Vietnam to Discuss New Stimulus Package Friday, Giau Says

The Vietnamese government starts convening a monthly meeting to discuss the second stimulus package on October 29 and 30 and will make public its final decision soon, Governor Nguyen Van Giau of the State Bank of Vietnam said.

 

“This is a national issue, which does not belong to a single sector, and the government will debate, decide and publicize it soon,” Governor Giau noted.

 

Responding to a question by reporters of the Lao Dong newspaper that only 20% of companies in Vietnam have gained access to the low-cost loans, resulting in unfairness, Giau emphasized that this is not “social security” but a stimulus package that focused on targeted sectors.

 

The package is aimed at preventing the domestic economy from recession and maintaining the economic growth, Giau said, adding this assessment is baseless because many of the country’s 390,000 companies in total are financially viable and of course they do not need the loans.

 

Saying about VND8.3 trillion in subsidized loans misused, Giau admitted that procedures of these loans are not fulfilled, and can be solved immediately; no losses have been reported so far.

 

The loans are part of a total VND412.1 trillion (US$23.08 billion) in low-cost loans which were phased out via banks and financial companies as of Oct 22 under the government’s first stimulus package worth US$1 billion, the country’s central bank said.

 

Earlier Phung Quoc Hien, head of the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee estimated the size of the second package at VND200 trillion which will likely be approved soon.

 

Vietnam targets gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.5% next year, state media reported. (Local sources)