The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) at a review conference on Wednesday said that strong measures will be continued to tackle bad debts in 2013 while deposit rate cap may be removed given the improved liquidity in banks. According to a report released after the conference, bad debt grew 2% monthly in the final half of 2012 compared to a monthly 8% in the first half. The success was due to credit institutions... 

Foreign investors made strong investments into Vietnam’s e-commerce industry in 2012, noted Nguyen Thanh Hung, vice chairman of the Vietnam E-commerce Association. The industry in 2012 recorded the prominent capital contribution of foreign investors in local trading websites such as Wada.vn, Vn.Hao123.com (Baidu) or Tencent (Wechat), Hung said. Investors came from many nations including Japan, Russia,... 

* Car firms race to launch Tet promotions Auto sale volumes of the whole market reached nearly 10,000 units last month, taking the total sale in all 2012 to 93,000 units, higher than the revised estimate but lower than the 2011 figure, says the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA). Obviously, the local auto market in the final month of the year 2012 showed a slight recovery compared... 

The extraordinary trading session on Tuesday with more than VND2.7 trillion poured into the stock market led to the strongest rise in the VN-Index over the past year, yet it did not help lighten the gloomy atmosphere at a conference of the State Securities Commission (SSC) on Wednesday. Practitioners at the gathering said difficulties they had faced on bourse last year were unprecedented. On behalf... 

The State Securities Commission (SSC) on Wednesday proposed higher foreign ownership limit in listed enterprises to allow stronger participation of the investors in the stock market. Speaking at a conference in Hanoi on Wednesday, SSC chairman Vu Bang said that strategic foreign investors should hold more than the current cap of 49% on selected industries through non-voting shares. SSC will classify... 

Despite clearer signs of investors booking profits, the local market maintained a slight rise in the 11th consecutive winning session on Wednesday thanks to a late rally of some blue-chips. The markets gapped up in anticipation of proposals by the State Securities Commission (SSC) to improve market liquidity. The VN-Index at times gained as much as 11 points but the afternoon session saw a sudden upturn... 

Coffee prices in the domestic market and on the trading floor picked up in the first week of this year, marking a good start for the industry. Year begins with a bang Prices in all markets increased with coffee bean prices in the Central Highlands exceeding VND39,000 a kilo, versus VND38,500 in the preceding week. However, exporters described the current prices in the local market as “uncertain”.... 

Blue Dragon Construction Co., Ltd. has launched a model villa built under the Japanese architectural style in HCMC’s District 2, but the building cost at VND35 million a square meter will keep most home seekers at arm’s length. The model villa named Japan Villa located on Nguyen Duy Trinh Street is constructed with all materials imported from Japan and has a total floor space of around 200 square... 

The Space Technology Institute will send an Earth observation satellite worth 55.2 million euros (US$72.4 million) to the Earth’s orbit. This will be the third satellite invested in by Vietnam, after Vinasat-1 and Vinasat-2. While the previous two versions mainly serve telecom business and capacity leasing, the third will be launched for scientific research. Bui Trong Tuyen, vice president of the... 

Pre-tax profits of Vietcombank and VietinBank, two large banks with majority State ownership, rose slightly in 2012 despite tough challenges facing the banking industry. Vietcombank obtained a consolidated profit of some VND5.7 trillion in 2012 while VietinBank achieved about VND8.21 trillion as of the end of last month. Vietcombank in 2011 enjoyed a consolidated pre-tax profit of roughly VND5.69...