Mr Phan Thanh Tuan (right) and Dr Bounpheng Sibounheuang shake hands after signing the agreement.

Sacombank Lao gets 66b kip financing for its soft loan scheme to revitalise MSMEs  

Saigon Thuong Tin Bank Lao Co., Ltd., known as Sacombank Lao, has received more than 66 billion kip in financial assistance from the state budget and state-managed funds for its low-interest rate loan scheme, which aims to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) recover from the impacts of the Covid pandemic.
On Friday, the bank signed an agreement with the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Promotion Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to receive the financing.
The financial support comes from two sources – a 26 billion kip state contribution that will be loaned at a 3 percent interest rate, and another more than 40 billion from the MSME Access to Finance Emergency Support and Recovery Project managed by the department that will also be loaned at a low interest rate.
Sacombank Lao’s General Director Phan Thanh Tuan signed the agreement with the Director General of the MSME Promotion Department, Dr Bounpheng Sibounheuang. Minister of Industry and Commerce Malaythong Kommasith witnessed the signing.
Sacombank Lao is one of the commercial banks that inked a deal with the department on Friday during the Mega MSME Fair held at the Chommany Shopping Centre in Vientiane, in order to roll out the government’s soft loan policy for MSMEs.
The financial support, implemented by the commercial banks, is the latest in the series provided by the state budget and the project aiming to give MSMEs access to funding and grow their businesses. 
Funding support for the provision low-interest-rate loans is significant for MSME operators in Laos as it will enable them to better handle any difficulties they face and grow their businesses sustainably, thus making a sizeable contribution to the economy.     
Previously, Sacombank Lao received more than 164 billion kip from these two sources in order to offer low interest loans to MSMEs.

By Times Reporters/Souk
 (Latest Update October 21, 2023)