Decision No. 89/2003/QD-TTg On certain measures to handle debts from loans for investment capital to build new and renovate fishing vessels and service vessels for distant-water fisheries pursuant to Decision No. 393/TTg dated June 9, 1997, Decision No. 159/1998/QD-TTg dated September 3, 1998, and Decision No. 64/2000/QD-TTg dated June 7, 2000 of the Government.

Pursuant to …;

Regarding certain measures to handle debts from loans for investment capital to build new and repair fishing vessels and offshore fishing service vessels pursuant to Decision No. 393/TTg dated June 9, 1997, Decision No. 159/1998/QĐ-TTg dated September 3, 1998, and Decision No. 64/2000/QĐ-TTg dated June 7, 2000 of the Government

      ___________________

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Fisheries (document No. 3066/BC-BTS dated November 18, 2002),

DECISION:

Article 1. Adjusting the loan interest rate and loan term for organizations and individuals borrowing funds for repairing, building new vessels, and purchasing fishing equipment from state preferential credit capital as stipulated in Article 1 of Decision No. 64/2000/QĐ-TTg dated June 7, 2000 on amending the interest rate for loans, loan term, and loan repayment under the Management and Utilization Regulation of Preferential Credit Capital for Projects to Build New and Repair Fishing Vessels and Offshore Fishing Service Vessels issued together with Decision No. 159/1998/QĐ-TTg dated September 3, 1998 of the Government as follows:

1. The outstanding debt balance as of December 31, 2002 shall be subject to an interest rate of 5.4% per annum.

2. The loan term shall not exceed 12 years, calculated from the date of the first loan disbursement.

12/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 19, 2025 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and EnvironmentEntrusting the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, ministries, and sectors (hereinafter referred to as the People's Committees of provinces and ministries and sectors) managing the borrowers of funds for vessel construction from state preferential credit capital to take the lead and coordinate with the Development Support Fund, the State Bank of Vietnam, and the Ministry of Fisheries to organize and direct the handling of loan debts according to the following guidelines:

1. Categorizing borrowers to implement specific measures:

1.1 For borrowers engaged in effective production and business operations who are currently repaying their loans according to the credit agreement, they may purchase the vessel they are using (if there is a need) and must immediately repay the remaining principal debt to the lending organization; or if there is a need for additional funding, lending organizations shall consider providing further loans according to current commercial lending regulations.

1.2 For borrowers who have the ability to repay but intentionally delay repayment, no extension or deferral of debt will be granted. If within six months from the inspection date, they still fail to repay the debt according to the credit agreement, local authorities along with relevant agencies shall cooperate with lending organizations to prepare a record and seize the vessel for auction to recover the debt.

1.3 For borrowers misusing the loan funds: inspect, prepare a record, seize assets formed from the loan funds; transfer the outstanding debt to a commercial loan and convert seized assets into collateral to recover the debt for the state.

1.4 For borrowers engaged in loss-making production and business operations, facing difficulties in living, or leaving vessels idle without production or producing at a slow pace:

a. Borrowers with skills and the ability to organize production and business operations, but unable to repay the loan on time due to objective reasons or lack of capital, shall be considered for extension, deferral, and redefinition of the repayment period, which shall not exceed the loan repayment term specified in Point 2 of Article 1 of this Decision; or if there is an effective production and business operation plan, lending organizations shall consider providing further loans according to current commercial lending regulations to ensure recovery of the principal and interest. After implementing the above measures, if the borrower still cannot repay the loan, permission to change the borrower shall be granted..

b. Borrowers encountering force majeure risks: vessels sunk, lost due to natural disasters, captured by foreign entities and not returned... and unable to repay the debt shall prepare a file (with comments from the provincial People's Committee or the main ministry) to send to the lending organization for consolidation and proposal to the Prime Minister for a unified solution.

c. Borrowers leaving vessels idle without production or producing at a slow pace without an effective resolution plan shall be individually reviewed to change the borrower and handle the loan debt.

2. Regarding changing the borrower and handling the loan debt:

For borrowers engaged in loss-making production and business operations, facing difficulties in living, leaving vessels idle without production or producing at a slow pace, or intentionally delaying repayment, the People's Committees of provinces and ministries and sectors shall instruct local functional agencies to coordinate with lending organizations to implement the process of changing the borrower and handling the loan debt according to the following principles:

2.1 The Chairman of the provincial People's Committee (for projects managed by the locality), the Minister (for projects managed by the ministry) shall establish an Appraisal Board to reassess the vessel's market value at the time of appraisal and organize a broad public auction of the vessel, without limiting the buyer's identity, but in accordance with the Auction Regulation for Assets issued together with Decree No. 86/CP dated December 19, 1996 of the Government; the buyer does not have to pay property ownership transfer tax.

2.2 In cases where the auction buyer pays the full price of the vessel immediately and in one lump sum, there is no need to comply with the conditions set by the lending organization for purchasing the vessel.

If the buyer does not have the ability to pay the full price of the vessel immediately, they may assume the debt with the lending organization under the following conditions: pay at least 50% of the auction price in one lump sum; meet all lending conditions set by the lending organization and obtain confirmation from the local authority.

All proceeds from the auction sale must be immediately paid to the lending organization after deducting the costs associated with the auction sale as prescribed. The difference between the auction price of the vessel and the amount of debt owed (principal and interest) shall be handled as follows:

a. If the auction price of the vessel exceeds the amount of debt owed, after paying off the debt and deducting the costs associated with the auction sale of the vessel, the remaining amount shall be transferred to the previous borrower.

b. If the auction proceeds from the sale of the vessel are less than the amount of debt owed, the former investor shall continue to be responsible for the shortfall between the debt owed (including auction costs) and the post-auction value of the vessel, and must repay this within two years from the completion of the vessel's auction. In cases where the former investor is unable to repay this debt, the lending organization shall cooperate with local authorities to examine each specific case and proceed to sell other assets according to the law to recover the loan (principal and interest). If there are no assets or if the proceeds from selling the assets are still insufficient to cover the debt, the investor must prepare a file (with comments from the People's Committee of the province or the competent ministry) to submit to the lending organization for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for examination and resolution.

Article 3. Implementation organization:

1. The State Bank of Vietnam and the Development Support Fund shall direct lending organizations to specify the loan terms for each individual borrower and provide detailed guidance on the transfer of ship ownership.

2. Lending organizations shall compile, review, and propose measures to handle unrecoverable debts, reporting to the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam for consideration and submission to the Prime Minister.

3. The Fisheries Department shall enhance fishery promotion, vocational training for fishermen in fishing and aquaculture; guide localities in developing models linking production with product sales through contracts; advise fishermen on fishing grounds and resources to ensure effective production.

4. The People's Committees of coastal provinces shall be responsible for coordinating and supporting lending organizations and related agencies in handling debts: directing the classification of borrowers to apply appropriate measures ensuring fairness and reasonableness; strengthening education and publicity to raise fishermen's awareness of their obligations under loan agreements; resolutely applying the law against those who deliberately evade their state debt repayment obligations.

Article 4.This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 5. The Ministers of Finance, Planning and Investment, Fisheries; Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam; General Director of the Development Support Fund; and Chairpersons of the People's Committees of coastal central cities and provinces are responsible for implementing this Decision./.