The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee (HCMC PC) has included this content in a draft resolution on interest rate support for projects financed by the Ho Chi Minh City State Financial Investment Company (HFIC) within priority socio-economic development sectors following mergers. The policy is expected to be submitted to the HCMC People's Council for consideration and approval during its October session.

According to the draft, projects for constructing dormitories for students; housing for workers in industrial clusters, industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech parks; and social housing will see the maximum interest-supported loan amount increase from 200 billion VND to 300 billion VND per project. The support period will also increase from a maximum of 7 years to 10 years.

Thien Phat worker dormitory for workers at Linh Trung II Export Processing Zone, Tam Binh ward, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Le Tuyet

Thien Phat worker dormitory for workers at Linh Trung II Export Processing Zone, Tam Binh ward, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Le Tuyet

This preferential level surpasses the current policy stipulated by Resolution 09/2023 of the city People's Council. Under current regulations, the budget supports 50-100% of the interest rate for loans provided by HFIC or for syndicated loans where HFIC acts as the lead, for a duration of 7 years and a maximum loan of 200 billion VND. Social housing and worker housing projects receive the highest support level of 100%.

According to the city People's Committee, the policy is designed to enhance businesses' access to capital and encourage the private sector to participate in the city's priority areas, including social housing and welfare-oriented projects.

Increasing the supported loan amount and extending the duration to 10 years is expected to help investors reduce capital cost pressure over a longer period, especially for large-scale social housing projects with lengthy capital recovery times.

Ho Chi Minh City has been tasked by the Government to complete 199,400 social housing units by 2030. Specifically for the 2026-2030 period, the city must complete 181,257 units, which is approximately 10 times the target of the previous five years. For 2026, the city's goal is to complete 28,500 units.

Regarding worker housing, the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation has signed agreements with 9 businesses, aiming to develop approximately 128,000 units by 2030.

Beyond social and worker housing, the draft also adds several project categories for consideration of support, such as: green transition, digital transformation, research and application of science and technology, smart manufacturing, strategic technology, clean energy, logistics, high-tech agriculture, and industrial infrastructure.

Projects for transitioning transport vehicles from fossil fuels to clean energy, construction of public charging stations, ecological industrial park infrastructure, seaports, port logistics, and treatment and recycling of construction waste are also among the proposed additions to the list.

According to the draft, the funding for implementing the policy will be allocated from the city's public investment budget. For the 2026-2030 period, HFIC expects to disburse a total of 16,800 billion VND for projects under the program. With an anticipated interest rate support of 9% per year, the city's budget is estimated to require approximately 3,426 billion VND for interest support, and 3,500 billion VND is planned for allocation in the mid-term public investment capital plan.

Previously, the implementation of Resolution 09/2023 had approved only 19 projects participating in the policy, with a total investment exceeding 5,272 billion VND and total interest-supported loan capital exceeding 2,918 billion VND.