As effects of the VND30-trillion housing loan subsidy package faded out last week, securities firms expect the local market to move in a narrow range with low liquidity this week, with investors expected to reduce trading to wait for more positive news. The market last week traded in thin range given a lack of news, especially in terms of business earnings releases. With investor sentiment leaning... 

Shareholders of PetroVietnam Finance Corporation (PVFC) at its annual general meeting last Saturday approved plans to transform the firm into a commercial joint stock bank and merge with Western Bank. The would-be bank will have a chartered capital of VND9 trillion and total assets of VND100 trillion. The capital consolidation is based on capital and assets of PVFC and Western Bank. Each PVFC share... 

Vietnam’s five-year bond yield fell to the lowest level since 2007 on speculation low funding costs are spurring demand for government securities. The dong dropped. The overnight interbank deposit fixing fell one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 0.99 percent, the lowest in Bloomberg data going back to June 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While deposits rose 5.2 percent in... 

Vietnam’s struggling real estate market is still facing many challenges ahead. Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam general manager Chris Brown said 2013 was expected to remain a buyer’s market with falling prices. Demand for accommodation in Vietnam remained high, with its large, growing population and rising number of mid-income earners offering strong potential, Brown said. However, the market... 

The home loan package worth VND30 trillion aimed at stimulating the frozen property market will be available soon since the Ministry of Construction and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) are completing the final procedures. The construction ministry has drawn up a draft circular on conditions for borrowing loans to buy low-cost or commercial homes of less than 70 square meters each, which are priced...