Following a decision by the US Fed on September 22, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) joined the global trend and increased operating interest rates for VND from 4 per cent to 5 per cent. The move will not really have an impact, however, because no bank has borrowed capital from the central bank for many years.

Prices of oil, gas, and related products in Vietnam are influenced by both domestic and external conditions.

Employers have been exempted from paying unemployment insurance premiums for the past year in an effort to help them overcome Covid-19. As production and business activities return to some semblance of normal, compulsory unemployment insurance premiums will be re-applied from October 1, at 1 per cent of an employee’s monthly salary.

Transactions for and the price of gold have virtually “frozen” in Vietnam since the beginning of July. The recent upturn in the USD exchange rate has put downward pressure on the precious metal, though it is still supported by accommodative monetary policy from the central bank and the need for hedging during the pandemic.