HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Affordable bank credit has supported businesses in key sectors that drive the country’s economic growth, Nguyen Duc Lenh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City office, told a conference on October 31.

The Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City, in collaboration with the SBV’s HCM City office, organised the conference between businesses and the city government to help solve difficulties in accessing bank loans, while linking up export firms with banks to facilitate lending.

Lenh noted that exports are one of the five priority sectors that benefit from a preferential short-term credit programme in Vietnamese dong with an interest rate capped at 4% per annum, which creates favourable conditions for firms to expand their production and business activities, contributing to the sector’s development.

He highlighted that in Ho Chi Minh City alone, total loans outstanding in dong to export enterprises is more than 105.3 trillion VND (4.2 billion USD), accounting for 6.21% of total loans outstanding for the five priority sectors (small and medium-sized enterprises, export, agriculture and rural areas, supporting industries, and high-tech enterprises).

Furthermore, the SBV’s use of effective exchange rate and interest rate management tools and its flexible exchange rate policy have not only ensured the stability of the national currency and curbed inflation but also kept the foreign exchange market steady. This stability is crucial for the operations of enterprises, especially those involved in the import-export sector, driving their growth and development, he said.

At the conference, businesses expressed that the current low-interest-rate environment is great support for them to acquire affordable loans for production and business. However, many import-export enterprises said they have not yet accessed preferential loan packages from banks and wanted the banking sector to provide specific instructions to enable them to secure loans with interest rates of 3-4% per annum.

The conference also included a credit signing ceremony between Vietcombank’s HCM City branch and 20 export businesses in the city. This initiative aims to strengthen connections between banks and businesses, supporꦇt enterprises in enhancing export capacity and upgrading technology, and meet their capital demand in the final months of the year./.