Economic Recovery Fund – a highlight of funding in Thai Nguyen

The Economic Recovery Fund to provide loans for locals affected by the Nui Phao project has been established in 2013 by Nui Phao Mining Co., Ltd. (NPMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Masan High-Tech Materials Corporation, trusted through the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), Dai Tu branch in order to launch a micro-credit programme that helps the affected households access loans with preferential interest rates in accordance with the bank's regulations.

As reviewed by the VBSP's Dai Tu branch, 100 per cent of these households have paid the loan interest on time with no bad debts recorded. Most of the households have used the loan effectively and some of them have created jobs for 3-5 local people with a stable monthly income ranging from VND3 to 5 million ($130-220) per person.

The households use the loans to invest mainly in tea cultivation and tea farm extension, poultry and cattle farming. A typical example is the household of Nguyen Van Sinh from Cau Thanh 2 residential group who was living in difficult conditions with his disabled child. Between 2015 and 2017, Sinh received a VND50 million ($2,170) loan from the Economic Recovery Fund and invested it in chicken farming; mostly in putting up cages and buying baby chicks with the initial scale of 300 square metres of farm area and 500 baby chicks to collect hatching eggs.

His chicken farm has so far been expanded to over 2,000 chickens on a farming area of 1,200sq.m, with an increase in average income from VND4-5 million ($170-220) to over VND10 million ($430) a month. While raising chickens, Sinh and his family have learned a lot from other husbandry models to improve his farming practice, especially in disease prevention.

Besides, Sinh has also invested in raising pigs for meat and in growing vegetables and flowers to utilise the farmyard manure, another effort to build a sustainable household economy. The preferential loan interest rate has helped to reassure his family to find their feet again and improve their living conditions.

Vegetable growing and chicken raising model using the loan of Nui Phao Economic Restoration Fund by Nugyen Van Sinh and his household

One of the outstanding features of the Economic Recovery Fund is that part of the interest amount incurred from the loans is reinvested in activities to enhance the capabilities of the locals. Specifically, 23 training courses have been given to 1,500 participants covering various subjects such as safe livestock breeding, safe tea production and hygiene, and food safety and hygiene in livestock and vegetation farming.

NPMC also works with the relevant offices of Dai Tu, communes and towns to organise 5 study tours for more than 400 local households to visit featured tea production models in Tan Cuong commune (Thai Nguyen City); safe and organic tea model, and the pigeon raising model. The total budget for the study tours amount up to VND120 million ($5,200).

The workshop on assessing the effectiveness of the Economic Recovery Fund

To learn from the lessons so far and perform better in the coming years, NPMC coordinated with VBSP's Dai Tu branch to organise a workshop on assessing the effectiveness of the Economic Recovery Fund. Most participants at the workshop agreed that the fund had improved economic efficiency, increased incomes, created jobs, and had an overall positive impact on the beneficiaries.

It is suggested that NPMC continue its support by providing more capital resources, making the loans accessible to more beneficiaries, and prolonging the loan term.

Nguyen Thi My (Dai Tu district) used her loan to breed livestock and start her household business

Pursuant to Directive No.40-CT/TW of the Thai Nguyen Party Committee in mobilising capital from local enterprises for the funding programme, 20 enterprises have been participating in the programme, with the majority from the districts of Dai Tu, Dong Hy, Vo Nha, and Pho Yen town. The fund raised VND9 billion (VND6 billion of which was contributed by Nui Phao Mining).

Nguyen Van Hong, deputy director of Thai Nguyen Social Policy Bank said, “NPMC’s capital contribution currently managed by the VBSP to ensure loans being given to the right beneficiaries has proven to be effective, along with the implementation of the causes to eradicate hunger and poverty in the district.

Besides, NPMC’s Economic Recovery Fund has been instrumental in mobilising external resources for the activities of the social policy banks of the district as well as the province, so that not only project-affected households but also poor households and policy-beneficiaries can have access to the loans to develop their household economy.”

The fund is only one of many economic recovery programmes initiated by NPMC over the past years to implement its sustainability commitments and benefit the communities within the project area.