ADB provides US$50 million loan to support SMEs

A document to this effect was signed in Hanoi on November 22 between representatives of the bank and the Vietnamese government.

“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 Vietnam 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 Vietnam,” he added. 

The loan has a duration of 25 years with an annual interest rate of 2%. 

It will support SME development efforts in Vietnam through streamlined business processes, improved access to finance, programmes to support women-owned enterprises, and a level playing field for private enterprise development. 

The Vietnamese Government has assisted the development of SMEs with a combination of landmark policy reforms since approval of the Enterprise Law in 2000. 

As a result, by the end of 2011, the number of registered enterprises in Vietnam has grown to some 550,000, up from 14,500 in 2000, with SMEs representing nearly 97% of the country’s total number of firms, and 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.