The banking – enterprises connection programme enabled around 22,000 businesses in HCM City to borrow over VND280 trillion (US$12.5 billion) from banks last year.

They had three kinds of loans available, with the city authorities acting as intermediaries for two: low-interest credit packages and loans for key sectors like agriculture, support industries, high-tech application and exports. For the third, district- and lower-level authorities helped bring the banks and enterprises together to address the latter’s funding needs.

Sixteen banks joined the programme with total capital of nearly VND212 trillion. “The programme expanded with total loans last year being 60 per cent more than in 2015, and the number of customers increased by 2.3 times,” Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV)’s HCM City office, told meeting held on Tuesday to review the programme.

According to the SBV, complaints from businesses about difficulties in getting credit had reduced, and in fact banks are meeting with enterprises in a bid to find customers since they are awash in funds.

This year the programme will focus on high-tech agriculture, start-up businesses and household businesses that expanded into enterprises, and seeks to lend VND241 trillion ($10.7 billion) with short-term interest rates of under 7 per cent and medium- and long-term rates of 8–10 per cent.

The city’s price stabilisation programme around Tet was also discussed at the meeting. — VNS