Credit growth will total 12.96 percent for the first seven months of the year, forecasts State Bank Governor Nguyen Van Giau.

The growth is planned to reach 25 percent at year's end, he told reporters at the monthly Government meeting on August 2.

The focus of monetary policy later in the year would be to reach the 25-per-cent credit growth and 6.5-per-cent economic growth.

The Governor was responding to speculation that it might not be possible to match the credit-growth plan and ensure enterprises have access to credit.

The Government and the central bank have kept the prime rate unchanged at 8 percent for nine consecutive months while urging domestic lenders to keep borrowing costs below a yearly 12 percent to facilitate credit access.

But the interest rate for loans is mostly over 14 percent and the rate for consumers has gone as high as 17 percent per annum.

The preferential 12-13 percent rate is available only to exporters, agricultural enterprises and small- to medium- enterprises.

The State Bank of Vietnam announced on August 2 that it would increase the supply of money available for banks to lend through an increase of trading volume in the open market.

"If possible this week, I will reduce the compulsory capital reserve for those banks which have hastened their lending to rural areas and agricultural production," bank governor Giau said.

Agribank would be injected with mid- and long-term capital of about 4 trillion VND (208.33 million USD). The total capital to be made available for rural areas and agricultural production was estimated at 30 trillion VND (1.56 billion USD).

The Bank of Vietnam's management is regarded as cautious and flexible since subsidised interest rates ended last year. The management works to prevent the return of high inflation while helping the Government achieve economic growth of at least 6.5 percent this year.

Vietnam 's economic growth accelerated in the second quarter as revived bank lending helped boost manufacturing and consumer spending.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 6.4 percent in the three months to June from a year earlier and a first-quarter expansion of 5.83 percent.

The economy grew 6.16 percent to June 30 against the first six months from a year earlier.

The inflation rate has slowed with consumer prices up only 0.06 percent in July against June - the lowest July increase since 2004 and the slowest increase since the beginning of the year.

Annualised inflation to July 31 stood at 8.67 percent against the same seven months of 2009./.