VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) has begun using its right to seize mortgaged assets given to it by Resolution 42 on settling bad debts. 

Sai Gon One Tower is the asset mortgaged for bad debt worth VND7 trillion that Maritime Bank and Dong A Bank transferred to VAMC in April 2015.

According to Doan Van Thang, general director of VAMC, this is the biggest debt with mortgaged assets that VAMC has ever bought.

After seizing Sai Gon One Tower, VAMC on September 26 announced on its website that the individuals and institutions which have rights and interests related to assets need to contact VAMC within 30 days to deal with several problems.

After the seizure, VAMC will have the assets evaluated and auctioned off to collect debt.

Resolution 42 has given more power to VAMC to accelerate the process of bad debt settlement.

VAMC has also announced it is seeking price evaluation enterprises to appraise the bad debt and the mortgaged assets transferred to it by Sacombank. The mortgaged asset comprises eight land plots.

VAMC now holds many assets which are collateral for the bad debts it has taken over from commercial banks. However, it has not been easy to sell the assets to collect debts.

In early June 2017, VAMC announced the seventh auction of a hotel in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, which previously belonged to Tan Thanh Investment, Construction & Production, at the starting price of VND148 billion. The previous auctions failed.

In early September 2017, VAMC put machines, equipment and workshop on 44,814 square meters of land into the seventh auction. These were collateral for the debt transferred by VietinBank.

Thang said there are assets which still cannot be sold, though they have been put into auction 10 times, possibly because the assets are overvalued. In the next auction, the starting price of the assets will be lowered.

Thang is optimistic about the sale of mortgaged assets in the time to come. He said as the real estate market has warmed up, tsales would be easier because of higher demand. 

However, an analyst disagreed with Thang, saying the real estate market has been ‘deforested’, but is still not warm enough.

According to Nguyen Tien Dong, president of VAMC, the company will buy debts with cash in the fourth quarter of 2017. The problem is that VAMC’s capital is still modest. To have money, VAMC will have to issue bonds.

VAMC is also planning to buy debts under the mode of deferred payments.

The decision has been applauded by commercial banks which prefer cash to VAMC special bonds.

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H. Tu