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Few corporate clients apply for government subsidy loans: Banks
Fewer businesses in Ho Chi Minh City than expected have applied for loans or credit guarantee under the government’s loan subsidy program, bankers said.
Nguyen Ngoc Thang, Deputy head of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCMC branch, said the city accounts for only 20 percent of the total subsidized loans given nationwide under the program.
HCMC banks account for more than 30 percent of the country’s overall loans.
The State Bank of Vietnam, in a statement on its website last month, said banks expected to lend corporate clients around VND400 trillion (US$22.5 billion) at discount rates in February and March under the government’s 4 percent interest subsidy program.
But by last Friday, they had lent only VND218 trillion ($12.27 billion), the central bank said.
The Vietnam Development Bank, or VDB, has been asked to guarantee unsecured loans made to firms eligible for the government subsidy. The bank reported it has so far provided credit guarantees for only 152 businesses from 506 applications nationwide.
Nguyen Huu Hao, Deputy director of VDB’s HCMC branch, said only 31 businesses in the city applied for guarantees and 10 of them were ineligible.
Though the government announced that businesses can get interest-free loans from VDB to support workers who lost their jobs, Hao’s bank has not received a single application for such loans.
Borrowing advice
Tran Thi Kim Hien, Owner of a tea company in HCMC, said her company wanted to borrow VND700 million ($39,500) under the subsidy program but received only VND400 million.
She had to borrow the other VND300 million from unofficial lenders at an interest rate of 36 percent, and she plans to sell her house to repay this amount.
The maximum rate that commercial banks are allowed to charge without the subsidy is 10.5 percent.
Nguyen Chi Nguyen, General secretary of the HCMC Enterprises Association, said many businesses like Hien’s find it hard to get loans from banks and just give up trying.
They do not realize they can seek assistance from the city credit guarantee fund for small- and medium-sized enterprises, he said.
Bui Hai Duong from VDB said many businesses are eligible for the loan guarantee program but they do not know how to show that in their applications submitted to the bank.
A Ministry of Industry and Trade official, who wished to be unnamed, said two-thirds of small- and medium-sized businesses are unable to make a proper project report when they apply for loans or credit guarantee.
Do Minh Toan, Deputy general director of Asia Commercial Bank, said eligible businesses should ask to be advised by senior bank executives if their applications are declined in the first place.
The government has recently extended the loan subsidy program to the end of 2011, and included more beneficiaries than just those involved in export, import and production of essential goods.
sai gon tiep thi
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