THE STATE BANK
OF VIETNAM
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THE SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence-Freedom-Happiness
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No.
19/2024/TT-NHNN
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Hanoi, June 28,
2024
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CIRCULAR
AMENDMENTS TO
CIRCULAR NO. 08/2023/TT-NHNN DATED JUNE 30, 2023 OF GOVERNOR OF THE STATE BANK
OF VIETNAM PRESCRIBING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN LOANS WITHOUT
GOVERNMENT’S GUARANTEE
Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam
dated June 16, 2010;
Pursuant to the Law on Credit Institutions dated
January 18, 2024;
Pursuant to the Ordinance on Foreign Exchange
dated December 13, 2005; the Ordinance providing amendments to the Ordinance on
Foreign Exchange dated March 18, 2013;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.
219/2013/ND-CP dated December 25, 2013 prescribing management of enterprises’
foreign borrowing and repayment of foreign loans without government guarantee;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No.
102/2022/ND-CP dated December 12, 2022 prescribing functions, tasks, powers and
organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV);
At the request of the Director of the Foreign
Exchange Management Department;
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Article 1. Amendments to Circular No.
08/2023/TT-NHNN
1. Clause 9 is added to
Article 3 as follows:
“9. Foreign loan arising from issuance of letter
of credit (L/C) of a credit institution or foreign bank branch (issuing
bank) means a loan which arises from the issuance of a deferred payment L/C
containing a provision that the payment will be made at sight or in advance
before the L/C due date in accordance with applicable regulations of law on L/C
operations and other L/C-related business activities. The issuing bank
(borrower) is considered to have received a loan from the reimbursing bank
(lender) that is a non-resident when the reimbursing bank pays the beneficiary
using its own funds before the L/C due date under terms and conditions of the L/C.”
2. Article 5a is added as
follows:
“Article 5a. Foreign loans for
settlement of import contracts of lenders that are not credit institutions of
foreign bank branches
1. When obtaining a foreign loan for settlement of
a deferred payment contract for import of goods used for implementing the
borrower’s investment project or business plan or other project:
a) The purpose of the borrower’s foreign loan is to
serve the implementation of its investment project or business plan or another
project as prescribed in Article 17 of this Circular;
b) The borrower may exclude the outstanding debt of
its medium-term foreign loans equaling to the value of goods acquired under the
deferred payment import contract when calculating the limit on its foreign
loans as prescribed in point a clause 1 and clause 2 Article 18 of this
Circular.
2. The borrower may obtain a foreign loan for
settlement of an import contract (including compulsory debt repayment by the
issuing bank) under an L/C issued by the issuing bank.”
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“3. The foreign loan agreement must be made in
writing and concluded before or on the day on which the foreign loan capital is
withdrawn. The foreign loan agreement may be concluded on the day on which the
foreign loan capital is withdrawn if:
a) It is a short-term foreign loan which will be
disbursed after the loan agreement is concluded by the parties;
b) It is a foreign loan converted from funds for
investment preparations of projects granted investment registration certificate
in accordance with regulations of law on management of foreign currency for
foreign borrowing and debt repayment, and foreign direct investments in
Vietnam;
c) It is a short-term foreign loan arising from L/C
operations performed by a credit institution or foreign bank branch.”
4. Article 14 is amended as
follows:
“Article 14. Loan purposes
1. Short-term and medium/long-term foreign loans
are used for:
a) increasing the borrower’s funding for credit
extension activities to meet its credit growth target;
b) restructuring the borrower’s foreign debts;
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2. Except the case specified in point c clause 1 of
this Article, when applying for a medium- or long-term foreign loan, the
borrower shall be required to prove its loan purposes by presenting:
a) The plan for use of foreign loan capital as
prescribed in clause 2 Article 7 of this Circular if the loan is used for the
purpose defined in point a clause 1 of this Article; or
b) The debt restructuring plan as prescribed in
Article 8 of this Circular if the loan is used for the purpose defined in point
b clause 1 of this Article.”
5. Article 15 is amended as
follows:
“Article 15. Limit on short-term foreign loans
1. A borrower may apply for a short-term foreign
loan if it meets the limit on short-term foreign loans as at December 31 of the
year preceding the year in which the loan application is submitted. The limit
on short-term foreign loans is the maximum ratio of total outstanding principal
of short-term foreign loans to standalone equity, and shall not exceed:
a) 30%, if the borrower is a commercial bank; or
b) 150%, if the borrower is a foreign bank branch
or another credit institution.
2. The provisions of clause 1 of this Article do
not apply to foreign loans arising from issuance of L/C of credit institutions
or foreign bank branches.”
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“1. When applying for a short-term foreign loan or
a foreign loan arising from issuance of L/C of a credit institution or foreign
bank branch, the borrower shall be required to achieve the minimum levels of
prudential ratios prescribed in the Law on Credit Institutions on the last day
of each of the last 03 months prior to the signing date of the foreign loan
agreement or agreement on increase in the foreign loan amount, except the case
in point c Clause 2 of this Article.”
Article 2. Responsibility for
implementation
The Chief of Office, Director of the Foreign
Exchange Management Department, heads of SBV’s affiliated units, credit institutions,
foreign bank branches, enterprises, cooperatives and cooperative unions are
responsible for the implementation of this Circular.
Article 3. Implementation
1. This Circular comes into force from July 01,
2024.
2. Clause 1 Article 11 of the Circular No.
12/2022/TT-NHNN dated September 30, 2022 of SBV's Governor on management of
foreign exchange in enterprises’ foreign borrowing and foreign debt repayment
is amended as follows:
“1. Medium- and long-term foreign loans, except
foreign loans arising from issuance of L/C of credit institutions or foreign
bank branches.”
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