The first bank has announced a reduction in loan interest rates by up to 1% per year following Typhoon Yagi.
VPBank will directly reduce loan interest rates for all individual customers with existing loans at the bank who have secured assets.
Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) has announced that, in line with the directive from the State Bank of Vietnam regarding interest rate reductions, debt restructuring, and support for new borrowers affected by Typhoon Yagi, VPBank has decided to implement a loan interest rate support program for existing individual customers impacted by the typhoon.
Under this program, VPBank will directly reduce loan interest rates for all individual customers with existing loans at the bank and secured assets. Specifically, medium- and long-term loans will have their interest rates reduced by 1%, while short-term loans will see a reduction of 0.5%. This interest rate support program will be in effect from September 13 to December 31, 2024, and will apply to all cities and provinces directly affected by Typhoon Yagi, including Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Yen Bai, and others.
In addition to reducing loan interest rates, VPBank will also offer an attractive fixed interest rate of 6.5% per year for the first 12 months for all customers who wish to refinance their loans from other banks or seek loans for real estate purchases or home construction and repairs.
Alongside these direct support measures, VPBank has also donated 2 billion VND to aid those affected by Typhoon No. 3, in response to a call from the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee. The funds will be transferred directly to the account designated by the Vietnam Fatherland Front, to help communities in the affected areas.
Who won the final and largest construction contract for the Ring Road 3 project in Ho Chi Minh City?
Package No. 32 is the largest construction contract for Component Project 3 of the Ring Road 3 investment project in Ho Chi Minh City, covering the section through Dong Nai Province.
On September 12, the Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board of the province announced that the final construction package (Package No. 32) of Component Project 3 of the Ring Road 3 investment project in Ho Chi Minh City, specifically the section through Dong Nai Province, has completed its contractor selection process.
The joint venture consisting of 368 Construction Joint Stock Company and Thanh Phat Construction Co., Ltd. has been awarded the contract for Package No. 32.
Earlier, at the beginning of 2024, the joint venture of 368 Construction Joint Stock Company - Phuong Thanh was disqualified from the Tan Van Interchange Package, covering the section from Km25+990 to Km28+383 (Ring Road 3 through Binh Duong Province).
This package has an estimated value of VND 1,848.763 billion and is part of Component Project 5 of the Ring Road 3 construction project through Binh Duong Province (including Tan Van Interchange and Binh Goi Bridge). The project is managed by the Binh Duong Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board, with Viet Quoc Joint Stock Company as the bid inviter.
The bid inviter stated that the joint venture was disqualified due to a lack of experience in similar projects with road and bridge construction structures (pre-stressed reinforced concrete beams, with foundations on bored piles with a diameter of 1,500 mm or more), of Class II or higher.
Disagreeing with the evaluation results, the joint venture of 368 Construction Joint Stock Company - Phuong Thanh Investment and Traffic Construction Joint Stock Company (with 368 Construction Joint Stock Company as the lead member) filed a complaint and appeal regarding the contractor selection results.
e claims that the evaluation by the bid inviter was arbitrary, lacking fairness and transparency, and based on personal opinions. In their bid documents, the contractor submitted a combination of two contracts to demonstrate experience in similar projects, but the bid inviter “split” the similar contract items to assess them as insufficient.
Joint Stock Company and Thanh Phat Construction Co., Ltd. has won the contract for Package No. 32. Package No. 32 is the largest construction package in Component Project 3 of the Ring Road 3 investment project in Ho Chi Minh City, specifically for the section through Dong Nai Province.
According to the Director of the Dong Nai Traffic Construction Investment Project Management Board, the contractor has now mobilized machinery and is preparing to start the bored pile construction for the package. A favorable factor for the current construction is that Nhon Trach District has essentially handed over more than 95% of the site, so the contractor will be able to proceed with the work quickly, ensuring the overall project timeline is met.
Component Project 3 of Ring Road 3 through Dong Nai is 11.2 kilometers long and has three main construction packages. Construction began on June 18, 2023, with a total investment of nearly VND 2,600 billion. The project is expected to be completed in 2025 and operational by 2026.
The project starts at Km 0+000 in Vinh Thanh Commune, Nhon Trach District, Dong Nai Province, and ends at Nhon Trach Bridge in Long Tan Commune, Nhon Trach District, connecting with Component Project 1A of Ring Road 3 in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Ring Road 3 project in Ho Chi Minh City, through Dong Nai Province, is over 11 kilometers long and includes three construction packages. Previously, Package No. 26, from the start of the route to the provincial road 25C interchange, and Package No. 29, from the provincial road 25C interchange to the provincial road 25B interchange, have completed contractor selection and construction has commenced.
Gold prices hit a new record as investors increased their bets on significant interest rate cuts.
Illustrative image: Bloomberg
On Friday, September 13, global gold prices surged, setting a new record as investors grew optimistic about a potential significant interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) in their upcoming meeting next week. The increased betting on a larger rate cut by the Fed drove gold prices to new highs.
By the close of trading, the spot gold price in New York had risen by $19.40 per ounce compared to the previous session's closing price, marking a 0.76% increase, reaching $2,578.70 per ounce. Converted at the USD selling rate of Vietcombank, this price is approximately 76.8 million VND per tael, up 300,000 VND per tael from the morning's price.
On the futures market, gold prices surpassed $2,600 per ounce for the first time in history. The December gold contract on the COMEX exchange hit a record high of $2,611.70 per ounce before closing the session with a gain of $25.80 per ounce, or 1%, reaching $2,606.40 per ounce.
After trading around the $2,500 per ounce level due to a lack of new catalysts, gold prices broke through to new records on Thursday and Friday, driven by optimism about the Fed potentially shifting its monetary policy stance. The prospect of lower interest rates also exerted downward pressure on the USD, adding further upward momentum to gold prices.
Gold prices have increased by more than 3% this week and have set 34 new records so far this year.
According to data from the CME FedWatch Tool, traders are betting 100% on the Fed cutting interest rates in their meeting next Tuesday and Wednesday. The likelihood of a 0.25 percentage point cut has decreased to 55% from over 70% earlier in the week. Conversely, the probability of a 0.50 percentage point cut has risen to 45%, up from under 30% at the beginning of the week.
The Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the USD against a basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.25% on Friday, closing at 101.11 points. The index decreased by 0.06% this week and dropped by 1.32% over the past month, according to MarketWatch data.
Against the Japanese yen, the USD exchange rate fell to its lowest level of the year.
Some analysts believe that the $3,000 per ounce mark is the new target for gold bulls in the market. Supporting factors for this precious metal in the medium term include the shift towards looser monetary policies by major central banks and the tight race for the White House between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Jim Wyckoff, Senior Analyst at Kitco Metals, highlights that gold prices are in a favorable environment for growth. This includes the European Central Bank (ECB) having its second rate cut of the year this Thursday, the Federal Reserve moving towards a rate cut next week, and continued downward trends in U.S. inflation.
“The market expects the Fed to cut rates by a full 1 percentage point for the remainder of the year. This means there will be a meeting where the Fed cuts rates by 0.5 percentage points, which could be in either November or December,” a report from Commerzbank states.
“It seems that such strong expectations for rate cuts are driving gold prices higher,” the report notes.
According to a report last week from the World Gold Council (WGC), gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been net buyers of gold for four consecutive months up to August. The world’s largest gold ETF, SPDR Gold Trust, holds 870.5 tons of gold, the highest level since the beginning of the year, according to the fund’s website.
Reuters reports that from a technical perspective, gold’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 69 points, indicating that gold prices are approaching an “overbought” condition. This state begins to emerge when the index reaches 70 points.
Indonesia Seeks to Elevate Its Relationship with Vietnam
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto.
The President-elect of Indonesia expressed admiration for the Vietnamese people's resilient and indomitable spirit during their struggle for national independence and in the nation's development. He affirmed his deep respect and commitment to strengthening traditional friendship and the Strategic Partnership with Vietnam, aiming for even greater growth.
The two leaders noted that, over nearly seven decades, the relationship between the two countries, founded by President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno, has developed robustly and extensively. This is especially true since upgrading to a Strategic Partnership in 2013, with deeper political understanding and trust, and more effective comprehensive cooperation. Both sides have actively coordinated and supported each other in multilateral mechanisms.
They agreed on several major directions to effectively harness cooperation potential and advance the Strategic Partnership to a new level. This includes enhancing delegation exchanges and implementing bilateral cooperation mechanisms to build trust and address challenges.
Both sides are confident they will soon reach the goal of $18 billion in bilateral trade; reduce trade barriers; facilitate trade promotion and market access, including for agricultural products and Halal goods.
The Prime Minister affirmed Vietnam's readiness to cooperate and support Indonesia in ensuring food security. He proposed a swift signing of a rice trade cooperation agreement and requested Indonesia to facilitate the entry of Vietnamese agricultural products and Halal goods into the Indonesian market. He also asked Indonesia to support Vietnam in resolving the yellow card issue in the seafood sector.
The President-elect of Indonesia expressed a desire to boost cooperation with Vietnam in food security, energy security, and high technology, and hoped Vietnam would share its agricultural development experience.
Both sides encouraged and facilitated investment by businesses in each other’s markets, especially in new areas such as the digital economy, green economy, energy transition, and electric vehicle ecosystem development.
The leaders also agreed to deepen cooperation in other important fields such as defense-security, maritime cooperation, fisheries, and digital partnership.
They exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern and agreed to enhance cooperation, strengthen solidarity, and reinforce ASEAN's central role and common stance on regional security issues, including the South China Sea.
Receiving President-elect Prabowo Subianto, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man emphasized that Vietnam highly values and seeks to further deepen the Vietnam-Indonesia Strategic Partnership, aiming to elevate the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership by 2025, marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
The National Assembly Chairman appreciated the substantive exchanges between General Secretary and President To Lam and President-elect Prabowo Subianto, which have set major directions for bilateral relations.
He suggested the two sides cooperate to prevent and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; and resolve issues related to fishermen and fishing vessels in a fair and humanitarian manner.
Vietnam supports Indonesia's initiatives during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023. In the face of increasingly intense geopolitical contexts, ASEAN needs to lead in building a comprehensive and solid regional structure, focusing on dialogue and cooperation.
The two countries need to enhance coordination in all areas to contribute to maintaining peace, stability, and security in the region and globally.
Regarding legislative cooperation, Chairman Tran Thanh Man hoped that President-elect Prabowo Subianto would support and enhance high-level exchanges between the two countries' leaders and share experiences between parliamentary committees, friendship groups, female legislators, and young parliamentarians, especially in lawmaking and institutional development.
President-elect Prabowo Subianto emphasized that Indonesia values its relationship with Vietnam, considers Vietnam a good friend, and aims to elevate this relationship. Indonesia and Vietnam share many historical similarities and interests in their development process. The two countries will continue to build on their strong relationship, growing not only bilaterally but also within ASEAN.
Prabowo Subianto agreed with Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s proposals and committed to strengthening the Indonesia-Vietnam relationship.
Oil Prices Plunge: RON 95 Drops to Just Over 19,000 VND/Liter
On September 12, the price of gasoline and oil fell significantly, with RON 95 now priced at just over 19,000 VND per liter.
Based on the management directives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, businesses adjusted fuel prices starting from 3 PM today (September 12).
Compared to the previous adjustment, the price of E5 gasoline decreased by 1,080 VND per liter, now selling at 18,890 VND per liter. The price of RON 95 dropped by 1,190 VND per liter, reaching 19,630 VND per liter. Similarly, diesel oil prices were reduced by 930 VND per liter, now at 17,160 VND per liter.
Currently, the price stabilization fund for some major fuel companies has recorded a significant positive balance due to the non-utilization of the fund in recent adjustments.
Fuel prices adjusted down sharply. Photo: Nguyễn Huế
As of September 11, Petrolimex reported a positive fund balance of 3,079 billion VND; Saigon Petro had 328 billion VND; Petimex had 460 billion VND; while PV Oil had a negative fund balance of over 138 billion VND.
Globally, oil prices have reached their lowest levels since December 2021 after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) downgraded its forecast for future oil demand. OPEC now predicts global oil demand could increase by 2.03 million barrels per day this year, down by 0.08 million barrels from the previous forecast.
Additionally, oil prices are under pressure due to concerns about the Chinese economy, the world's largest oil importer. Recent data showed that China's exports in August grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years, but imports were disappointing due to weak consumer demand.