Economy and commerce
Banking and financial services
Lao central bank to stop direct lending
The Bank of Laos has proposed the postponement of direct lending to new state investment projects as part of measures to safeguard the banking and financial system of the country, according to the central bank governor. Mr Somphao Phaysith made the proposal at a meeting between ...
ANZ Bank receives Myanmar licence just ahead of deadline
The Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group has become the last of nine foreign banks to receive a branch licence to operate in Myanmar. The Central Bank of Myanmar’s licencing committee announced it had awarded a licence to ANZ on 29 September, just days ahead ...
Asian currencies set for worst quarter in 17 years
Asian currencies are headed for their biggest quarterly loss since the Asian financial crisis, having been battered by China’s surprise devaluation of the yuan and the prospect of a US interest-rate increase. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-active currencies outside of ...
Lao debt accumulates to 29,107b, repayment measures outlined
At least 29,107 billion kip of debt has been registered so far and many provinces have not yet reported their figures, an official report has showed. The debt was accumulated by 20 central state departments, four provinces and the capital of Vientiane, Minister of Finance Dr ...
Vietnam scraps ceiling rate on corporate dollar deposits
Vietnam’s central bank said late on 27 September it was abolishing the interest rate ceiling on dollar deposits offered by banks to organisations and companies, in an attempt to avoid dollar hoarding. Keep reading ...
Thai banks face biggest default since 1997 crisis
Sahaviriya Steel’s UK steel business has failed with defaults on 50 billion baht of loans from Thai banks, biggest default for Thai banks since 1997 Asian crisis. Keep reading ...
Vietnam's Military Bank sees 2016 net profit growing 7-10 pct
Military Bank, Vietnam’s sixth biggest bank by market value, has cut bad debt to 1.8 percent of total loans, and its 2016 net profit could grow by 7 to 10 percent, its vice chairman said on 24 September. Vietnam’s banks, once blighted by crippling levels of ...
Borrowing costs in Vietnam remain too high despite very low inflation: businesses
High borrowing costs have eroded profitability of many companies in Vietnam this year, a business group said, calling for a rate cut and better access to loans. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said at a meeting in Hanoi on 22 September that 60 percent of ...
Electricity of Vietnam to sell all shares in ABBank: report
State-owned Electricity of Vietnam has announced that it will sell all of its 16.2 percent stake in An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank next month, news website VnEconomy reported on 22 September. Nearly 81.6 million shares will be put up for auction on 14 October, with ...
Myanmar Central Bank official responds to NLD’s call for greater autonomy
To encourage an autonomous Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) is one of the priorities outlined by the National League for Democracy (NLD) in its draft economic policies, but officials say they are already on the right track. The draft will likely be used as a basis ...
