SocTrang (VNA) – Over 124,000 households in the Mekong Delta provinceof Soc Trang have escaped poverty thanks to State preferential loans over thepast 15 years.
The information was released by Duong Dinh Lang, Director of the Soc Trangbranch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) at a conference reviewingthe 15 years of implementing the Government’s Decree No.78/2002/ND-CP on creditfor poor people and other beneficiaries of State preferential welfare policies andthe bank’s operation.
The bankhas provided preferential loans for over 471,000 poor households and welfare policybeneficiaries and 11 cooperatives, thus helping reduce the rate of poorhouseholds in the locality by over 2.5 percent annually and create jobs forover 123,000 labourers.
As of theend of August, the branch’s total capital exceeded 3 trillion VND (132.66million USD) while outstanding loans totalled over 3 trillion VND. The rate ofbad debt fell from 26.61 percent in 2002 to 6.67 percent.-VNA
The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) aims to offer 41 trillion VND (1.8 billion USD) of loans to the southwest region in 2030, up 13 trillion VND, or 46 percent, compared to 2016.
More than 1,473,000 ethnic minority households across the country have been benefiting from preferential credit programmes with total loans worth up to 40 trillion VND (over 1.76 billion USD).
Over 30 million poor households and other welfare beneficiaries have accessed soft loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) as of the end of August 2017, according to the VBSP.
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In an document issued on August 5, the PM emphasised the need to stablise living conditions for people hit by floods, landslides, and flash floods in late July and early August in northern and north-central provinces, especially Dien Bien, Son La, and Nghe An which suffered some of the worst damage.
Although millions of Vietnamese were affected by AO, only over 626,000 individuals, including war veterans and their children suffering from dioxin-related conditions, are currently receiving state benefits.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA) 
