Businesses to set prices on 14 items

The government has given enterprises the right to set retail prices on 14 types of goods this year.

Companies trading items such as rice, fertilizer, pesticide, medicine, oil products, iron, steel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and firms supplying electricity, water and transportation will be allowed to decide retail prices on their own this year, Nguyen Tien Thoa, head of the Finance Ministry's Price Management Department, told a meeting in HCMC on Monday.

Under the new mechanism, enterprises have to register their planned new prices with the government, and if no objection is raised within three to seven days, the enterprises can start charging the new prices.

For bus fares on some urban routes, the government will not give subsidies but will put the routes out to tender.

Water suppliers can set their own prices for water supplied to businesses but residential water prices will still be set by the government.

Minh Quang

Thanh Nien

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