Vietnam prioritises developing domestic market

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is giving priority to developing the domestic market as the risk of COVID-19 gradually falls, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said at a press conference after the regular Government meeting on May 5.

Phuong said the ministry had come up with different economic development scenarios and strategies to follow the development of the pandemic.

Policies must ensure effective disease prevention and economic development at the same time, he added.

The faster the country can overcome the pandemic, the quicker the economy will recover, Phuong said.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will study opportunities to promote domestic economic development, which will require changes in the country’s economic structure as well as orientations of enterprises, he noted.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Thi Hong stressed the importance of rescheduling repayment terms, exempting or reducing interest rates, and adjusting the ceiling interest rate for new loans to support businesses and people affected by the pandemic.

According to the central bank, the banking system has rescheduled the repayment period for 170,746 customers with a loan balance of 128.2 trillionVND (5.46 billion USD); exempted or reduced interest rates for 14,372 customers with debts worth 28.4 trillion VND; and reduced existing loan interest rates from 0.5 to 2 percent for 318,528 customers with a total loan balance of 980.1 trillion VND. Some credit institutions have even cut their interest rates by up to 4 percent per year, and offered new loans with preferential interest rates 1-2 percent lower than the normal rates for 147,637 customers with an accumulated value of 533 trillion VND from January 23.

Regarding difficulties facing businesses in accessing loans, Hong said that the pandemic has also affected revenue at credit institutions as they provide payment and banking services for other enterprises.

The SBV is taking measures to support affected businesses and people and ensure the operation of credit institutions to avoid impacting the economy, she added./.