“The upgrade [from B1] to Ba3 is underpinned by strong growth potential, supported by increasingly efficient use of labor and capital in the economy,” the credit ratings agency said in a recent statement. With an average GDP growth rate of over 6 percent over the past decade, Vietnam has climbed up the manufacturing value chain with higher value-added electronic products like smartphones, it said. The country continues to retain its comparative advantage in the export of labor-intensive goods, such as textiles and garments, it added. If strong growth is sustained over time, government debt is likely to be stable and will gradually moderate, Moody’s said. The agency expects that government debt will remain broadly stable around the current levels, at close to 52 percent of GDP in 2017. The debt burden should gradually moderate after 2020, the ratings agency said. Some state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are likely financially weak and the government may need to bear a … [Read more...] about Moody’s ups Vietnam’s credit rating, deems government debt stable
Fitch wd rating
Vietnam has good growth momentum: Fitch forum
Speaking at the event, Sagarika Chandra, senior analyst at Fitch Vietnam, said in May 2018, Fitch had improved Vietnam’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) rating from BB- to BB with a stable outlook, thanks to a rise in foreign exchange reserves and strong economic growth. Experts discussed at the Fitch on Vietnam forum Vietnam records a high growth rate in comparison to emerging economies or other BB-ranked nations, she said. The country’s GDP growth was above 6 percent in 2017 and is expected to reach 6.7 percent in 2018 and following years, she noted, adding that this was one of the important factors that helped improve Vietnam's rating. According to the expert, the rating is a result of the country’s maintenance of macroeconomic stability, stronger resilience to external risks and compliance with financial criteria. The Vietnamese government promulgated a flexible exchange rate mechanism in early 2016, and committed to … [Read more...] about Vietnam has good growth momentum: Fitch forum
EVN gains Fitch’s positive credit rating for first time
Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Fitch Ratings (Fitch) gave the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) a Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of “BB” with a stable outlook. EVN is the first government-linked non-financial corporate rated by Fitch in Vietnam. The rating aligns with Vietnam’s sovereign rating. The Group is now one step closer to issuing bonds and strengthening its financing capacity, following the Fitch’s rating. According to EVN Vice President Dinh Quang Tri, the positive rating enables EVN to issue international bonds, diversify financing sources and reassure domestic and foreign institutional investors. “This positive rating enables EVN to issue international bonds, diversify our financing sources, and reassure domestic and foreign institutional investors. We are now on a stronger footing to deliver more reliable electricity to Vietnam,” said Dinh Quang Tri, Vice President of EVN. He noted … [Read more...] about EVN gains Fitch’s positive credit rating for first time
Fitch raises rating for Viet Nam
The rating on the nation’s long-term, foreign currency-denominated debt was raised one level to BB, with a stable outlook. — Photo rappler.com Fitch Ratings has upgraded Viet Nam’s sovereign rating based on the country’s rising foreign exchange reserves and strong economic growth. Bloomberg cited Fitch’s announcement on May 15 that shows that the rating on the nation’s long-term, foreign currency-denominated debt was raised one level to BB, with a stable outlook. The upgrade puts Viet Nam at the second-highest speculative grade on a par with Costa Rica. The rating agency also predicted that Viet Nam’s foreign reserves will increase to some US$66 billion by the end of this year from $49 billion in 2017, while the general government debt is likely to decline to below 50 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2019. According to Fitch, the country’s economy can expand 6.7 per cent this year. Most economic forecasts since early … [Read more...] about Fitch raises rating for Viet Nam
Fitch raises Vietnam sovereign credit rating, sees fast growth
Ratings firm Fitch raised Vietnam’s sovereign credit rating on Tuesday, a move that economists said should boost the Southeast Asian economy’s already-substantial investment inflows. Fitch raised Vietnam’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to 'BB' from 'BB-', with a stable outlook. The agency said the upgrade reflects Vietnam’s improving policy-making aimed at strengthening macroeconomic performance. After Fitch’s move, which comes at a time there’s pressure on many emerging market economies and worries about capital outflows, there are still two more upgrades needed before the agency considers Vietnam investment grade. In an indication that the path to an investment grade rating might not be smooth, Fitch said Vietnam’s banking sector is structurally weak and “weighs heavily on the rating”. Fitch said it expects Vietnam’s gross domestic product to grow by the targeted 6.7 percent this year. Growth in 2017 was … [Read more...] about Fitch raises Vietnam sovereign credit rating, sees fast growth
Fitch upgrades ratings of three Vietnamese banks
Fitch Ratings upgraded the long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of Military Bank to ‘B+’ from ‘B’. — Photo Military Bank Fitch Ratings on Tuesday upgraded the long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Military Bank) to ‘B+’ from ‘B’ with a stable outlook. Fitch also upgraded the bank’s viability rating to ‘b+’ from ‘b’. In a report released on Tuesday, the agency also upgraded the viability rating of Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) to ‘b’ from ‘b-’. The long-term IDRs of Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), Vietinbank and Vietcombank have been affirmed at ‘B+’ with a positive outlook. The IDR of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) has been affirmed at ‘B’ with a stable … [Read more...] about Fitch upgrades ratings of three Vietnamese banks
Fitch offers positive outlook on Agribank
“The positive rating action takes into account the Vietnamese banking system’s enhanced operating environment, with improved economic policymaking from the authorities promoting macroeconomic stability and predictability,” Fitch noted in a report released on February 27. According to Fitch, the Vietnamese Government will support Agribank when necessary as the bank plays an important role in the country’s banking system and is one of the four largest banks in Vietnam in terms of total assets and networking. The positive outlook also reflects Fitch’s views on Vietnam’s improvement in providing support when necessary. As of December 31, 2017, Agribank had reported a 20% increase in profit at a record VND5.01 trillion (US$220.44 million). The bank’s total assets also hit nearly VND1.2 quadrillion (US$52.8 billion) and its mobilised capital was close to VND1.1 quadrillion (US$48.4 billion). The bank also contributed VND1.2 trillion (US$52.8 million) … [Read more...] about Fitch offers positive outlook on Agribank
Fitch upgrades Military Bank, affirms four banks’ IDRs
Fitch upgrades Military Bank, affirms four banks' IDRs Fitch Ratings in a February 27 report upgraded the long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of Military Bank to “B+” from “B” with a stable outlook and its viability rating to “b+” from “b”. At the same time, it upgraded the viability ratings of Vietcombank and Vietinbank to “b” from “b-”. Photo from mbbank.com.vn At the same time, the long-term IDRs of Agribank, Vietinbank and Vietcombank have been affirmed at “B+” with a positive outlook, while the IDR of ACB has been affirmed at “B” with a stable outlook. According to Fitch, the positive rating action takes into account the Vietnamese banking system’s enhanced operating environment, with improved economic policy-making from authorities promoting macroeconomic stability and predictability. “This has enabled banks to significantly reduce their exposure to legacy problem … [Read more...] about Fitch upgrades Military Bank, affirms four banks’ IDRs
Fitch downgrades Vietcombank, ACB on strong credit growth
By Thu Thuy - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) have seen their rating downgraded to ‘D/E’ from ‘D’ by the international credit rating agency Fitch, which cited risks related to strong credit growth.Fitch in its statement says that the downgrade reflects Vietcombank’s substantially weakened balance sheet arising from excessively strong loan growth and fragile underlying loan quality. Furthermore, Fitch believes Vietcombank’s individual rating remains under pressure, due to increasing risk of high credit costs arising from underlying weak loan quality and limited capitalization. Also, Fitch expects Vietcombank, along with other local banks, to continue facing a difficult environment, particularly given the Vietnamese Government’s weakening ability to manage inherently volatile market conditions when needed. Vietcombank reported loan growth of 26% in 2009, which … [Read more...] about Fitch downgrades Vietcombank, ACB on strong credit growth
Fitch upgrades ratings of Agribank, VietinBank
Fitch upgrades ratings of Agribank, VietinBankTran Thu By Tran Thu - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Fitch Ratings, one of the three biggest credit rating firms in the world, has upgraded the long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) and support rating floors (SRFs) of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) and Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) to B+ from B. The revision for the two banks is supported by better performance of the country and comes after the upgrade of Vietnam’ ratings to BB- from B+ due to the nation’s improvements in macro-economic stability. Agribank and VietinBank are the two leading banks in terms of assets and operational networks in Vietnam. However, the banks' ratings have been taken down by one notch from the sovereign rating after taking into consideration the Government's finances, which may limit the timeliness of its extraordinary support to the banks. In June this year, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) … [Read more...] about Fitch upgrades ratings of Agribank, VietinBank