Vietnam on world newspapers

Vietnam might alter bank rule
By Shawn Donnan in Jakarta
Published: August 24 2006 03:00 | Last updated: August 24 2006 03:00
Vietnam is expected to double the stakes it allows individual foreign investors to take in local banks to 20 per cent, but might not allow total foreign ownership to move above the current30 per cent ceiling.
The move has not been formally approved by Hanoi, but is believed to have been included in a confidential bilateral trade deal reached with the US in May aimed at clearing the way for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organisation.
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In an interview with Bloomberg published yesterday, Le Duc Thuy, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam said the communist country might move to increase the individual foreign ownership ceiling "by early next year".
Mr Thuy also insisted that according to the WTO commitments that were made, the 30 per cent foreign ownership ceiling in domestic banks was "not going to change".
Il Houng Lee, the International Monetary Fund''s top representative in Hanoi, said the new 20 per cent limit on individual foreign ownership was part of a central bank proposal to the government.
More uncertain is whether Hanoi will allow greater overall foreign ownership in the country''s five biggest state-owned banks - which control 70 per cent of the financial sector - as it sets about listing them on the local equities market.
A roadmap for financial sector reform approved by Vietnam''s politburo last year calls for all five of those state-owned commercial banks to be listed by 2010. Officials have already issued decrees outlining a more specific schedule for two of those banks.
The central bank is also working on cleaning up non-performing loans ahead of listings. The Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, became the country''s first listed financial institution last month.
But Hanoi''s roadmap for privatisation does not include limits on foreign ownership other than the49 per cent ceiling that applies to any listed company under securities regulations.
Some observers say that foreign interest in Vietnamese banks is likely to be subdued if the lower ceiling remains in place. But foreign bankers are already looking at other strategies.
Next April foreigners will be allowed to set up wholly owned banks in Vietnam - a decision also triggered by the bilateral US agreement.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006

Vietnam Air plans share offer to expand fleet;
The International Herald Tribune 24 August 2006
Vietnam Airlines, the nation''s state-owned carrier, plans to sell shares at home and abroad to fund an expansion of its fleet and routes, according to the Pham Ngoc Minh, the firm''s executive vice president. The Hanoi-based carrier, which expects sales growth of 10 percent a year through 2010, could sell shares at home and in Hong Kong and Singapore within two or three years, Minh said Monday in an interview. ''''The economic and social environment is stable,'''' Minh said. ''''We must expand because of the opportunity.''''
The Vietnamese economy grew 7.4 percent in the first half of this year as the government dismantled barriers and wooed foreign investment. Trade and business travel are expected to rise after the country joins the World Trade Organization later this year, and as Vietnam reduces visa requirements for tourists. ''''Vietnam is the flavor of the month,'''' said Jonathan Pincus, senior country economist at the United Nations Development Program in Vietnam. ''''There''s a huge appetite for Vietnamese equities both domestically and among international investors.'''' The Vietnam Stock index has risen 52 percent this year, one of the best performers among Asian indexes, Bloomberg data showed. Vietnam Airlines wants to tap investor interest and transform itself from a state-run airline into a commercially run and privately owned carrier, Minh said.
''''Vietnam is clearly a market a lot of investors are looking at and the environment is conducive for an initial public offering,'''' said Damien Horth, an analyst at UBS Securities Asia in Hong Kong. ''''If the management of Vietnam Airlines can outline a sensible, achievable growth path, I''m sure investors can look at it at the right price.''''
The airline expects sales to rise to $1.07 billion this year from $970 million in 2005 and aims to become one of the three biggest Southeast Asian carriers by revenue within a decade, Minh said. ''''With our growth in GDP, we expect the growth rate of more than 10 percent to last longer to 2010,'''' Minh said. The carrier has ordered $1.2 billion in new aircraft to be delivered between 2006 and 2010, and as much as $3 billion worth of planes to be delivered between 2011 and 2015, Minh said. In July, the company said it might order up to 10 Boeing 787s. It is also considering Airbus A350s. The airline ordered four 787-8s last year in a deal that also included purchase rights to another 11 planes.
Still, rising energy prices could curb expansion plans, with the cost of jet fuel having risen to a record $93 a barrel in August, according to Bloomberg data. Fuel has doubled to 33 percent of operating costs from 17 percent two years ago, and higher oil prices will cut 2006 profit to $25 million from $36 million last year, Minh said. In the six months through June, profit was between $12 million and $13 million, he said ''''The background on Vietnam is quite exciting but the airline industry is tough,'''' Horth, of UBS, said.
To alleviate the burden of higher fuel costs, Vietnam Airlines requested last year that the government ease the cap on fare prices for domestic flights by 15 percent for peak periods. Minh said that the carrier had not heard back from the government. The carrier''s load factor, a measure of how efficiently it fills its passenger seats and cargo space, is 69 percent. The load factor for domestic flights is 78 percent and 67 percent for international flights, Minh said. He expects to raise the average load factor to between 71 percent and 72 percent in the next two to three years

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSjhvYwAP37c&refer=home
Vietnam Seeks to Grow Stock Market Value Eightfold by 2010
By Netty Ismail and Stephen Engle
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Vietnam''''s stock market may grow eightfold by market value to $24 billion in the next four years as government-owned companies, including Electricity of Vietnam and Mekong Delta Housing Bank, sell shares, the head of the country''''s stock exchange said.
Vietnam wants to increase the value of its stock market to between 20 percent and 30 percent of gross domestic product from 6 percent, said Tran Dac Sinh, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center. GDP may reach $80 billion by 2010, he said. The current average for stock markets in Asia is about 127 percent, according to estimates by Merrill Lynch & Co.
``I really want to see this securities trading center become as big as other stock exchanges in the region,'''''''' Sinh said in an interview in Vietnamese on Aug. 23.
The Vietnamese government is drawing up a securities law to improve companies'''' disclosure standards, hoping to attract more international investors to an economy it says will grow as much as 8 percent annually in the next decade. Sales of shares in state-owned companies may accelerate the stock market''''s growth as the government seeks to sharpen the ability of government firms to compete after Vietnam joins the Word Trade Organization this year.
``Even if it doubles, it''''s still not a very large market, but obviously it''''s a quantum leap,'''''''' said Kelvin Lee, Head of Investment Banking at Ho Chi Minh City-based VinaCapital Group, which manages $600 million of investments in Vietnam. ``The question is whether it has sufficient improvement to attract the real, serious investors.''''''''
Upcoming Sales
Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam will sell shares next year, followed by Mekong Delta Housing Bank, Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam and Industrial & Commercial Bank of Vietnam (Incombank), Sinh said. VietNam Insurance Corp., Hochiminh City Insurance Co., Electricity of Vietnam, Vietnam Post & Telecommunications Corp. and steel and cement companies will also sell shares by 2010, Sinh said. All the companies are government-owned.
The Communist Party-ruled nation, which began market- oriented reforms in 1986, has the fastest-growing stock market in Asia. There are 48 companies on the six-year-old Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center, with a combined market value of about $3 billion. Vietnam''''s stock exchange increased 50 percent in market value on July 12 after shares in Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint-Stock Bank made their debut.
Twenty-two more companies will sell shares on the exchange in the next four months, raising the market value to 10 percent of Vietnam''''s gross domestic product by the end of the year, Sinh said. Gross domestic product was $53 billion at the end of 2005, according to data from Vietnam''''s General Statistics Office. The economy is projected to grow 8 percent this year.
Accelerating Process
Vietnam has been selling shares in companies after first converting their ownership structure into stockholdings. The shares tend first to be sold to a company''''s managers or other employees.
``We have to accelerate the'''''''' transformation, Sinh said. ``By 2010, the process must be finished.''''''''
Vietnam wants to encourage about 2,400 companies whose shares exchange hands in the unregulated over-the-counter market to formally trade stock. The companies together trade between five and 10 times the main board''''s value, Merrill said in a report in April.
The informal market doesn''''t subject participants to the same disclosure requirements as those who sell shares on the stock exchange.
``The problem is many of these companies don''''t meet the requirements, so rather than list on the stock exchange, they issue shares to their customers and other people, their friends and families,'''''''' said Peter Tebbutt, a Hong Kong-based director at Fitch Ratings. ``The over-the-counter market is getting quite well developed, it''''s much larger than the official market. That makes it more attractive.''''''''
Over the Counter
The Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center''''s VN Index, which tracks stocks traded on the main board, has lost 24 percent of its value since reaching a record 632.69 on April 25.
A securities law that comes into effect in January seeks to lay out standards of disclosure and governance for all companies, whether they trade in the over-the-counter or the formal exchanges in Vietnam. The government is also offering tax incentives for companies to shift the trading of their shares to the exchange.
``In Vietnam, the question is always implementation,'''''''' said Jonathan Pincus, senior country economist at the United Nations Development Program in Hanoi. Will the provision for accountability and transparency ``be enforced so that companies will have to abide by the laws and investors know exactly what they''''re getting when they buy shares?''''''''
Having a capital market is very important to Vietnam''''s Future, Pincus said. ``At the same time, you need capital markets that are transparent, where companies are actually reporting what they''''re doing,'''''''' he said. ``The quality of management is certainly improving. But they still have a long way to go.''''''''
To contact the reporter on this story: Netty Ismail in Singapore nismail3@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: August 30, 2006 21:21 EDT
Được vnbui sửa chữa / chuyển vào 09:35 ngày 31/08/2006

anh post từ từ cho em còn dịch chứ, thế này thì tạch à.
Việt Nam sẽ có thể thay đổi luật ngân hàng.
Do Shawn Donnan ở Jakarta
Ngày xuất bản: 3:00 ngày 24/8/2006
Ngày cập nhật cuối : 3:00 cùng ngày
Việt Nam mong muốn tăng gấp đôi số tiền đầu tư,cho phép các nhà đầu tư cá nhân nước ngoài đầu tư vào các ngân hàng địa phương 20%, nhưng không thể vượt quá giới hạn 30%.
Hà Nội không tán thành mức vượt này, nhưng tin đông rằng mức vượt này đã là 1 phần trong việc buôn bán thương mại song phương với Mỹ vào tháng 3 nhằm mở đường cho Việt Nam gia nhập WTO.
Thông báo
Trong cuộc phỏng vấn với Bloomberg được đăng ngỳa hôm qua, ông Lê Đức Thuý, thống đốc ngân hàng nhà nước Việt Nam đã nói: đất nước này có thể tăng giới hạn quyền sở hữu cá nhân nước ngoài " vào đầu năm tới".
Ông Thuý cũng đã khăng khăng rằng , theo nhưng cam kết củ WTO đã thực hiện, giới hạn sở hữu 30% nước ngoài trong ngân hàng nhà nước" sẽ không thay đổi".
Đại diện lớn nhất của quỹ tiền tệ quốc tế ở Hà Nội, II Houng Lee đã nói, giới hạn 20% mới cho quyền sở hữu cá nhân nước ngoài là 1 phần của kế hoạch ngân hàng trung tâm trình lên chính phủ.
Điều không chắc chắn hơn nữa là Hà Nội sẽ cho phép tổng sở hữu nước ngoài lớn hơn hay không tại 5 ngân hàng nhà nước lớn nhất đất nước này. Khi những ngân hàng nắm 70% tài chính- vì điều này bắt đầu đặt các ngân hàng này vào thị trường cổ phần ở địa phương.

Chỉ dẫn cái cách tài chính được Bộ Chính Trị Việt Nam tán thành năm ngoái, yêu cầu 5 ngân hàng thương mại này phải trong danh sách 30% giới hạn sở hữu nước ngoại vào 20/10.Nhiều cơ quan sẵn sàng thông báo sắc lệnh phác thảo 1 kế hoạch đặc biệt hơn cho 2 trong số ngân hàng này.
Ngân hàng chính cũng đang cố gắng giải quyết nốt khoản vay mờ ám trước nhiều sự kiện. Ngân hàng Thường Tín Sài Gòn, ngân hang sài gòn ( sacombank) đã trở thành những cơ chế tài chính có 30% giới hạn đầu tiên của đất nước vào tháng trước.
Nhưng những chỉ dẫn của Hà Nội dành cho việc tư hữu hoá không có nhiều giới hạn vể sở hữu nước ngoài hơn hơn giới hạn 49 % áp dụng cho bất kỳ 1 công ty nào dưới nhiều điều luật đảm bảo.
Nhiều nhà quan sát nói lãi suất nước ngoài của các ngân hàng Việt Nam sẽ không có được ấn định nếu giới hạn thấp hơn vẫ được duy trì. Nhưng các chủ ngân hàng nước ngoài vẫn đang xem xét các chiến lược khác.
Vào tháng 4 tới,nhiều người nước ngoài sẽ được lập ngân hàng tự chủ tại Việt Nam- đây là quyết định được châm ngòi bởi hiệp ước song phương Mỹ

HI VỌNG SẾP GIÚP TRANG may thế post được hết bài, tuy làm 2 , mong sếp đừng để í
đợi sếp đợi mòn mỏi con mắt à
Được minhtrang86_vn sửa chữa / chuyển vào 21:31 ngày 31/08/2006

MT thắc mắc chỗ nào thì highlight, rồi mọi người cùng trao đổi .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5301086.stm ( bài của Bill Hayton, tối qua BTV Quang Minh điểm qua trên thời sự )

hightlight thì nói làm giè, vấn đề là câu chữ chứ, văn việt đâu có giống văn anh, em dịch lung tung à, anh không xem thật à, chán quá,