Vietnam Business & Weather Briefing (July 10): Gold Rate Drops Significantly

Business Briefing

Gold rate

The domestic gold price was listed by DOJI Group at VND 67.95 million/tael (buying) and VND 68.55 million/tael (selling). Meanwhile, Saigon SJC listed the buying price at VND 67.95 million per tael and the selling price at VND 68.55 million per tael.

Photo: Vietjet Air

Aviation news: Flying Vietjet directly to Busan at low prices

Travelers from Vietnam’s major cities can now take Vietjet’s direct flights to Busan, the Republic of Korea at as low as 7,700 VND (0.33 USD) one-way. Vietjet will launch direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to Busan on July 20 and July 25 respectively. Those new services will operate one daily direct flight on each route to bring passengers from Vietnam to the RoK’s second-largest city of Busan in just less than 5 hours.

Earlier this month, Vietjet relaunched the Hanoi - Busan route on July 1 and will continue resuming the Nha Trang - Busan route from July 21 with one daily return flight for each service, according to VNA.

Customers can book tickets now with fares from just 7,700 VND/one-way (excluding taxes and fees) at www.vietjetair.com or Vietjet Air application with travel duration from August 15, 2022, to March 26, 2023 (excluding public holidays and Lunar New Year festival). Customers will soon be able to opt for the “Fly now - Pay later” program easily with only 3 minutes of online registration for international routes.

Vietjet Vice President Nguyen Thanh Son said the new routes from Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City to Busan will increase Vietjet’s total routes between the two countries to 10 routes, making Vietjet the leading provider in the flight network. He added that Vietjet’s direct routes between Vietnam and the RoK offer diverse flight options and cost-saving fares for travelers this summer to enjoy flying to their favorite destinations.

Busan is well-known for its beaches, temples, the unique colored Gamcheon culture village, and romantic Haeundae Dalmaji Hill among other hidden gems. Busan also has good places to shop and eat to meet all needs of shopaholics and foodies. Along with four direct routes to Busan, Vietjet currently operates six routes from Vietnam to Seoul. The Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi/Da Nang - Seoul (Incheon) routes have two daily return flights for each service. The Phu Quoc/Nha Trang/Hai Phong - Seoul (Incheon) routes operate one daily return flight.

Photo: Vietnamnet

Finance news: Big banks hike deposit interest rates

Large banks are starting to join the deposit interest rate hike race along with small- and medium-sized banks due to rising capital demand pressure after a long time of staying out of the game. Early this month, Agribank adjusted interest rates for long-term deposits. Accordingly, customers who deposit money at the bank for 12 months to 24 months will enjoy a rate of 5.6% per year, up 0.1 percentage points from last month.

Similarly, BIDV this month also announced a new interest rate change with an increase of 0.1 percentage point to 5.6% per year for deposits from 12 months to 36 months. At Vietcombank, the online deposit interest rate also added 0.1 percentage points per year compared to over-the-counter deposits. Many small- and medium-sized banks earlier this year increased their rates by 0.3-0.6 percentage points.

Before the pandemic, the highest interest rate for 12-month savings was 7% per year. Now, many banks are keeping it at 6.7-6.9%, whereas some have lifted it to more than 7%. As for the interest rate for short-term deposits of less than six months, banks are applying the ceiling rate of 4% for all terms.

SCB is currently applying the highest rates in the banking system on both over-the-counter and online channels. In particular, the 12-month savings rate at the bank’s over-the-counter channel is currently 7.3%. Meanwhile, if depositing online, depositors at SCB are given an additional 0.15-0.3 percentage points, raising the maximum interest rate to 7.55% per year. Many other banks, such as BaoVietBank, VietCapitalBank, CBBank, VietBank and LienVietPostBank, are also listing the rate at 7% per year.

Banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu told Vietnam News that to attract idle money, many banks have increased deposit interest rates significantly over the last year, adding that savings interest rates were on the rise and likely to go up further in the coming months.

“Savings interest rates in the remaining months of the year will rise due to a higher capital demand and inflationary pressure as well as a fiercer competition from other investment channels such as real estate and securities to attract idle capital flows,” he said. Saigon Securities Incorporation’s research division forecast deposit interest rate might be adjusted by a further 1-2% this year.

Photo: Cong Luan

Weather Forecast

July 11-13: In the southern waters of the South China Sea (including Truong Sa archipelago), level 6 southwest wind will continue to rock the sea, creating strong waves of 2-4 meters in height. Heavy rain in the Central Highlands and provinces from Thua Thien-Hue to Binh Thuan are likely to last until July 12.

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