The US dollar liquidity of the banking system has improved remarkably since beginning of January, as major State-owned enterprises have complied with a Government order and sold about 450 million USD to commercial banks. According to State Bank of Vietnam deputy governor Nguyen Dong Tien, most of the dollars were placed on non-term deposit by seven State-owned economic groups and corporations, including oil and gas giant PetroVietnam, mining giant Vinacomin, the Vietnam National Chemical Corporation (Vinachem) and Vietnam Airlines. “The US dollar sales have supported the forex market very much. Banks have more room to breath,” said Habubank deputy director Nguyen Du Huong. “The foreign exchange system has stabilised thanks to the Government’s move, although I don’t know how long the support will last.” The interbank exchange rate of 17,941 VND per US dollar has been stable for over a month, a situation rarely seen in recent years. Tien, meanwhile, said that the Government would get tougher on illegal currency traders. The State Bank was working with municipal People’s committee, media outlets and public security officers to promote and inspect for compliance./.