Banks are prohibited from selling insurance policies bundled with other products.

The amended Law on Credit Institutions, recently passed by the National Assembly , has added the sale of insurance linked to the provision of banking products and services to the list of prohibited acts.

Specifically, the Law clearly stipulates that credit institutions, branches of foreign banks, and their managers, executives, and employees are not allowed to link the sale of non-compulsory insurance products with the provision of banking products and services in any form.

Exchanging new banknotes or small denominations for profit will result in legal penalties.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Ho Chi Minh City branch has just issued this statement and said that relevant authorities will strengthen inspection and supervision of the collection and exchange of new banknotes and the exchange of money on the internet in the coming days to prevent and handle violations promptly.

A representative from the State Bank of Vietnam stated that any act of collecting or exchanging new banknotes or small denominations by individuals or organizations to profit from the difference, or advertising currency exchange on the Internet, violates legal regulations and will be severely punished.

Ministry of Industry and Trade : It is necessary to apply a new electricity pricing method with two components.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently sent a document to the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) requesting the urgent development of a two-component electricity pricing mechanism, comprising a capacity price and an energy price, along with the development of a roadmap and proposals for customer groups to which this two-component pricing will apply. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the application of a two-component electricity price will provide the right signal to both electricity producers and consumers.

Based on the proposed mechanism and customer selection, the power company calculates and compares the application of the two-component electricity pricing system with the application of the current electricity tariff. (See more)

Six insurance companies will be inspected in 2024.

At the Ministry of Finance 's regular press conference on the afternoon of January 19th, Deputy Director of the Insurance Supervision and Management Department (Ministry of Finance) Doan Thanh Tuan stated that, regarding the inspection of insurance companies in 2023, inspections have been completed for 8 out of 10 companies. It is expected that the inspections of all companies will be completed before the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon 2024. After the inspection conclusions are issued, the Insurance Supervision and Management Department will release the full information.

Regarding the 2024 inspection plan, Mr. Tuan said that the Ministry of Finance will conduct inspections of 6 insurance companies. These include 4 non-life insurance companies and 2 life insurance companies. (See more)

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Insurance linked to banks has been a source of concern recently.

We propose that the relevant ministries coordinate in managing the gold market.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has recently issued a document requesting the Ministries of Public Security, Industry and Trade, and Finance to cooperate with the SBV in managing the gold market and preventing large fluctuations in gold prices like those seen recently.

The State Bank of Vietnam's proposal for inter-agency coordination to manage the gold market comes amidst a recent surge in the price of SJC gold bars.

In response to developments in the gold market, on December 28, 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a directive outlining measures to stabilize the gold market. The State Bank of Vietnam subsequently announced it would submit a summary report on Decree 24, which would include proposals to amend and supplement some regulations governing the gold market to better suit the new market context. (See more)

Expanding the group of individuals involved in manipulating banking operations.

The Law on Credit Institutions (amended) was passed by the 5th Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly on the morning of January 18th. The Law consists of 15 chapters and 210 articles (compared to the draft Law submitted to the National Assembly at the 6th Session, 4 articles were removed, 11 articles were added, 15 articles remained unchanged, and other articles were technically revised).

One of the notable points in the Law on Credit Institutions is the identification of related parties, in order to increase transparency in shareholder ownership. (See more)

The Prime Minister will approve special loans with 0% interest.

According to the recently passed amended Law on Credit Institutions, the Prime Minister will have the authority to decide on special loans to banks without collateral at a 0% annual interest rate, based on proposals from the State Bank of Vietnam.

For special loans with interest rates and collateral, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is the competent authority to make decisions. The interest rate and collateral requirements for these loans are stipulated by the SBV Governor. Cooperative banks will decide on special loans for people's credit funds.

EVN has been allocated over 2.5 trillion VND to extend the power grid to Con Dao Island.

On the morning of January 18th, the National Assembly voted to approve a Resolution on the use of the general reserve and the central budget reserve of the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2021-2025 for ministries, central agencies, localities, and the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN).

With this resolution, the National Assembly agreed to allocate over 2,500 billion VND to EVN for the project of extending the power grid to Con Dao (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province) and to invest over 57,000 billion VND in transportation projects. (See more)

Warning about the deceptive tactics of Spanish businesses.

The Vietnamese Trade Office in Spain has issued a warning about deceptive tactics used by Spanish businesses when trading Vietnamese agricultural products with Vietnamese companies. These Spanish businesses cite reasons such as the Vietnamese companies' goods not meeting quality standards at the port of arrival, or the companies suffering losses due to falling local market prices.

Therefore, the business failed to fulfill the sales contract, delaying and procrastinating in paying the remaining balance for the goods. (See more)

2 GDP growth scenarios for 2024

The Central Institute for Economic Management Research (CIEM) has just released two scenarios for Vietnam's GDP growth in 2024: scenario 1 projects growth of 6.12%, and scenario 2 projects growth of 6.48%.

The two GDP growth scenarios for 2024 projected by CIEM, ranging from 6.12% to 6.48%, are quite close to the GDP target of 6-6.5% approved by the National Assembly.