Agriculture and Rural Development Bank (ARDB) is considering to lower down the interest rate from 6 percent to 5 percent to support the farmers.
At present, ARDB is providing the loan from $10,000 to $300,000 with the 6 percent per annum for working capital (two years period), and investment capital is 6.5 percent per annum for five year period repayment to farmers, producers, and micro, small and medium sized enterprises.
The government’s special fund is focusing to farmers, aquarium, chicken, vegetable growers, handicraft, and SMEs on the manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing sector. For those farmers and producers, who are able to access to the fund, they have to expand the production and create new jobs from 5 to 30 jobs. Production must be in the Cambodia, registered in the taxation department, need the working capital and investment capital for expanding their business.
During the workshop of the government’s special fund to more than 250 farmers, producers, and SMEs on manufacturing on the in Kandal province on Thursday, Kandal governor Kong Sophorn, has requested to the ARDB to consider facilitate the fund’s criteria and condition to the farmers to enable them to access the government’s fund to expand their business, reduce the interest rate.
He was also asking ARDB to delay the interest rate charge while the country is in the hard-hit situation because of COVID-19.
In response, ARDB director-general Kao Thach said that ARDB is the policy bank to follow the government’s policy and is tasked to manage and implement the government special fund.
He added that ARDB is considering to lower down the interest rate from 6 percent to 5 percent for the farmers.
He said that the Bank’s special capital is $50 million to provide to farmers, aquarium, chicken, vegetable growers, handicraft, and SMEs on the manufacturing, agri-business, and agro-processing sector, to enable them to expand their business, strengthening the competitiveness, expand the production, and pushing the export of the agriculture products.
He said that He said that ARDB will offer the fund up to 80 percent of the total collateral, and the collateral can be business assets such as equipment, vehicles, buildings, and inventory, accounts receivables, and deposit certification.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
