The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) has proposed expanding a Ho Chi Minh City-based microfinance fund to help more poor households get low-interest loans to improve their living conditions. Although the Capital Aid Fund for Employment of the Poor provides small loans averaging VND7 million ($337) each to millions of poor households, it can meet only 15%-20% of demand, said Mai Duc Chinh, deputy head of the VGCL. The fund needs more than VND3 trillion from the state budget to provide credit to more than 450,000 poor workers, Mr. Chinh said at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21. The VGCL is working with the Ministry of Finance on the microfinance expansion proposal, which will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval. The confederation targets to increase the number of borrowers by 300,000-400,000 during the 2013-2018 period and to establish 40 branches by 2018. Founded in 1991, the fund has provided credit worth VND10.5 trillion to 1.7 million borrowers, with women accounting for 75%. Nearly half of all loans are used for trading activities while the rest are used for housing and sanitation improvement, agricultural cultivation and animal breeding and healthcare. The fund, which is under the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Confederation, operates in the Mekong Delta and southeastern provinces. Last year, the fund provided credit to 208,000 active borrowers at a monthly interest rate of 0.9%. (Vietnam News May 20 p2)
