the 28.67 percent pace in 2009, the statement said. Total bank deposits increased 28.7 percent this year, it said.

“Vietnam needs to correct the macroeconomic imbalances of excess credit growth, high fiscal and current-account deficits and rising inflation,” Nomura Holdings Inc. said in a report last week. “Vietnam is at risk of having over-stimulated the economy.”

The State Bank of Vietnam raised its benchmark interest rate to 8 percent as of Dec. 1 from 7 percent, after keeping borrowing costs unchanged since February. The central bank had previously cut the rate from 14 percent in October 2008.

The country’s economy expanded 3.1 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace on record, and growth quickened to 4.5 percent in the second quarter and 5.8 percent in the next three months. The Hanoi-based General Statistic Office may release December gross domestic product figures and consumer price data as early as this week.

Annual inflation may accelerate to 14.2 percent by the third quarter of 2010, Nomura predicted.

Credit growth in Vietnam this year has been faster than in China, with some of the loans probably being used for “unproductive purposes,” such as asset investment, Nomura wrote in the report. The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange’s VN Index has gained 49 percent this year.

The target for next year “will create difficulties for banks and may reduce lenders’ earnings because between 70 percent to 80 percent of banks’ income is from making loans,” Pham Quyet Thang, chief executive officer at Global Petrolimex Joint-Stock Bank, told journalists at the conference today. >>Full Story...

Sacombank opens steel exchange

VNStockNews.com - The Sacombank Group officially opened its steel exchange in HCM City on Monday, seeing almost 6,000 tonnes of the metal changing hands in the first trading session.

The exchange, called Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commodity Exchange (Sacom-STE), which began its trial run in early November, serves key commodities such as construction and industrial steel products. The minimum unit for trading is five tonnes.

On its launching day, Pomina Steel Company sold 5,300 tonnes of construction steel and 480 tonnes of industrial steel worth VND67.1 billion (US$3.7 million). >>Full Story...

Habubank posts profits

VNStockNews.com - Ha Noi Building Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Habubank) yesterday posted a pretax profit of VND465 billion (US$24.47 million), total assets of VND26.29 trillion ($1.38 billion) and total outstanding loans of VND14.12 trillion ($743 million), all by the end of last month, and confirmed that all of these indicators were higher than planned.

The bank just finished issuing 20 million shares to increase its charter capital to VND3 trillion ($157.9 million) last week.

This week, Habubank also opened its 24/7 toll-free contact centre at 1-800-545-422, to help customers make direct transactions with the bank, provice support and respond to questions and complaints. >>Full Story...

New listings for Ha Noi bourse

VNStockNews.com - APP Print Co will list 5.4 million shares on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange in the near future. The company, with a core business of printing and designing marketing martials, as well as import and export of products for the printing industry, has a charter capital of VND54 billion ($2.9 million).

Hai Phong Electricity Water Machine Assembly Co will also list 1.6 million shares on the northern bourse on Friday, coded DNC. In the first nine months of this year, the company posted a net profit of VND2.68 trillion ($144.8 million), an increase of 17.7 per cent over the corresponding period last year. >>Full Story...

Foreigners Net Buyers Of VND98.1 Billion Of Shares Wednesday

VNStockNews.com - Foreign investors were net buyers of VND98.1 billion ($5.3 million) of Vietnamese stocks out of a total VND1.68 trillion traded Wednesday, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange said.

Volume traded totaled 41.1 million shares, with foreigners accounting for 13.3% of that amount, the stock market operator said.

In the month to date, foreign investors have been net buyers of VND730.5 billion of Vietnamese stocks. >>Full Story...

Everpia Vietnam Co. reaches a dramatic 28% increase of net sales this year

VNStockNews.com - Everpia Vietnam Joint Stock Co. - biggest bedding producer and seller with No.1 bedding brand EVERON and also sponsor of Vitamin Gameshow program - is expected to achieve remarkable business result in spite of economic slump.

According to a representative from Everpia Vietnam Joint Stock Co., it reaches a dramatic 28% increase of net sales and a 50 percent net profit after tax. Despite frozen customer’s confidence, the Company opened many new agents along the nation, especially starting to supply bedding for hotels.

This year, all Everpia employees will enjoy 400 percent of special year-end incentive. In 2008, the company’s special end-year bonus payment was 200 percent.

The Company has applied to Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) for listing with confidence of last three years great business growth. The process is under consideration. After listing, Everpia will be the 8th listed Foreign Direct Investment Company on HOSE.

Everpia will begin a special discount promotion 10% for all EVERON products from Dec 24th to end of this year on whole EVERON shops in Vietnam. This is the first ever EVERON’s discount promotion since its operation in Vietnamese market 13 years ago. >>Full Story...