VAMC wants more power to deal with bad debts Heads of Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) said they need more power instead of more money to deal with bank bad debt, because the legal framework is inadequate.   "Even if we are given more fund, we would not be able to completely deal with all the bad debts," said Nguyen Quoc Hung, chairman of the VAMC. Hung said there are legal obstacles were preventing the VMAC from doing its job; even after buying bad debt, there was nowhere to dispose of it because Vietnam does not have the proper markets. "There are 50 to 60 foreign investors interested in (buying the bad debt), but when they ask how, we we can't give them answers," he said. Hung said the VAMC needs more power, including to seize collateral assets, enforcement, selling assets, and to go after borrowers who do not repay their loans. Bad debts at credit facilities amounted to VND309trn as of December, 2014. The VAMC has so far bought more than VND133trn of bad debt, but has resold just VND2trn. Pham Ngoc Long, head of the Science Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises, said 80 percent of bad debt was held by state enterprises which failed in non-core investments. Long said the bad debt classification method was inadequate and regulations incomplete, leading to conflicting and impractical rules. The State Bank of Vietnam established the VAMC in 2013 to purchase bad debt from financial institutions, provide debt restructuring and guarantee continued operations of enterprises, organisations and individuals through guaranteed loans.  tienphong