Opening the door to financial leasing also opens capital channels for small and medium enterprises.

“Resolution 68 opens up a new horizon for the financial leasing industry. An unprecedented opportunity for non-deposit lending institutions in Vietnam,” affirmed Mr. Pham Xuan Hoe, General Secretary of the Vietnam Financial Leasing Association, when reading section 3.2 in the Task and Solution Group in Resolution 68.

Mr. Pham Xuan Hoe, General Secretary of Vietnam Financial Leasing Association

This is a group of solutions to promote and diversify capital sources for the private economy , including reviewing and amending regulations on the operations of non-deposit lending institutions to diversify credit supply sources for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.

Amend the legal framework for the operation of financial leasing companies in the direction of expanding the list of leased assets, including non-traditional assets such as software, exploitation rights, intellectual property, and data. Issue a controlled experimental legal framework for peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms to directly connect small and medium-sized enterprises with individuals and organizations providing capital, etc.

This group also includes solutions related to credit policies for the private economy, green credit for the private economy, green economic development, circular economy; credit guarantee models at both central and local levels; support funds for small and medium-sized enterprises, investment funds for creative startups, etc.

Sir, how can we see the opportunities in the financial leasing industry that you mentioned?

From the perspective of those working in the banking and finance sector, we believe that Resolution 68 has a comprehensive and detailed view that opens up financial channels and capital supply channels for the private economy, especially for small and medium enterprises and business households.

The reality of financial leasing activities has proven that every time institutional barriers are removed, there is immediate development.

By the end of the first quarter of 2025, the outstanding financial leasing debt will only reach nearly VND 40.7 trillion. Although this figure has increased by 8.4% compared to the same period in 2024, it has not increased compared to the end of 2024.

However, the highlight of this activity is the significant growth of new products in the industry. For example, outstanding loans for automobiles of all kinds reached over VND 8,500 billion, up 26.44% over the same quarter, outstanding loans for medical equipment and machinery increased by nearly 50% over the same quarter.

In particular, outstanding loans for leasing ships (excluding seagoing vessels) increased by 79.44%. This subject has just been opened from July 1, 2024 by the permission of Circular 26/2024/TT-NHNN on financial leasing activities of general finance companies and financial leasing companies.

Outstanding loans for working capital have grown by over 40% (from VND 16.5 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to VND 23 billion in the first quarter of 2025). This is a new point thanks to the more expansive regulations on lending working capital, not limited to the regulations on only lending additional working capital for financial leasing assets...

The opening mechanism has created growth for the industry, although the numbers are not large...

Currently, in the Government's Action Plan to implement Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW dated May 4, 2025 of the Politburo on private economic development, issued by the Government with Resolution 138-NQ/TW, the State Bank has been assigned to review and amend Circular No. 26/2024/TT-NHNN in the direction of expanding the list of leased assets such as software, exploitation rights, intellectual property, data... Can we see that the product line of this industry is being expanded?

In my opinion, to implement Resolution 68 with the spirit of removing unnecessary and inappropriate regulations, there needs to be a more open and flexible view on market entry regulations for financial leasing companies. Since 2011, the industry has not had any new businesses established.

We also need to open the door to financial leasing companies and financial conglomerates of large international corporations. Currently, these corporations are only licensed to establish consumer finance companies.

If licensed as a general finance company, I believe that Samsung or Toyota would be willing to lease machinery and equipment in Vietnam, and domestic enterprises could take advantage of the resources of large corporations at lower costs and more effectively... Small and medium enterprises from Japan, Taiwan, Korea... all exploit financial leasing services for office equipment, machinery lines... to reserve medium and long-term loans for business operations.

It must be clarified that financial leasing companies, as well as general finance companies and consumer finance companies, are lending organizations that do not receive deposits from the public. They only mobilize funds from organizations, borrow from banks, borrow from international organizations, borrow through issuing corporate bonds, etc.

These organizations, when developed, will be a huge capital supply channel for the economy, while reducing the burden on the banking system.

These organizations operate like normal businesses in the economy, and their establishment and withdrawal will not have a major impact on the economy like organizations that mobilize capital from the population, such as the people's credit fund model or commercial banks.

In many countries, the number of finance companies is often much larger than the number of commercial banks, often up to 10 times. If Vietnam achieves this ratio, it means that it is possible to establish up to 370-400 financial leasing companies and general finance companies with financial leasing. At that time, the scale of financial leasing outstanding debt activities can reach the outstanding debt scale of 300-500 thousand billion VND within the next 5 years. This means that each year the outstanding debt increases by 60-70%/year.

Increasing the number of financial leasing companies is to supplement and reduce the burden of providing medium and long-term capital for commercial banks. However, currently, this number is only 10 enterprises, a very small number compared to the needs of the economy.

In addition to more open policies for market entry, it is also necessary to change and supplement a number of mechanisms and policies related to the activities of organizations that do not mobilize deposits from the population.

Specifically, what content do you propose needs to be changed or supplemented?

First, it is necessary to accept a higher level of risk in the operations of financial companies, which means a higher bad debt ratio that can reach 5-6%.

The reason is the risk appetite of the market segment that financial leasing companies choose. Small and medium enterprises in this segment are often riskier than the risk standards of commercial banks, but the liquidity risk management of financial leasing companies is more transparent, often planned between the capital source and the capital user (credit provider). Enterprises are also not allowed to open payment accounts, so they do not have immediate liquidity shortages like commercial banks, so they can lower the safe payment ratio in VND within 30 days, from 20% to 5% as previously regulated.

I also think that it is necessary to adjust the regulations on the outstanding debt level for leasing customers and related customer groups with 0.5% of equity capital that must be reported according to the Law on Credit Institutions, because this regulation is not suitable for financial leasing activities, so it creates unnecessary administrative procedures.

Because, according to regulations, the capital required to establish a financial leasing company is 150-200 billion VND, which means that if you lease only 1 billion VND, you have to make a report on the outstanding debt of the lease to customers and related parties, which is difficult for both the customers and the company.

Recently, the State Bank has opened up the small-item leasing company, with a value of 100 million VND, without having to develop a production and business plan. This is a very good regulation and suitable for consumer lending, but not really suitable for financial leasing. For example, the leasing of photocopiers, fax machines, scanners, and office PCs has reached 300-500 million VND for customers who are small and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, we propose to adjust the small-item of financial companies to a minimum of 500 million VND.

In the long term, as mentioned many times, we propose to develop a Law on Financial Leasing, to be completed within the next 3-5 years. The goal is to expand the types of assets subject to financial leasing; permitted forms of capital mobilization for financial leasing; issues of corporate governance, risk management and acceptance of higher risks in the operations of financial leasing compared to commercial banks, issues of licensing, and bankruptcy of financial leasing companies.

For example, an asset like the current boundary between real estate and personal property is a prefabricated steel frame house used as a factory for a small and medium-sized enterprise. Can it be leased to a financial leasing company? Because the steel frame house is installed on land (attached to the land), there is a notion that this is real estate; but with the development of technology, a prefabricated house can be completely dismantled and assembled elsewhere, so it needs to be determined as personal property, and can be leased financially...

There are many more contents that we would like to propose. The Financial Leasing Association is ready to take on the task of being the focal point to gather intellectual resources from members and international organizations to contribute to the development of the Financial Leasing Law in the coming years. We are also seeking opinions from members to contribute to the development, revision, and supplementation of the legal corridor to create a favorable business environment for the business community in general and non-deposit lending organizations in particular.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/rong-cua-cho-cho-thue-tai-chinh-cung-la-mo-kenh-von-cho-doanh-nghiep-nho-va-vua-d288881.html