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Banks are reporting better profits for the third quarter this year, with Vietcombank leading the way despite the predicted slowdown in credit growth.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection Men Sam An has visited the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) in Hanoi as part of her going visit to Vietnam from October 14 to 19.

The Software Alliance (BSA) is cooperating with Thailand’s police to carry out a campaign to reduce the use of illegal software in the workplace by the end of 2019.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always opens its door to foreign enterprises in his speech at the Vietnam Business Summit 2019 held in Hanoi on October 16.

Vietnam’s credit growth is slowing and can fall behind the central bank’s target of 14 percent for 2019, causing concerns that it could make it difficult for businesses to access bank loans during the remaining months of the year.

The stability of the regulatory system is key to luring foreign investment into Vietnam and the rights and benefits of foreign investors must be assured even when policies are changed, officials and executives have said.

Nearly 9.6 trillion VND (417.3 million USD) worth of bad debts were handled each month from August 15, 2017 to August 31, 2019, or 4.7 trillion VND higher than that during the 2012 – 2017 period.

The administration of Ho Chi Minh City and the British Business Group Vietnam (BBGV) held a conference on October 14 to seek ways for removing difficulties facing British investors.

Vietnam has been named one of the rising stars of global trade with the sixth position among the top 20 markets with the greatest potential for future trade growth, according to a recent report by Standard Chartered.

Vietnam is expected to attract more investors as its economy is developing at a stable rate, with GDP growth of 7 percent.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance (MoF) has said that Moody's Investors Service’s decision to place Vietnam’s Ba3 rating under review for downgrade due to delayed payments on an obligation of the Vietnamese Government was improper as the Government has never delayed meeting debt repayment obligations.

Vietcombank is heading to Australia and could open for business in Sydney within the next 24 months.

Vietnam must identify, implement and build management models for sharing economy applications in the country’s major sectors such as banking and transport to ensure a fair business playground and protect all involved parties, said economics experts at a conference on the sharing economy in Hanoi on October 10.

Experts from the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) have forecast that economic growth will reach 7.26 percent for the fourth quarter and 7.05 percent for 2019, compared to 6.6 – 6.8 percent as assigned by the National Assembly.

The medium-term outlook for the Vietnamese economy is broadly positive despite persistent downside risks, the World Bank (WB) said in its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released on October 10.

Most domestic credit institutions and foreign banks’ branches in Vietnam expect their business performance in 2019 to be better than last year despite the predicted slowdown in credit growth.

The development of technologies such as 4G, 5G, internet of things and artificial intelligence has rapidly changed the healthcare sector’s landscape globally, including in Vietnam, with more organisations adopting digitisation, according to experts.

Most domestic credit institutions and foreign banks’ branches in Vietnam expect their business performance in 2019 to be better than last year despite the predicted slowdown in credit growth, according to the State Bank of Vietnam's latest survey released late last week.

With cash still being the main payment mode, a youthful demographic and growing smartphone penetration, Vietnam offers great opportunities for fintech developers, experts said.

Brokerages proposed different scenarios for the movement of VN-Index from now until the end of the year depending on the world's economic growth prospects.