With a year-on-year increase in profitability due to tighter State policies and expanded financial capacity, the country's commercial banking system has become a promising land for domestic and foreign investors.
The latest report released by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s HCM City branch showed that the system of commercial banks in HCM City has gained some VND3.9tril in net profit over the first nine months of this year, up nearly 53.9% compared with all of 2004.
The report predicted that at this rate, commercial banks would most likely double last year's profit figures.
A sharp rise in profitability has led to investors offering trade bank stocks on the 'free market' at prices that exceed their original face value.
Achieving a VND180bil profit over the first 10 months, the Vietnam Joint-Stock Export Import Bank (Eximbank) has seen its stock prices soar to VND2.5mil per share from the VND1-mil prime face value, up 121% from a year ago.
The Asia Commercial Bank's stock price late this year skyrocketed to VND2mil per share, two-fold its prime face value at last year's initial public offering, general director Vo Van Chau said.
He cited the company's VND55bil in profit by the end of October this year, up 28% against 2004 as a reason.
Upward profit and sharp stock price hikes reaped by a series of commercial banks such as ACB, Sacombank, EAB, VP, and VIB Bank have resulted from stricter State management through international standardisation.
Growing profit also comes from banks' urgent mobilisation of capital to meet the social demand for investment, gradually narrowing the gap in financial capability between local and international commercial banks.
According to SBV's HCM City branch, trade banks in the city will raise around VND181.9tril by year's end from residential savings, payment deposit and bonds, an increase of 20.4% against 2004.
Commercial holding banks have attracted almost VND5.3tril in capital from shareholders' contribution, said branch director Tran Ngoc Minh.
(Source: Viet Nam News) | 
