>> Demand for foreign currency reveals need for stricter regulations
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>> Black market USD trade almost non-existent
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) will have to sell all their term deposits in USD to commercial banks.
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| SOEs will have to sell back their USD to commercial banks. |
Nguyen Van Giau, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country’s central bank, addressed the issue at a recent Government meeting.
He said that SBV will issue an official requirement to do so next week. SOEs’ term deposits obviously show intentions on speculation, he added.
Currently, 78 SOEs have combined USD deposits worth USD1.61 billion at commercial banks nationwide. Of that sum, USD376 million are term deposits, he noted.
According to the governor, banks could sell back USD to these enterprises for legitimate business purposes in the future as needed.
Concerning a recent proposal for banks to collect trading fees for foreign currency transactions, Giau said SBV is still considering this option and will come to a decision soon.
“Such a fee would act as a discouragement to individuals from using foreign currency,” he added.
In recent weeks, after the Government’s recent crackdown on unofficial trading, gold and foreign currency speculation has dropped.
Dr. Cao Sy Kiem, the former Governor of SBV said the central bank must find a way to meet legitimate demand for foreign currencies. Currently, official market is not able to meet real demand.
