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Dec 05, 2015 / 18:46

International Investment Bank to support a 20 million USD loan for Vietnam

At the 104th council meeting of the International Investment Bank (IIB) co-chaired by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the IIB in Hanoi on December 4, the IIB agreed to finance a 20 million USD loan for Vietnam`s small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the next five years.

The IIB was established in 1970. Its members include Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, Rumania, Russia, Czech, and Slovakia.
Vietnam has joined the IIB since 1977 with the committed charter capital of 4.7 million EUR (5.1 million USD), equivalent to 1.21 percent of the bank’s total charter capital.

 
At the business forum
At the business forum
The meeting organised by the SBV and the IIB focused on promoting growth through supporting SMEs and seeking international partners for regional development in Vietnam.
According to the Vietnam Association of SMEs, Vietnamese SMEs are restructuring business production and boosting the application of science and technology to reduce production cost, increase labour productivity and products’ added values to increase competitiveness of goods and services in the region and beyond.
However, local SMEs are facing a lot of challenges such as limited financial resources, backward technology, unskilled workers, lack of information on the market, and shortcomings in business management.
The support of the State is indispensable to reform the market economy institution, improve administrative procedures and business environment.
At the event, President of the IIB Nikolay Kosov said the IIB has actively collaborated with the country to develop and implement a national strategy.
The IIB has provided 40 million USD to support SMEs in Vietnam in recent years, he said, and adding that the bank has also supported some big projects relating to infrastructure and energy fields and plans to increase commercial assistance activities to facilitate Vietnam’s external economic cooperation.
As recommended by the experts at the conference, Vietnam is proposed to further strengthen Government's supports on fiscal policies for SMEs, especially amend and perfect mechanisms on loan guarantee and development capital support of the SMEs fund. Besides, experts also advised government departments and localities to boost more supports for SMEs such as incentives policies on tax and land.