Proposal to support 50% of loan interest for businesses to innovate technology
The above proposal was made by the Ministry of Science and Technology at the Workshop on implementing the loan interest support task of the National Technology Innovation Fund (NATIF), on July 10. The policy is expected to be piloted with 20 businesses before expanding.
According to the proposed plan, businesses implementing technology application, transfer, or innovation projects will be considered for 50% loan interest support under the credit contract. The support level does not exceed 6% per year and lasts for a maximum of 5 years.
For example, if the interest rate in the credit contract is 10% per year, the support level at the rate of 50% is equivalent to 5%. In case the interest rate is 14%, the prorated level is 7%, but businesses only receive a maximum support of 6% per year.
To receive support, businesses must meet the criteria of feasibility, legal documents, economic efficiency and technological capacity. The policy prioritizes projects in the categories of technologies encouraged for transfer, high technology and strategic technology. In addition, there are also high value-added projects that can spread to the economy.
According to Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan, businesses must be the center of the innovation ecosystem and all policies need to come from the practical needs of businesses.
He said that the core point of the loan interest support program is to encourage businesses to innovate technology to improve labor productivity. The target audience is not only science and technology enterprises but also places with a need to invest in new technology. This policy not only reduces the burden of capital costs but also creates confidence for businesses to boldly invest in innovation.
NATIF Director Bui Quang Minh said that the loan interest support policy is built according to market principles. The Bank still fully carries out appraisal, lending decisions and risk management. The state does not allocate capital directly to businesses, only partially supporting interest costs to encourage investment in technology.
This approach is expected to create a "leverage" effect, mobilize credit capital and improve the efficiency of budget use for science and technology, innovation and digital transformation.
Before widely applying, the Ministry of Science and Technology proposed a pilot with 20 businesses. This method is to verify the feasibility of the process and coordination mechanism between funds, banks and businesses. The pilot phase is expected to last until the end of September, before conducting summary and evaluation for replication.
At the workshop, the Ministry of Science and Technology collected opinions from organizations and businesses on the needs and impacts of the policy; Support criteria and conditions; Risks that may arise with control plans and pilot implementation. Opinions will be compiled to improve the mechanism, ensuring public, transparent and targeted loan interest support.
Trong Dat