Removing difficulties and obstacles in implementing credit for building new fishing vessels according to Decree No. 67 of the Government

In preparation for the 3rd session of the 15th National Assembly, on the afternoon of May 19, the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province held a meeting with a number of agencies and units on the following issues: Difficulties and obstacles in implementing the credit policy for building new fishing vessels according to Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP dated July 7, 2014 of the Government on a number of policies for fisheries development; assessment of the implementation of Decree 42/2017/QH dated June 21, 2017 of the National Assembly on piloting the handling of bad debts of credit institutions in the province in the past time.

Comrade Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation chaired the meeting. Photo: Thanh Le

As of April 30, 2022, out of a total of 104 ships funded by bank loans, 4 ships with problems have paid off their loans; 100 ships still have the obligation to repay the bank with a principal debt of 612.73 billion VND; the whole area has 65 ships with overdue debt, of which 60 ships have been transferred to bad debt with a total bad debt value of 418.23 billion VND, accounting for 68.3% of the principal debt according to Decree 67.

The situation of overdue and bad debts of loans under Decree 67 is increasing dramatically, mainly due to difficulties faced by ship owners in fishing operations.

Comrade Doan Manh Ha - Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam, Nghe An Branch, reported on the contents related to the Credit Program under Decree 67/2014/ND-CP and the situation of bad debt settlement under Resolution No. 42/2017/QH14 of the Nghe An Banking sector. Photo: Thanh Le

Since the end of 2019, PJICO Nghe An Insurance Company has stopped selling hull insurance for ships that have borrowed capital under Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP, causing some ships whose insurance has expired to be unable to purchase new insurance, or to purchase external insurance without receiving cost support under the State's policy. For ships that have purchased insurance from PJICO, insurance compensation has also been prolonged, causing financial difficulties for ship owners.

There is still a situation where some ship owners have the mindset of waiting for the State's policy, deliberately delaying debt repayment even though they still have revenue from exploitation, causing negative impacts on ship owners with good debt repayment awareness.

Comrade Tran Xuan Hoc - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed that banks have flexible solutions to create conditions for fishermen to continue production. Photo: Thanh Le

Regarding the implementation of Resolution No. 42 of 2017 of the National Assembly, the bad debt ratio in the province has always been kept at a much lower level than the national average, well controlled at below 1%. However, debt collection measures according to the policies stipulated in Resolution 42 still face many difficulties. As of March 31, 2022, the total bad debt determined according to Resolution 42 is more than 5,108 billion VND.

In order to help fishermen borrow capital under Decree 67 to overcome difficulties and support local banks to recover loans under Decree 67, banks requested the Provincial National Assembly Delegation to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and amendment of Decree 17/2018/ND-CP. At the same time, they requested the National Assembly and the Government to continue to institutionalize the Party's policies in the coming time, and continue to overcome difficulties and limitations in handling bad debts of credit institutions.

Comrade Pham Quoc Nam - Director of the Provincial Judgment Enforcement Department spoke at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Le

At the meeting, leaders of relevant departments, branches and credit institutions also raised difficulties and recommended that the Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies propose to the National Assembly and the Government solutions to overcome difficulties for fishermen to borrow capital under Decree 67; support local banks to recover loans under Decree 67. At the same time, consider allowing the extension of the application period of Resolution No. 42/2017 of the 14th National Assembly and speed up the process of researching and proposing the development of a Law on handling bad debts of credit institutions.

Delegates attending the meeting. Photo: Thanh Le

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Thai Thi An Chung, emphasized that from the opinions and recommendations of voters and through this meeting, we will have an objective view on the implementation of the credit policy for building new fishing vessels in the province according to Decree No. 67.

Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Thai Thi An Chung province concluded the meeting. Photo: Thanh Le

The recommendations of departments, branches and credit institutions will be compiled by the delegation to be sent to the National Assembly forum and relevant ministries and branches.