Expanding investments to drive economic growth is a priority in achieving the  target of 15 per cent set for this year, said Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Việt Nam Đào Minh Tú.

After sluggish months earlier this year, credit growth has recently surged, reaching 7.75 per cent as of September 7, Tú said on Saturday, citing statistics. He added that the target of a 15 per cent credit growth rate for the full year is within reach.

He emphasised that the focus of credit growth should be on promoting investments to help accelerate economic growth.

Efforts have also been made to gradually lower interest rates.

Lending rates of new loans this year averaged 6.23 per cent, 0.86 per cent lower than the end of 2023 while deposit rates averaged 3.84 per cent, up 0.23 per cent. The slight increases in deposit rates were only seen at several small commercial banks, he said.

The exchange rates remained stable with the Vietnamese đồng losing around 1.5 per cent against the US dollar, much lower than other countries. Tú said that the central bank will continue to maintain stable and reasonable foreign exchange rate policies to attract foreign investments.

Tú stressed that another crucial factor is increasing the capital absorption capacity of enterprises, which will require a combination of macroeconomic policies to create favourable conditions for businesses.

He said that the lending capacity of the banking system can meet the capital demand of the economy.

Procedures would be further simplified together with accelerating the application of technology to create favourable conditions for both borrowers and lenders, Tú said, adding that commercial banks are urged to focus the credits in prioritised sectors as directed by the Government.

To accelerate the disbursement of the VNĐ140 trillion (US$5.5 billion) credit package for social housing development, the State Bank of Việt Nam have lower lending rates for homebuyers from 2 per cent to 3 per cent lower than the average of four big commercial banks. The lending term for preferential rates will also be prolonged from 5 to 10 years.

Besides, the disbursement of the credit package for seafood export exceeded VNĐ30 trillion to reach VNĐ36 trillion. The Government planned to increase the package to around VNĐ50-VNĐ60 trillion.

With drastic policies, credit growth is expected to contribute to achieving the economic growth target of 6.5-7 per cent this year, Tú said. — VNS