ADB provides $50m loan to support SMEs   Workers at Hai Duong Porcelain JSC (Hapoco) work on their products. Small and medium-sized enterprises like Hapoco will benefit from the $50 million loan signed between ADB and the Vietnamese Government. - VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung HA NOI (VNS)- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Vietnamese Government signed an agreement yesterday to provide a US$50 million loan for fostering the development and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises. "While the Government made great efforts to enhance policy reforms to support the creation, survival and growth of SMEs, more needs to be done to foster a greater scale of SME development, essentially required for the country to achieve more sustainable and inclusive growth," said ADB Country Director for Viet Nam Tomoyuki Kimura. "ADB firmly supports the Government to successfully manage the continued reform agenda aimed at improving the business environment for the development of SMEs and the private sector in Viet Nam ," he added. For 25 years The loan has a duration of 25 years with an annual interest rate of 2 per cent. It will support efforts in SME development in Viet Nam through streamlined business processes, improved access to finance, programmes to support women-owned enterprises, and encourage a level playing field for development of private enterprises. The Vietnamese Government has assisted the development of SMEs with a combination of landmark policy reforms, since approval of the Enterprise Law in 2000. As a result, by the end of 2011 the number of registered enterprises in Viet Nam has grown to some 550,000, up from 14,500 in 2000, with SMEs representing nearly 97 per cent of the country's total number of firms, and 46 per cent of gross domestic product. The domestic private sector accounted for 59 per cent of total employment in 2011, up from 29 per cent in 2000. SMEs are now considered the key generators of employment and income, as well as drivers of growth and reduction of poverty in the country. - VNS