VietNamNet Bridge - Most commercial banks have announced plans to pay big dividends, but there are some banks which have not paid dividends over the last 10 years.

VietNamNet Bridge - After a quiet period, M&As have once again become a hot topic of discussion at banks’ annual shareholders’ meetings. Several big deals are expected to be completed this year.

VietNamNet Bridge - Issuing international bonds means borrowing foreign capital at high interest rates. If capital cannot be used effectively, this will increase the public debt burden.

VietNamNet Bridge - IFC (the International Finance Corporation) has put forward a plan to issue dong-linked international bonds which will be transacted in US dollars in the international market.

VietNamNet Bridge - In bankers’ eyes, 2018 is the time to try to attract foreign capital to boost growth. However, they will have to scramble and compete for investors.

VietNamNet Bridge - While the state treasury has plenty of money, the national economy still thirsts for capital. 

VietNamNet Bridge - As the stock market has bounced back, state-owned corporations are speeding up divestment from banks, but the process has been slower than anticipated. 

Stable inflation rates have helped attract depositors. However, the recent incidents of depositors losing money at some banks, plus the rise of many attractive investment channels, will divert cash flow from banks.

Foreign investors are rushing to pour money into Vietnam’s banks which see a brighter future as the warming of the real estate market will help them collect debts from mortgaged loans.

VietNamNet Bridge - Peer to Peer, or P2P lending, became more popular over the last year with the establishment of many online lending companies.

VietNamNet Bridge - While some commercial banks report increased mobilized capital, other banks have had to raise deposit interest rates, demonstrating the divide in the banking sector, analysts say.

VietNamNet Bridge - The silence of the forex market in 2017 has been broken as the USD appreciated right after the Tet holiday.

Investors, impressed by banks’ high profits, have been rushing to buy bank shares, pushing prices up.

VietNamNet Bridge - Bitcoin holders are feeling anxious as the price of the cryptocurrency has dropped dramatically.

VietNamNet Bridge - Contrary to all predictions, overseas remittances to Vietnam in 2017 increased by 10.4 percent, estimated at over $10 billion.

Together with high profits of trillions of VND at the end of 2017, domestic commercial banks reportedly hired thousands of employees to boost their performances and seize new opportunities.

The lack of a common voice among managers, the changes in business strategies, and the weak role on the board of directors are some of the reasons foreign shareholders have left Vietnamese banks.

VietNamNet Bridge - As the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) pursues a stable dong/dollar exchange rate policy, the depreciation of the US dollar in the world market will also lead to the weakening of the dong.

VietNamNet Bridge - Most of the ICOs (initial coin offering) carried out in Vietnam have been fraudulent and the rings organizing these ICOs have been discovered by police.

VietNamNet Bridge - International institutions have given positive comments about the operation of the Vietnamese banking sector.