General Secretary : Expanding controlled gold import rights to increase gold supply
General Secretary To Lam proposed to eliminate the State monopoly on gold bars in a controlled manner, expand controlled import rights to increase gold supply, and limit gold smuggling across borders.
On the afternoon of May 28, 2025, General Secretary To Lam worked with the Central Policy and Strategy Committee on mechanisms and policies to effectively manage the gold market in the coming time.
Head of the Central Policy and Strategy Committee Tran Luu Quang presented a report assessing and proposing mechanisms and policies to effectively manage the gold market in the coming time. The viewpoint of the Central Policy and Strategy Committee is to manage the gold market according to market principles, with appropriate management by the State; eliminate the mindset of banning if you can't manage it; respect ownership rights, property rights, and freedom of business; and ensure transparency in the market.
Regarding specific mechanisms and policies, the Central Policy and Strategy Committee proposed two groups of solutions, including solutions that need to be prioritized for immediate implementation and solutions that need to be researched for application or pilot application. The solutions need to be implemented step by step, with a clear roadmap and adjusted to suit reality. The most important thing is to build people's trust in the financial system and state policies, contributing to bringing gold resources to serve economic development.
General Secretary To Lam said that the mechanisms and policies for managing the gold market in Vietnam in recent years have been positively adjusted and improved. However, it is also necessary to frankly acknowledge that the mechanisms and policies for managing and regulating the gold market have been slow to be renewed, have not kept up with the development of the market and the demands of reality, and need to be urgently renewed and improved, as stated in the Report of the Central Policy and Strategy Committee.
Specifically, the gold market is poorly managed and not in line with the general supply and demand trends in the world market, causing consequences for the economy, especially gold smuggling and foreign currency outflows.
There is a monopoly in the market, which does not stimulate competition and promote healthy gold trading activities.
Management mechanisms and policies have not created the motivation to mobilize idle resources among the people for socio-economic development, so people invest a lot in gold.
Besides, the management method is still mainly traditional, slow to innovate, lacking modern business forms, catching up with world trends.
The General Secretary suggested that in the coming time, gold management needs to strongly shift from administrative thinking to disciplined market thinking, from "tightening to control" to "opening to manage"; it is imperative to thoroughly understand and eliminate the thinking of "if you can't manage, then ban"; at the same time, it is necessary to make the gold market operate in accordance with market principles, with state management.
The General Secretary requested to avoid rigid intervention, restrict the movement and promote the advantages of the market, ensure the principle of respecting the ownership rights, property rights, and freedom of business of people and enterprises; ensure transparency in the market. At the same time, it is necessary to identify people's gold storage as a form of savings and investment, a legitimate need, which needs to be respected and approached to build appropriate management mechanisms and policies based on this viewpoint.
The goal is to effectively manage the gold market, stabilize the macro economy, and mobilize resources for socio-economic development.
The General Secretary also pointed out a number of tasks and solutions for the coming time.
Firstly, it is necessary to complete the legal framework , quickly amend Decree 24/2012/ND-CP towards marketization with a roadmap and strict control; creating a more effective connection between the domestic gold market and the international market.
Second, eliminate the State monopoly on gold bar brands in a controlled manner based on the principle that the State still manages gold bar production activities, but can license many qualified enterprises to participate in gold bar production to create an environment of equal competition, thereby helping to diversify supply sources and stabilize prices.
Third, expand controlled import rights to increase gold supply, contributing to reducing the gap between domestic and world gold prices, and at the same time limiting gold smuggling across borders.
Fourth, encourage the development of the domestic gold jewelry market to gradually turn Vietnam into a center for manufacturing and exporting high-quality gold jewelry, transforming stored gold into value-added products.
Fifth, develop attractive alternative investment channels to mobilize gold from the population into the economy.
Sixth, improve management efficiency and inter-sectoral coordination, especially in preventing and combating gold smuggling.
Seventh, promote the role of the Gold Business Association, act as a bridge between gold businesses and management agencies, promptly reflect difficulties, make recommendations and coordinate the implementation of market stabilization measures when necessary.
Eighth, maintain macroeconomic stability and confidence in the Vietnamese currency, considering this a fundamental, long-term solution to transform resources from gold into economic development.
Ninth, promptly build an information and data system on the gold market to increase publicity and transparency, to collect taxes, manage, and assess the impact on the foreign exchange gold market, exchange rates, and various investment channels.
The General Secretary also emphasized the need to focus on studying a number of solutions for early and appropriate application with a roadmap. Specifically, research and refer to international experience to propose the establishment of a National Gold Exchange; or allow gold to be traded on the Commodity Exchange; or establish a Gold Trading Floor in the International Financial Center in Vietnam. Research and apply taxes on gold trading to enhance market transparency, the ability of management agencies to monitor the market and limit gold trading for speculative purposes. In addition, research to eliminate export taxes on gold jewelry to encourage the development of production and export of gold jewelry in Vietnam.
The State Bank Party Committee is assigned to preside over and coordinate with the Central Policy and Strategy Committee and relevant agencies to report and make specific proposals.
Import gold or set up a gold exchange to reduce price difference?
To reduce the gap between domestic and world gold prices, the only solution is to increase supply. However, whether allowing gold imports or establishing a gold exchange to solve the problem of increasing supply, the State Bank still faces many challenges.
Speaking at the Government Standing Committee meeting on gold market management last weekend, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to quickly reduce the difference between domestic and international gold prices to only about 1-2%, and to study the formation of a gold trading floor in the direction that people can freely trade and buy and sell.
According to Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, an economic expert, to narrow the gap in gold prices, the best solution is to allow gold imports. “To solve the problem for the gold market, the current “best policy” is to allow gold imports, requiring importers to sell wholesale to retail businesses. The next option is to set up a gold trading floor, which is not allowed to sell retail. This is what China is doing, helping domestic gold prices not differ too much from the world market,” Mr. Nghia stated his opinion.
Contrary to the opinion that gold imports will cause foreign currency to bleed, Dr. Le Xuan Nghia estimated that Vietnam's gold demand is about 50 tons/year, equivalent to 3-4 billion USD. This figure is much smaller than the amount of foreign currency spent on importing foreign alcohol and tobacco (8 billion USD/year). In addition, gold is an extremely important source of foreign exchange reserves, even "more valuable and stable" than USD, so it cannot be considered "bleeding".
Meanwhile, sharing with reporters, Mr. Shaokai Fan, Director of Asia-Pacific region (excluding China) and Director of Global Central Banks at the World Gold Council (WGC), said that the State Bank should calculate to import gold cautiously, on the basis of both allowing import and carefully assessing the impacts.
In April and May 2025, the domestic gold price was at times 18-20 million VND/tael more expensive than the world price. After the Prime Minister's directive, the price difference has now decreased to 14-15 million VND/tael.
Mr. Shaokai Fan emphasized that Vietnam is not the only country with a difference in gold prices compared to world prices, but this difference is too high and will be difficult to reduce if the State Bank does not have a solution to increase supply.
Dr. Dinh The Hien, Director of the Institute of Informatics and Applied Economics, also said that it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive study on the total gold demand of the people each year, from which to calculate the reasonable amount of imported gold and grant import quotas to businesses. If the supply is regularly supplemented each year, the difference in gold prices will decrease. Currently, the price of gold in Vietnam is too high compared to the world price because Vietnam has not allowed gold imports for 14 years.
Regarding the issue of establishing a gold exchange, economic experts have many different opinions. Dr. Can Van Luc, chief economist of BIDV, said that the State Bank should review and re-evaluate the demand for gold and allow controlled gold imports. Regarding the establishment of a gold exchange, establishing a gold exchange following the commodity exchange model is not appropriate, because it will increase the "goldification" of the economy. Currently, many countries in the world no longer follow this model.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan (Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics) recommends that if the gold exchange is oriented towards a hybrid model (both trading gold accounts and delivering physical gold), people will trade "gold credits" through accounts and will still be allowed to withdraw gold when needed.
However, even when applying this model, according to experts, the key issue still comes back to the story of gold supply, because when people need to withdraw gold, gold shops are forced to have physical gold to supply, which means they still cannot avoid the need to import gold.
National Assembly delegate Tran Hoang Ngan suggested: “If the international financial center is implemented, commodity exchanges, including gold exchanges, can be established. At that time, the problem of gold investment and speculation in the market will be solved.”
However, many experts also believe that many people still prefer to hold physical gold. Therefore, setting up a gold exchange and allowing gold trading accounts may not solve the problem at its root.
Recently, the Prime Minister requested to amend Decree 24/2012/ND-CP on gold trading in a shortened form to suit the situation, to be completed in June 2025; at the same time, review and build a database on the gold market, to be completed in June 2025.
In the long term, the Prime Minister assigned the State Bank, the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to continue improving the safe, favorable, healthy and attractive business environment so that people can actively promote production, business and start-ups, instead of storing gold; separate state management from gold production and trading activities; promote the production and processing of gold jewelry to create more jobs; strengthen information and communication work, and relieve the psychology of keeping gold among people.
PNJ has signs of violating tax laws and unfair competition.
The State Bank Inspectorate believes that PNJ has signs of violating tax laws. The State Bank has sent a document transferring information to the competent authority for consideration and handling according to regulations.
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has just officially issued an inspection conclusion on compliance with policies and laws in gold trading activities at Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ; HoSE: PNJ).
In conclusion, PNJ basically complied with regulations in gold bar trading, listed prices according to regulations, reported data and implemented anti-money laundering regulations. However, this unit also had many serious violations and shortcomings.
Firstly, compliance with legal policies in gold trading activities: PNJ violated the reporting regime for gold bar trading activities; there were signs of providing misleading information about products and goods provided by the enterprise to attract customers of other enterprises, related to unfair competition; there were signs of violating product labeling regulations for gold jewelry and fine art products...
The verification results show that there are signs that PNJ violated the provisions of the tax law. Based on the provisions of the law, the State Bank has issued a document transferring the information to the competent authority for consideration and handling according to regulations.
Second, compliance with the law on anti-money laundering: PNJ violated the law on anti-money laundering, specifically: issued internal regulations with incomplete content as prescribed; did not classify customers according to risk level; reported insufficient content as prescribed by law; did not report large value transactions that must be reported related to gold trading activities; did not conduct internal audits on anti-money laundering as prescribed; had no regulations on freezing accounts, sealing, freezing or temporarily holding assets; had no specific instructions for conducting money laundering risk assessments; had no regulations on the authority to approve reports; the form of disseminating reports throughout the system; had no regulations on cases of customer identification; had no specific regulations on the frequency of updating customer identification information; had no regulations on collecting information on beneficial owners, the purpose and nature of the customer's business relationship with the reporting entity; PNJ does identify customers and store customer identification information, but not fully as required by law.
Third, compliance with legal regulations on accounting, making and using invoices and vouchers; on declaring and fulfilling tax obligations: PNJ violated the regulations on making sales invoices at the wrong time for some invoices; some transactions lacked information or may not have the customer's ID card/CCCD number information on Table 01/TNDN;...
The cause was determined to be that the legal representative, leaders and employees of PNJ had not seriously complied with a number of legal regulations in gold trading, anti-money laundering and accounting, preparation and use of accounting documents, declaration and fulfillment of tax obligations.
Regarding handling measures, immediately after the direct inspection ended, the State Bank issued a document transferring information about the violation of the invoice regime, accounting documents, and taxes with signs of violating criminal law at PNJ to the Ministry of Public Security for verification, investigation, and handling.
At the same time, the Chief Inspector of the State Bank issued a Decision to impose administrative sanctions on PNJ for violations of legal regulations on information reporting regime for buying and selling gold bars and anti-money laundering activities with a total fine of more than 1.3 billion VND.
The State Bank also recommended that the company rectify and end its violations, and promptly address shortcomings to ensure compliance with the law. In addition, the State Bank requested relevant ministries and branches to improve the policy mechanism for managing gold trading activities.
Immediately after the State Bank announced the inspection results, PNJ spoke up to affirm that the company had proactively overcome all the points pointed out by the inspection team, helping the company to improve its operations from 2024.
The Company always tries its best to comply with and strictly abide by the State's regulations and laws in the gold and jewelry business. The Company also always promotes transparency and always tries to fully comply with the legal regulations on accounting, making and using invoices and documents; on declaring and fulfilling tax obligations.
PNJ has also proactively requested the authorities to take steps to investigate and clarify the unclear points recorded in the minutes. PNJ commits to continue to proactively cooperate in a professional and transparent manner with the authorities to clarify the matter as soon as possible and commits to continue serving customers with professionalism, dedication, and care with the highest quality.
"PNJ hopes that gold market management will soon be implemented in a direction that helps the market develop healthily and sustainably, bringing benefits to consumers and the economy as recently directed by General Secretary To Lam in a working session with the Central Policy and Strategy Committee," said a PNJ representative.
Bao Tin Minh Chau was administratively fined 2.6 billion VND, case transferred to police for investigation
The Governor of the State Bank approved a report on a number of cases with signs of criminal law violations at Bao Tin Minh Chau Company Limited and sent a document transferring the information to the Ministry of Public Security for verification, investigation and handling.
The State Bank Inspectorate has just announced the conclusion of the inspection of compliance with policies and laws in gold trading activities at Bao Tin Minh Chau Company Limited.
According to the inspection conclusion, this company has violated the regulations on invoices, accounting documents, taxes, etc. in gold trading activities. The inspector has reported, submitted to the Governor of the State Bank for approval and sent a document transferring information about the violation to the Ministry of Public Security for verification, investigation and handling.
In addition, Bao Tin Minh Chau Company also violated the reporting regime for gold bar buying and selling activities; violated the gold selling transaction at a price higher than the listed price.
Bao Tin Minh Chau does not publish on the company's website information on transportation and delivery; does not publish on the website the process of receiving, responsibility for handling customer complaints and the mechanism for resolving disputes related to the signed contract;
Not developing and issuing policies to ensure safety and security for the collection and use of consumers' personal information on the website; not developing policies to protect consumers' personal information on the home page of the e-commerce website.
Bao Tin Minh Chau Company has signs of providing misleading information about products and goods provided by the enterprise to attract customers of other enterprises, related to unfair competition.
Regarding compliance with legal regulations on anti-money laundering (AML) activities, the Inspectorate concluded that Bao Tin Minh Chau Company issued internal regulations on anti-money laundering (AML) without authority and without full content as prescribed; did not store information related to customers and transactions that must be reported...
Regarding the conclusion on compliance with legal regulations on accounting regime, preparation and use of invoices and documents; on declaration and implementation of tax obligations, the State Bank Inspectorate said that Bao Tin Minh Chau Company accounted for gift expenses into the cost price of purchased goods and services in violation of regulations, leading to a reduction in the amount of value added tax payable;...
Immediately after the direct inspection ended, the State Bank Inspectorate reported a number of cases through the inspection of gold trading activities at Bao Tin Minh Chau Company that violated the law and had signs of violating criminal law. The Governor of the State Bank approved and sent a document transferring the information to the Ministry of Public Security for verification, investigation and handling.
The Chief Inspector of the State Bank of Vietnam has issued a Decision to impose administrative sanctions on Bao Tin Minh Chau Company related to a number of violations of regulations on anti-money laundering activities and reporting regimes on gold bar purchases and sales with a total fine of VND 2.64 billion.
The Inspectorate requested Bao Tin Minh Chau to immediately stop all administrative violations, seriously rectify and promptly overcome and correct shortcomings and violations in gold trading, anti-money laundering and tax laws, invoices and documents stated in the inspection conclusion.
At the same time, it is necessary to strictly comply with legal regulations on information reporting on gold bar purchase and sale data, listing gold purchase and sale prices, e-commerce activities, and use of digital technology in gold trading activities...
Dr. Le Xuan Nghia: The "best policy" is to allow gold imports.
According to Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, gold is an extremely important source of foreign currency reserves. Considering gold imports of 3-4 billion USD/year as foreign currency bleeding is unreasonable when importing alcohol and tobacco at 8 billion USD/year is also not considered “bleeding”.
Speaking at the Scientific Conference "The private economy is the most important driving force of the economy" on the morning of May 26, Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, an economic expert, expected that Resolution 68-NQ/TW would create a "big road" for private enterprises to develop.
For example, in the gold sector, according to experts, gold production and trading enterprises are currently eager to import gold to produce jewelry for export. However, many opinions say that "Vietnam is very special: people love gold too much", so the gold market must be tightly managed.
Responding to the view that gold imports will lead to “USD bleeding”, Dr. Le Xuan Nghia asked: gold is more valuable than USD, so where does it “flow”?
In addition, according to this expert, the ban on gold imports also causes many other consequences, including gold smuggling. Due to the ban on gold imports, while businesses still need raw gold for production and business, the situation of gold smuggling is inevitable.
“Gold imports are banned, but businesses still have to survive and do business. To do that, of course, gold and silver trading companies have to collect smuggled gold and gold from the people to process and sell,” said Dr. Le Xuan Nghia.
To solve the problem in the gold market, according to Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, the best policy is to allow gold imports and require importers to sell wholesale to retail businesses.
The Chinese policy is to allow 9 commercial banks and 4 gold trading companies to import gold, set up a trading floor, and set prices according to regulations. This floor is not allowed to sell retail. This is what China is doing, helping domestic gold prices not differ too much from the world market.
“Gold is an extremely important reserve. Every year, Vietnam only needs to import 3-4 billion USD worth of gold, but many people are worried about “foreign currency loss”, while importing foreign wine, cigars, and cigarettes worth up to 8 billion USD/year, no one talks about this issue, this is very unreasonable”, Dr. Nghia stated his opinion.
At the Government Standing Committee meeting on gold market management on the evening of May 24, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the State Bank to strengthen state management, quickly reduce the difference between domestic and international gold prices to only about 1-2%, not over 10% as recently. At the same time, there must be solutions to increase supply such as many businesses doing business together and reduce demand; strictly manage, control, strengthen inspection, check and prevent, strictly handle smuggling; prevent elements from manipulating, hoarding goods, raising prices, and disrupting the market.
The Prime Minister requested to amend Decree 24/2012/ND-CP on gold trading in a shortened form to suit the situation, to be completed in June 2025, and at the same time review and build a database on the gold market, to be completed in June 2025.
In the long term, the Prime Minister assigned the State Bank, the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to continue improving the safe, favorable, healthy and attractive business environment so that people can actively promote production, business and start-ups instead of storing gold; research and form a gold trading floor in the direction that people are free to trade and buy and sell; separate state management from gold production and trading activities; promote the production and processing of gold jewelry to create more jobs; strengthen information and communication work, relieve the psychology of keeping gold among people; research and invest in a system to create electronic invoices from cash registers in gold trading.
Tighten management to expose "ghost" business accounts
Faced with the recent rise in fraud using accounts of "ghost" businesses, the State Bank is about to apply a series of measures to prevent impersonation and fraud.
Recently, when the price of gold skyrocketed, there was a situation in the market where some scammers created websites and fanpages impersonating reputable businesses, mainly impersonating large gold trading brands such as Doji, Bao Tin Minh Chau, Phu Quy... with brand names and logos that were almost identical to the real ones, or copied from real images of the company; the website address was so similar to the websites of reputable businesses that it was difficult to distinguish, causing visual confusion.
Then, these fake websites and fanpages post false information, entice customers to buy and sell at low prices, with high discounts, such as special offers, cheap gold sales, big promotions to celebrate business events, limited quantity gold purchases online at good prices, etc. Then, the subjects will entice customers to transfer money in advance to deposit to buy gold or make gold purchases (transfer money to a personal account that does not match the business name). The scammers even send a "placement" confirmation with a logo and information similar to the real business to create trust.
This situation is not new, but has appeared in the past year or so. After the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) tightened management of personal accounts, requiring biometric authentication from July 1, 2024, scammers have switched to buying and selling business accounts for fraudulent purposes.
To prevent fraud using accounts of "ghost" businesses, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Payment Department (SBV), said that according to the provisions of Circular 17/2024/TT-NHNN, from July 1, organizations and businesses will not be able to transact online without verifying the biometric information of the legal representative (must transact at the counter).
In addition, the State Bank is amending Circular 17/2024/TT-NHNN to strengthen control of organizational accounts. Accordingly, the State Bank will require the legal representative of the organization to come directly to the bank to open an account, not accepting any form of authorization. In addition, for newly established organizational accounts within 6-9 months (specific time will be widely consulted), when making money transfers, the biometric information of the legal representative must be compared as with personal accounts.
The State Bank will also prohibit the use of Alias accounts (each customer's own transaction name). Previously, the Ministry of Public Security commented that Alias accounts cause a lot of misunderstanding for money transferers. For example, an individual opens an account, then creates an Alias with a name like "national company", "global", causing the transferor to look at the alias account, not the account number, and then think that he has transferred correctly.
According to the State Bank of Vietnam, the regulation on biometric authentication for business representatives does not disrupt the activities of legal representatives. In fact, almost no business owner does not have a personal account. All of these accounts were biometrically authenticated before July 1, 2024. "Those who do not come for authentication definitely have problems," Mr. Tuan affirmed.
Along with efforts to tighten account management, the State Bank is also coordinating with commercial banks and authorities to build a database of accounts that frequently conduct suspicious transactions. People/businesses will be warned when transferring money to these accounts.
BIDV Bank is the first unit to pilot from April 1, 2025. Up to now, over 100 billion VND in customers' accounts have been retained through suspicious account warnings.
From now until the end of July 2025, a series of major banks will deploy this service, including VietinBank, MB, and Agribank. After piloting at major banks, the State Bank will widely apply it throughout the system.
In addition, according to Mr. Vu Thanh Chung, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of MBBank, the MBBank app also has a scanning function to detect fake software. With this method, MBBank has blocked 99% of fake software on the phone.
Mr. Pham Anh Tuan also noted that banks need to regularly update the status of customers' accounts. For accounts suspected of fraud, but later verified as safe, they need to be removed from the suspect list and allowed to trade normally.
Although risk prevention measures are being strengthened, the State Bank also admits that it is very difficult to completely prevent fraud. In the Draft Decree on administrative sanctions in the monetary and banking sector, the State Bank proposed a fine of up to VND200 million for the act of renting, leasing, buying, selling, or opening bank cards for others. However, due to the huge profits from fraud, many people will still ignore it. In fact, there has been a situation of keeping people "renting faces" to transfer fraudulent money.
To act as a strong deterrent, the Ministry of Public Security has proposed amending the Penal Code. Accordingly, the act of leasing accounts, buying and selling bank cards, etc. can be criminally prosecuted, because it is considered an act of aiding and abetting financial fraud.
Bonds have not warmed up yet, real estate still relies on credit capital
Although real estate bond issuance has increased again since April 2025, it is only concentrated in one enterprise. Most real estate enterprises still have to depend on bank capital.
According to statistics from the Vietnam Bond Market Association, in the first half of May 2025 (as of the date of information announcement on May 16), there were 10 corporate bond issuances, with a total value of VND 10,450 billion. Banks are still the main issuing group, with 6/10 issuances, but real estate bonds continue to recover.
The first half of May 2025 recorded 3 issuances by real estate enterprises, from Vingroup Corporation and Van Phu Real Estate Joint Stock Company, with a total issuance value of VND 4,150 billion (accounting for nearly 40% of the total value of corporate bonds issued in the first half of May 2025). Of which, the issuance value of Vingroup alone was VND 4,000 billion.
In the first 3 months of 2025, real estate bonds were completely frozen, but became active again in April 2025 with 4 issuances. Of which, 3 issuances from Vingroup with an issuance value of 9,000 billion VND, accounting for 80% of the total value of real estate bonds issued. This shows that the bond capital mobilization channel has not really been cleared, only concentrated in one enterprise.
While the amount of new issuance is not much, real estate enterprises are facing great pressure to restructure debt and mature bonds. According to VIS Rating, up to 73% of the VND13,200 billion of newly issued non-financial bonds in the first 4 months of the year were for debt restructuring purposes, mainly real estate bonds.
Since the beginning of the year, real estate businesses have bought back about VND27,416 billion worth of bonds before maturity. From now until the end of the year, real estate businesses will have to mature nearly VND82,000 billion worth of bonds.
Due to capital difficulties, the number of real estate enterprises that are late in paying principal and interest on bonds continues to increase. Mr. Nguyen Ba Khuong, an analyst at VNDirect Securities Corporation, said that most of the more than 90 enterprises that are late in paying bond debt on the market belong to the real estate group.
According to the State Bank's data, by the end of March 2025, real estate business credit balance reached more than 1.56 million billion dong, an increase of about 20% compared to the end of 2024 and 5-6 times higher than the general credit growth rate of the whole system.
Financial statements for the first quarter of 12 listed banks have detailed interpretations showing that the real estate business lending activities of these banks increased sharply. At Techcombank, real estate loan balance accounts for nearly 34% of the total outstanding loans and an increase of nearly 15% compared to the end of the previous year. At PGBank, real estate business loans increased to 34.4%, while this number at VIB was 25%, at Kienlongbank was 20.5%, HDBank increased by 17%...
Although banks affirmed that real estate credit mainly poured into the segments with "real demand", reputable businesses, full legal projects ..., but in fact, the credit line from the beginning of the year until now mainly poured into high -end projects, the market is completely absent from the popular housing segment.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, said that the credit flows into high -end projects, causing the balance of supply - demand in the market to be more serious, while increasing the risks for the banking industry. According to this expert, it is necessary to clear other capital mobilization channels for real estate businesses, especially bond channels.
One alarming issue is that the debt/equity ratio is rising to its highest level since 2018. “It can be seen that financial pressure on real estate businesses will continue to be high in the coming time. This makes us expect the value of bond issuance to increase sharply in the last 3 quarters of the year,” said an expert from S&I Ratings.
In the context of the current strong increase in capital demand, analysts say that bond issuance by real estate investors will increase sharply in the second half of the year. Specifically, according to VIS Rating, the issuance of real estate bonds will lead the non-financial bond market this year. Real estate investors will still benefit from easy access to credit from banks in the context of a favorable business environment in the industry.
Unblocking capital sources for the private economy
To develop the private economy, institutional breakthroughs are needed. In particular, unlocking capital resources to create conditions for this sector is extremely necessary.
According to the policy of Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW, dated 4/5/2025 of the Politburo on private economic development, many specific support policies for private enterprises have been approved by the National Assembly.
Resolution No. 198/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly on a number of special mechanisms and policies to develop the private economy clearly stated that enterprises in the private sector, business households and business individuals are supported by the State with 2% interest rates when borrowing capital to implement green, circulating projects and apply environmental, social and social standard framework (ESG). This is an important content to remove great problems of private enterprises, including micro enterprises, business households and business individuals, which are limiting resources and difficulties when borrowing capital, especially capital investment in high -cost, long -term expenses.
PhD. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a senior lecturer of Fulbright Public Policy and Management School, said that Vietnam is facing a requirement for urgency to re -promote growth, in which the development of the private sector cannot stop at the political message, but need specific institutional breakthroughs. Resolution No. 139/NQ-CP of the Government on the National Assembly's Plan for implementing Resolution No. 198/2025/QH15 has set out many resources approaches, such as land access ...
For capital access, according to TS. The city, it is necessary to diversify the credit channel, create conditions for the private sector to access capital, clear the corporate bond market, correct the law to expand the supported objects and simplify the loan procedure.
Pointing out the current "bottleneck" lies in execution, PhD. Thanh emphasized: "Support must come from real resources, avoid repeating the mechanism of asking - giving and absolutely should not create more cumbersome monitoring apparatus".
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nghiem Thi Tha, General Secretary of the Vietnam Financial Consulting Association (VFCA) also said that, in order for the private sector to develop sustainably, it is necessary to clear capital flows (both short and long -term) in a substantive and effective way. Regarding short -term capital, the private sector is accounting for about 50% of the total outstanding loans of the whole banking system. However, small and medium -sized enterprises are still subject to trade interest rates of about 9-11%/year, higher than the common ground in the ASEAN region (6 - 7%/year); The great difficulty lies in credit access, especially for individual business households.
In order to improve the ability to access capital for private enterprises, support this area to break out, the SBV said that it will continue to manage the active monetary policy, control inflation, stabilize exchange rate, interest rate ground, contribute to creating a stable business environment; monitor, inspect and examine banks to raise deposit rates and lend.
According to experts, in order to improve the access to credit capital, private enterprises need to improve transparency in financial management, especially accounting books, and at the same time consolidate management capacity.
Data from the SBV shows that, in April 2025, the average lending interest rate for new transactions of banks decreased by 0.6%/year compared to the end of 2024, creating conditions for private enterprises to reduce capital pressure in production and business. For 5 priority areas (export, agriculture, high technology, small and medium -sized enterprises, supporting industry), the loan interest rate is stable at 4%/year.
Mr. Tu Tien Phat, General Director of ACB said that the 2% interest rate support mechanism for small businesses, innovation and application of ESG is essential, but in fact, the implementation is still many barriers, both from banks and businesses. Therefore, it is necessary to add synchronous solutions, cut administrative procedures, digitize the process of credit and build more details about the green credit frame. "As a private bank, we understand the movement process of the private sector. Businesses are ready to invest and innovate, but they need to see the specific and transparent policy," Mr. Phat shared.
At Agribank, the bank's total outstanding loans now reach more than 1.7 million billion dong, of which more than 60% are allocated to the agricultural, rural and farmer sectors, with a group of main customers who are private economic households. Deputy General Director of Agribank Phung Thi Binh said that in nearly VND 500,000 billion in loan balance for legal entities, up to 90% belongs to private enterprises. According to the assigned plan, in 2025, Agribank was allocated a 13%credit growth limit, equivalent to about VND 230,000 billion, which will be put into circulation and the bank determines that it will mainly lend to customers as a private economic bloc.
List of banks that will call for more foreign capital
Many banks plan to call for more foreign capital in 2025 or next year to strengthen their financial capacity. This is also an opportunity for foreign investors.
Room owns foreign investors at commercial banks (commercial banks) receiving compulsory transfer such as MB, HDBank, and VPBank will be expanded 49% from May 19 under Decree No. 69/2025/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 01/2014/ND-CP on foreign investors buying shares of credit institutions.
The total ownership of foreign investors in commercial banks receives compulsory transfer (excluding state -owned commercial banks holding over 50% of charter capital) exceeded 30%, but not exceeding 49% of the chartered capital of commercial banks receiving compulsory transfer according to the approved plan and implemented within the deadline of the compulsory transfer plan.
Previously, in January 2025, the State Bank announced the transfer of GPBank to VPBank and DongABank to HDBank and Oceanbank to MB. Financial analysts said that the advocacy of foreign room is expected to create a new room for HDBank, MB and VPBank in mobilizing strategic capital, serving the strong asset growth goals and maintaining capital safety ratio in the context of increasing medium -long capital demand.
Vis Rating said that raising the ceiling of foreign ownership is expected to create favorable conditions for banks to attract strategic investment, support strong asset growth. Notably, in the context of many banks aims to grow total assets of over 25%/year, the need for additional capital is very urgent. It is estimated that if they do not increase their equity or issue bonds to increase capital level 2, the capital adequacy (CAR) ratio of HDBank, MB and VPBank may reduce 150-300 basic points at the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, ACB Securities Co., Ltd said that the new decree creates conditions for banks to issue capital to increase capital for foreign shareholders, thereby accelerating the restructuring process. For example, MB is planning to contribute a maximum of VND 5,000 billion to MBV bank in the structural period. Other banks are likely to have similar plans.
The latest update data shows that foreign investors hold more than 1.4 billion shares of MB, equivalent to 23.24%. Currently, MB has no foreign strategic shareholder. MB leader said that in finding foreign strategic partners, MB sets a number of purposes such as quickly accessing technologies, business development secrets and advanced banking management, especially areas that MB feels not strong. MB takes advantage of experience, network understanding, customer base to develop new markets; Stabilizing shareholders, ensuring consensus and consistency in business development, strategic implementation.
To meet the above goals, MB has set criteria such as giving priority to partners with good financial capacity, consensus on goals and implementing strategies suitable to culture and having high commitments, avoiding conflicts of benefits, ensuring long -term strategic cooperation and development.
Notably, MB said that it can be sold 100% at the transfer bank (have been renamed from OceanBank to MBV) to foreign investors. The Board of Directors of MB asked shareholders to assign the Board of Directors to study, search for potential investors, decide specific contents, deploy the change of legal forms of MBV and capital contribution plans, increase capital, handle contributed capital and shares at the time according to the compulsory transfer plan (approved and amended/supplemented), reality and legal regulations.
After receiving the transfer, the legal form also changed from a one -member limited liability company owned by the State (holding 100% of charter capital) to one -member limited liability company owned by MB. MB is expected to contribute charter capital to MBV with no more than VND 5,000 billion.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of VIB Dang Khac Vy said that external rooms at Vib drum 25% and the bank is looking for foreign partners after breaking up with strategic shareholders of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in the first quarter of 2025.
CBA started pouring capital into VIB since 2010 with the initial contribution rate of 15% and increasing the ownership rate to 20% a year later. This strategic shareholder plays an important role in VIB's strategic transformation from a business bank, becoming a professional retail bank. According to VIB's latest updates on shareholders holding over 1% of the bank's shares until March 17, 2025, Pyn Elite Fund owns more than 57.65 million VIB shares, equivalent to 1.94%. On March 20, foreign room at VIB was 4.99%. This is also one of the most foreign banks of Vietnamese banking system.
Experts predict foreign capital flows will continue to flow strongly into the Vietnamese banking market. However, according to TS. Le Anh Tuan, Deputy General Director of Dragon Capital, the biggest barrier for foreign investors when they want to join banks is still minimizing 30% of room. Meanwhile, not all banks are intact, so the addition of foreign room is an opportunity for both banks and investors.
Law of property seizure: Clarify the process and powers of credit institutions, avoid abuse of power
Approving the law of the right to seize collateral (BSD) of credit institutions (CI), but the National Assembly deputies suggested that when seized, human rights and human rights must be ensured. In fact, some credit institutions have abused their power, causing disorder and order when seizing the BS.
One of the biggest new points of the Draft Law on Credit Institutions (amended) this time is the lawization of 3 contents of Resolution 42/2017/QH 14, including the law of the right to seize the collateral of the credit institution.
Discussing the Law on Credit Institutions (amended) on the morning of May 29, delegate Thai Quynh Mai Dung (Vinh Phuc) said that the above regulations will contribute to building the upper law culture, accelerating the handling of bad debts, ensuring system safety, clearing resources, supporting growth. Delegates also highly appreciated the draft law that clearly defined the order and procedures for seizing collateral.
Delegate Nguyen Hai Nam (Hue City) also said that the lawization of the right to seize collateral is necessary, complying with the principle of "having a loan with a loan".
Delegate Nguyen Hai Nam (Hue City). |
According to the current regulations, the bank wants to seize the collateral must go through the Court, execute the judgment with the process and procedures very complicated and prolonged. However, according to the Draft Law, credit institutions are entitled to directly seize the BSD if there is an agreement with the borrower in advance, this will contribute to raising the awareness of repayment, accelerating the process of handling bad debts.
Although the draft stipulates clearly the process and procedures for seizing the TSH, delegate Nguyen Hai Nam also proposed that the credit institutions when seizing the TSH must ensure human and human rights.
"In fact, many credit institutions still occur when seizing the assets still abuse their power, causing certain instability of order," the delegate warned.
Nguyen Huu Thong (Binh Thuan) also proposed to consider this regulation carefully because it may violate the legitimate ownership of citizens and recommend that the seizure of collaterals should only be collateral in cases where the guarantee has a clear agreement in the contract, the property is not disputed and is in the legal area seized. At the same time, it is necessary to specify the monitoring mechanism and the right to complain from the guarantee.
Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap delegation) supported the law of property seizure, for borrowing, it must be obliged to pay. If there is a contract between the two sides, when the customer does not pay the debt, the bank has the right to distribute the property forever.
Delegates also suggested that if credit institutions and credit officers are negative, they must be strictly handled according to regulations. Delegates cited over the past time, there have been many cases, collaterals, collaterals, value of only VND 1 billion but bank officials and credit institutions lend up to VND 1.5 billion. When any problem occurs, the asset commercially collected only 1 billion. Therefore, delegates emphasized the strict responsibility of credit institutions and bank officials.
Particularly for the regulations on property distraint which is a collateral, delegate Nguyen Huu Thong said that the draft as a draft is reasonable, but may generate conflicts in the actual execution of the sentence if it does not clearly define the validity of the security contract and the time of priority arising. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement regulations on the principle of determining the priority effectiveness of the security contract and the coordination mechanism between the civil judgment enforcement agency and the credit institution to ensure transparency and avoid disputes.
For refund of collaterals as material evidences and evidence (Article 198C of the draft), delegates agreed because they will help remove the situation of many collateral assets "suspended" due to criminal cases or administrative sanctions, causing stagnation of bad debt process of credit institutions. However, according to the provisions of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and the Criminal Procedure Code, the handling of material evidence is the right of the proceeding agency, not subject to the dominance of third parties; In addition, the draft has not specified the specific term to refund the property after eligibility, easily leading to delay and irresponsibility. Therefore, delegates proposed to review the above regulations to ensure consistency.
Review of the delegate, the Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Thi Hong said that the draft law has turned the three contents of Resolution 42 to protect the legal rights and interests of the lender (CI), which is also the protection of depositors, because the money that the loan bank is actually deposits of the people. In addition, the guarantee of property rights and contract implementation rights is also consistent with the spirit of Resolution 68.
The law of Resolution 42 will help facilitate the handling of bad debts, clear capital flows to be congested, helping the capital flow to be rotated to more borrowers.
"The bad debt increases, it will be difficult for credit institutions to reduce lending interest rates due to increased risk provision.
Facing the opinions of the delegates, it is necessary to clarify the processes, regulations and powers of credit institutions in seizing the TSC, avoiding abuse of power, especially avoiding pushing the borrower (collateral owner) falling into no accommodation, the Governor affirms that the SBV will have specific instructions to require credit institutions to have internal processes, to ensure the seizure of the Basic TSHs must be legal and legal for the right to ensure the legal rights and the legal rights to ensure the legal and legal right side.
Special loan interest rate 0%: Do not worry about abuse when transferring rights from the Prime Minister to the State Bank
Some National Assembly deputies are concerned that transferring the right to grant special loans with 0% interest rates from the Prime Minister to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will create a mechanism of asking for and giving, abuse, etc., but the Governor affirmed that this cannot happen.
Discussing the Law on Credit Institutions (amended) on the morning of May 29, delegate Nguyen Huu Thong (Binh Thuan) said that the transfer of special loan rights of 0% from the Prime Minister to the SBV will clearly show the role of the State Bank in supporting credit institutions (credit institutions) in extremely difficult situation, in order to maintain the safety of the financial and banking system.
Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong. |
However, delegates are concerned that special loans are 0% without attachment to specific applications that can lead to policy abuse, create risks, falsify competitive environments between credit institutions and increase pressure on the national budget.
Therefore, the delegate proposed to specify in the direction: "0% interest rate is only applicable to credit institutions subject to special control, compulsory restructuring or system effects on national financial stability". At the same time, supplementing the monitoring mechanism, publicizing and evaluating the effectiveness of this special loan use.
Delegate Nguyen Thi Suu (Hue City) also proposed to specify the subjects and conditions to avoid abuse, credit institutions that prolong restructuring to borrow interest rate of 0%, detrimental to the budget.
Similarly, delegate Nguyen Hai Nam (Hue) agreed with the decentralization and decentralization of special loans with interest rate of 0%, transferring the authority to decide from the Prime Minister to the SBV. However, delegates said that it is necessary to specify the conditions, mechanisms, procedures, procedures, loan limits, responsibilities for loan management ...
"According to my launch, the need for a special loan and lending is always risky. Loans will affect the room to manage the monetary and capital policy for the economy. Therefore, it is necessary to specify both the responsibilities of individuals and organizations when lending especially?"
Do not worry about the abuse and arbitrary, delegate Nguyen Quang Huan (Binh Duong) said that, in fact, after the Law on Credit Institutions 2024 was issued, the SBV issued Circular 37/2024/TT-NHNN very detailed on principles, subjects, conditions, procedures, etc. However, delegates said that it should be stipulated in the direction: The SBV has the right to lend the special interest rate of 0% but must report to the Government at the nearest meeting.
Reviewing the opinion of the delegate, the Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Thi Hong said that the Law on Credit Institutions 2017 stipulates that the SBV has the authority to decide on special loans. However, the Law on Credit Institutions 2024 transferred the authority to the Prime Minister.
Stemming from the continuous fluctuations of domestic and world credit institutions, along with the continuous development of technology, a mass withdrawal incident may occur at any time, need to be handled quickly. Therefore, in the draft Law on Credit Institutions (amended), the Government proposes to transfer the authority to the State Bank for quick, timely handling and meeting practical needs.
With the worries of the delegates, the Governor affirmed that the special interest rate of 0% was not constantly constantly constantly occurring in very special cases.
The Law on Credit Institutions 2024 has added many regulations to detect early, early intervention, remote intervention with credit institutions. Accordingly, "problematic" credit institutions will be put into an early intervention, requiring shareholders to implement a series of requirements of the management agency. If you fall into an early intervention, in case of lack of liquidity, these credit institutions can still borrow special from the SBV but must be subject to interest rates (do not borrow interest rate 0%).
"The special loan of 0% interest rate only applies to cases where the CI is withdrawal of mass money, because once the situation of withdrawal of mass money can spread the whole system," the Governor said.
The specification of specific conditions for special interest rate of 0%, according to the Governor, is very difficult because the reality in the market each credit institution falls into a different case. In the US, there is a bank operating for 2 consecutive years of profit but the incident of withdrawal of mass money still occurs. The incident of withdrawal of a series of money is sometimes not due to weak credit institutions but sometimes due to rumors, technological incidents ... when this incident occurs, requiring very fast handling.
For special loans without collaterals, according to the Governor, this case only occurs when the CIs were really difficult, "running out" of collateral. The SBV when lending specially always requires the first asset to have collaterals, prioritizing high liquidity assets (contract mortgage contracts of loans of credit institutions, government bonds held by that credit institution ...).
Wave of changes in banking "hot seats"
The change of senior personnel at many banks took place strongly before and after the meeting of the General Meeting of this industry in 2025.
The Board of Directors of Sacombank has passed the decision to resign the position of General Director of Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem (continue to hold the position of Standing Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors) and appoint Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nhung as the General Director. Earlier, Ms. Diem sent a letter of farewell to officials and employees after nearly 8 years in charge of the General Director of Sacombank.
"Today, I said goodbye to the position of General Director - the driver of the boat directly operated to focus on the Board of Directors of the Board of Directors to plan a new direction for Sacombank: Safe - Effective - Sustainable in the post -restructuring period," Diem wrote.
Nearly 8 years under Ms. Diem's management, Sacombank had a spectacular backward when the business targets were impressive. Specifically, in the period of 2016 - 2024, total assets increased by more than 125%, lending increased by 169%, total mobilization increased by 121%, profit before tax increased from VND 156 billion to more than VND 12,270 billion.
Acting General Director - Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nhung is a new factor at Sacombank, is expected to inherit the achievements and lead Sacombank to continue to develop safely - effectively - sustainably, progress firmly on the restructuring journey. With more than 30 years of experience in important areas related to the bank, Mr. Nhung has affirmed its operational capacity through many important positions such as Deputy General Director of Eximbank and General Director of Vietbank.
Meanwhile, at HDBank, recently, Mr. Nguyen Huu Dang was appointed as General Director, and Mr. Pham Quoc Thanh (Acting General Director) will hold the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the term 2022-2027 from May 2025. The adjustment of personnel is part of HDBank's plan (building HD Financial Group model - Multi -purpose, modern banking and finance group and sustainable development under the 5 -year strategy of 2025-2030).
Earlier, on February 25, 2025, the State Bank approved personnel to appoint the position of General Director of LPBank for Mr. Vu Quoc Khanh. On the same day, LPBank's Board of Directors met and agreed to appoint Mr. Khanh as CEO from February 25.
At the extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on March 7, 2025, Vietcombank elected Mr. Le Quang Vinh, Deputy General Director in charge of the Executive Board as a member of the Board of Directors for the term 2023 - 2028, and dismissed Mr. Nguyen My Hao, retired according to the regime. On the same day, this bank also announced the decision to appoint Mr. Le Quang Vinh as General Director, the decision took effect within 5 years from March 7, 2025.
Not only instead of senior personnel in the operating position, some banks also change the "hot" chair of the Chairman of the Board of Directors. At the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in 2025, PGBank elected 5 members of the Board of Directors. The members of the Board of Directors had the first meeting and elected the Chairman of PGBank's Board of Directors, Ms. Cao Thi Thuy Nga and the Head of the Supervisory Board Tran Ngoc Dung.
Trong khi đó, sau Đại hội đồng cổ đông thường niên năm 2025, HĐQT Eximbank nhiệm kỳ 2025-2030 đã họp phiên đầu tiên để bầu các chức danh và phân công nhiệm vụ cụ thể. Theo đó, ông Nguyễn Cảnh Anh tiếp tục giữ chức Chủ tịch HĐQT nhiệm kỳ VIII (2025 - 2030), kiêm Người đại diện theo pháp luật của Eximbank kể từ ngày 29/4/2025; 2 thành viên HĐQT là bà Đỗ Hà Phương và ông Phạm Tuấn Anh; 2 thành viên HĐQT độc lập là ông Hoàng Thế Hưng và bà Phạm Thị Huyền Trang.
Khi Đại hội đồng cổ đông Eximbank năm 2025 diễn ra, thị trường rộ lên thông tin khả năng ông Phạm Tuấn Anh, người đã có 26 năm làm việc tại Gelex, nguyên Chủ tịch HĐQT tại nhiều công ty thành viên trong hệ thống Gelex sẽ ngồi ghế “nóng” Chủ tịch Eximbank. Gelex hiện là cổ đông lớn sở hữu 10% vốn Eximbank.
Ban Điều hành của Eximbank có 7 thành viên, trong đó ông Nguyễn Hoàng Hải giữ chức vụ quyền Tổng giám đốc, cùng 6 Phó tổng giám đốc. Ban Kiểm soát Eximbank nhiệm kỳ VIII (2025 - 2030) đã họp và thống nhất cơ cấu, chức danh Ban Kiểm soát, theo đó, Trưởng ban là ông Nguyễn Trí Trung.
Một chuyên gia lĩnh vực tài chính, chứng khoán cho rằng, biến động trong nhân sự cấp cao tại các ngân hàng có thể ảnh hưởng trực tiếp đến giá cổ phiếu của các nhà băng này. Tuy nhiên, giới phân tích tài chính - chứng khoán nhận định, với việc tập trung vào các chiến lược phát triển bền vững và các hoạt động tái cấu trúc, các ngân hàng sẽ tiếp tục đạt được kết quả tích cực trong những năm tiếp theo.
Nguồn: https://baodautu.vn/nhap-khau-vang-la-thuong-sach-trai-phieu-bat-dong-san-chua-am-lai-d293643.html
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