The Ministry of Finance is seeking feedback on a draft amendment to the Law on Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), with several notable proposals. A prominent one is the direction to allow businesses to use digital assets to access Capital instead of relying entirely on traditional collateral such as real estate. This is XEM one of the changes that could have a significant impact on the startup community, technology companies, and SMEs facing difficulties in raising Capital.
According to the draft, credit institutions will be encouraged to broaden the criteria for evaluating businesses when approving loans. Instead of focusing solely on tangible collateral, banks can XEM the company's credit rating, the effectiveness of its production and business plan, operating cash flow, and future market expansion potential. This move is expected to alleviate the long-standing Capital bottleneck for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam.
Currently, most SMEs still face difficulties in obtaining Capital due to a lack of qualified collateral. Many technology companies, blockchain startups, AI companies, e-commerce businesses, or companies operating on a digital model often possess large amounts of intangible assets such as data, software, domain names, intellectual property rights, or digital assets, but these are difficult for banks to accept as collateral. According to many market reports, approximately 80% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have encountered barriers to accessing credit because they did not meet collateral requirements.
The Ministry of Finance's new proposal comes as many countries are beginning to build legal frameworks for digital assets and digital finance. Recently, the international market has seen a trend of major banks experimenting with collateral models using Tokenize assets, stablecoins, or clearly identifiable digital assets on the blockchain. Several financial centers in Asia, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE, are also promoting legal mechanisms for Capital activities related to digital assets to attract technology companies and innovative Capital flows.
If approved at the National Assembly session scheduled for October, the amended Law on Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises could officially take effect from July 1, 2027.
