A conference connecting banks and businesses was held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 14 with the aim of supporting enterprises and promoting production during the final months of the year.

This is one of three conferences scheduled to be organized in October by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s HCM City branch and relevant agencies.

Total outstanding credits at the city's banks as of the end of September reached nearly VNĐ3.75 quadrillion ($150.9 billion), up 5.83% from the end of last year and 11.7% year-on-year, according to Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, deputy director of the SBV’s HCM City branch.

Seventeen banks in the city registered to join the program connecting banks with businesses and committed to provide preferential loans worth VND509.8 trillion ($20.39 billion) this year. The commitment was part of the city’s banking-business connection initiative, which is designed to connect banks and financial institutions to support capital for startups and small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) during the 2020-2025 period.

They disbursed over VND425.6 trillion ($17 billion) to enterprises, cooperatives and household businesses in HCM City so far this year, equivalent to 84% of the total.

This reflects the effectiveness of policies to support businesses and the latter’s ability to absorb capital, he said.