The Ho Chi Minh City Plastic Association proposed to the HCM City People’s Committee on March 29, to continue their support of lending rate at 2% per month to help the sector maintain a stable growth of 20-25%.
The proposal was made at a dialogue between the association and the city leaders yesterday.
According to the association, the biggest problem for plastic companies is a lack of funds, high lending interest rates and lack of foreign currency to import materials. The association needs to import 80% of its material.
In addition, the association also asked city authorities not to cut electricity so as not to affect their production.
As of now, the plastic sector attracts nearly US$10 billion investment capital from domestic and foreign countries, with a total output of $8 billion.
Currently Vietnam has about 1,064 plastic enterprises with capital starting from VND500 million. These enterprises are largely located in the south, with 80 percent being based in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Long An while the remainder are in the north, central region and the Mekong (Cuu Long) River Delta.
From 2005-2010, the plastic sector grew rapidly at 20-25% per year. Total plastic production output reached 3.8 million tons in 2010 and export value hit $1 billion.
Export plastic products are present in more than 40 countries and territories worldwide such as the United States, European Union (EU), Africa, Middle East, Japan, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and China.
