Vietnam orders 150 firms to register prices

The Ministry of Finance has named 150 companies that must register their prices with the authorities, including major foreign-owned dairy firms.

The list of companies was published Thursday on the government website.

It named seven dairy firms, including foreign producers like Friesland Campina, Nestlé, Mead Johnson, Meiji and 3A Pharma, the official distributor of Abbott in Vietnam.

Also on the list are eight cement producers, 18 steel companies, eight sugar producers, 10 animal feed manufacturers and five liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) traders.

These companies will be required to register their prices when they launch a new product for the first time or whenever ordered to do so by the authorities.

Previous regulations required only companies with 50 percent state capital to register their prices with the authorities.

Last month foreign milk companies and the ambassadors of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and the EU raised their concerns about the new price control effort. They said it would affect Vietnam’s commitments as a WTO member and warned that it could also hinder foreign investment.

Nguyen Tien Thoa, head of the Price Management Department at the Ministry of Finance, said the new regulation does not break any WTO commitments.

He said it is in accordance with a previous government decree that lists milk as one of the commodities whose prices must be kept stable.

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New regulations out for business invoices

Businesses will be allowed to continue to use Ministry of Finance issued invoices until the end of first quarter next year, according to a newly issued instruction of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung.

The instruction amended the January 1 deadline in an attempt to deal with obstacles raised through the implementation of Decree No 51/2010/ND-CP, which allows most companies to print their own invoices instead of having to obtain them from official agencies.

The extension will help save money for those who bought the invoices from the Ministry of Finance but would not have used them prior to December 31 2010.

Under the instruction, Hung also agreed in principle with the Finance Ministry's proposal to continue selling ‘red' invoices to small-sized businesses and those in poor areas, who cannot afford to print invoices, until the end of next year.

These invoices serve as official proof of commercial transactions for tax and other purposes. However, small businesses will have to print their own invoices as of 2012.

The new instruction also stated that vouchers used in banking and marine services, which meet international regulations, will also be recognized for purposes of taxation.

According to current regulations, the vouchers are not recognized as invoices so banking and marine transportation businesses are still required to obtain ‘red' invoices to pay tax, wasting both time and money. More than 350,000 companies are expected to become eligible to print their own invoices.

Director of the General Taxation Office's Policy Department Cao Anh Tuan said besides providing greater freedom to companies to do business, the new policy would completely change business invoice usage.

It would also save the Government some of the costs it incurs in printing the invoices, while companies would not have to go through the rigmarole of obtaining them, Tuan said.

However, analysts warned there could be difficulties during the process.

Careful monitoring of the printing process was imperative to eliminate the possibility of fraud by print companies, they said.

Tax offices were set for a hard time as thousands of enterprises would register to print their own invoices, they added.

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New regulations out for business invoices

HA NOI — Businesses will be allowed to continue to use Ministry of Finance issued invoices until the end of first quarter next year, according to a newly issued instruction of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung.

The instruction amended the January 1 deadline in an attempt to deal with obstacles raised through the implementation of Decree No 51/2010/ND-CP, which allows most companies to print their own invoices instead of having to obtain them from official agencies.

The extension will help save money for those who bought the invoices from the Ministry of Finance but would not have used them prior to December 31 2010.

Under the instruction, Hung also agreed in principle with the finance ministry's proposal to continue selling ‘red' invoices to small-sized businesses and those in poor areas, who cannot afford to print invoices, until the end of next year. These invoices serve as official proof of commercial transactions for tax and other purposes. However, small businesses will have to print their own invoices as of 2012.

The new instruction also stated that vouchers used in banking and marine services, which meet international regulations, will also be recognised for purposes of taxation. According to current regulations, the vouchers are not recognised as invoices so banking and marine transportation businesses are still required to obtain ‘red' invoices to pay tax, wasting both time and money. More than 350,000 companies are expected to become eligible to print their own invoices.

Director of the General Taxation Office's Policy Department Cao Anh Tuan said besides providing greater freedom to companies to do business, the new policy would completely change business invoice usage.

It would also save the Government some of the costs it incurs in printing the invoices, while companies would not have to go through the rigmarole of obtaining them, Tuan said.

However, analysts warned there could be difficulties during the process.

Careful monitoring of the printing process was imperative to eliminate the possibility of fraud by print companies, they said.

Tax offices were set for a hard time as thousands of enterprises would register to print their own invoices, they added. — VNS

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Refinery lands 1b USD loan package

PetroVietnam has obtained 1 billion USD in financing for the Dung Quat
Oil Refinery, the Ministry of Finance announced on Sept. 23.

The Vietnam Development Bank will co-ordinate the financing package,
which includes 700 million USD from Government bond proceeds and the
remainder from French bank BNP Paribas, which is extending credit for
the deal through 2020 at an annual interest rate of 3.3 percent,
following a four-year grace period.

PetroVietnam
will borrow the bond proceeds for a 16-year term at a fixed interest
rate of 3.6 percent, following four year's grace.

The ministry has authorised Citibank's Trust Agency in New York to
collect interest on the 700 million USD loan made from Government bond
proceeds, while the Ministry of Finance will make interest payments
directly to BNP Paribas.

The financing will be
allocated to the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant No 1, which began
operating at 100 percent production capacity last month. The plant has
imported 5.7 million tonnes of crude oil and processed nearly 5 million
tonnes so far, delivering over 4.7 million tonnes of refined products to
market.

In order to ensure repayment, Circular No
114/2010/TT-BTC issued by the ministry late Sept. 23 requires
PetroVietnam to give highest priority to servicing the loans under this
package. If it falls past due, the Ministry of Finance will require
other lenders to freeze existing and further credit to the oil giant.

The ministry is preparing further risk-provision plans
to ensure repayment of the 1 billion USD debt at maturity and is
guaranteeing ultimate repayment from the State budget.

However, following the recent troubles of debt-laden shipbuilder
Vinashin, PetroVietnam was expected to set an example as the best
economic group in Vietnam.

Last week, the
Government instructed the Ministry of Finance to consider Vinashin's
request for 300 million USD in Government bond proceeds to service its
debt to French bank Natixis.

If this proposal is
approved, the 1 billion USD in capital raised by Vietnam's second
overseas sale of Government bonds – offering higher yields than the
lower-rated Philippines and Indonesia – would go to Vinashin and
PetroVietnam.

The bonds were expected to offer a yield of 6.95 percent and a nominal interest rate of 6.75 percent.

The bond sale was originally conceived to provide capital for energy
and infrastructure projects that would support growth in an economy
suffering from a shortage of foreign exchange./.

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Refinery lands $1 bln loan package

PetroVietnam has obtained US$1 billion in financing for the Dung Quat Oil Refinery, the Ministry of Finance announced Thursday

The Vietnam Development Bank will co-ordinate the financing package, which includes $700 million from Government bond proceeds and the remainder from French bank BNP Paribas, which is extending credit for the deal through 2020 at an annual interest rate of 3.3 percent, following a four-year grace period.

PetroVietnam will borrow the bond proceeds for a 16-year term at a fixed interest rate of 3.6 percent, following four year's grace.

The ministry has authorised Citibank's Trust Agency in New York to collect interest on the $700 million loan made from Government bond proceeds, while the Ministry of Finance will make interest payments directly to BNP Paribas.

The financing will be allocated to the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant No 1, which began operating at 100 percent production capacity last month. The plant has imported 5.7 million tonnes of crude oil and processed nearly 5 million tonnes so far, delivering over 4.7 million tonnes of refined products to market.

In order to ensure repayment, Circular No 114/2010/TT-BTC issued by the ministry late Sept. 23 requires PetroVietnam to give highest priority to servicing the loans under this package. If it falls past due, the Ministry of Finance will require other lenders to freeze existing and further credit to the oil giant.

The ministry is preparing further risk-provision plans to ensure repayment of the $1 billion debt at maturity and is guaranteeing ultimate repayment from the State budget.

However, following the recent troubles of debt-laden shipbuilder Vinashin, PetroVietnam was expected to set an example as the best economic group in Vietnam.

Last week, the Government instructed the Ministry of Finance to consider Vinashin's request for $300 million in Government bond proceeds to service its debt to French bank Natixis.

If this proposal is approved, the $1 billion in capital raised by Vietnam's second overseas sale of Government bonds – offering higher yields than the lower-rated Philippines and Indonesia – would go to Vinashin and PetroVietnam.

The bonds were expected to offer a yield of 6.95 percent and a nominal interest rate of 6.75 percent.

The bond sale was originally conceived to provide capital for energy and infrastructure projects that would support growth in an economy suffering from a shortage of foreign exchange.

 

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