Commercial banks and enterprises are worrying about U.S. dollar shortage which has prompted the dollar exchange rate to surge in recent days, though local banking system is estimated to have a surplus of $300 million.
Nguyen Phuoc Thanh, general director of Vietcombank, was quoted by the Sai Gon Tiep Thi newspaper as saying that Vietcombank is now under pressure to balance its dollar supply to meet demand of local firms.
Thanh admitted that Vietcombank currently does not have enough U.S. dollars to sell to big enterprises which are involved in importing essential goods such as petroleum products.
“Vietcombank bought hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars from various state-owned groups and corporations and re-sold them to the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank,” the general director said.
The bank’s current source can fulfill small- and medium-sized demand only, and Vietcombank has to report to the central bank to seek support on dollar supply for bigger one.
Vuong Thai Dung, deputy general director of Vietnam’s biggest petroleum trader Petrolimex, also concerned about U.S. dollar sources given continuously increasing dollar exchange rate.
“If U.S. dollar edges up further, our business will be more risky,” Dung said. “Petrolimex annually needs between $5.5 billion and $6 billion to import petroleum products.”
The central bank has relieved that the dollar tension was due to speculation among traders and hoarding move by local people and enterprises and that “at present, the State Bank does not have any plans for dollar exchange rate adjustment.”
Vo Tri Thanh, Deputy Rector of the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM), called on the Government to take measures to pick up local confidence on the dong to help ease off the U.S. dollar tension.
Thanh estimated that total deposits at Vietnam’s banking system were about $100 billion, and between 20% and 25% of which were made in foreign currencies.
U.S. dollar has been slowdown at VND20,150 in Vietnam’s unofficial market early this morning, compared to around VND19,970 late last week as a result businesses are seeking to hold on to the greenback for fear of foreign exchange risk.
Vietcombank, the country’s largest forex trader, today kept the rate unchanged at VND19,490/VND19,500 while some others including Vietinbank and Eximbank have adjusted the rate up to the maximum limit of the daily trading band. (Saigon Marketing)
Vietnamese
