British American Tobacco Vietnam has loaned 687 million dong ($43,000,
£25,000) interest-free to more than 200 poor families in Ho Chi Minh
City and southern An Giang province to develop household economies and
alleviate poverty.
The loan is part of a poverty reduction project by BAT in association with the Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper.
The families will use the money to develop cattle farms and small
enterprises, including weaving and tailoring businesses. At the end of
the project the money will be repaid and then re-loaned to other poor
families. In addition, BAT is loaning 391m dong to poor families in
northern Bac Giang province.
Since 2003 BAT has donated 2.6 billion dong to poverty alleviation in Vietnam.
