pay on US dollar deposits by 0.2 percentage points to an average of
4.5-5.2 percent, sparking worries of a new interest rate war.
Both Asia Commercial Bank and Eximbank have increased interest rates on
three-month term deposits to 4.35 percent and on 12-month term deposits
to 4.45 percent.
Vietcombank is offering 4.5 percent for a
12-monthterm deposit in US dollars while the Vietnam-Russia Bank, PG
Bank and An Binh Bank are offering rates as high as 5.2 percent.
"In the latter part of the year the dollar supply is often limited, and
to attract dollars, many banks raise interest rates," said Asia
Commercial Bank deputy director Nguyen Thanh Toai.
Another
senior official from the same bank who asked to remain anonymous said
that the bank raised interest rates to hold onto its existing depositors
and did not want to get involved in a new interest-rate war.
Total foreign currency deposits at the HCM City branch of the
State Bank of Vietnam were down 4 percent last month against July to
about 8.56 billion USD, according to the State Bank.
It
was too early to tell whether a dollar shortage would solidify into a
trend toward higher interest rates, said one treasury official at
Vietcombank.
"The third and first half of the fourth
quarter are the toughest time," he said. "December is the best time for
dollars because of abundant remittance inflows and high export
turnover."/.
.jpg "Photo: Reuters")
.jpg "Photo: Tuoi Tre")
.jpg "Photo: AFP")