A coal extraction site of Vinacomin’s Coc Sau Coal JSC, located in the northern province of Quang Ninh (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Potential wrongdoings involving 15 trillion VND (658.5million USD) and 6.7 million sq.m of real estate were found with theState-owned coal and mining giant, Vinacomin.
Otherproblems in financial management, investment and land management were alsodisclosed in a recently released report by the Government Inspectorate (GI)regarding law and policy compliance of Vinacomin (Vietnam National Coal –Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited) and its subsidiaries in the2010-2015 June period.
TheGI has asked the Ministry of Public Security to review and investigate thesefindings.
Accordingto the report, some 4.4 million USD of capital that Vinacomin poured into theCambodia-based Southern Mining Co Ltd might be for naught as the corporate’smanagement board failed to follow legal regulations on investment and cooperationcontracts.
DoanVan Quang, Deputy Director of the corporation, signed the memorandum to buyshares from the Cambodian company and transferred the said amount of money to aCambodian account, while no surveys into the return on investment were done.
Similarly,questions have also been raised on Vinacomin’s disbursement of 112 billion VND (outof the pledged 587 billion VND) into the Co Dinh Chromite project in Thanh Hoa province,which has not been functional since 2013.
Concerningthe management of capital and assets, the inspectorate’s report shed light onseveral decisions that lack legal and practical basis, such as providingguarantees for loans exceeding the bank’s legal lending limit, which ultimatelyled to “sizeable losses in certain investments.”
Forexample, Vinacomin assumed the role of guarantee beyond its authority for loansmade by Thai Nguyen Non-ferrous Metal JSC from Thailand’s Eximbank, causing thecompany to now handle a 13.7 million USD debt (including the original debt andinterest).
DangThi Tuyet, head of Vinacomin’s legal department, told Vietnam News Agency thatthe 15 trillion VND figure, as stated in the GI’s report, “is recommended to beproperly handled”, and that the report didn’t arrive at the conclusion thatthere were definitely wrongdoings involving this amount of money.
Tuyetsaid that the Deputy Prime Minister has assigned as much as 8.3 trillion VND,or more than half of the amount found to be problematic, including thedifference in exchange rate not yet manifested in the current power price, tobe handled by the Ministry of Finance.
Vinacominalso contested the inspectorate’s request that 1.872 trillion VND (82.555million USD), much of the figure – 1.6 trillion VND - was natural resources taxon coal, must be collected from Vinacomin to the State budget.
The coal giant said the GI’s arrears request was unreasonable, citing amisidentification of the taxpayer and wrong ad valorem tax calculation.
“Vinacominhas declared and paid tax in accordance with the tax law on natural resources,as well as the guiding circulars and decrees,” Tuyet said, adding that thefinance ministry concluded that Vinacomin’s tax calculation was proper.
The remaining amount of tax to be paid, 272 billion VND, will be addressed whenthe GI’s arrears decision is officially made, the corporation said.
Regardingpossible violations of law in the company’s foreign investment and debt,Vinacomin said that some of the failed investments were due to “risks”, otherswere done under the Government’s policy, while still others have been handledby competent legal authorities.
Vinacominalso said that its arguments regarding its disagreements with the Government’swatchdog agency would be officially submitted to the authorities concerned.-VNA
VNA
