On 22 November 2019, in Soc Trang city, BIDV cooperated with VINASME and Soc Trang Business Association to successfully organize the "Improving capital management and corporate governance skill" seminar for 70 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Soc Trang, representatives of Soc Trang Young Entrepreneurs Association and SME Association of Soc Trang province.

At the seminar, BIDV representative shared the bank's perspective on how SMEs are assessed when applying for loans, thereby advising SMEs on financial management measures, financial transparency, capital sources, capital structure, revenue management, working capital, debt management, operation risk management, internal management... to meet the requirements when borrowing from banks.

Mr. Pham Van Toan, Deputy Head of BIDV SME Department, delivered the opening speech.

According to a representative of BIDV, digitalization is the best solution to improve SMEs’ ability in corporate governance, information transparency, and capital access. Accordingly, BIDV introduced KIU Global and comprehensive business management solutions, designed exclusively for SMEs, using advanced technology, which is simple, convenient and at reasonable cost. In addition, consultants from VINASME shared modern and transparent corporate governance methods to facilitate cooperation with credit institutions and local regulatory authorities.

Mr. Do Van Hai, Manager at BIDV SME Department, shared with the delegates methods of document evaluation, notes on business plan development,etc.

PhD. To Hoai Nam, Permanent Vice Chairman and General Secretary of VINASME talked about a credit package of up to VND10,000 billion exclusively for VINASME members, which is under BIDV and VINASME cooperation, with more preferential interest rates compared to other ordinary loans at the bank. Representatives of BIDV and BIDV Soc Trang Branch directly consulted the presented SMEs in solving difficulties and queries to improve access to the preferential capital.

Ms. Ma Thi Thanh, Permanent Vice Chairman of Soc Trang Business Association, said: "The need to improve financial management skills for SMEs is extremely urgent! The programs organized BIDV and VINASME are very practical. Regarding to the characteristics of Soc Trang province, many SMEs upgraded from business households, agricultural producers, traders..., in which many business leaders lack knowledge of financial management. Therefore, a lot of them have gone bankrupt quickly since establishment; in the meantime, some other business owners have restored their production and business activities after gaining experience from participating professional training courses”.

The Consultative Workshop Program is one of many activities BIDV has implemented under the agreement signed in August 2018 with VINASME and the People's Committee of Soc Trang Province, affirming the "Accompanying with SMEs" commitment of BIDV over the years. These Training-Consulting activities will contribute to improving SMEs’ financial management skills and their access to bank capital.