The SMEs can take loans via five entrusted banks by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (SMEDF). Photo chinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Planning and Investment's Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (SMEDF) expects to deploy direct lending for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) from this year.

This will help SMEs access the Government's preferential capital through many different forms, according to the ministry.

At present, this fund has often provided loans through the entrusted banks and financial supports for SMEs.

The SMEs enjoying those loans including start-ups, and enterprises in industrial clusters and value chains will take loans via five entrusted banks by the fund.

These five commercial banks are Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BIDV); Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB); Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB); HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HD Bank) and Bắc Á Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Bac A Bank), reported the Vietnam News Agency.

The lending rate of those loans in April 2021 was 2.16 per cent per year for short-term loans and 4 per cent per year for medium and long-term loans to overcome difficulties in production and business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the duties of receiving, managing and using financial sources, domestic and foreign entrusted capital to create capital to support the development of SMEs, the fund has more capital for SMEs.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, early this month, the SMEDF had a meeting with those banks to evaluate the implementation of indirect lending in 2020. They have also set this year's disbursement target for loans providing for eligible SMEs.

The fund has also organised activities to improve operation ability of SMEs, such as seminars, training, consultancy and investment promotion.

Up to now, the capital from the SMEDF's lending programme has been used effectively. The enterprises with the loans are operating well with many production and business expansion projects being implemented as planned, so the enterprises have repaid principal and interest. VNS