Saturday, January 20, 2024
Vietnam poised to become financial hub, 20 JAN
Henig: Vietnam poised to become financial hub
NGOC MAI 12:17, 2024/01/18
International organizations recognize Vietnam as a potential financial center with many factors converging for developing a modern financial market with high connectivity.
Vietnam is among the countries with highly favorable conditions for developing a financial center, presenting a unique opportunity to undergo a transformative shift through technology and potentially avoid the pitfalls of poor choices made by countries that preceded it.
UBS Bank representative Claudio Cisullo shared the view at a roundtable discussion on Vietnam's financial market potential and investment opportunities held in Davos on January 17, attended by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, experts and leaders of major financial conglomerates.
These factors include maintaining stable macroeconomic and political conditions, a strategically advantageous geographical location, and a significant time zone difference with 21 major global financial centers. This unique advantage is particularly significant in attracting idle capital from these financial hubs during non-trading hours.
Vietnam is progressively refining its legal framework, restructuring its financial markets (banking, insurance, securities), and attracting the attention of many investors, especially foreign investors entering the financial market, he noted.
Dr. Philipp Rösler, former Deputy Prime Minister of Germany, acknowledged Vietnam as one of the fastest developing countries in the world in recent years, emphasizing that while this is just the beginning, many nations are looking toward Vietnam with interest.
Assessing Vietnam's potential to become a financial hub and make significant strides in this field, representatives from conglomerates and banks expressed admiration for Vietnam's achievements post-Covid-19. They focused on analyzing Vietnam's potential, advantages, and the model and experience in building an international financial center.
Recommendations for Vietnam included creating the conditions and platforms necessary for building a financial center, attracting investment through legal frameworks, tax policies, energy infrastructure, information technology, transportation, skilled labor, and maintaining economic stability.
Cho Huyn-sang, Vice Chairman of Hyosung, stated that many South Korean companies are eager to establish a presence in Vietnam. With an annual revenue of US$25 billion, Hyosung has already invested $3.5 billion in Vietnam and employs around 9,000 local staff.
Considering Vietnam's investment environment as one of the most reasonable and effective, Hyosung plans to increase its investment in Vietnam by $540 million by 2024, he said.
Cho also highlighted Vietnam's strengths, including strong leadership and efficient governance from the central government, positive support from local authorities, and the diligent and serious work ethic of the Vietnamese people.
Don Lam, CEO of VinaCapital, mentioned that the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) plans to organize a business delegation to Vietnam in February 2025, with 200-member companies interested in various fields.
At the discussion, delegates raised various questions regarding Vietnam's regulations and policies related to foreign investor ownership of credit institutions, workforce training, talent attraction, the timeline for opening the financial market to retail companies, and the implementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized Vietnam's need for the guidance, initiatives, and collaboration of major financial institutions to build a financial center in Ho Chi Minh City.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai outlined the city's plan to become a regional financial center by 2030. The legal framework for this center will be submitted to the National Assembly this year and will be continuously updated and supplemented. The city will also enhance infrastructure, especially in District 1 and Thủ Thiêm, and focus on training and attracting high-quality human resources to meet the requirements of an international financial center.
In response to delegates' interest in the foreign investor ownership ratio, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong stated that the ownership ratio of a foreign individual in a Vietnamese credit institution cannot exceed 5% of its charter capital. The limit is 15% for a foreign organization and 20% for a foreign strategic investor. The total ownership ratio of foreign investors cannot exceed 30% of the charter capital.
However, in special cases to restructure weak credit institutions facing difficulties and to ensure the safety of the credit institution system, the Prime Minister will decide on the ownership ratio of foreign investors on a case-by-case basis. Governor Nguyen Thi Hong pointed out that, in reality, foreign investors currently only hold around 15% of the charter capital of some banks, indicating a significant gap with the prescribed limit.
Facilitating favorable conditions for foreign investors
For his part, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted that, by the end of 2023, Vietnam had attracted a total of over $468 billion in registered FDI, with around $300 billion disbursed. In 2023, individuals and economic organizations deposited around VND13,500 trillion ($550 billion) in banks, the highest so far, indicating improved incomes and people's trust.
The Prime Minister reiterated Vietnam's commitment to rapid and sustainable development based on science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.
He added that Vietnam aims to become a developing country with a modern industry and high average income by 2030 and a high-income developed country by 2045.
The country is focusing on three strategic breakthroughs: building and improving institutions and legal frameworks; reforming administrative procedures and high-quality human resource training; and developing strategic infrastructure, especially transportation infrastructure, with a policy of "open policies, smooth infrastructure, smart management."
In addition, Chinh noted that Vietnam is renewing existing motivations such as exports, consumption, and investment, while introducing new ones like the digital, green, circular, sharing, and knowledge economies.
In particular, Chinh said the Government is intensifying efforts to combat corruption.
Vietnam seamlessly combines key policies to create a peaceful and stable political environment, social order and security, and favorable conditions for efficient and sustainable business operations,” he continued.
Chinh also emphasized the importance of international financial institutions supporting Vietnam in policy advice, promoting startups and innovation, restructuring banks, building and enhancing the national brand value, supporting infrastructure development, and training high-quality human resources.
The Prime Minister expressed the desire for global conglomerates and investment funds to share their experiences, advise on suitable development models, and propose appropriate solutions for developing a financial center in Vietnam, enhancing the financial ecosystem, improving national credit ratings, and raising standards in accounting, auditing, and financial reporting.
“The Vietnamese Government is committed to facilitating favorable conditions for foreign investors in general and Swiss investors in particular to invest efficiently and sustainably in Vietnam,” Chinh noted, adding the Government will play a constructive role, providing support, listening to opinions, and working together for mutual development, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors under all circumstances, avoiding criminalization of economic relations, and maintaining the spirit of "harmonious interests, shared risks," and "harmonizing interests between the State, people, and businesses."
"RV UPDATE" BY WOLVERINE, 20 JAN
Hope you guys are excited as I am. We are definitely close. I received incredible info from various platforms saying they are just waiting to get the Green Light to receive funds. We will be celebrating any time! If we should go today, we will not get funds released till next week. D1 is done. D2 hoping to get done today.
$21 Billion Is The Size Of Iraq’s External Debt Until 2028, 20 JAN
$21 Billion Is The Size Of Iraq’s External Debt Until 2028
Posted On01-19-2024 By Sotaliraq Baghdad: Haider Falih Al-Rubaie 01/18/2024 The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Dr. Mazhar Muhammad Salih, suggested that Iraq’s external debt until the year 2028 would not exceed the $21 billion barrier, stressing that the country’s creditworthiness is at a high degree of sobriety and reliability, according to which Iraq’s position is based. It is classified as stable, while he pointed out that the accumulation of debt was the result of the national economy being exposed to two shocks.
Despite the accumulation of internal and external debt, the Parliamentary Finance Committee reassured that there would be no financial deficit in the country’s budget for the current year 2024, while specialists in economic affairs expressed their fear of the continued fluctuation of oil prices, hinting at the possibility that public revenues would be affected in the event of a decline. Global black gold prices.
Saleh said: “The external debt that must be repaid until the year 2028, in my estimation, does not exceed the barrier of 21 billion dollars,” indicating that “the repayment mechanism is subject to the actual current or ongoing allocations allocated in the federal general budget on an annual basis to pay the debt dues.”
The government advisor stressed that “Iraq’s credit record, or creditworthiness, stands at a high degree of sobriety and reliability, which is why international credit rating companies have placed Iraq at rank B of the stable category throughout the last ten years, due to its high financial worthiness and commitment to paying service dues.” his debts on an ongoing basis.”
During a previous press statement, Saleh calculated the size of the country’s internal debt, while confirming that the Iraqi economy was exposed to “two shocks.”
Saleh said: “The internal public debt in Iraq is estimated at approximately 55 billion dollars,” indicating that “the accumulation of this debt came as a result of two shocks to which the country’s economy was exposed between the years 2014 - 2021.”
He added, “The first shock was financial and security, as the country was exposed to the threat of ISIS terrorist gangs, in addition to the war in which Iraq won against ISIS terrorism, which then required financing the budget deficit, due to the growing military expenditures and the sharp decline in oil prices.”
Saleh pointed out that “the second shock, which was financial-health, resulted from the Corona pandemic crisis and the decline in oil price revenues at the same time due to the sharp cycle of oil assets and the loss of a barrel of oil in both shocks of approximately 40% of its estimated revenues as revenues for the general budget,” noting that this This prompted the financial authority in Iraq to borrow from the government banking market, mostly by issuing treasury bonds or annual treasury transfers that carry an average interest of about 3%.
The advisor noted that “domestic public debt has been traded exclusively within the government financial apparatus, without intervention in the banking market except in a very limited manner. That is, domestic debt, with its tools represented by bonds and treasury transfers, is traded at a rate of 95% exclusively within the government financial apparatus.”
In the midst of this, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Moeen Al-Kadhimi, expected that there would be no financial deficit in the budget for the current year 2024, indicating during a press interview followed by “Al-Sabah” that “the government will submit amendments to the table of amounts, and these amendments are in the process of being completed and sent to the Finance Committee and will be studied there and approved.” It is decided by Parliament and is on its way to implementation.”
Al-Kadhimi pointed out that “last year’s budget, 2023, did not suffer from a deficit, but the current year’s budget, 2024, will not have a financial deficit, especially since oil prices are constantly increasing.”
Contrary to the previous opinion, economic affairs specialist, Ali Al-Defafi, believes that the worsening situation in the region may lead to a delay in the arrival of oil supplies to consuming countries, and thus a decline in the financial revenues of some producing countries, expecting average oil prices to be stable between -75%. $80 for the current year.
Al-Diffai stressed the need to exploit the financial abundance achieved as a result of the increase in oil prices over the past two years, in establishing strategic projects and working to support the productive aspects that can contribute to supplementing the country’s financial budgets, especially the agricultural and industrial sectors, praising, at the same time, the government’s economic moves in Supporting the private sector, which will contribute during the coming period to reviving many local industries that could block the way for imported products. LINK
"RV UPDATE" BY PIMPY, 20 JAN
Pimpy
IMO they'll go up in increments. One of the things Iraq needs to really start working on is non oil revenue...A lot of [construction] projects started in 2023, a huge chunk of them start in 2024.
The deadlines are between the end of this year stretching out all the way to 2028 with the bulk of them having a deadline of 2025. This is a lot of job opportunities. This is a lot of infrastructure being done. This is a huge change in Iraq. All of this strengthens their economy and...strengthen the use of the Iraq dinar...
This is not small by any stretch of the imagination...When Sudani said 2024 was going to be the time Iraq was going to change, this is what he's talking about. This is huge...This is what I'm focused on. There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of projects starting in Iraq..
"DINAR AGREEMENT REACHED" BY WOLVERINE, 20 JAN
Truth Warriors
Telegram
1/18/24
Forwarded from Wolverine:
From Wolverine! All documents have signed with Iraq for the revaluation.
“DINAR AGREEMENT Reached.
It is reported in Iraq that everything is ready and agreed with the United States Treasury for the Revaluation of the DINAR currency.
All documentation was studied and agreed upon between the government of IRAQ and the US.
The documentation was delivered on Mon. 11 Sept. 2023, to the United States Treasury for prompt signature.
Today is a very happy day for IRAQ and the world.”
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