Foreign tourists listen to a tourguide in front of the Hue Citadel. Tourism enterprises are subjected to preferential loans of VND500 billion granted by ABBank. – VNA Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) – The An Binh Bank has decided to grant tourism businesses loans worth VND500 billion (US$23.8 million) at a preferential interest rate of seven per cent annually.

The targeted customers are those working in the hospitality industry ranging from hotels, restaurants and travel agencies to shops selling souvenirs and special local products. The seven per cent interest rate will apply on loans of less than two years' duration, and a 10 per cent interest on long-term loans.

With a 3,260-kilometre-long coastline, extending from the North to the South, and tropical features, Viet Nam is known as an attractive and promising tourist destination. Statistics from the Tourism General Department reveals that the country received more than six million international tourists in the first nine months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent. The tourism industry's revenue stands at VND179 trillion ($8.5 billion), an increase of 19 per cent year on year.

The preferential loans that ABBank gives hospitality enterprises will help boost the billion-dollar industry, create more jobs and bring more foreign currency into the country.

According to Le Manh Hung, ABBank's director of business customers, his bank will continue to plan preferential loan packages for different businesses sectors in different regions. By targeting specific groups of customers, ABBank hopes to meet every demand of its customers, the director explained. – VNS