The State Bank of Vietnam to sell US dollars to credit institutions

Hanoi (VNA) – The State Bank of Vietnam will sell US dollars to credit
institutions reporting shortages, in a move announced on Dec. 1 aimed at stabilising
the foreign exchange market.

The move followed widespread complaints by enterprises that they were unable to buy
dollars from banks or that banks were charging beyond the official exchange rate, as
well as slapping extra fees on the transactions.

Under the new State Bank rules, banks which have a demand for foreign currency in
excess of 5 percent of the bank’s capacity would be able to buy from the State
Bank of Vietnam on credit.

Priority would be given to enterprises which require foreign currency to import raw
materials needed for production.

The State Bank also said that the general directors of credit institutions would be
held responsible for monitoring foreign exchange transactions within their
institutions and would be legally liable and subject to penalty for any violations
of the law.

State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Van Giau said this week that the US dollar
on deposit by enterprises in the nation’s banks totalled about 10.3 billion USD.

The central bank this week also asked credit institutions to report total deposits
and total outstanding loans to the Foreign Exchange Management Department no later
than December 4.

To ease the perceived dollar shortage, the Prime Minister has also ordered the major
State-owned firms PetroVietnam, the national oil and gas group, and Vinacomin, the
national mining giant, both of which bring in large quantities of dollars from the
export of natural resources, to sell dollars to the central bank.-Enditem