Seafood association urges crackdown on loan sharks
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers has urged the Ministry of Public Security to bring loan sharks to justice as they are disrupting the operations of member firms.
In a petition sent to the ministry’s economic security agency, the association (VASEP) said many seafood company executives have been harassed, threatened and defamed by loan shark rings.
Many association members complained that loan shark rings have been harassing and defaming their leaders on phone and via other social media links including the messenger.
“This has had serious negative impact on the enterprises, their leaders' sentiments and social order,” VASEP's petition reads.
Processing shrimp for export at Minh Phu Seafood Corp in South Song Hau Industrial Park in Hau Giang province, southern Vietnamam. Photo courtesy of the company.
Over the past two years, loan shark activities have become |more pervasive across the country, especially in the Mekong Delta and areas near industrial parks, with workers having borrowed money during the pandemic to make ends meet.
The executives suspect that the employees have been tricked into borrowing from loan sharks on mobile apps.
When borrowers fail to repay their loans taken at cut-throat interest rates in time, loan sharks have been threatening them, their relatives, friends, and colleagues and even their employers with defamation, physical harm and disruption of business operations.
The rings have posted images of executives on social media and spread fake information about “illegal” acts and even their death.
Black market loans, mostly related to loan sharks, have been a chronic problem in Vietnam.
On July 13, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu said that the banking sector was ready to disburse a loan package of VND20 trillion ($855 million) for workers at industrial parks at half the current interest rate in order to counter usurious informal and illegal credit.
In the last three years, the Ministry of Public Security has handled 2,740 cases of "black credit" with 5,000 suspects. Of these, 4,000 suspects in 2,000 cases were prosecuted. Factory workers were victims in 1,000 cases.
As of April, consumer loans in the country amounted to over VND2,260 trillion ($96.62 billion), accounting for over 20% of the economy's outstanding loans, up 8.93% against the end of 2021.
Surveys carried out by trade unions over a number of years have revealed that around a third of Vietnamese workers are destitute, have debts and borrowed from loan sharks using social insurance and identity cards as collateral.
Vu Minh Tien, director of the Institute of Workers and Trade Union, said at a June 16 seminar on minimum wages that out of 2,000 people polled in March, 12% borrow money on a regular basis to meet basic living expenses, 35.5% do so three to four times per month, and 34.8%, once or twice a year.
"I've never seen any worker who borrowed money to purchase real estate. They borrow just to cover their immediate living expenses," Tien said. "If a worker does not work overtime and his or her child is sick or their parents are hospitalized, they will certainly fail to pay rent in time in the following months, and eventually resort to (informal) loans."
- Read More
Key factors helping firms export to demanding markets: DH Foods exec
Don’t treat business as a week-to-week or month-to-month affair. To go the distance, you must conduct business ethically, writes Nguyen Trung Dung, CEO of DH Foods.
Consulting - Thu, October 23, 2025 | 8:00 am GMT+7
Gold exchange, gold derivatives, gold ETFs proposed to be launched in Vietnam
Forming a gold exchange under state management in Vietnam is suitable to the reality, said Dao Xuan Tuan, head of the foreign exchange management department under the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).
Finance - Wed, October 22, 2025 | 9:00 pm GMT+7
Real estate major Novaland wins key approval for $5 bln project in central Vietnam
Novaland Group (HoSE: NVL), one of Vietnam’s leading property developers, has received investment approval for its flagship project worth $5 billion in the central province of Lam Dong after years of delay due to legal obstacles.
Real Estate - Wed, October 22, 2025 | 4:20 pm GMT+7
Vietnam's plastics heavyweights Tien Phong, Binh Minh report profit surges
Tien Phong Plastic (HNX: NTP) recorded pre-tax profit of nearly VND949 billion ($36.04 million) in the first nine months of the year, exceeding its full-year target by 10.85%, while Binh Minh Plastic (HoSE: BMP) achieved record net profit of VND350 billion ($13.29 million) in Q3, surpassing its VND330 billion milestone set in the previous quarter.
Companies - Wed, October 22, 2025 | 4:17 pm GMT+7
Vietnam, Finland firms sign multiple MoUs on satellite, cybersecurity, aviation partnerships
A series of cooperation agreements were signed between Vietnam and Finland on Tuesday, within the framework of Party chief To Lam's official visit to Helsinki, while bilateral relationship was lifted to a "strategic partnership".
Economy - Wed, October 22, 2025 | 12:43 pm GMT+7
Trung Nam Ca Na seeks to convert agri-forest land for $147 mln industrial park in central Vietnam
Industrial park developer Trung Nam Ca Na is seeking approval to convert about 170 hectares of agricultural and forest land for the construction of a VND3,875 billion ($147 million) project in Vietnam’s central coastal province of Khanh Hoa.
Industrial real estate - Wed, October 22, 2025 | 10:54 am GMT+7
PV Power's arm posts 5-fold jump in Q3 profit on margin recovery
PetroVietnam Power Nhon Trach 2 JSC (HoSE: NT2) reported a sharp rebound in third-quarter earnings as improved margins and higher revenue lifted profits nearly fivefold from a year earlier.
Companies - Wed, October 22, 2025 | 8:37 am GMT+7
TCBS overtakes SSI to become Vietnam’s largest securities company by market cap
Over 2.3 billion shares of Techcom Securities JSC (TCBS) debuted on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) on Tuesday. The stock, TCX, recorded the highest price and the largest market capitalization in the Vietnamese securities sector.
Finance - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 10:27 pm GMT+7
Indonesia’s palm oil industry becomes investment magnet
Indonesia’s palm oil sector attracted IDR52.7 trillion, or approximately $3.2 billion, in investment during the first nine months of this year, with the money going into enabling the country to capture more value out of its top commodity, the country’s Ministry of Investment reported.
Southeast Asia - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 9:34 pm GMT+7
Indonesia reports strong job, investment growth
The Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs reported strong job and investment growth during the first year of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, compared with the first year under his predecessor.
Southeast Asia - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 9:29 pm GMT+7
Singapore grants conditional approval for 1GW low-carbon power import from Malaysia
Singapore has granted conditional approval to import 1 GW of low-carbon electricity from the Malaysian state of Sarawak, marking a new phase in the energy partnership between the two countries.
Southeast Asia - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 9:26 pm GMT+7
Margin lending in Vietnam’s stock market hits record, but not worrisome
Despite margin debt in Vietnam’s stock market surging sharply, experts believe that current margin pressure is not yet a major concern as top securities firms have significantly strengthened their capital buffers.
Finance - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 4:23 pm GMT+7
Lenders in Vietnam now in low-rate lending race: ACB exec
The biggest “headache” for banks in Vietnam now is that profit margins are getting thinner, said CEO of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) Tu Tien Phat.
Banking & Finance - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 4:00 pm GMT+7
PV Gas - 35 years of innovation and technological leadership in Vietnam’s gas industry
Over the past 35 years of establishment and development (1990-2025), PV Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned giant Petrovietnam, has affirmed its pioneering position in Vietnam’s gas industry, marked by a series of groundbreaking achievements in science and technology.
Companies - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 3:45 pm GMT+7
Vietnam's consumer finance major F88 achieves 90% of year's profit target after 9 months
F88 Investment JSC (F88), a leading consumer finance company in Vietnam, reported a cumulative pre-tax profit of VND603 billion ($22.88 million) in the first nine months of 2025, a 2.5-fold increase year-on-year, reaching 90% of its full-year target of VND673 billion.
Companies - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 3:15 pm GMT+7
Vietnam corporate earnings to be driven by credit expansion, trading activity, property recovery
With Q3 earnings season underway, results are expected to come in broadly in line with expectations. Financials should remain the largest contributors, benefiting from credit expansion and trading activity, while real estate continues to recover as project launches and sales rates improve, writes Tung Dang, associate director at Dragon Capital.
Economy - Tue, October 21, 2025 | 2:33 pm GMT+7



















