The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Vietnamese Government on November 22 signed an agreement of US$50 million concessional loan in a bid to strengthen development and competiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Viet Nam.
The agreement aims to streamline business processes, improved access to finance, program to support women-owned enterprises, and a level playing field for private enterprise development.
With 25-year duration, the loan has an annual interest rate of 2%.
“While the Government made great efforts to enhance policy reforms to support the creation, survival and growth of SMEs, more needs to be done to foster a greater scale of SME development essentially required for the country to achieve more sustainable and inclusive growth,” said ADB Country Director for Viet Nam Tomoyuki Kimura.
“ADB firmly supports the Government to successfully manage the continued reform agenda aimed at improving the business environment for the development of SMEs and the private sector in Viet Nam,” he added.
By the end of 2011, the number of registered enterprises in Viet Nam was around 550,000, up from 14,500 in 2000 in which SMEs made up 97% of the country’s total number of firms and occupied 46% of gross domestic product.
The domestic private sector accounted for 59% of total employment in 2011, up from 29% in 2000.
SMEs are now considered the key generators of employment and income, and drivers of growth and poverty reduction in the country./.