Bank deposit interest rates are relatively attractive as the national economy has not fully recovered. Many enterprises are keeping big amounts of cash instead of pouring money into production and business. 

The financial report of The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World) showed that as of the end of June, the amount of cash and bank deposits had surged to VND24.4 trillion, while inventories had decreased sharply. This was a record high amount of cash for the retailer.

Of this, VND20.98 trillion have been deposited at banks for short term to get interest rates.

The report also showed that The Gioi Di Dong’s revenue from financial activities in the first half of the year had reached VND945 billion, most of which came from deposit interest rates, or 50 percent higher than the same period last year.

The interest has contributed to high profits of the retailer, which has cut selling prices and struggled to retain market share amid weak demand for non-essential goods.

Binh Son Refinery (BSR) reported that total cash and bank deposits had increased to VND29.23 trillion by the end of June, or nearly 40 percent of the company’s total assets. The deposits brought interest of VND763 billion in the first half of the year.

FPT, the largest Vietnamese information technology (IT) corporation, had VND26.688 trillion in cash and bank deposits as of the end of the second quarter, an increase of 50 percent over the quarter before, which accounted for 44 percent of total assets. 

The amount of money brought VND753 billion in interest in the first half, or 17 percent of pre-tax profit. 

However, the corporation had to spend VND360 billion for bank loan interest. As of the end of the second quarter, its total debts had reached VND19.5 trillion, an increase of 1.7 times compared with the end of the first quarter.

Just days before the kickoff of the Long Thanh International Airport project, Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) reported that it had VND31.27 trillion deposited at banks by the end of the second quarter (nearly half of ACV’s assets). The deposits brought VND828 billion in the first half.

Meanwhile, it owed VND11.364 trillion, most of which are long-term debts.

However, these figures are insignificant compared with Bao Viet’s. The insurer has VND113.26 trillion in cash and short-term deposits, and VND83.267 trillion worth of investments. In total, it had VND120.4 trillion in bank deposits.

In the first half of 2023, Bao Viet’s revenue from financial investments reached VND6.737 trillion, a sharp increase over the VND4.787 trillion of the same period last year. This is a major item which brought profit of VND933 billion and offset a loss of VND870 billion from insurance activities and other expenses.

Many other businesses have reported sharp increases in cash and bank deposits. The No2 position belongs to PV GAS.

PV GAS has VND40.767 trillion in cash, of which VND28.268 trillion of deposits are bringing profits. Cash accounts for nearly half of total assets of the enterprise, which is VND3.9 trillion higher than in the first quarter.

However, GAS also has accounts payable of VND20.796 trillion.

The other enterprises with big amounts of cash and deposits by the end of the first half included Hoa Phat (VND36.101 trillion); Vingroup (VND23.011 trillion); Sabeco (VND22.381 trillion); Vinamilk (VND20.65 trillion); and Vinhomes (VN9.085 trillion).

Of these, 15 large enterprises had VND430.2 trillion, or $18 billion as of the end of June 2023. Of these, one enterprise had over VND100 trillion (Bao Viet), nine had over VND20 trillion (PV GAS, Hoa Phat, ACV, Binh Son Refinery, FPT, The Gioi Di Dong, VIngroup, Sabeco, Vinamilk), three had more than VND10 trillion (Viettel Global, Petrolimex, VEAM), and two had below VND10 trillion (Vinhomes, Novaland).

Despite the deposit interest rate decreases, enterprises pocketed big money from deposits. However, the interest did not contribute to enterprises’ profit growth.

Most enterprises reported decreases in profits because of poor business performance. The real estate market is stagnant and oil prices are decreasing. Steel sales are going slowly. Retail demand is weak.

Manh Ha