Vietnamplus

Speculative funds continued to flee the Philippines in September amid a spate of geopolitical issues which affected the flow of hot money globally.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on October 16 that the city-state’s economy will hopefully grow slightly in 2019.

Singapore and the US signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure finance and debt market development in Washington DC 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.

Singapore on October 14 decided to ease monetary policy for the first time in more than three years as the national economy has narrowly avoided recession in the third quarter of 2019.

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.

Thai Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has said the ministry is pushing for cuts in tariffs on branded products to foster tourism sector – a key economic sector of the county.

The banking sector is waiting for the State Bank of Việt Nam to allow the use of electronic know your customer/client (e-KYC).

Commercial banks are expected to lower lending interest rates after getting more support to cut input costs from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s agencies this week.

Experts suggested firms use more derivative instruments, such as futures and forward contracts, to minimise exchange rate risks when they can no longer borrow the US dollar from commercial banks, starting early this month.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s exchange rate management policy has been appropriate and effective, creating benefits for the economy and confidence for the market.

Credit has been provided for production and business activities and the priority fields while loans for high-risk areas have been further tightened so far this year, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reported.

Vietnam’s credit growth has expanded by 8.4 percent from the end of 2018 so far this year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has reported.

As Singapore continues to see sluggish trade and growth data, with core inflation at a three-year low, economists forecast the central bank to ease monetary policy in its upcoming review and provide some support to the economy.

Social policy credit has lifted more than 2 million ethnic minority households out of poverty as of August 31, said Director General of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) Duong Quyet Thang at a conference in Hanoi on September 25.

Indonesia on September 22 launched an electronic driver’s license that can also function as a digital payment card and record traffic violations by its owner.

Indonesia’s central bank (BI) slashed interest rates on September 19 for the third month in a row as Southeast Asia's biggest economy is affected by the US-China trade war and slow global growth.

With a positive macroeconomic background at the moment, interest rates will basically stay steady until the end of the year due to excessive liquidity and proper credit growth, according to an official from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) on September 17 inaugurated the headquarters in Vientiane of its affiliate VietinBank Laos.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has warned local commercial banks to tighten control of loans that use savings books as collateral to ensure the safety of the banking system.