Business

The State Bank of Vietnam has conducted surprise checks on 11 banks and fined some or all of them for violations of corporate bond investment regulations. It did not release the names of offenders, merely saying in a release that inspections and fines ensure banks comply with the laws and …

The economic situation is causing retailers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to relinquish their leases, according to property consultancies and analysts. In the last two months many malls and commercial podiums in HCMC have been reporting higher vacancy rates after tenants moved out. The vacancy rates are lower …

Financially struggling real estate companies will enjoy an extension of principal and interest payments, as well as delayed debt restructuring, thanks to a government resolution taking effect Sunday. Also under the resolution, which aims to solve real estate problems and bolster the market, liquid property projects that meet people’s real-world …

Vietnamese lender VPBank is expected to sign a deal with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group later this month to sell a 15% stake worth some US$1.4 billion to the Japanese bank. The Vietnamese bank will sell over 1 billion shares to SMBC Consumer Finance Co. under Sumitomo Mitsui, for VND32,000-$33,000 …

The current prices of durian in the Mekong Delta have fallen up to 50% against early last month, and are poised to drop further because the fruit is in season now. Surveys at orchards in Tien Giang Province and Can Tho City show that the fruit is selling for VND90,000-VND140,000 …

Seven debt collecting companies in Ho Chi Minh City have recently been investigated and exposed for threatening and blackmailing debtors. After Tham of Hanoi borrowed VND100 million ($4,223.87) on securities and financial company Mirae Asset’s app last year, but was unable to continue repayment after paying VND24 million, debt collectors …

Farmers in Vietnam’s main pomelo growing area, the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, are earning no profits from the fruit since prices have fallen sharply over the last two years. Traders have been paying farmers VND15,000-21,000 (US$0.6-0.9) per kilogram during the period, down from VND40,000-50,000 in previous years. Earlier …

Vietnam’s fourth-largest property developer Novaland wants to increase its capital by VND29.25 trillion (US$1.24 billion) by issuing 1.95 billion shares to existing shareholders, and another 975 million in private placement. Novaland’s existing shareholders would receive the new shares with a 1:1 ratio at a the selling price of at least …

Suppliers to Dutch chip-making machines giant ASML Holding NV are considering building plants in Southeast Asia instead of China amid political tensions between Beijing and the West, according to two sources and documents seen by Reuters. Officials from a dozen tech companies are set to visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore …

A 50-year-old Russian tourist has been detained in Thailand for overstaying his visa for 188 days on Koh Pha Ngan Island around 500 kilometers from Bangkok. He is awaiting deportation, the local police were quoted as saying Friday by news portal The Thaiger. His arrest came as part of a …