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Importers hit as banks slap fees on dollar sales
Banks are demanding additional fees to sell dollars that take official rates almost to black-market levels, causing importers anguish.
Many complain that they are forced to pay VND19,850 - VND19,900 for a dollar while the official rate is only VND19,500.
A Ho Chi Minh City-based fashion firm owner told Tuoi Tre she plans to buy $1 million to pay for imports during the year-end peak season, but would have to pay service fees of VND400 million (US$20,500), meaning the actual dollar rate will be VND19,900 and not VND19,500.
A paper importer said he will lose some VND2.8 billion on a consignment worth $7 million this month.
Asked about the fees, several banks explained they buy dollars from exporters at negotiated prices that are quite close to black-market rates due to the dollar shortage. They earn just VND5-VND10 per dollar, they claimed.
In what is a double whammy for buyers, banks do not issue invoices for the fee. “If there are no invoices, the fees will be treated as profits and taxed,” a director of a paper import company said.
It is unclear where Vietnam will get its dollars in the remaining months this year, Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper said.
It ruled out gold exports as a source saying the country recently began to import three tons of the precious metal to meet surging demand.
Around 56 tons were exported in the first eight months for $2 billion.
Mounting demand for the greenback to repay loans that will fall due at the peak year-end season is also expected to put pressure on the dollar rate.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment forecasts the trade deficit to reach $10.1billion this year.
The Asian Development Bank revealed last Friday that Vietnam’s forex reserves are enough for eight weeks’ imports, adding that they may not rise by much in the last quarter.
The country’s traditional sources like foreign direct investment, portfolio investment, and overseas remittances have not seen robust growth, the newspaper added.
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