Tens of trillions of VND is expected to be poured into Vietnamese banks by foreign investors in 2019 and 2020 as negotiations on many deals are running smoothly.

If Ocean Bank is sold to foreign investors, this will mark a new milestone in the restructuring process and pave the way for more foreign investors to come to Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge - Experts earlier this year all predicted that there would be a high number of M&A deals in the banking sector this year. However, this has not occurred.

A debate ensued in the National Assembly on Thursday morning on the controversial exemption of criminal liability for those in charge of restructuring financially unstable banks.

Major local banks see top tier leadership changes as the sector has undergone more than three years of restructuring. This trend is forecasted to ramp up even further when the process enters its final stages. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Three banks with no dong have new CEOs and many other banks have appointed their CEOs. The changes in the banking sector have never been so big.

VietNamNet Bridge - By 2020, Vietnam will have to open the market in at least 70 percent of the banking and financial services to bankers in ASEAN.

While foreign finance institutions believe that Vietnamese bank shares prices are the most expensive in frontier markets, Vietnamese shareholders are distressed that bank share prices have not increased as expected.

VietNamNet Bridge - The bank restructuring process has been going on for four years, but the proposals on tax incentives for banks are still pending.

Many commercial banks, which have or plan to make merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in their restructuring process, have asked for the state’s financial support, saying that tax reductions will help them overcome difficulties.

VietNamNet Bridge - Though foreign banks have expanded their networks and presence in Vietnam, they still have a modest market share in Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge - In many people’s thoughts, restructuring banks means reducing the number of banks. How many banks will there be in Vietnam when the bank restructuring process is completed?

VietNamNet Bridge - Big changes have happened to the Vietnamese banking sector over the last five years, with 2015 being the last year for the banking restructuring process, which began in 2011.

VietNamNet Bridge - Analysts believe Merger & Acquisition (M&A) deals will be quiet for the rest of the year, while deals under negotiation will complete necessary procedures.

VietNamNet Bridge - Economists believe that Vietnam’s emerging economy needs a sufficient number of commercial banks to satisfy people’s demand, and that more than 30 banks is ‘more than enough’.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vice Chairman of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee Nguyen Duc Kien spoke with Nhan Dan (People) newspaper about the restructuring of the banking sector and solutions to deal with bad debts.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Small banks merging into bigger banks is becoming a growing trend in Vietnam. This is what the State Bank wants to see to implement its plan to halve the number of commercial banks after three years.

VietNamNet Bridge – An impending merger between Southern Bank and Sacombank is the latest move in Vietnam’s banking restructuring process.  

 US$2 billion to build Vinh Tan thermal power plant; Economic experts expect a modestly positive 2014; Steel exports look beyond US$2 billion in 2013; Auto sales to pick up at year-end; FDI to Vietnam sharply increases