Recently the Ho Chi Minh City Branch of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV's HCMC branch), in collaboration with the Department of Industry and Trade, held the 3-year preliminary summing-up conference of the Bank - Enterprise Connection programme in Ho Chi Minh City in the 2012-2015 period. According to the statement by Mr To Duy Lam, Director of SBV's HCMC branch, the most striking result after three years of implementation of the programme was that credit flows have been widened, easing worries about capital as well as interest rates and creating favourable conditions for businesses in the city.
Bank - Enterprise Connection programme in Ho Chi Minh City has been implemented since 2012 with the aim of removing difficulties for production and business activities and supporting the market under the guidelines of the Government. In the past three years, the programme has facilitated 6,298 clients to have access to low-interest capital with the total amount of VND145,116 billion. To present, bad debt has not incurred. Particularly in June, 2015, the programme made loan totalling VND77,607 billion for 1,795 customers, exceeding VND17,607 billion compared with the assigned plan in 2015. As noted by Mr Lam, after three years of implementation, the Bank - Enterprise connection programme has made very large spillover effect to the business community in the city, enabling enterprises to maintain stable production and business development and contributing to the socio-economic development of the city with the average GDP in 5 year (2011-2015) of 9.6 percent, higher than the national average. More importantly, the programme has created an opportunity for businesses to reduce capital constraints and pressure on interest rates so that they have time to invest in enhancing competitiveness in the integration phase. Specifically, all businesses involved in the programme in all areas of production and business and economic sectors are entitled to preferential rates such as short-term loan for five priority areas as defined at the point of signing contract. In the beginning of the programme’s implementation in 2012, the lending rate in the programme was 12-14 percent a year; that has now reduced to 5.5 -10 percent a year. Currently, common rates range from 6-7 percent year for short-term loans and revolve around 9 percent mid-term and long-term loans.
Mr Lam said that to promote the results achieved, in the upcoming time, the Bank – Enterprise connection programme in Ho Chi Minh City will focus on some areas of development priority including supporting industry, high-tech agriculture and human resource development, towards launching supporting programs, mechanisms and policies and preferential credit packages. In addition, the implementation method of the programme will also be shifted from signing directly in districts and provinces to removing difficulties in credit relations between banks and customers. At the same time the program also addresses the needs of capital for businesses based on the business listing sent by districts and departments. In the last 6 months of 2015, the city will strive to disburse 100 percent the credit package worth VND127,333 billion committed by 19 commercial banks in 2015.
Assessing the effectiveness of the Bank – Enterprise connection programme in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms Nguyen Thi Hong, Vice Chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh city’s People’s Committee affirmed that through 3 years of implementation, the programme has been on track, clearly expressing the State’s policy in supporting business stability and developing production and business; gradually improving the competitiveness and launching products with high added value, and contributing to improving exports and economic growth of the city. Based on such importance, Ms Hong suggested further improving the effectiveness of the bank – enterprise connection programmes not only in the field of manufacturing and business but also towards deeply supporting to 9 service industries and four key industries in the city, high-quality human resource training projects, development projects, and projects improving the quality of life of people living in the districts at the city’s outskirts. Besides that, in response to reflections of difficulties in obtaining loans from enterprises, Ms Nguyen Thi Hong made public the hotline of the Bank – Enterprise connection programme in Ho Chi Minh City, which is (08) 38211230. Any enterprises having any problems or proposals regarding this programme can call the hotline to reflect and will be answered satisfactorily.
Speaking at the conference, SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Dong Tien affirmed that with high efficiency and spillover effect, the Bank – Enterprise connection programme has actually noted the dynamism and creativity in the direction and administration work of the Ho Chi Minh City’s leaders, which is towards the common goal of removing difficulties, stabilizing production and improving competitiveness for businesses, contributing to the economic development of Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the country in general.
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