The signing ceremony providing a loan syndication between Lộc Trời Group Join Stock Company and seven banks in HCM City on Monday. — VNS Photo Thu Ngân

HCM CITY — Agricultural services and food conglomerate Lộc Trời Group Joint Stock Company on Monday in HCM City signed a loan syndication with seven domestic and foreign banks in Việt Nam as part of a plan to expand high-quality paddy production and bring better products to both Việt Nam and foreign markets.

The credit will last three years and is worth US$100 million, Lộc Trời said. The seven banks are MB Bank, Kasikornbank, First Commercial Bank, Agricultural Bank of China Limited (Hà Nội branch), China Construction Bank Corporation (HCM City branch), CTBC bank Company Lte and E.SUN Commerical Bank, Ltd (Đồng Nai branch), with MB Bank and Kasikornbank serving as the lead banks.

Under the agreement, the credit will be disbursed through supplying Lộc Trời seeds, agriculture material and other services to co-operative alliances, co-operatives, production sites and farmers.

The disbursement, the company said, would be done based on the timing of crops and would be digitalised through the company’s applications with friendly interfaces so that farmers could easily track the production process during their crops.

Talking about the credit, Lộc Trời’s chairman, Huỳnh Văn Thòn, stressed that the co-operation with the seven bank was the first step for further development in the future. 

He affirmed that the support from the banks would particularly help fulfil the company's mission of “accompanying farmers to develop together.”

Lộc Trời is a big paddy and rice producer in Việt Nam. Currently, the company's products under the brand “Cơm Việt Nam" rice have been sold in the EU at Carrefour and Leclerc supermarkets. Up to the end of October, about 400,000 tonnes of rice have been ordered.

Established in 1993, Lộc Trời has become the leading agricultural services and food conglomerate in Việt Nam with over 3,600 employees. Currently, Lộc Trời is the only company that has met the Sustainable Rice Platform’s standards for several consecutive years.

The company is co-operating with many co-operatives and over 200,000 households in order to set up and develop cultivation methods in which they can cut down costs and ensure sustainable development.

The company’s products have received many domestic and international awards. — VNS