The Government should carry out financial assistance measures appropriate for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop the support industry, said delegates to the Vietnam-Japan Support Industry Forum in Ho Chi Minh City on July 8.

According to economists, two thirds of SMEs in Vietnam do not have access to loans due to high interest rates or no guaranteed assets. As such they face difficulties in renovating technologies and expanding production.

Hiroshi Tahara, Chief Representative of the Japan Finance Corporation in Thailand, said that besides accessing low interest rate loans, JSMEs in Japan receive a guarantee for their loans from the National Federation of Credit Guarantee Corporations.

He suggested Vietnam set up a local-level guarantee mechanism to control loans and help businesses easily access them.

Delegates also proposed establishing a loan fund with low interest rates.

The proposals will be collected and submitted to the Government for thorough consideration.

The forum was jointly organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).-VNA