VIETNAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Liên Đoàn Thương Mại Và Công Nghiệp Việt Nam
Sat, Jan 09, 2021, 08:50:00
Bank credit is estimated to grow at 13-14 percent in 2021 as the economy revives post-Covid-19, according to brokerage SSI Securities Corporation.
The figure is higher than in 2020 (11-12 percent) and similar to the rates seen in 2018 and 2019.
It said the forecast is based on factors like the successful development of a Covid-19 vaccine and the revival in international trade, production and consumption.
The demand for credit is also expected to increase since loan interest rates remain low and banks are considering loosening lending standards.
Besides, with the government tightening the issuance of corporate bonds, enterprises are expected to depend more on bank credit than in the past.
The Vietnamese government has issued a new decree that effectively limits companies to no more than two bond issuances a year.
They may now only issue bonds six months after the previous issue is completed, and an issuance must be completed within 90 days from the date of public announcement of the issue, the recently issued decree, which comes into effect from September 1, stipulates.
Transfers of corporate bonds are also restricted now to 100 times in the first year, though transactions between professional securities companies or done on the order of a court and inheritance do not count toward this limit.
Consumer credit too is anticipated to grow again after a gloomy 2020, when it accounted for just 1.6 percent of total loan outstanding as banks, fearful of bad debts as a result of Covid-19, focused on debt recovery and tightened lending criteria.
Credit growth between January 1 and December 21 hit 10.14 percent, a slower rate compared to previous years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said deputy governor Dao Minh Tu.
