On July 14, Eximbank quoted the dollar purchase price at 19,092 dong per dollar, just eight dong per dollar lower than the sale price. The same day, Vietcombank purchased dollars at 19,090 dong, an increase of 25 dong over one week ago. The price quoted by Asia Commercial Bank ACB also increased by five dong to 19,095 dong per dollar.

Currently, the highest possible dollar price at which banks are allowed to sell to clients is 19,100 dong per dollar. However, some businesses say they have to buy dollar at the prices higher than the prices quoted by banks.

The chairman of a big steel corporation, which has good relations with several banks, said it is now not as difficult to purchase dollars from banks as in late 2009, but it is not easy to purchase.

“Banks ask us to pay 40 to 100 dong per dollar higher than the quoted prices, or they will not sell dollars. Both the state-owned and joint-stock banks said so,” he said.

As such, the dollar prices that businesses have to pay to commercial banks are between 19,140 and 19,200 dong per dollar, higher than the 19,100 dong per dollar level which is now quoted by commercial banks, and nearly equal to the dollar price on the black market.

On July 14, the dollar sale and purchase prices were higher than the prices quoted by commercial banks, at 19,160 dong per dollar (purchase) and 19,200 dong per dollar (sale).

In the first six months of the year, loaning in foreign currency increased sharply because many enterprises chose to borrow in foreign currencies to enjoy lower interest rates. At that time, experts warned that a foreign currency shortage may occur in the last months of the year when businesses all rush to purchase dollars to pay bank debts. It seems that the warning has come true as some contracts on borrowing foreign currencies matured in late June.

According to the HCM City Branch of the State Bank of Vietnam, the growth rate of foreign currencies (mostly in dollars) of local banks in the first six months of the year increased by 22.2 percent over the end of 2009, much higher than the dong credit growth rate at 1.6 percent.

Therefore, the State Bank of Vietnam has requested commercial banks to tighten loaning in foreign currencies as of early July. As the result, businesses now find it difficult to borrow foreign currencies, including the ones that need foreign currencies to import materials for local production.

Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association and Director of the Tan An Farm Produce Processing and Export Company Nguyen Duc Thanh said it is now more difficult to borrow dollars from banks to import raw cashew materials than earlier this year.

“Even the banks, which once guaranteed for businesses open letters of credit (L/C) to import cashews from Indonesia and Africa, now hesitate to lend in foreign currencies or set stricter requirements when providing loans,” Thanh said.

According to Thanh, from now to the end of the year, cashew enterprises need 170 million dollars to import 200.000 tons of raw cashew nuts.

“However, it seems to be very difficult to import enough raw materials because of the limitations in accessing bank loans in foreign currencies,” Thanh added.

In the report released on July 12, experts from Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation HSBC warned that the pressure on the local currency will be increasing in the third quarter of the year.

Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon