Nearly 1.1 million households gain access to capital
On the morning of June 24th, the National Assembly discussed the handling of recovered funds from social policy credit programs funded by the state budget that have concluded at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.
Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang reported that from 2008 to 2017, the state budget allocated over VND 6,000 billion to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to provide loans for ethnic minority households, housing loans, and loans to support poor districts in promoting labor export.
Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang
According to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, as of April 30, 2025, over VND 3,000 billion has been recovered, with outstanding debt of more than VND 2,900 billion yet to be collected.
Mr. Thang stated that the implementation of these programs has enabled nearly 1.1 million poor and near-poor households and other policy beneficiaries to access capital. Additionally, over 11,000 individuals received loans for labor export, and nearly 700,000 customers benefited from the social housing loan program.
The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies also noted that the demand for loans under this program until the end of 2025 is relatively high, estimated at over VND 31,000 billion. Therefore, the bank proposed utilizing the recovered funds and those to be recovered in the future for the social housing loan program.
Emphasizing the necessity and urgency of this program, the Government suggested permitting the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to utilize the entire amount of over VND 6,000 billion allocated for ten social credit programs for lending under various credit programs at the bank.
Preventing policy abuse, wastefulness, and negative incidents
Chairman of the Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs Phan Van Mai stated that in the past years, the state budget has allocated funds to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to implement social credit programs decided by the National Assembly.
Chairman of the Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs Phan Van Mai. Photo: N.Y
However, after nearly five years, the programs have not fulfilled their tasks nor met the borrowing demands of policy beneficiaries. Therefore, allocating the budget for the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to implement social credit programs is necessary.
Consequently, the verifying agency proposed supplementing the general resolution of the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly with the following content: Allow the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to utilize the entire amount of over VND 6,000 billion for lending under social credit programs as proposed by the Government.
The Government is responsible for the accuracy of the data and for directing relevant agencies and units to continue recovering unpaid loans in accordance with the law to implement social credit programs.
The Government is requested to instruct the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to manage, utilize, and lend the funds properly, ensuring the achievement of the lending programs’ objectives and preventing policy abuse, wastefulness, and negative incidents.
“Ho Chi Minh City Provides a Helping Hand: VND 350,000 Billion in Support for Businesses”
The implementation of the connecting program between banks and enterprises in the State Bank’s Region 2 has led to remarkable achievements. As of now, the program has facilitated a remarkable near VND 350,000 billion in lending, reflecting a 6.35% increase compared to the same period last year. Notably, the disbursement of preferential credit packages has reached an impressive 66.1% of the total package size.
“The Struggles of a Decade-Old Business: Why Can’t They Secure a Bank Loan?”
“Accessing bank capital is an incredibly challenging endeavor for our company, given the nature of our work in construction and public investment, which often entails slow disbursement of state budget funds. For over a decade, we have been unable to secure bank funding.” – Mr. Nguyen Van Manh, CEO of Hanoi Housing Construction and Trading JSC, lamented.
‘The Dark Side of Social Housing: Exploitative ‘Cò’ and the Distortion of the Market’
“There is a persistent issue of ‘property touts’ in the social housing sector in Vietnam, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi, Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association. These individuals buy and sell social housing slots at a premium, creating market distortions and causing frustration for legitimate homebuyers. The high demand for social housing has fueled this issue, with touts taking advantage of the situation to make a quick profit, often at the expense of those in need of affordable housing options.”
Breakthrough Institutional Reforms and Meaningful Actions: Unlocking Private Sector Growth
On May 27, an insightful discussion forum titled “Unblocking Institutional Bottlenecks – Unleashing Private Sector Resources” was held to reflect on policies, address challenges, and forge meaningful actions pertaining to Resolution 68.
“Vietnamese Businesses Seek Alternative Funding Through Private Lending”
According to statistics from Beacon Fund, the number of businesses seeking capital from Beacon nearly tripled in the latter half of 2024 compared to the same period the previous year.
