More than VND33.5 trillion ($1.4 billion) worth of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in both stocks and bonds were poured into Vietnam in the last three quarters of the year. 

The newly released World Bank’s “Migrating to Opportunity” report shows that in 2015, ASEAN countries received a total $62 billion worth of overseas remittances. 

Most commercial banks responding to a survey by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said their business performance had seen considerable improvement in the third quarter, and they expect high profits this year.

With total initial investment capital of VND66 million, the owner of a bitcoin mining machine can recoup capital after six months. He uses a mineral solution that helps cool the machine, eliminate noise and increase efficiency.

With attractive incentives from the Government, the opportunity for foreign investors to own 100 percent of a Vietnamese bank has never been better. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Easing the lending interest rate further by 0.5 percent and obtaining a high credit growth rate of 21-22 percent as instructed by the PM will not be an easy task.

VietNamNet Bridge - After separating from HSBC, Techcombank plans to spare no room for foreign investors, and VP Bank, which has been prospering in the last four years, is no longer eager to seek foreign partners.

Though bitcoins are not recognized as legal currency in Vietnam, Vietnamese are still rushing to buy computers with strong configuration to mine bitcoins, leading to a sharp increase in computer imports.

VietNamNet Bridge - Many Vietnamese have bought properties in the US, but this has not generated cash flow from Vietnam to the US, according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Injecting money in non-core business fields, experimenting in real estate projects, and having a bad financial foundation are the three most significant risks facing the business environment in Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge - Hundreds of thousands of retail points in Japan are accepting payments in bitcoin for both online and on-the-spot transactions. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Businesses in the finance and banking sector continued to prosper in the first six months of the year.

Economists have warned that many problems may arise if VND700 trillion is pumped into the national economy to raise the credit growth rate to 22 percent and obtain 6.7 percent GDP growth rate this year.

VietNamNet Bridge - The decline in remittances in 2016 and the slowdown in the first half of this year has caused concern among economists.

The net interest margin (NIM) of Vietnamese banks is lower than that of other regional banks, while financial reports show that the business performance of the banks depends heavily on credit.

The Government Office last week sent a written document to the central bank governor, referring to the mobilisation of idle gold and foreign currency sources from the people.

The first-instance hearing of Ha Van Tham, former chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Ocean Bank, and his accomplices will reopen on August 28, according to the Hanoi People’s Court. 

The finance reports from the first half of the year show that Vietnam has three banks with combined total assets exceeding VND1,000 trillion, or $50 billion, while 11 banks have total assets of over $10 billion.

VietNamNet Bridge - The State Bank of Vietnam is determined to get rid of cross-ownership status at banks, but  the achievements remain modest.

BTC-E, a large virtual currency trading floor sudden ‘closure for maintenance’ has  caused anxiety among many Vietnamese investors about the fate of their billions of dong stuck at the floor.