An agreement signing ceremony to support access to concessional loans between the Hanoi Investment Fund for Development, the city's commercial banks and the business community took place at a conference connecting stakeholders in Hanoi on 15 August.

An overview of the signing ceremony. Photo: kinhtedothi.vn

The municipal Department of Industry and Trade and the Investment Fund for Development also signed an agreement on cooperation and information exchange on the same day to promote the recovery of the city’s businesses in the post-pandemic period.

Speaking at the conference, Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan said: “The conference is expected to facilitate the connection between local banks and businesses to support those who need  concessional loans.”

She called on the enterprises to effectively make full use of loans from credit institutions, as well as actively participate in the demand stimulus program and speed up the construction of infrastructure in industrial zones and clusters in the area.

The conference attracted more than 100 enterprises operating in key industrial and commercial sectors, those participating in the market stabilization program, as well as 43 developers of industrial clusters and nearly 20 commercial banks in Hanoi. 

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Association of Key Industrial Products Manufacturers Luu Hai Minh expected banks will provide full information about credit incentive programs for businesses. 

“Banks should assist enterprises in lending procedures to make it easier for them to access loans,” he told The Hanoi Times.

Besides, for large enterprises to pay more attention to research and development (R&D), Minh wished that the city’s fund should specify criteria for preferential loans to invest in R&D.

Echoing Minh, Hanoi Supporting Industries Business Association (HANSIBA) Vice President Nguyen Van suggested that banks should extend the maturity of long-term loans because an investment needs two or three years, even five to 10 years to be profitable.

“The Hanoi Investment Fund for Development and the State Bank of Vietnam - Hanoi branch are considering lending for workers accommodation and social housing projects, as in the post-Covid-19 context, many businesses are boosting up production,” Van told The Hanoi Times.

Director of the State Bank of Vietnam - Hanoi branch, Nguyen Minh Tuan said banks are trying to keep the interest rates unchanged and find ways to reduce costs.

He called on banks to give the best incentives for the businesses and hoped that associations in collaboration with the municipal Department of Industry and Trade would work with commercial banks to build the best solutions for those who are in need of loans.

For the remainder of the year, the city would continue focusing on economic recovery, especially in addressing the concerns of the business community, according to Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Tran Sy Thanh.

Speaking at the national dialogue between the Prime Minister and the business community on August 11, he noted that Hanoi would allocate VND1trillion ($42.7 million) via the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies – Hanoi branch to provide preferential loans for local and businesses, taking the total budget allocated via the bank to VND6.6 trillion ($282 million).

Hanoi’s mayor expected the city to continue implementing the support program for small and medium enterprises during the 2021-2025 period, a project to aid startups in 2019-25, and the digitalization process for businesses in 2021-25.