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Nations Aim for Inclusive Trade; Vietnam Uses Small-Business Loans to Get
There

Ha Nguyen

   HO CHI MINH CITY - When politicians try to win votes by blaming
   foreigners for stealing jobs, economists say they ignore technology,
   which is what is really replacing many of these jobs. However the issue
   remains that many workers and small businesses do not benefit from
   foreign trade as much as corporations do, and that is something Vietnam
   hopes to fix.

   Hanoi is trying to avoid the mistakes of the U.S., Britain, and other
   countries where lower income citizens felt left behind by global trade,
   and one part of its approach is to focus on small business loans.
   Vietnam hopes to make loans available to family businesses and other
   small businesses, which in many cases do not have the right connections
   or the expertise to get these loans.

   Last week the State Bank of Vietnam cut interest rates in an effort to
   encourage banks to lend to the less advantaged. The central bank said
   short term loan rates for small and medium size businesses would
   decrease to 6% from 6.5%. This decreased rate also applies to other
   priority areas, such as agriculture, high tech businesses, and
   supporting industries.

   That last category, which can include small businesses, is important
   because Vietnam hopes to get more domestic companies to supply to
   foreign ones. That would get them involved in foreign trade, thus
   spreading the benefits of trade more widely across the Southeast Asian
   nation.

   "Local producers and suppliers urgently need efficient financing to
   support their trade cycles with global partners," Julius Caesar
   Parrenas, who coordinates a financial forum under an Asia-Pacific
   Economic Cooperation business organization, said. He added that there
   is a need to establish a finance ecosystem for "emerging markets like
   Vietnam, where trade is growing."

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