Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue is pushing Vietnam Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development, or Agribank, to conduct an IPO by 2020 and resolve all of its nonperforming loans soon, Viet Nam News reported Feb. 12.

The bank must "speed up preparation" to convert itself into a joint stock commercial bank from a state-owned bank, Hue said. The bank must also focus on resolving bad debts as part of its restructuring process, the deputy prime minister said.

Agribank's nonperforming loans at the Vietnam Asset Management Co. dropped to 9.59 trillion dong in the first half of 2018.

As of Feb. 12, US$1 was equivalent to 23,200.00 Vietnamese dong.