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This year too has begun with more rhetoric by way of many seminars and talks to propose solutions to erase difficulties and offer support, but without any concrete action or solutions.
At a recent talk event with enterprises, Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam of the Ho Chi Minh City branch, said that one of the main tasks of SBV is to implement the two percent interest rate support policy under Decree 31 of the Government, so as to create conditions for enterprises, cooperatives, and business households to develop and grow their businesses.
Mr. Lenh added that the State Bank of Vietnam will cooperate with business associations and industry associations to organize fruitful dialogue and directly resolve difficulties for enterprises. However, this narrative has been heard many times before by businesses who want to access the two percent interest rate package, but so far nothing has happened at ground level.
For instance, one tourism business mentioned the difficulty in meeting many mandatory conditions required to access the two percent interest rate incentive package for post-pandemic recovery.
He replied that the tourism industry is eligible for accessing loans under the two percent interest rate incentive package, but the prerequisite is to be eligible for receiving these loans as approved by banks.
The problem is that if this prerequisite is met, many businesses will not need support as they are tired of constantly petitioning at conferences and talk events. The difficulties in accessing the support package after recommendations still exist and are not resolved, therefore the disbursement rate for 2022 is still very low.
For many businesses, from the second half of 2022 and forecast to the second quarter of 2023, it will be an extremely difficult period when the world economic situation is still continuing to be unpredictable. Consumer demand for most items has dropped sharply, causing export enterprises to face a serious shortage of orders.
A survey in the first days of the New Year by the Department of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City showed that 95 percent of workers have returned to factories to work, but businesses in the city face a sharp decline in orders. There are some industries where orders are only 30 percent to 40 percent compared to the same period last year. They also lack access to credit besides also being affected by the disrupted supply chain at present.
The policy of VAT reduction to 8 percent currently is undecided, but regarding the extension of the tax payment period, there is more hope. Specifically, the Ministry of Finance is deliberating on the draft Decree for extending the deadline for payment of value-added tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax, and land rent in 2023.
If the Decree is issued and the tax payment date is extended, it will be a great support for businesses, because despite export orders being reduced, access to loans is still difficult due to high-interest rates, enterprises will still have the capital for production and businesses with not incur interest costs.
