Vietnam central bank to prioritise growth for rest of year amid global uncertainties
Uncertainties in the global economy will remain and will affect the Vietnamese economy, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Pham Thanh Ha said.
"Risks in the global financial and monetary markets have put pressure on monetary policy management, exchange rates, interest rates as well as the target for economic growth of at least 8% this year," he said.
The central bank said it will continue to urge banks to cut costs and speed up digitalisation to pave the way for cutting their lending rates.
The central bank will also direct banks to boost their lending in a "safe and effective" manner, with the focus on production and business projects, it said.
He added that banks' total outstanding loans rose 9.9% by the end of June from the end of last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
India's stranded renewable projects double to over 50 GW, documents show
SINGAPORE, Aug 1 (Reuters) - India's stranded renewable power capacity - projects awarded but unable to come online - more than doubled over nine months, due to unfinished transmission lines, and legal and regulatory delays, letters from an industry group to the government showed. The South Asian nation aims to more than double its non-fossil fuel power capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, but the acceleration has left projects without firm agreements to supply power. Renewable projects that won tenders to generate power but are yet to sign power purchase agreements with buyers have surged to over 50 gigawatts (GW), India's Sustainable Projects Developers Association (SPDA) said in a letter to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on June 27. That compared with stranded projects of over 20 GW, another letter sent by the SPDA on October 4 showed. Both letters were reviewed by Reuters. Tendered projects cumulatively worth billions of dollars awarded to companies including JSW, NTPC ( opens new tab, ( opens new tab, Adani Green ( opens new tab, ACME Solar ( opens new tab, Renew (RNW.O), opens new tab and Sembcorp ( opens new tab are stranded, two industry officials familiar with the matter said. "Energy transition is not just about building solar and wind capacity, it is also about ensuring that clean power reaches in a most optimum cost and timely manner," the SPDA said in its June 27 letter to the renewable energy ministry. The stranded solar and wind capacity without buyers of over 50 GW reported by the SPDA is about a quarter the size of India's current installed renewable capacity of 184.6 GW. The companies did not respond to Reuters requests seeking comment. Delays in critical transmission infrastructure - especially in sun-drenched states such as Rajasthan and Gujarat - have forced many solar plants to miss commissioning deadlines, the SPDA said in the June letter. Interstate transmission lines connecting renewable energy projects to the grid are being fast-tracked, and compensation for landowners allowing power cables on their property has been increased to facilitate construction, the federal power ministry told Reuters. India plans to connect 230 GW of renewable energy projects to the grid through interstate transmission lines, of which 20% have been completed, 70% are under construction and the remainder is being bid out, the ministry said, without specifying a timeline for completion. Renewable projects are also stuck due to prolonged legal disputes over land and environmental permissions, SPDA said, adding that several developers have paused operations over unresolved court cases.
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials
Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow's trading partners over the war in Ukraine. Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump told reporters on Friday that such a move would be 'a good step' if true. 'I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia,' he said. 'That's what I heard. I don't know if that's right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens.' However, official sources in India, quoted by the news agency ANI, rebutted Trump's claim, saying Indian oil companies had not paused Russian imports and that supply decisions were based on 'price, grade of crude, inventories, logistics and other economic factors'. Trump's remarks came a day after the White House announced tariffs of 25% on all Indian goods, along with a penalty for buying arms and energy from Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Trump has given an 8 August deadline for Vladimir Putin to stop the war or risk further sanctions on tariffs on countries that import Russian oil. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Indian state-owned refineries had suspended Russian oil purchases amid the tariff threats and narrowing price discounts. But on Saturday the New York Times cited two unnamed senior Indian officials who said there had been no change in Indian government policy related to importing Russian oil. One said the government had 'not given any direction to oil companies' to cease buying oil from Russia. 'These are long-term oil contracts,' one of the sources said. 'It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.' The sources cited by ANI said Indian oil refineries operated in full compliance with international norms, and that Russian oil had never been directly sanctioned by the US or EU. 'Instead, it was subjected to a G7-EU price-cap mechanism designed to limit revenue while ensuring global supplies continued to flow.' They added: 'India's purchases have remained fully legitimate and within the framework of international norms.' The sources also noted that if India had not 'absorbed discounted Russian crude combined with Opec+ production cuts of 5.8 mb/d [millions of barrels a day], global oil prices could have surged well beyond the March 2022 peak of US$137/bbl [a barrel], intensifying inflationary pressures worldwide'. Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Russia is the top oil supplier to India, responsible for about 35% of the country's supplies. India says that as a major energy importer it must find the cheapest supplies to protect its population against rising costs. On Friday India's foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said: 'We look at what is available in the markets, what is on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances.' Jaiswal added that India had a 'steady and time-tested partnership' with Russia. This partnership has been a point of contention for the White House, with Trump posting on Truth Social on 30 July that while India was 'our friend', it had always bought most of its military equipment from Russia and was 'Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE – ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!' In a second post, Trump added: 'I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.' Ukraine's military said on Saturday it had hit oil facilities inside Russia, including a refinery in Ryazan, causing a fire on its premises. The strike also hit an oil storage facility, a military airfield for drones and an electronics factory.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
India will continue to buy Russian oil, government sources say
Aug 2 (Reuters) - India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of penalties, two Indian government sources said, not wishing to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. "These are long-term oil contracts," one of the sources said. "It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight." Trump last month indicated in a Truth Social post that India would face additional penalties for purchases of Russian arms and oil. On Friday, Trump told reporters that he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. The New York Times on Saturday quoted two unnamed senior Indian officials as saying there had been no change in Indian government policy, with one official saying the government had "not given any direction to oil companies" to cut back imports from Russia. Reuters reported this week that Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil in the past week after discounts narrowed in July. "On our energy sourcing requirements ... we look at what is there available in the markets, what is there on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances," India's foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters during a regular briefing on Friday. Jaiswal added that India has a "steady and time-tested partnership" with Russia, and that New Delhi's relations with various countries stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. The White House in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Indian refiners are pulling back from Russian crude as discounts shrink to their lowest since 2022, when Western sanctions were first imposed on Moscow, due to lower Russian exports and steady demand, sources said earlier this week. The country's state refiners - Indian Oil Corp ( opens new tab, Hindustan Petroleum Corp ( opens new tab, Bharat Petroleum Corp ( opens new tab and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd ( opens new tab - have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources familiar with the refiners' purchase plans told Reuters. On July 14, Trump threatened 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. Russia is the top supplier to India, responsible for about 35% of India's overall supplies. Russia continued to be the top oil supplier to India during the first six months of 2025, accounting for about 35% of India's overall supplies, followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, received about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil in January-June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by sources. Nayara Energy, a major buyer of Russian oil, was recently sanctioned by the European Union as the refinery is majority-owned by Russian entities, including oil major Rosneft ( opens new tab. Last month, Reuters reported that Nayara's chief executive had resigned after the imposition of EU sanctions and company veteran Sergey Denisov had been appointed as CEO. Three vessels laden with oil products from Nayara Energy have yet to discharge their cargoes, hindered by the new EU sanctions on the Russia-backed refiner, Reuters reported late last month.
