Vietnam HDBank to Lend VND2T to Coffee Bean Suppliers

HCM City Housing Development Commercial JS Bank (HDBank) has signed a contract to provide a soft credit line of up to VND2 trillion to coffee bean suppliers of Vinacafe Buon Me Thuot JS Company. The contract was signed at a ceremony held by Vinacafe Buon Me Thuot Dec 20 to open its bonded warehouse, the biggest in the Central Highlands. Under the contract, the unlisted lender will also provide other banking services such as international payment, forex trading, and derivative products to Vinacafe Buon Me Thuot. Vinacafe Buon Me Thuot is among the largest coffee exporters of the National Coffee Corp (Vinacafe). Last week, HDBank also pledged to provide loans at preferential interest rates to support local cashew exporters and processors. The loans will have term of 12 months at maximum. HDBank, however, did not mention the credit limit for the program. (www.hdbank.com.vn Dec 21)