The Government's VND30 trillion ($1.42 billion) loan package is expected to help many low-income people buy houses. — Photo tienphong.vn

HA NOI (VNS)— Up to VND11 billion (US$524,000) of the Government's VND30 trillion ($1.42 billion) loan package to support the property market has been provided to 56 home buyers, the Ministry of Construction said.

The Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) received 160 applications for loans under the package while the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam received 100.

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), meanwhile, has announced the signing of loan contracts to two social housing developers to build new or convert existing projects.

They are Vicoland Joint Stock Company, which is developing social housing in central Thua Thien-Hue Province, with a loan of VND117.709 billion ($5.605 million), and Hoang Quan Real Estate Corporation, which is converting housing in HCM City, with VND540 billion ($25.72 million).

Ministry statistics show there are 47 commercial housing projects which have applied to convert to social housing, involving 33,000 apartments and a total investment of VND19 trillion ($905 million).

Sixteen commercial projects asking for permission to reduce the size of their apartments will increase the total number from 4,700 units to 6,600 units.

Thirty social housing and conversion projects were sent to the State Bank to determine their eligibility for loans. Of them, four were State-owned enterprises and four were joint-stock companies with State holdings. The rest were in the private sector.

The support package aimed to clear the backlog of high-price apartments and to help low-income earners get a home, the ministry said.

It was being strict in its assessments to meet the letter of the law which meant there was no preferential treatment.

New cash flow

Besides the five banks appointed to implement the support package, many other banks offered credit at preferential interest rates to home buyers.

HDBank offered loans at 0 per cent interest rate for the first year for those who bought apartments in the Dragon Hill Residence and Suits in Phuoc Kien Commune, HCM City's Nha Be District. The loan could be up to 70 per cent of the apartment value.

Eximbank had a VND5 trillion ($238.095 million) loan package with interest rates at 10-12 per cent per year over the first two years.

Vietbank had two credit packages for home buyers: one at 11.5 per cent to December 31, to be adjusted every three months thereafter; the other was interest-free for the first month, 12.56 per cent for the following 11 months, and according to the bank's policy thereafter.

Nam A Bank offered rates of 0-10.9 per cent per year for the first three months for loans from VND200 million ($9,300) to VND5 billion ($238,905) before September 30.

Nam A Bank deputy general director Tran Ngoc Tam said, however, that many people hesitated to borrow from banks for home purchases and those who were really in need of social housing did not meet lender requirements. — VNS