Vietnam Cos Get Easier Access to Subsidized Loans
The Vietnamese prime minister has issued a decision on loosening regulations on credit guarantee for businesses in order to create better conditions for them to access bank loans.
Businesses from all sectors that have registered capital of VND20 billion (US$1.18 million) at maximum or employ less than 1,000 workers are eligible for credit guarantees.
Credit guarantee does not apply to consultancy, real estate, securities, services, or for loans to pay debt, but does apply to low-income and student housing projects or to build cemeteries, the new regulations said.
The previous regulation requested a business to employ a maximum of 500 workers. It also required businesses to have no outstanding tax debt, but such requirement is abolished in the new regulation.
As for businesses with overdue debt but have investment, trade or production projects and have plans for repayment of the debt, the guarantor will consider their cases and decide on granting credit guarantee to them.
As of April 17, commercial banks and financial companies had made VND236.82 trillion (US$13.93 billion) of loans since the government started a subsidized-lending program in early February.
Of the total, state-owned banks loaned VND175.93 trillion, other local banks VND50.32 trillion, foreign banks VND10.1 trillion and financial firms the rest, the central bank said. (Liberated Saigon)
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