The Government decided to offer 30% corporate tax cut for SMEs. To realize the commitment, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has issued Decree 60/2012/ND-CP on detailed implementation of the offer.
Those which do not meet the criteria for SMEs may still be considered after their workforce size is taken into account, said Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan.
Regarding capital, commercial banks have slashed down lending interest rates for SMEs at 11-13% per year. However, some SMEs said that they still found it difficult to access to financial sources from commercial banks.
Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Van Binh said that SBV is drafting a circular to guide commercial banks to work with the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) to provide credit guarantee to SMEs.
Director Vu Nhu Thang of the Strategy and Policy Institute under the Ministry of Finance recommended that the Government should adopt both medium and long-term solutions to support SMEs beside the current short-term ones.
It is estimated that by 2015, Vietnam may house 600,000 SMEs which are expected to account for 40% GDP, 30% State budget, 25% total export turnover and create some 3.5-4 million new jobs.
The country needs some VND 1,130 billion to support SMEs development and the establishment of a fund would be a breakthrough solution to widen credit access for them.
By Khanh Phuong