Ho Chi Minh City ’s annual pricestabilisation programme will this year focus on the same four groups ofgoods as last year-essential foods and foodstuff, materials used bystudents, drugs, and dairy products, the Department of Industry andTrade has said.
Speaking at a meeting on March 30 toreview last year’s programme and make plans for this year, Le Ngoc Dao,the department’s deputy director, said 64 companies had registered totake part, a third more than last year.
Five credit institutions, namely Agribank, Eximbank, Sacombank, BIDV, and Vietinbank, had joined for the first time, she said.
The programme, to last from April 1 to March 31 next year, would seethe participating businesses sell at 5-10 percent lower than marketprices, she said.
They could hike prices if their costsincrease by 5-10 percent, but would have to get express approval fromthe Department of Finance, she added.
“Unlike in previousyears, when the businesses got interest-free loans from the city, thisyear they will get loans at reasonable interest rates from the creditinstitutions taking part in the programme.”
The fivelenders have ear-marked 860 billion VND for short-term loans at 6percent and 1.1 trillion VND for long-term loans at 10 percent, shenoted.
The city will subsidize investment by theparticipating firms in technology upgrading and expansion of breedingfarms, linking them with distribution networks, and providing freeadvertising.
Nguyen Thi Hong, deputy chairwoman of thecity People’s Committee, called on relevant agencies and enterprises toensure the cheap goods under the programme reach company canteens,markets, supermarkets, and other retail centres.
Hong said the price stabilisation programme has benefited both consumers and enterprises in the last 11 years.
Last year the volume of goods sold under the programme accounted for 25-40 percentage points over 2011.-VNA