Ho Chi Minh City ’s annual price
stabilisation programme will this year focus on the same four groups of
goods as last year-essential foods and foodstuff, materials used by
students, drugs, and dairy products, the Department of Industry and
Trade has said.
Speaking at a meeting on March 30 to
review last year’s programme and make plans for this year, Le Ngoc Dao,
the department’s deputy director, said 64 companies had registered to
take part, a third more than last year.
Five credit institutions, namely Agribank, Eximbank, Sacombank, BIDV, and Vietinbank, had joined for the first time, she said.
The programme, to last from April 1 to March 31 next year, would see
the participating businesses sell at 5-10 percent lower than market
prices, she said.
They could hike prices if their costs
increase by 5-10 percent, but would have to get express approval from
the Department of Finance, she added.
“Unlike in previous
years, when the businesses got interest-free loans from the city, this
year they will get loans at reasonable interest rates from the credit
institutions taking part in the programme.”
The five
lenders have ear-marked 860 billion VND for short-term loans at 6
percent and 1.1 trillion VND for long-term loans at 10 percent, she
noted.
The city will subsidize investment by the
participating firms in technology upgrading and expansion of breeding
farms, linking them with distribution networks, and providing free
advertising.
Nguyen Thi Hong, deputy chairwoman of the
city People’s Committee, called on relevant agencies and enterprises to
ensure the cheap goods under the programme reach company canteens,
markets, supermarkets, and other retail centres.
Hong said the price stabilisation programme has benefited both consumers and enterprises in the last 11 years.
Last year the volume of goods sold under the programme accounted for 25-40 percentage points over 2011.-VNA