Businesses complain about USD exchange rate difference at banks...

Damage due to difference in USD buying and selling prices

This week, the USD price in the free market continued to increase sharply, approaching 26,000 VND/USD, after the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) adjusted the reference selling price to above 26,000 VND/USD since the end of last week.

According to economic experts, the State Bank's acceptance of a higher exchange rate is reasonable in the context of maintaining low interest rates to support economic growth. However, the fluctuation of exchange rates also makes many businesses, especially importers, worried.

Sharing with the press, the director of an agricultural import-export enterprise said that although the exchange rate this year is forecast to not fluctuate much compared to last year, the company still decided to retain a portion of USD to reduce risks. This company has both agricultural export and import activities, but the revenue from export accounts for a larger proportion. Previously, every time the company earned USD, it often sold it all to the bank to get VND for business activities.

“However, when we need USD to pay for import orders, we have to buy at high prices. Therefore, in recent years, the company has proactively kept a portion of USD for payment to avoid the situation of buying at low prices but selling at high prices, causing significant losses,” the leader shared.

At dialogues with the banking industry, many businesses have recommended that commercial banks narrow the gap between foreign currency buying and selling prices, helping to reduce financial costs.

Mr. Ngo Van Khanh, Vice Chairman of the Bac Giang Provincial Business Association and General Director of Bac Giang Import-Export Joint Stock Company, emphasized that with an export turnover of 50 million USD/year, exchange rate fluctuations have a great impact on the company's operations. Therefore, he proposed that the State Bank maintain exchange rate stability and recommended that commercial banks reduce the margin between buying and selling foreign currencies.

On the bank side, Mr. Nguyen Viet Cuong, Deputy General Director of Vietcombank , affirmed that Vietcombank's USD selling price depends on the buying price. In the coming time, this bank will continue to look for opportunities to buy USD at low prices so that it can sell at more competitive prices.

“We are also implementing an online foreign exchange trading platform for corporate customers. Through this platform, businesses can directly connect with each other in foreign exchange buying and selling activities, thereby narrowing the gap between buying and selling prices,” said Mr. Cuong.

On the part of the State Bank, this agency affirmed that with the existing resources, including foreign exchange reserves, trade surplus, remittances and disbursement of foreign investment capital, the exchange rate this year will be maintained stable. Therefore, the State Bank recommends that people and businesses should not hoard foreign currency in cash or in accounts.

Recent sharp fluctuations in exchange rates are causing concern for businesses, including importers.

Import and foreign currency borrowing businesses face many pressures

Since the beginning of the year, the USD has decreased by 4.9% in the international market, but the domestic selling price has still increased by more than 0.8%. In 2024, the central exchange rate increased by only 487 VND, but in less than 3 months of this year, the increase has reached 516 VND.

According to the latest forecast, Mr. Tim Leelahaphan - Senior Economist of Standard Chartered in charge of Thailand and Vietnam - has raised the mid-year forecast of VND/USD exchange rate to 26,000 VND/USD (compared to the previous forecast of 25,450 VND/USD). By the end of 2025, the exchange rate is expected to decrease slightly to 25,700 VND/USD, higher than the previous forecast of 25,000 VND/USD.

Although the exchange rate is forecast to increase compared to the beginning of the year, this increase is still quite slight compared to last year. Dr. Can Van Luc, Chief Economist of BIDV, commented that this year's exchange rate may increase by 3-4%, lower than the adjustment of nearly 5% last year. Vietnam still maintains a more stable domestic currency than many countries in the region.

However, although the exchange rate fluctuations are not large, the impact on businesses is still significant. Mr. Vu Van Hoa, General Director of the Netherlands Technology Joint Stock Company, said that the animal feed industry has to import billions of dollars worth of raw materials each year. If the exchange rate increases by 3%, large businesses may have to spend billions of VND more to buy input materials.

Businesses with USD debt are also significantly affected. Vietnam Airlines’ financial report shows that its exchange rate loss in 2024 will reach nearly VND1,500 billion, an increase of nearly VND600 billion compared to the previous year. Similarly, Novaland also saw its exchange rate loss nearly double compared to the previous year.

In the context that exchange rates are unlikely to decrease to support interest rates, experts recommend that businesses should proactively use derivative instruments to hedge against risks from exchange rate fluctuations.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/doanh-nghiep-than-phien-ve-chenh-lech-ty-gia-usd-tai-ngan-hang-247798.html