Day: May 26, 2023

Dozens of commercial banks have simultaneously decided to reduce deposit interest rates from May 25, after the State Bank’s decision to cut policy interest rates.

After maintaining the highest deposit interest rate among the commercial banks for several days, at 9.2% per year, An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank) has lowered its savings interest rates by up to 0.8%.

According to the interest rate for online saving and ABBank App, the savings interest rates for terms from 15 months and above, which stood at 9.2% per year for a long time, dropped sharply to 8.4% per year for the 15-month term (down 0.8%), and 8.5% per year for the terms of 18 months and above (down 0.7%).

Vietnam Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VietBank) also cut savings interest rates for the 4th time in a row since early May, down between 0.1 – 0.4%.

From May 26, Saigon Thuong Tin Bank Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) also decreased deposit interest rates by between 0.1-0.4% for some terms. Meanwhile, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) cut its savings interest rates between 0.2%-0.6%, with the sharpest decline recorded in the 12-month term with a drop of 0.6% to only 6.6% per year.

Notably, most banks reduced deposit interest rates for the three-month term, with the strongest decrease recorded at ACB (down 0.7 percent).

The group of the four biggest State-owned banks (Big 4) also continued to reduce deposit interest rates from May 26, with reduced rates from 0.1 – 0.7% per year.

Currently, the highest interest rate applied to this group is 7.2% per year.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has announced two decisions to further reduce policy interest rates, which will become effective from May 25, 2023.

According to the first decision, the interest rates of the overnight interbank electronic payment and compensatory lending for the capital shortfall in offset payments by the SBV will be reduced from 6.0% per annum to 5.5% per annum.

Under the second decision, the maximum interest rate of non-term and term deposits of less than one month remains unchanged at 0.5% per annum. The maximum interest rate of deposits with terms from one month to less than six months will be reduced from 5.5% per annum to 5.0% per annum.

The central bank’s decision to further cut the policy interest rates aims to stimulate economic growth, support liquidity in the interbank market, and provide favorable conditions for borrowing and lending activities within the banking system./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Airports in Vietnam served up to 45.5 million passengers in the first five months of this year, an increase of 37.8% compared to the same period last year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Of the figure, there were 12 million foreigners and 33.4 million local passengers, marking a year-on-year rise of 679.6% and 33.4%, respectively.

In May alone, airports across the country served 9 million passengers, up 3.2% from the previous month.

Between January and May, Vietnamese airlines carried 22.4 million people, a year-on-year increase of 36.9%. Of the total, there were 16.7 million domestic passengers, up 5.7% from 2022.

The volume of foreign passengers reached 5.7 million, an increase of 5,525.1% higher than from the corresponding period last year.

The sudden rise in the number of passengers after more than two years of travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an improvement in the business results of domestic airlines.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines saw revenue doubling year-on-year to 23.5 trillion VND (about 1 billion USD) in the first quarter of this year. It still reported a after-tax loss of 37.3 billion VND in the period, but it is a significant improvement compared to a loss of nearly 2.69 trillion VND in the same period last year.

The airline has restored its entire domestic flight network and resumed 90% of the international routes compared to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, during the first three months of 2023, air carrier Vietjet posted revenue of 12.88 trillion VND and after-tax profit of 168 billion VND, increasing by 286% and 320% year-on-year, respectively.

Ancillary revenue, in particular, was reported at 4.31 trillion VND, accounting for more than 33% of the total revenue. The company’s consolidated revenue and after-tax profit were almost 12.9 trillion VND and 173 billion VND, respectively./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Republic of Korean Air Force’s (ROKAF) Black Eagles, a South Korean air force unit, that are making their third appearance at Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2023 (LIMA’23) here this year, have expressed their honour to be able to fly their aircraft in Malaysian airspace.

The unit’s chief pilot, Major Yang Eunho, said the entire team was overwhelmed by Malaysians’ response to their aerobatic performance, having made their debut at the exhibition in 2017.

“We are very happy to see the people of Malaysia supporting us and we hope that they will enjoy to watch our performance.

“We have 24 flying formations with two special formations, which are Taeguk (South Korean flag) and tornado landing that could be only done by Black Eagles…I hope the people of Malaysia will be able to watch it,” he told reporters at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre (MIEC) compound, here today.

Yang said that they were fortunate as the weather was good and they could fly and put on their best show for Malaysians.

“We hope to get a lot of opportunities to participate in future LIMA shows, if we are given the chance, we will show more great performances to Malaysians,” he added.

The Black Eagles aerobatic team used eight training aircraft T-50B Golden Eagle developed by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) during its 2017 LIMA debut.

Other than Black Eagles, LIMA‘23 is also showcasing other international aerobatic teams, including the Jupiter team from Indonesia, August 1st (China), Russian Knights (Russia) and Al Fursan (United Arab Emirates).

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) #NoFOMO Social Wellness Challenge (#NoFOMO Challenge) will harbour its sail on May 31, allowing students to submit their entries via Instagram and TikTok in less than five days.

#NoFOMO Challenge that comes from FOMO abbreviation which translates to the fear of missing out, aims to encourage young individuals to showcase their talent and creativity in video content while emphasising the key elements of wellness: physical, emotional and financial themes.

According to LIAM in a statement today, the association said the contest also encourages students to manifest their creativity in the digital realm to instill their presence and voicing out their thoughts by utilising short video contents which are uploaded via Instagram and TikTok to try and impress the judges through their content.

“Apart from signing up at nofomo.my, contestants need to be in line with the physical, emotional and financial wellness theme and are required to use the #NoFOMOChallenge hashtag and needs to ensure to tag @nofomo.my with an open Instagram or TikTok account so that the content will be visible and detected,” the statement read.

The contest will be taken to centre stage where the grand prize winner will receive RM10,000 cash and an iPhone 14 Pro while the top 10 finalists, will get RM2,000 cash each, and it will be announced at the #NoFOMO Youth Festival 2023 at UiTM Puncak Alam on June 22.

Additionally, the contest offers over RM42,000 in cash and other prizes, including 120 weekly winners of RM50 E-Wallet Credits each.

“LIAM and its 16 member companies have embarked on the #NoFOMO Challenge campaign through 40 roadshows, 12 classroom workshops and three townhall sessions with three celebrities’ key opinion leaders (KOLs) at universities and colleges nationwide,” said LIAM.

The KOLs were namely singer and actor Alvin Chong; Malaysian rapper Muhammad Haqeem Nuriman Nor Azrin, better known as Yonnyboii and singer Nicole Lai Chung Fung.

Alvin Chong shared on how he managed emotional wellness with students from Sunway university on March 31, while Yonnyboii had a session with UiTM Puncak Perdana students on May 10. Yonnyboii shared how he grew up as a student and overcame financial difficulties before he became a singer.

LIAM said students from HELP University Subang were delighted with the presence of local singer Nicole Lai yesterday, who shared her experiences of navigating her daily healthy lifestyle while juggling a vibrant social life.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) has called on borrowers to take advantage of the loan repayment discount incentive of up to 20 per cent that it is offering until May 31.

PTPTN chief executive Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Majid said the offer, since March 1, covers four categories, which is a 20 per cent discount on the remaining debt for full settlement of the loan and a 15 per cent discount for settlement of at least 50 per cent of the remaining debt.

“In addition, PTPTN also offers a 15 per cent discount for refunds through salary deduction or Direct Debit according to the refund schedule and a five per cent discount for refunds through the myPTPTN application,” he said in a statement today.

According to him, PTPTN has provided various channels to make it easier for borrowers to make repayments including online through the myPTPTN application and internet banking.

He said PTPTN has also opened special counters at selected locations nationwide to help borrowers planning to capitalise on the repayment discount incentive.

He also thanked all borrowers who had made loan repayments throughout the discount implementation period and expressed his appreciation to strategic partners who also organised the PTPTN loan repayment campaign.

“The commitment of borrowers who make repayments is greatly appreciated in ensuring the continuity of providing education loans to future generations,” he said.

Borrowers can also contact PTPTN for more information through the PTPTN Careline at 03-21933000, Live Chat at www.ptptn.gov.my, e-Complaints at https://eaduan.ptptn.gov.my/ or PTPN’s official social media.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency