On June 10, 2020, Saigon – Hanoi Bank (SHB) and the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (VINASME) signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement aimed at supporting member businesses of VINASME to enhance competitiveness, to access capital and to use loans effectively.

Through a comprehensive cooperation agreement, SHB and VINASME commit to work closely in providing solutions to support the development of VINASME member businesses; organizing programs on trade promotion; coordinating the survey of VINASME’s membership needs in each locality so that SHB can develop policies, products and services that best suit each member according to the characteristics of the industry and location; implementing program to support VINASME members to access the bank’s capital; jointly organizing consulting activities, training workshops to improve the operation capacity of businesses, towards building a strong, transparent and healthy SME community.

At the signing of the agreement, Mr. Nguyen Van Than – Chairman of VINASME stated: “As a national organization representing the business community of the whole country, VINASME always strives to promote the work of supporting the member businesses in accessing credit capital with preferential interest rates to help members overcome difficulties, stabilize production and develop sustainably. Through this cooperation, VINASME expects to create more opportunities to exploit more and effectively the strengths of each party, thus, better meeting the capital needs as well as providing consulting services for SMEs, opening up opportunities for enterprises to realize ideas, expand production and business facilities, diversify products and services, thereby increasing profits, contributing to promoting the country’s economy”.

Photo: Ms. Ngo Thu Ha – Deputy General Director of SHB and Mr. Pham Huy Hung – Vice Chairman of VINASME Association presented the Cooperation Agreement in the presence of representatives of the Board of Directors of the two parties.

Attending the ceremony, Mr. Do Quang Hien, Chairman of SHB’s Board of Directors, said: “Small and medium enterprises always account for a large proportion, which is a characteristic of every economy, not only in Vietnam. Through comprehensive cooperation with the VINASME, SHB wishes to improve the quality and efficiency of its implementation of activities, meeting the development scale of SMEs. SHB and the Association will work closely, implement specific programs and combine practical and effective activities, contributing to the development of both quality and quantity of Vietnamese businesses. In the coming time, SHB and VINASME have action plans among industry groups in all provinces and cities, organizing seminars; trade and investment promotion programs between the bank and VINASME and its member businesses; between customers of the bank and member businesses. Therefore, the cooperation with VINASME continues to be an important event of SHB in the process of realizing the commitment of always accompanying SMEs”.

SHB’s Chairman shared that in recent years, SHB has put a lot of resources to support the SME segment: from improving and simplifying procedures to creating conditions for SMEs to access bank capital more conveniently, to launching many value chain financing products to improve the competitiveness of products, formulating value linking chain, creating Vietnamese brands in the international market, etc. Besides, SHB cooperates with large enterprises, leading enterprises in the industry value chain following the business direction of SHB to support SMEs in market information, distribution channels, capital and technology solutions, training and guiding, improving the management of start-up businesses, micro enterprises, SMEs, etc.

Immediately after the signing ceremony, in July and August 2020, SHB and VINASME will conduct customer conferences in Hai Phong and Quang Ninh to provide solutions to improve access to bank capital for SMEs, introduce credit policies, mechanisms and products for SMEs of SHB; and at the same time, introduce the program of supporting enterprises to export through Amazon e-commerce trading platform.

Previously, SHB and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) signed a Framework Agreement on indirect lending. The support funds will be for creative start-ups SMEs and SMEs to join industry clusters and value chains with preferential interest rates, etc. In recent years, SHB has organized seminars, increased sharing of regulations of relevant new laws, project information and loan options suitable to each locality and region, helping customers easily access products; organize training courses on sales skills, professional skills, capacity building of staff which is a foundation for bank staff to directly advise SMEs on business management, business plan, industry information, etc.

At the same time, SHB actively cooperates closely with the Central Business Association and Local Business Associations, SME Development Fund of associations and other organizations at home and abroad, organizing many programs of dialogue, connecting and meeting directly businesses in need of loans. In particular, in 2020, SHB steps up its operations at the centers of supporting Vietnamese enterprises to export via e-commerce at SHB’s major branches nationwide, initially being two centers opened in Thang Long Branch (Hanoi) and Saigon Branch (Ho Chi Minh City). SHB will also launch product and service packages specifically for individual and business customers who are interested in selling through the Amazon system in which products of Vietnamese business community and with Vietnam’s brand will have opportunity to reach over 300 million consumer accounts in the world. This is the difference of SHB – the first bank in Vietnam to support training, process advice, connection and  service provision for customers to access Amazon e-commerce trading platform.

Besides, SHB has continuously implemented credit programs with preferential interest rates for businesses with up to tens of thousands of billion VND. In addition, based on the needs of each customer, SHB develops comprehensive financial initiatives and solutions such as business financial advisory service, supporting businesses in finding customers and output market to increase business efficiency, profitability and repayment capacity, supporting debt restructuring, business restructuring, etc.