Mortgage requirements stand between small companies and bank loans

HCM CITY –Small- and medium-sized enterprises are unable to borrow from banks because they do not have property to mortgage, Trần Việt Anh, deputy chairman of the HCM City Business Association, has said.

He was speaking at a conference held to bring together enterprises and banks in HCM City on Thursday, where many small enterprises in the city complained about their difficulty in getting bank loans.

Nguyễn Văn Hậu, financial manager of Đại Dũng Company, said in fact the enterprises need to mortgage a lot of assets to borrow because banks value properties at a fraction of their market price.

“If an enterprise want to borrow VNĐ 一00 billion, it must have properties worth VNĐ 三00- 四00 billion,” Hậu said.

Most manufacturing companies tended to rent or buy lands in industrial parks, but banks did not accept them as collateral since they are not granted land use right certificates, he said.

Lư Nguyễn Xuân Vũ of Xuân Nguyên Group, a company operating in the agricultural sector, said firms in the sector mainly have farmlands, and they are valued far lower than others.

Agricultural firms find it even harder to get bank loans than those in other sectors, he added.

Anh said banks should increase the rate of unsecured loans for SMEs.

Đào Minh Tú, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Việt Nam, said the banks and businesses should work together to find a way out.

The central bank would consider relaxing lending requirements so that SMEs can get easier access to bank loans, he promised.

It would also increase loans for production and business activities, especially in priority sectors, simplify lending procedures and diversify banking products, he said.

Meanwhile, banks should offer lower interest rates and share businesses’ risks, Tú said.

A report from the SBV shows that credit to SMEs has edged up this year.

In the first quarter, loans outstanding to SMEs increased by  二. 八 per cent to VNĐ 一. 三 一 trillion (Ú$ 五 六. 二 million) , accounting for  一 八 per cent of total loans. – VNS