According to Ho Chi Minh City Finance and Investment State-owned Company (HFIC), the unit has thus far received 35 projects with a total investment exceeding VND5,805 billion (US$242 million), of which the loan demand is nearly VND3,290 billion. HFIC has approved loans for 23 projects totaling over VND1,620 billion (with 12 projects currently under appraisal).
Among these 23 projects, 11 have received interest rate support decisions from the HCMC People’s Committee, covering a total supported loan capital of over VND1,016 billion. Nguyen Quang Thanh, Deputy General Director of HFIC, suggested that these figures indicate that interest rate support policies have begun to take practical effect, with state capital fulfilling its role as "seed capital" to activate social resources.
Demand for capital is rising sharply, even as many businesses remain constrained by administrative procedures, lending requirements, and coordination gaps among relevant agencies. As a result, enterprises are increasingly seeking alternative funding sources to sustain investment progress rather than waiting for policy processes to run their course.
“In the context of intensifying global competition, access to resources—especially capital, technology, and markets—is becoming a decisive factor in determining a company’s position,” said Vo Tan Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). “If these bottlenecks are not addressed promptly, the long-term competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises will be at risk,” he said.
This reality is particularly evident in the logistics sector, where demand for investment in warehouses, logistics centers, and cold chain infrastructure is surging. Nguyen Huu Khanh, Chairman of Interlink Logistics Company (HCMC), analyzed that land costs and capital accessibility remain significant barriers. Clearly defining the scope of support, especially for loans related to land and infrastructure, would help businesses feel more confident in deploying projects.
While the first bottleneck lies in the capital absorption capacity of enterprises, the second lies in the capital supply capacity of the implementing institution itself. According to Nguyen Quang Thanh, HFIC is currently appraising 12 projects with a loan demand of over VND1,652 billion while promoting an additional 42 projects.
However, HFIC's financial capacity has not kept pace with the increasing investment demand. Its charter capital currently stands at just over VND7 trillion and is in the process of being supplemented. This has led to a situation where "output" is growing rapidly but "input" has not been unblocked proportionally.
In this context, combining state funds with bank credit is seen as a necessary direction. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam (HCMC Branch), stated that preferential credit programs, particularly in high-tech and green production, are being ramped up, with green credit debt reaching nearly VND780,000 billion. If designed in sync with investment stimulus programs, this would provide a vital supplementary resource for medium and long-term capital.
Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Hoa of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association (HUBA) noted that the core issue remains the implementation phase. If the mechanism is not flexible and inclusive enough, support policies will struggle to gain traction and may even concentrate on a small group of already capable enterprises. Therefore, the solution is not just to increase the scale of capital but to refine the policy structure toward synchronization from "seed capital" and bank credit to new fundraising channels. Only when "inputs" are unblocked and "outputs" operate efficiently will capital truly become a driver for growth.
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