DealOrBuyDinar
04-23-2007, 10:12 AM
Just another indication to me that the government of Vietnam wants to encourage foreign investment as they work towards becoming a fully operational market economy.
-Ken
Vietnam to ease rules on bank stakes
Reuters
Published: April 22, 2007
HANOI: Vietnam is to raise the ceiling on the stake a strategic, nonbank foreign investor can have in a domestic bank to 15 percent from 10 percent, the government said over the weekend, in a bid to expand the banking sector.
The ownership limit for a foreign bank in a Vietnamese bank remains unchanged at 10 percent and the total foreign ownership limit in a domestic bank will also remain at 30 percent, the government said in a statement Saturday.
In exceptional cases, the government could allow a strategic, nonbank foreign investor to own up to 20 percent of a Vietnamese bank if proposed by the State Bank of Vietnam, the central bank, said the statement, which cited a decree signed on Friday.
A strategic foreign investor can only transfer the Vietnamese bank shares five years after purchase, it added. A nonbank foreign investor that is not a strategic investor will only be allowed to hold 5 percent, down from 10 percent now, the statement said, without giving a definition for "strategic investor." "The lower cap for foreign investors will prevent speculation," said a Vietnamese broker in Hanoi.
The decree is likely to take effect in May, given the time needed for procedures such as its official publication. Vietnam caps the foreign ownership in a domestic bank at 30 percent, with a 10 percent limit for an individual investor, regardless of status. The central bank had asked the government to double the 10 percent cap to 20 percent.
Foreign banks with stakes in Vietnamese banks are ANZ, Standard Chartered, HSBC Holdings, OCBC, BNP Paribas, United Overseas Bank and Deutsche Bank. Each of the foreign banks has a 10 percent stake in a Vietnamese bank, except for Standard Chartered's 8.56 percent in Asia Commercial Bank, one of Vietnam's two listed banks.
The other listed lender is Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, which has ANZ among its shareholders. So far, other Vietnamese banks have not said whether they planned to list shares this year on the country's stock markets.
The government decree also doubled the registered capital requirement for a Vietnamese bank to 1 trillion dong, or $65 million, if it wants to be qualified to sell shares to foreign investors. It said that a foreign bank must have at least $20 billion in total assets in the year before it registers to buy Vietnamese bank shares.
-Ken
Vietnam to ease rules on bank stakes
Reuters
Published: April 22, 2007
HANOI: Vietnam is to raise the ceiling on the stake a strategic, nonbank foreign investor can have in a domestic bank to 15 percent from 10 percent, the government said over the weekend, in a bid to expand the banking sector.
The ownership limit for a foreign bank in a Vietnamese bank remains unchanged at 10 percent and the total foreign ownership limit in a domestic bank will also remain at 30 percent, the government said in a statement Saturday.
In exceptional cases, the government could allow a strategic, nonbank foreign investor to own up to 20 percent of a Vietnamese bank if proposed by the State Bank of Vietnam, the central bank, said the statement, which cited a decree signed on Friday.
A strategic foreign investor can only transfer the Vietnamese bank shares five years after purchase, it added. A nonbank foreign investor that is not a strategic investor will only be allowed to hold 5 percent, down from 10 percent now, the statement said, without giving a definition for "strategic investor." "The lower cap for foreign investors will prevent speculation," said a Vietnamese broker in Hanoi.
The decree is likely to take effect in May, given the time needed for procedures such as its official publication. Vietnam caps the foreign ownership in a domestic bank at 30 percent, with a 10 percent limit for an individual investor, regardless of status. The central bank had asked the government to double the 10 percent cap to 20 percent.
Foreign banks with stakes in Vietnamese banks are ANZ, Standard Chartered, HSBC Holdings, OCBC, BNP Paribas, United Overseas Bank and Deutsche Bank. Each of the foreign banks has a 10 percent stake in a Vietnamese bank, except for Standard Chartered's 8.56 percent in Asia Commercial Bank, one of Vietnam's two listed banks.
The other listed lender is Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, which has ANZ among its shareholders. So far, other Vietnamese banks have not said whether they planned to list shares this year on the country's stock markets.
The government decree also doubled the registered capital requirement for a Vietnamese bank to 1 trillion dong, or $65 million, if it wants to be qualified to sell shares to foreign investors. It said that a foreign bank must have at least $20 billion in total assets in the year before it registers to buy Vietnamese bank shares.