Mr. Truong Cong Lan, Director of the provincial branch of Vietnam Bank for Social Policies
According to Mr. Lan, businesses in general and businesses in the province in particular are facing many difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first 6 months of 2021, the number of businesses registering for temporary suspension and the number of dissolved businesses have been rising. Currently, 316 businesses have registered for temporary suspension (up nearly 11% compared to the same period last year); 75 businesses have announced dissolution; and 57 have been dissolved (up nearly 30% compared to the same period last year).
Faced with these difficulties, what support does VBSP have for customers and the business community in the area?
Currently, for customers who are taking out loans from VBSP and are facing difficulties due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, they will eligible for debt extension, debt repayment term adjustment or additional loans if needed. At the moment, our branch has extended debt for 635 customers with an amount of more than 13 billion VND and provided additional loans for 15,010 customers, with a loan turnover of over 668 billion VND.
Supporting employers to take out loans to pay salaries is a major policy that has just been implemented by the Government. Can you share more details about this policy?
With this program, employers can take out loans to pay layoff salaries for contracted employees participating in compulsory social insurance up to the month preceding the time of layoff, and the layoff period must be 15 consecutive days or more.
The condition for employers to borrow capital to pay salaries for restoring production and business is that their enterprise must temporarily suspend operations at the request of a state agency to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic from May 1, 2021 to the end of March 31, 2022. They must also have contracted employees who are participating in compulsory social insurance up to the time of applying for loans.
To qualify for a loan, employers must also have plans to restore production and business. They must not have bad debt at credit institutions or foreign bank branches at the time of applying for a loan.
Businesses facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 epidemic will be supported with loans at 0% interest rate
For customers operating in the fields of transportation, aviation, tourism, accommodation services and sending Vietnamese employees to work abroad under contracts, to restore production and business, contracted employees must be participating in compulsory social insurance up to the time of applying for a loan. They must have plans to restore production and business and have no bad debt at credit institutions or foreign bank branches at the time of loan application.
How many businesses can access this program?
According to preliminary survey data of the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, in the province, 44 affected enterprises are in need of loans, due to difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 1,506 employees having to stop work or take leave from work. We expect this number to rise significantly after VBSP has worked with the Department of Labor -Invalids and Social Affairs, the Social Insurance Agency, the Labor Confederation, relevant agencies and local authorities to publicize, guide and grasp employers’ loan needs.
Can you provide information about loan amount, interest rate, loan term, disbursement period and loan guarantee?
The loan amount will equal to the regional minimum wage for the laid off employee multiplied by the number of laid off employees confirmed by the Social Insurance Agency. Employers can take out loans for a maximum period of 3 months/employee with an interest rate of 0%/year. The loan term is agreed upon by VBSP and employers, but no more than 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. Customers also do not have to take loan security measures.
What has VBSP implemented and will implement to make this credit package accessible for businesses?
In order to promptly deploy loans to employers to pay salaries for work layoff and to restore production, the branch has advised the Provincial People's Committee, the Head of the Board of Directors to issue directives for the relevant departments and agencies and district-level local authorities to coordinate in the implementation process. We are also providing professional training on lending to all branch staff.
We are also coordinating with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, socio-political organizations entrusted at all levels, the Business Association and local authorities to publicize, disseminate, and guide the process of lending so that employers can access VBSP’s loan packages to pay salaries for work layoff and to restore production.
With new and more flexible regulations and conditions, simpler lending procedures and shortened loan processing time, businesses will have easier access to loan packages in order to overcome the challenges in the current situation.
Thank you Sir!
Interviewer: Hoang Loan