VietNamNet Bridge – The key objective of restructuring the agriculture sector is to raise the income of 15 million farmers, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat told Viet Nam Economics Times.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese customers are not loyal to retail banks, as 65–77 per cent of surveyed people were ready to close their banking accounts and change to another bank.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Economists have urged banks to look to foreign sources to settle their bad debts as Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) has limited funds and can issue special bonds only.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Difficulties remain, yet there is reason for optimism, Nguyen Duc Kien, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Economics Committee, told Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economics Times).

 Ministry rejects fuel price hike proposal; Petrolimex’s announced losses turn out to be profits; Vinafood 2’s loose management at fault for massive losses; Bentley unveils official dealership in Vietnam

It is clear that the current bank merger & acquisition (M&A) trend will lead to a sharp cut in the number of banks in the system. But the quality of the banks after the M&A remains questionable.

At the April press conference of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on Friday, the non-performing loans of the banking sector by the end of February were announced at VND122 trillion ($5.8 billion), accounting for 3.86 percent of the total debt balance.

VietNamNet Bridge – The National Financial Supervisory Commission has reported that the level of non-performing debt on the books of Vietnam’s banks has sunk to around 9 percent.

 HCM City refunds 1.4 mln USD of VAT for foreigners; VAMC announces interest rate for purchased bad debts; Imports of under-9-seat-cars soar; Toyota expands its recall campaign; Land rentals likely to rise

 VietNamNet Bridge – International institutions are remaining doubtful about the ability of the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) to settle bad debts.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC) has purchased nearly VND4 trillion (US$190.4 million) in bad debts from 10 credit institutions in the first quarter of this year,

 VietNamNet Bridge – The watchdog agencies are considering laying the “rails” for VAMC (the Vietnam Asset Management Company) to go ahead to settle the bad debts it buys from credit institutions.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam has remained relatively robust amidst the turmoil in international financial markets, HSBC has said in a regular monthly report.

The State Securities Commission (SSC) and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) have urged commercial banks to list their shares on the bourse to make it easier to control the banks’ finance situation.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The economy wraps up the grim year 2013 in stability, with many major economic indicators showing robust growth, but stagnation remains a major concern for 2014 and the years that follow.

VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly half a year since the Vietnam Asset Management Company was established to restructure the Vietnamese banking system’s bad debts, VAMC chairman Dang Thanh Binh spoke with VIR about the company’s achievements

 Holiday season drives prices up; VAMC eats up bad debts from credit institutions; SBV to continue gold auctions; New house tax to fund infrastructure; Exports need quality breakthroughs; New shipbuilding firm to begin operations

 Banks are being questioned over the quality of the credit checks after it was revealed that the Truong Ngan Company owed debts to seven different banks while using the same collateral.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese banks see bad debts increasing, but all of them have got higher capital safety. Meanwhile, the commercial banks believed to have high capital safety are the ones which may lose capital easily.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Though recognizing the efforts by the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), experts have pointed out that VAMC is not experienced enough to deal with bad debts.