Foreign investment in Vietnam banks encouraged The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) encourages foreign credit institutions to contribute capital and purchase shares of Vietnamese credit institutions while continuing to evaluate and identify some weak banks to take on restructuring.    Habubank brand has disappeared from the market, after its merger with SHB (illustration photo). Information from the State Bank of Vietnam has said that the agency is continuing to evaluate and identify some weak credit institutions for restructuring in order to deal with weak credit institutions in 2013 under its roadmap. The central bank has undertaken restructuring measures to nine joint-stock commercial banks. Besides the group of joint stock banks, the commercial banks with State capital of over 50 percent have completed their restructuring plans. Overall, according to the assessment from the central bank, these banks are positive and proactive in implementing solutions to increase charter capital. So far, the central bank had received 24/25 restructuring plans of commercial banks. "The SBV also facilitates and encourages foreign credit institutions to contribute capital, buy shares of Vietnamese credit institutions, especially the weak banks to accelerate the restructuring of these banks," according to the central bank’s website. For non-bank credit institutions, the central bank has directed these institutions to develop and implement their restructuring plans. To date, the State Bank has received the restructuring plans of all 13 non-bank credit institutions and it is evaluating these plans. Sources from the central bank say that by November 10, the Vietnam Asset Management Corporation (VAMC) received files from 20 credit institution offering to sell a total of VND38 trillion of bad debt. Of these, VAMC has acquired over VND15 trillion of bad debts from 14 credit institutions. "The SBV is urgently completing the necessary legal procedures to form a concentrated debt trading market, enabling local and foreign investors to participate in the debt trading, in order to boost progress of settling NPLs in the banks," the source stressed. Son Tung, VietNamNet Bridge