Businesses gain additional access to highly preferential capital.

SMEDF Fund signs cooperation agreement withOCB : Businesses gain another channel to access highly preferential capital.

The collaboration between the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) and Orient Commercial Bank will help SMEs access preferential capital with interest rates ranging from 1.2% to 4.4% per year.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) and Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) signed a framework agreement for indirect lending to enhance support for SMEs in accessing preferential capital.

On the morning of October 15th, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) and Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) signed a framework agreement for indirect lending, aiming to facilitate access to preferential capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam, which are among the leading sources in the market.

In Decision No. 12/QD-HDTV dated October 4, 2023, the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Development Fund announced the lending interest rates. Accordingly, the short-term lending interest rate is 1.2%/year, the medium-term lending interest rate is 4.4%/year, and the long-term lending interest rate is 4.4%/year.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Pham Xuan Kien, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Development Fund, said that SMEs currently account for about 98% of the total number of businesses nationwide, playing an important role in socio -economic development.

The Party and the State pay great attention to the development of the SME community, and have issued many policies, including the Law on Supporting SMEs and Government Decree No. 39/2019/ND-CP dated May 10, 2019.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF), under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, is the unit tasked with implementing state support policies (according to the Law on Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises and Decree No. 39) for the SME community operating in the fields of: innovative startups, industry linkages, and value chains.

"The Fund's goal is to further strengthen support for capacity building and disburse loans with preferential interest rates to SMEs to implement production and business plans and projects, so that Vietnamese SMEs can grow stronger, increase their competitiveness, participate more deeply in the global value chain, and contribute more to the country's socio-economic development," Mr. Kien said.

According to Mr. Chu An Trung, Regional Director of the SME Customer Division at OCB Bank, after more than 28 years of development, OCB currently has a network of nearly 200 transaction points and operating offices in 48 provinces and cities nationwide, making practical contributions to economic and social development and providing customers with access to high-quality products and services.

In recent times, despite the weak capital absorption capacity of the economy, banks, including OCB, have made great efforts and implemented many solutions to increase businesses' access to capital and promote credit growth. According to financial reports, OCB's credit growth as of June 30th reached 6.3% - higher than the industry average.

Through a gradual shift in customer structure, improved competitiveness, accelerated customer service, development of the SME segment, and the introduction of many practical financial programs and solutions, preferential interest rates, and support for development, production, and business activities, OCB's credit for SME customers increased by nearly 18%.

To provide businesses with an additional channel for accessing loans to develop their production and business activities, the SMEDF Fund and OCB Bank are collaborating to offer financial support solutions to help SMEs overcome difficulties and gradually achieve sustainable development.

Representatives from both organizations expect that the cooperation between the SMEDF Fund and OCB Bank, aimed at supporting weak and undercapitalized SMEs, will contribute to changing the risk appetite of credit institutions, shifting from prioritizing collateral to focusing on assessing the internal capacity of businesses.

Both sides believe that, with the shared goal of strengthening support for the SME community, the cooperation between the SMEDF Fund and OCB Bank will become increasingly close, thereby coordinating the effective deployment of capital to SMEs.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/quy-smedf-ky-ket-hop-tac-with-ocb-doanh-nghiep-them-kenh-tiep-can-von-sieu-uu-dai-d227479.html