Tiếng Việt
普通话
On September 17, the Government Inspectorate released the findings of its inspection of the equitization process of Quy Nhon Port.
According to the report, the Transport Ministry had proposed the then-Prime Minister approve the equitization of the port, where Vinalines held 49% of its charter capital. The ministry had suggested the PM let Vinalines transfer the 49% stake in the port.
The inspectorate found that these acts were in violation of a restructuring scheme for Vinalines in the 2012-2015 period, which was approved in 2013, stating that the State was to retain 75% of its charter capital in the port.
When the 49% stake transfer proposal was publicized, the Ministries of Planning-Investment and Finance questioned the Transport Ministry on economy-, security- and defense-related issues for the short- and long-term periods. The Government Office also asked the Transport Ministry to provide an explanation.
At the time, Vinalines had submitted a report examining the role and benefits of the port and had proposed the Transport Ministry maintain its 49% ownership.
However, the ministry did not properly consider these proposals before presenting the stake transfer proposal to the Prime Minister.
As such, the ministry failed to fulfill its role and responsibilities as a State capital ownership representative.
The ministry also provided unclear and inconsistent instructions to Vinalines on the stake transfer.
At first, the ministry told the firm to offload the stake at the Hanoi Stock Exchange. Later, it allowed the firm to make put-through transactions without the knowledge of the Prime Minister.
The inspectorate noted that this action violated the Government’s Decree 71/2013 on the investment of State capital in enterprises and the financial management of enterprises in which the State holds all the charter capital.
The inspectorate also pointed out errors made by the Government Office, which had received the ministry’s documents and should have recognized it was unauthorized to sell the 49% stake. However, the office still submitted the papers to the then-Deputy Prime Minister for further processing, favoring the ministry’s proposal.
Besides this, the office suggested that upon the completion of equitization and the State capital divestment in Quy Nhon Port, its shares were not to be listed on the stock market. The inspectorate noted that this act was in violation of prevailing regulations, which restricted the port’s shares to being made available on the market and showed a lack of transparency.
Notably, the valuation of the port’s assets that did not perform properly resulted in a reduction in its value. Meanwhile, the selection of strategic investors was done without specifying the conditions and characteristics of their business sectors. As a result, the port did not receive any further investments after its equitization.
The Government Inspectorate suggested that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc order the Transport Ministry to clarify the responsibilities of groups and individuals involved in the deal under its authority.