Policy beneficiaries in Hanoi’s outlying Soc Son district apply for loans at a VBSP branch (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Capital allocated to the Hanoi’s branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) by the city’s budget not only helped clients rearrange their production and trade but also restore agricultural production.

Since October 4, a package worth 500 billion VND (21.7 million USD) entrusted by the municipal People’s Committee has become a true “life saver” to help residents stabilise their lives.

Deputy Director of the VBSP’s municipal branch Pham Van Quyet said the bank targets poor and near-poor households, vulnerable groups. When the pandemic has been under control, their most difficulty is capital. Being aware of that, the branch partnered with the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Department of Finance and relevant agencies to conduct a survey on demand for lending and losses caused by the pandemic. As a result, they needed about 1 trillion VND in capital.

Accordingly, they asked the municipal People’s Committee to earmark 500 billion VND to the VBSP to offer loans to affected business households.

Seeing that as a key task, the branch worked with the local authorities, especially those at communal level, socio-political organisations, saving and lending groups to review the list of households eligible for loans in order of priority. The branch also offered instructions to offer the quickest disbursement to customers.

The family of Do Thi Mai Huong, 38, in Ve Linh village, Phu Linh commune, Soc Son district, work on year-round farming and raising sows and chickens. Recently, in order to increase her income and take care of her children, she worked as a part-time worker for a salary of 5-6 million VND a month. But when she had been working for six months, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, forcing her to suspend labour contract. Staying a home for more than two months without income, her family had to make ends meet. At that time, she decided to stop working as a worker, but staying at home to raise pigs, chickens, cows, buffalos.

However, following the pandemic, almost everyone was in difficulties so that borrowing from relatives was infeasible. Without capital, the current farming scale makes it hard to ensure income for her family. Therefore, having access to capital at the right time enabled her to invest in a pair of breeding cows while diversifying farming models and stabilising life in the future.

𝐆 Not only helping households expand business models, loans also contributed to generating more jobs and stabilising local social welfare.

Thanks to timely access to loan, the wood workshop of Le Van Bang family in Xuan Ky village could continue working (Photo: VNA)

The family of Le Van Bang in Xuan Ky village, Dong Xuan commune, Soc Son district specialise in selling aluminum and glass doors and carpentry. When the city followed Directive No.16, his family was forced to stop all activities. Their four workers took a break to return to their hometowns. When the situation has become better, he wished to resume operation but he lacked capital.

Therefore, the local authorities and saving-lending groups showed him how to access loan from the 500 billion VND package to expand production and buy more materials. With more and more orders coming in, his family not only improved income but also offered jobs to four local workers with a monthly income of nearly 12 million VND.

Previously, the capital were put into production, trade, animal farming and cultivation. But due to COVID-19, products were neither be harvested nor sold. Capital are needed to invest in varieties, fertilisers and land to rearrange farming. So far, the total outstanding debts for agriculture and rural development sector have amounted to 51 percent.

🍸 Quyet said as of October 27, the branch had disbursed over 463 billion USD for 9,604 qualified workers hit by the pandemic./.