The state-owned Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) has proposed cutting the loan interest rate for poor households by 15 per cent from April 1 until the end of the year.

Under the proposal, families who made a great contribution to the nation will also receive a reduction of 10 per cent.

It is estimated a total of 16.2 trillion dong ($690 million) will be borrowed and three million workers will benefit from the programme.

In recent days, relevant ministries and the VBSP have been completing the government’s draft resolution about supporting residents in coping with Covid-19 pandemic.

The VBSP also proposed that employers can borrow money at the bank with no interest for a year to pay employees who must cease working for three months due to the pandemic.

VBSP deputy director-general Nguyen Duc Hai said most people borrowing money at the bank were poor, or families who made great contributions for the nation.

He said the bank had implemented different supportive measures such as extending their debt payment, lending them more money for manufacture restoring and giving them guidance to make reports on their struggles.

More than 40,000 people have had their debt payment period extended, with more than 1.3 trillion dong impacted.

VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK