Enhancing financial support for small- and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) businesses was the main focus of a conference held by Ho Chi MinhCity’s Association of SMEs and the municipal Department of Industry andTrade on June 17.

During the event, experts said it isincreasingly difficult to solve issues related to capital forenterprises, as almost all Vietnamese companies operate at small andmedium scales.

Vice Chairman of the Association Pham Ngoc Hungsaid his agency carried out a survey of business awareness of Vietnam’sintegration process, which produced alarming results as almost allinterviewed firms stated they are concerned about issues relatedcapital, trade barriers and markets if Vietnam integrates deeply intothe global economy.

Assessing Vietnam’s economic developmentsituation in the first months of the year, experts said the country sawsignals of recovery in its economy, as its real estate market rebounded,enterprise production and trade was prosperous and the country’simport-export activities reaped good results.

However,Vietnamese businesses, especially SMEs, are meeting with challenges incatching up with the integration process and expanding their marketsabroad.

According to Nguyen Manh Tue, a representative from theHCM City Department of Industry and Trade, the municipal authoritieshave conducted a wide range of activities to assist local businesses toaccess capital sources, such as organising dialogues between firms andmanagement agencies and connecting enterprises with banks in thelocality.

During the last three years, thanks to linkingactivities, businesses in the city signed loan contracts worth 120trillion VND (5.5 billion USD) with local banks.-VNA