Dragon fruit harvest in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has negatively affected the sale of the fruit in the southern province

The State Bank of Vietnam governor on February 4 issued Dispatch 541 requesting credit institutions to balance capital sources to meet the financial demand of manufacturers and businesses.

They have to direct their branches to proactively update their business operations and evaluate damages suffered by borrowers because of the coronavirus epidemic, especially those operating in vulnerable sectors such as tourism, agriculture and export.

Lender banks can restructure repayment terms and lower interest rates to support their customers experiencing hardship, among other things.

Branches of the central bank across the country must keep a close watch on business activities, the latest developments and the impact of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in districts to direct local credit institutions to take emergency steps, in line with prevailing regulations.

Further, the central bank’s agencies in provinces and cities are required to cooperate with the relevant parties to address risks and problems affecting borrowers. SGT

Farmers face losses from coronavirus border shutdown

Farmers are seeing dropping prices and huge inventories after border trade with China was halted due to the Coronavirus.

Coronavirus likely to send local stock market crashing

A new strain of coronavirus that has emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan is expected to continue dampening investor sentiment, according to various reports.