Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Branch, shared that credit continues to maintain a positive growth trend. Specifically, in June 2024, credit growth reached its highest rate among the first six months of the year, increasing by 2.03%. The preceding months saw the following growth rates: May 2024 – 0.61%, April 2024 – 0.35%, March 2024 – 1.9%, February 2024 – 0.01%, and January 2024 – a decrease of 0.93%.
In the first six months of the year, credit increased by 4% compared to the beginning of the year and by 11.06% year-on-year. This growth rate is considered appropriate when compared to the same period last year, as credit in the first six months of 2023 only grew by 2.75%.
In terms of credit structure by currency, VND credit still accounts for the majority of total credit outstanding in the region, approximately 96%.
Mr. Lenh attributed the positive credit performance in the city to the following factors:
Firstly, banking credit activities in the region effectively met the capital needs of businesses and individuals, enabling them to maintain and develop their production, trade, and services, thereby contributing to the city’s socio-economic growth. In the first six months, GRDP growth was impressive, reaching 6.46%, the highest in the last five years. This was supported by low-interest rates, targeted credit programs, and preferential credit packages. Additionally, the policy of debt restructuring for businesses provided direct assistance to businesses and individuals in developing their production and business operations. Specifically, lending to five key sectors, including small and medium-sized enterprises, export sector, agriculture & rural areas, supporting industries, and high-tech enterprises, reached VND 1,582 thousand billion, with small and medium-sized enterprises accounting for 82% of the total outstanding loans.
Secondly, support and facilitation for businesses to access capital and preferential policies from the Government, the State Bank, and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee. Through the bank-business connection program, activities such as signing ceremonies, loan disbursements, dialogues, and problem-solving have created favorable conditions for businesses and individuals to access capital and policies. Especially with the spirit of supporting and accompanying businesses, linking loan signings and disbursements of preferential credit packages with criteria for reducing lending rates, debt restructuring, increasing credit limits, and supporting export and small and medium-sized enterprises; the program has brought practical and direct benefits to people and businesses, ensuring that the targets of preferential credit packages, such as the VND 30 trillion package and the VND 120 trillion package, as well as debt restructuring to maintain debt groups and the program for short-term lending in VND at an interest rate of no more than 4%/year, actually benefit from the policies as intended. Thus, as of now, the preferential credit package registered by 17 bank brands in the region since the beginning of the year, with a scale of VND 509,864 billion, has disbursed over VND 273,786 billion, equivalent to 53.7%, to 79,306 customers and businesses through the bank-business connection program implemented in the first six months of the year.
Thirdly, credit growth contributes to the city’s economic growth. In this process, the city’s economic growth has a positive impact and creates a favorable business environment, which, in turn, promotes credit growth. With this in mind, the city’s economic growth in the first six months, along with positive developments in the goods, tourism, services, consumption, and real estate markets, has led to the efficient recirculation of money. This will gradually overcome bottlenecks and unblock capital flows, an essential factor in promoting credit growth and achieving the target of about 15% credit growth in 2024.
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