At the conference (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Anumber of organisations in Ho Chi Minh City have provided assistance andconsultancy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while banks haveoffered them loans on easy terms but they do not make use of either consultancyor loans, heard a conference in the city on October 3.
Tran Ngoc Liem, Deputy Directorof the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s HCM City Branch, saidrepresentative offices of central agencies in the city and the VCCI have set upcentres to assist SMEs.
Many banks have a dedicateddivision for providing consultancy and credit to SMEs, he said.
But SMEs do not make use of thecentres to learn about policies and laws, or take advantage of support from thebanks to get loans, he added.
Tran Thi Lien Phuong, researchdirector at market research company Insight Asia, said the multiplicity ofagencies offering assistance causes confusion among SMEs in choosing from them.
The Government should have asingle channel providing information about these centres to SMEs and ensurethat the consultancy they provide is optimal, she suggested.
Insight Asia’s studies found thatmany SMEs in the manufacturing sector want an efficient and sustainableproduction environment to develop their business, she said.
But in its absence, they continueto be small or very small, Phuong noted.
Their weaknesses along with therapid changes in the global economy make them increasingly vulnerable, sheadded.
An executive from a city banksaid many of SMEs do not have any strategy for getting loans before contactingbanks.
They would have warehouses worthbillions of VND to mortgage against loans, but built without official approvalmeaning banks could not accept them, he said.
Some delegates suggested thatSMEs could use their contracts with customers and hi-technology productionprocesses as assets to mortgage.
SMEs should have at least 40 percentof owners’ equity capital and not just 20 percent, and they should not behighly leveraged, they warned.
Do Khac Cuong of Microsoft Vietnamsaid digital transformation could engage SMEs’ customers, empower theiremployees, transform their products, and optimise their operations.
Lam Dieu Tam Hieu, deputy generaldirector of Kizuna JV Corporation, said many SMEs want to have warehouses ormanufacturing facilities at industrial parks, but cannot afford them.
She suggested that propertycompanies should build warehouses with proper infrastructure for SMEs to lease.
This model could save SMEs a lotof money, she added./.
VNA
