HCMC – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called for commercial banks to make credit accessible to property firms and homebuyers and cut costs to lower interest rates.

Apart from real estate, they should also ensure meeting the loan demand of priority sectors such as manufacturing, he said, citing a resolution passed during a Government meeting held in late January.

In the resolution, the Ministry of Construction was tasked with mapping out measures to ease the burden for the real estate sector and reporting to the prime minister before February 15.

PM Chinh also told the Ministry of Finance to finalize the drafting of Decree 65 on bond issues via private placement and submit it to the Government prior to February 10.

Real estate is an industry that accounts for 11% of the nation’s gross domestic product, closely relates to multiple other sectors and generates lots of jobs.

However, it has been grappling with difficult access to credit, mounting inventories and irregularities on the market, sending housing sales plunging and housing projects being suspended.

Data from the Ministry of Construction showed that nearly 40% of property companies became insolvent last year.

The combined value of corporate bonds that had been issued by November 25, 2022 was around VND331,800 billion, down 31.6% year-on-year, while the value of corporate bonds that had been redeemed was VND161,000 billion, up 14% compared to the year-ago period, according to the Ministry of Finance.