Bank loans inject 977 billion kip in poorest districts
Bank loans inject 977 billion kip in poorest districts
Nayoby Bank, one of the state owned banks in Laos, has approved a plan to inject 977 billion kip (US$122 million) in loans to boost commercial production in the poorest districts.
The bank's management approved the loan release plan during its annual meeting held in Vientiane last week, giving the green light for bank officials to begin distribution of the loans to the poorest districts.
720 billion kip in loans will be released to people in the poorest districts while the rest will be released to districts under the government's three builds direct initiatives.
Interest rates on the bank loans range from 7 to 10 per year depending on the period of the loan. The rates being charged are lower than those of the commercial banks.
The top decision making body of the state policy bank also agreed to completely stop providing loans to those districts which are not categorised as the poorest, after finding out the original action went against bank policy.
According to its own report, in 2013, the bank released loans of 689 billion kip into the poor districts to boost commercial production so they can earn sustainable incomes and emerge from poverty.
About 114,000 families in 3,238 villages of the poorest districts in Laos have gained benefit from the low interest bank loans, one of the main reasons which enable them to produce goods for the domestic market at competitive prices.
The report also highlighted that asset values of the bank reached 2,105 billion kip in 2013, about a 26.9 percent rise compared to the previous yea r.
In 2014, the bank will focus on debt collection efforts to keep non performing loans low. The bank will also continue to provide more low interest loans to farmers in the poor districts so as they can produce cash crops for domestic and foreign markets.
The bank receives funds from the Bank of the Lao PDR and the government to provide low interest loans to farmers and business people in the poorest districts so that they can access investment funds to expand their businesses. The bank is a non trading policy bank and therefore does not take deposits.
vientiane times
