Foreign financial institutions were eyeing up poorly-performing Vietnamese banks after being given the green light to acquire stakes in local institutions in a move to speed up the restructuring of the country’s banking industry, according to banking expert Nguyen

Vietnam had 12,327 people with USD3 million to below USD30 million in net assets by the end of 2018, up 23% over the past five years and the figure is projected to reach 15,776 people by 2023.

Many banks have seen their service earnings accelerate, buoyed by increasing investment for the business segment and rising market demands.

Vietnam has set a target to restrain inflation at below 4% in 2019, however, there may be challenges.

Vietnam’s public debt in 2018 was estimated to account for less than 61% of national GDP, according to an official from the Ministry of Finance.

Local banks have increasingly sought cross-border borrowings in recent years after being pressured to raise capital for lending.