Trang Chủ
Nguyen Thi Kim Phung, SBV deputy governor said that according to the construction industry's estimated figures, the annual demand on housing in urban areas is estimated to reach 500,000 new buildings by 2010. An escalating housing requirement will create a capital demand in the tens of trillions of Vietnamese dong. Phung said, mortgages have increasingly accounted for a large part of all outstanding bank loans.
"This is an obstacle for banks because housing credits are mainly medium- and long-term while bank deposits are mainly short-term," she said.
Demand on capital for the development of housing is often higher than the State budget for that area. Construction companies invest their own money and take out loans to build houses and apartments.
Meanwhile, banking experts estimate there are tens of trillions of Vietnamese dong out of bank circulation.
Phung said that Vietnam lacks official and necessary policies to mobilise capital for building houses.
"Many countries have set up a housing financial market to get more capital for building houses," she said. "Individuals, households, banks, construction companies and mortgage refinance agencies are important parts of the market. The agencies buy mortgages then assess properties and issue shares to mobilise capital."
"To develop a housing financial market in Vietnam, the authorities should create policies and legal frameworks in line with the State's development policies," Phung said. "They include building a State policy on housing finance and revising Civil Code, Housing Law and Property Trading Law."
"A mortgage finance agency should be set up as early as possible to develop a steady and effective housing finance market," she added. If the market develops in Vietnam, it would bring many business opportunities for banking, construction companies, insurance companies and investors.
Phung hopes the market would have an important role in mobilising capital for housing development in the future.
Source: VNA
Feb. 6, 2006
