As banks are offering low interest rates, many companies are advertising to mobilise idle capital from investors by offering very high interest rates. — Photo vneconomy.vn

Experts have sounded the alarm about a new form of financial investment co-operation offering high interest rates, warning that investors could lose their capital in a rate trap.

As banks are currently offering low interest rates, many companies are advertising in a bid to mobilise idle capital from investors by offering very high interest rates, vneconomy.vn reported.

According to an advertisement on the website of Nhat Nam Real Estate and Trading Investment Joint Stock Company, despite being newly established in July 2019, the company has more than 8,000 investors participating in business co-operation. The company is offering an interest rate of up to 168 per cent for a 24-month term to investors, which is 12 times higher than the interest rate listed by commercial banks.

According to the company’s staff, customers can receive high interest rates and discounted real estate and other services from the company if they invest from VND20 million to VND5 billion over two years.

After two working days of sending their capital to the company, every day customers will receive a part of the principal and interest rate sent to their personal account from Monday to Friday, except weekends and the country’s holidays.

The staff claimed the company can pay such attractive profits due to its involvement in many business segments with a focus on real estate in many cities and provinces from Ha Noi, Ha Nam and Thanh Hoa to Kien Giang, Tay Ninh and Dac Lak.

Also offering high interest rates and sustainable profit, the Blue Diamond Real Estate Services Trading and Investment Joint Stock Company headquartered in HCM City is seeking investment with a dream interest rate of 105 per cent in 20 months.

The company announced it recently launched a gratitude programme to loyal investors, offering customers VND6.16 million per month with an investment capital of only VND60 million. This means as well as three SJC gold taels as a gift, the customers are promised a total of VND123 million after 20 months.

According to lawyer Truong Thanh Duc, Director of ANVI Law Firm, all forms of capital mobilisation, from bond and stock issuance to business co-operation contracts, are legal. However, the above form of investment co-operation, which commits to pay fixed high interest rates is fraudulent and ambiguous.

Duc explained under Article 468 of the 2015 Civil Code, the interest rate of a loan may be agreed upon by the involved parties but must not exceed 20 per cent of the loan amount per year, unless otherwise prescribed by a relevant law.

To dodge the law, the companies mobilise capital by calling for business investment co-operation, whose interest rate can reach hundreds of per cent legally. However, they don't warn their customers that business investment co-operation has risks and the customers must accept those risks.

If the companies claim their investment is profitable and safe without any risks, they are cheating customers, Duc noted. — VNS