Thread: Latest news on the Dong!

Originally Posted by bob1940

Thanks guys for the help I have been very busy and hardley have any time today for DD. Sorry but Thanks.
My wife Is very Ill today On top of all her Regular Pains. she Has Now gotten a "Spring/Summer" cold. so now I am being Cut short on my time on here. I will survive , and so will she. Just been a bad week. BOB

Bob,

Hope all gets better very soon.. about the only avenues being talked about now are Ali, and Wells Fargo.

Originally Posted by notazbad2000

Bob, take it easy, take care of your wife and folks like Adster, Neno and Susie will run the show until you can return. Your family is in our prayers.

T

Hope when you get home you find a surprise at your door too, like some of the others do.

nternational Conference on Regionalism and Modernization of Vietnam Vietnamese ministers at a Monday conference said stronger economic and administrative reform would mean sustainable growth, and more liberal policies and incentives would improve the investment environment.

Addressing an international conference on regionalism and the modernization of Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung stressed the Vietnamese Government considered renovation and creative labor as key measures to develop the country’s economy, with a view to protecting the environment, handling social issues and lifting Vietnam out of its poor-country status.
“The Government and people of Vietnam are determined to continue with renewal efforts in all issues related to the investment environment in the country in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular,” he told the two-day forum, co-held by the Ministry of Planning and In­vestment, the Vietnam News Agency and the Asia News Network, an organization grouping 16 Asian newspapers.
Hung said more openings had recently been offered for foreign capital, particularly in the financial sector.
For instance, foreign strategic investors now could raise their stakes in Vietnamese banks from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
Planning and Investment Minister Vo Hong Phuc said Vietnam had paid special attention to strengthening and expanding international cooperation, especially with the regional countries.
Phuc stressed Vietnam needed to maintain high economic growth, continue reform, broaden integration into the global economy, improve the economic and social infrastructure and combine industrialization with modernization.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Bich Dat said in the coming time Vietnam would prioritize foreign investment in such field as producing new materials, energy, high-tech products, and bio-technology.
To date, thousands of businesses from 77 countries and territories have invested as much as US$70 billion in Vietnam, including more than $20 billion in 2006 alone.
The country has established trade relations with more than 200 countries and economies across the world and earned $40 billion from exports last year alone, according to figures released at the forum with more than 500 delegates attending.

Regarding public administrative reform and efforts perfect the legal system, ex-Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said Vietnam has done a good job in such a short time.
However, he added, there still remain some certain snags which are hindering the development of the country, such as cumbersome administrative procedures, overlapping functions within public agencies, unskilled staff, corruption and bureaucracy.
“All these should be ironed out as soon as possible.”
Exploring opportunities
The delegates are scheduled Tuesday meet officials from the HCMC People Committee, Planning and Investment Ministry, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss invest­ment opportunities.
They will visit the new ur­ban center in District 7, Phu My Hung; Amata City in Bien Hoa Industrial Park, Dong Nai province; and the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in Binh Duong province.
Vietnam became the 150th member of the WTO at the beginning of this year which, together with the country's global integration and modernization, has been a magnet for foreign direct investment.
The forum is sponsored by Vietnam Airlines, Vinacapital, Citigroup, and the Phu My Hung Corpora­tion.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/busines...2&newsid=27380

Opportunities, challenges ahead for Vietnam's economy

Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily

Vietnam PM urges speed for first oil refinery construction

Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily

DONG NEWS OUT FOREX VERY SOON RV SOON

Dong Derivatives May Double; Investors Enter Vietnam (Update3)

By Ron Harui and Oliver Biggadike
April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Vietnam's currency is starting to capture the attention of derivatives traders as Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economy accelerates.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. have begun offshore trading in contracts tied to the future value of the currency, the dong. The $50 million of Vietnamese contracts that trade monthly may double in a year, Standard Chartered Plc estimates. More than $1 billion of Chinese yuan forwards change hands daily in an overseas market that didn't exist 15 years ago, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung this year loosened currency controls and announced plans to increase sales of state-owned assets. The new currency market gives investors more opportunities to bet on an economy that expanded at a 7.7 percent annual rate in the first quarter and may grow 8.3 percent this year, according to the Asian Development Bank.
``You can't imagine the amount of money going into Vietnam,'' said Peter Soh, head of foreign exchange in Singapore at DBS, Southeast Asia's biggest bank. ``Everyone thinks Vietnam will follow China's path. The dong must strengthen.''
Vietnam's benchmark stock index is up 24 percent so far in 2007, after gaining 145 percent in 2006, the world's best performance. The economy is the fastest among the six biggest in Southeast Asia.
Investors need derivatives to trade the currency because the government only allows them to buy dong for specific purposes, such as investing in stocks or building factories. The contracts are settled in dollars.
Opening Up
``It's very positive,'' and is in line with government goals of having the currency trade overseas, State Bank of Vietnam Deputy Governor Phung Khac Ke said in an interview in Hanoi. ``It shows international investors are more and more interested in Vietnam.''
The central bank's support coincides with Dung's plans to open the economy. Dung, 57, became prime minister in June and last week approved a $1 billion sale of government bonds, the largest ever. The Communist Party this year told three of the four biggest state banks to prepare for initial public offerings.
Vietnam this year ended a decade-long policy of ``managed devaluation'' that caused the dong to weaken 30 percent. The currency gained 0.7 percent between Nov. 22 and Feb. 21. It has since fallen 0.4 percent to 16,043 per dollar as regulators curbed borrowing for stock market investment.
Three-month non-deliverable forward contracts trade at 16,112.5 to the dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The prices take into account higher interest rates in Vietnam as well as the expectations among traders for dong movements.
`Testing the Water'
The central bank will ``keep the dong stable, in a flexible manner, so that it can help our exports,'' Phung said.
Traders may be ``turned off'' by the central bank's support for gradual depreciation, said Sean Callow, senior currency strategist in Singapore at Sydney-based Westpac Banking Corp. State controls may limit swings in the currency and opportunities to profit.
Investors are still ``testing the water'' in Vietnam, said Amy Auster, head of international economics at Melbourne-based ANZ Bank, which owns stakes in two Vietnamese banks.
Derivatives are financial instruments derived from stocks, bonds, loans, currencies and commodities, or linked to specific events like changes in the weather or interest rates.
Stronger Dong
Trading in the futures may increase once banks introduce a standardized contract for the dong by early June, DBS said in an e-mail. Between 15 and 20 banks in Singapore and five brokers may be interested in the market, DBS said. The central bank doubled the daily limit on dong moves against the dollar to 0.5 percent this year.
``Vietnam is the next market in Asia to look at,'' said Greg Clinton, global head of interest rate derivatives in Singapore at Standard Chartered, a London-based bank that makes two-thirds of its profit in Asia. ``It's booming but it has currency restrictions, and that gives rise to a non-deliverable market.''
Forwards are agreements to buy assets at a later specified date. A non-deliverable forward is typically settled in dollars and involves no physical exchange of other currencies.
Strategists at Standard Chartered and Paris-based BNP Paribas say the currency's retreat is an opportunity to buy. BNP Paribas predicts the currency will gain 1.5 percent by the end of the year to 15,800. Standard Chartered forecasts 15,900.
Foreign Investment
The value of specialized Vietnam equity funds has swelled to about $5 billion, according to John Shrimpton, co-founder of Ho Chi Minh City-based Dragon Capital, Vietnam's biggest fund manager, with $2 billion in assets.
Hanoi-based Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, the second- largest lender, probably will go public this year and have a market value of about $3.5 billion, the biggest in the nation, said Kevin Snowball, a director of PXP Vietnam Asset Management Ltd. in Ho Chi Minh City. He called his valuation ``speculative.''
Pledges of foreign investment, which rose 49 percent to $10.2 billion last year, are gaining after Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in January. Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, California, the world's biggest maker of computer chips, plans to spend $1 billion to build a plant in Vietnam. Osaka-based Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the world's biggest consumer electronics maker, opened two factories in the nation this month.
Exports, Remittances
``It's looking like an enormous volume of investment is destined for the country,'' Shrimpton said. ``There are numbers being bandied around of even $30 billion of approved foreign direct investment being possible for this year.''
Rising exports and remittances by more than 3 million overseas Vietnamese will boost the currency, said Joseph Tan, a Singapore-based economist at Standard Chartered. Foreign exchange reserves climbed to $11.5 billion last year. The government predicts growth of 8.5 percent this year, up from 8.2 percent in 2006.
``Everything is arguing for a stronger currency,'' said Tan. ``It will prove very, very challenging for the central bank if they want to continue to maintain a depreciation.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Ron Harui in Singapore at [email protected] ; Oliver Biggadike in Singapore at [email protected] .
Last Updated: April 23, 2007 06:23 EDT

Vietnam raises bank investment caps

Bangkok Post Breaking News

Hanoi (Agencies) - Vietnam will allow foreign strategic non-bank investors to raise their stake in domestic banks from 10 to 15 per cent, the government said in an online statement Saturday.

However, the change did not apply to foreign banks, whose maximum stake in local banks remains capped at 10 per cent. It also left unchanged the total foreign ownership ceiling of 30 per cent in any Vietnamese bank.

The move comes amid a shake-up in the banking sector of communist Vietnam, a fast growing economy with an under-developed financial sector where only eight per cent of the country's 85 million people have bank accounts.

The new decree would help local banks expand after Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organisation in January rang in a new era of stiff competition against foreign banking giants eager to do business here.

International banks such as London-based HSBC and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) plan to set up new branches and expand services such as credit cards, personal loans and mortgages.

The decree, issued Friday and published Saturday, said Vietnam would allow the "stake of a strategic foreign investor to increase from 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the legal capital of a Vietnamese commercial bank."

However, it also said that "the stake of a foreign financial institution ... cannot exceed 10 per cent of the legal capital in a domestic commercial bank."

Under the new rules, the prime minister can, in special cases, raise the share limit for a foreign non-bank strategic investor to 20 per cent, while non-strategic investors are limited to a five-per cent stake.

The decree did not define who is considered a strategic investor and did not say when the changes would take effect.

Several foreign banks have recently bought 10-per cent stakes in Vietnamese banks under deals that give them a market foothold while transferring capital and technical and managerial expertise to their local partners.

BNP Paribas has tied up with Orient Commercial Bank, ANZ joined with Sacombank, while regional giants Standard Chartered and HSBC partnered Asia Commercial Bank and Techcombank.

News Archive 2007
HSBC launches locally incorporated bank in China
02 April 2007

HSBC News Archive 2007

HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited, the locally incorporated unit of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, has started operations throughout mainland China. Its registered capital of RMB8 billion is believed to be one of the largest of any of the foreign banks undergoing local incorporation in China.

Moody's has assigned a credit rating on HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited of local and foreign-currency deposit ratings of A2 (long-term) and Prime-1 (short term), with a positive outlook on the deposit ratings. The ratings are the highest possible for a locally incorporated bank in China.

The HSBC Group's total investment in China exceeds US$5 billion, including its organic operations and its investments in Chinese financial institutions. Pre-tax profit from mainland China operations including investments more than doubled in 2006 to US$708 million, making China the single-largest country contributor to the Group's Asia-Pacific earnings excluding Hong Kong.

The new entity currently has more than 3,000 staff, up from the 2,700 employed at HSBC's China operations at year-end 2006. The Bank has the largest network of any foreign bank in China with 35 outlets, comprising 14 branches and 21 sub-branches, plus an ATM network of more than 80 machines across the country.

HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited is a 100% owned subsidiary of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, which is in turn a 100% owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc.

Vincent Cheng, Chairman of HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited and its parent, said: "Today we open a new chapter in the Bank's 142-year history in China and underline HSBC's long-term commitment to the country. Local incorporation supports our two-pronged China strategy, increasing our ability to achieve organic expansion and creating greater opportunities for co-operation with our strategic partners. My combined role as Chairman of both the new entity and its parent company illustrates the importance we place on the China market as part of the Group's overall strategy for the Asia-Pacific region."

Richard Yorke, President and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited, said: "This is a historic milestone for the Bank and will allow us to continue to expand both our geographic reach and the product range we can offer to our customers. We are ready to roll out renminbi services to domestic individuals upon approval from our regulators and will look to open new service outlets in the near future. More than 1,000 new staff will be recruited to support our expansion plans this year."

HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited has incorporated the previous mainland China offices of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. The latter retains a branch in Shanghai solely to conduct limited foreign currency wholesale business.

Media enquiries to Dan Dan Chang on [86] (21) 3888 1807

HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited
HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited started operations in Shanghai in April 2007 as a wholly-foreign-owned bank solely owned by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. HSBC Bank (China) incorporated the previous mainland China offices of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.

HSBC China's network currently comprises 35 outlets, including 14 branches (in Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xiamen and Xi'an) and 21 sub-branches (in Beijing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin and Xiamen). HSBC China has obtained regulatory approval to set up a branch in Shenyang, which is scheduled to be opened within the year. HSBC China's headquarter is based in Pudong, Shanghai.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
Established in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding and a principal member of the HSBC Group. With around 10,000 offices in 82 countries and territories and assets of US$1,861 billion as at 31 December 2006, the HSBC Group is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.

Vietnam's government bond coupon rises to 7.15 pct

The annual coupon on Vietnam's government bond issue edged up to 7.15 percent this week, from 7 percent in early April and a record low of 6.5 percent on debt sold in March, the Hanoi stock exchange said Wednesday.

The over-the-counter market said four investors bought VND300 billion (US$18.6 million) worth of five-year government bonds on par with their VND100,000 face value on Tuesday, after bidders priced the debt at between 7 percent and 7.5 percent.

At the previous auction on April 10, a total of VND700 billion ($41 million) worth of five-year government bonds were sold to four investors at 7 percent, up from a record low coupon of 6.5 percent at the previous auction on Marh 26.

The government has raised VND2.46 trillion ($153 million) worth of five-year bonds at four auctions on the Hanoi Securities Trading Center so far this year, or 61.5 percent of the debt on offer, with coupons ranging between 6.5 percent and 7.62 percent.

The Hanoi stock exchange also said it planned to hold another bond auction to raise VND400 billion ($25 million) in May.

The Finance Ministry plans to raise VND22 trillion ($1.37 billion) worth of government bonds between March and year-end to invest in transport and irrigation projects.

The debt terms will range from five years to 15 years.

Apart from selling government bonds, the Hanoi market also auctioned debt issued by the Vietnam Development Bank and urban bonds issued by the Ho Chi Minh City government.

Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily

PepsiCo Vietnam moves into potato chip market
PepsiCo Vietnam will cultivate high-quality potatoes in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong to serve its novel production of snack foods.
The company plans to import six high-yield potato varieties from China and Australia to grow on its 100 ha in the provincial town of Da Lat and Duc Trong and Lac Duong districts.

PepsiCo Vietnam has recently kicked off the construction of a snack factory in southern Binh Duong province.

The new factory, which costs nearly US$30 million, will turn out more than 100 different products under its Lay’s trademark.



Vietnam latest news - Thanh Nien Daily