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Vinashin meets the media and explains problems
A 6-page document was sent by the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) to a meeting of press agencies at the Ministry of Information and Communication on November 10, giving details of financial problems reported recently by the Vietnamese media.
World recession is tough on Vietnam shipbuilder
The document mentioned four big problems: Firstly, the tardiness in building 105,000 tonne ship and floating storage offloading unit (FSO5). Secondly, a lack of capital. Thirdly the project at the Hai Ha Economic Zone where Vinashin has been reported as unable to pay debts and finally, Vinashin’s investment in Hoa Sen Ship which has been reported as a ineffective investment deal.
Vinashin delays handing-over because it keeps cautious
Regarding the 105,000 tonne ship and FSO5, Vinashin said these are products with a large tonnage and high technical features which can be built only by a few developed countries in the world - where troubles still occur sometimes.
Therefore, Vinashin thinks it needs to be very careful.
Lacking capital partially because of … the Government?
Vinashin has pointed out that as the capital provided by the State remains limited, the group has to borrow money from other sources for its investment projects.
In fact, Vinashin has got received loans worth $750 million from the Ministry of Finance and $600 million from foreign sources. However, the group say this capital meets just under 40 percent of the total demanded for capital needed to run investment projects approved by the Government.
Vinashin has also had to borrow money from commercial banks for shipbuilding projects. These projects need huge capital, while ship owners only pay part of total contracts’ value up front.
Vinashin did not deny reported debts of 19,885 billion dong owing to commercial banks.
However, since September 2008, Vinashin has received no financial assistance from the state. Meanwhile, commercial banks have turned their backs on Vinashin because banks have been following credit tightening policies.
Hoa Sen ship – part of a strategy that’s now on hold
Vinashin said that the 1,300 billion dong investment deal in Hoa Sen Ship is as a result of the Government aiming to build a high-speed cargo and passenger transport sea route. It’s part of the strategy of sea-borne economic development.
Vinashin said that Hoa Sen cruise ship had halted as a result of the economic downturn time and that the group will restart the business when conditions become more favourable.
Hai Ha economic zone project: Vinashin is just one of six investors
The shipbuilding group said it is just one of six investors in the project, all of them are state-owned enterprises. Vinashin only contributes 20 percent of capital in the Hai Ha Economic Zone Development Joint Stock Company.
Also in the document released yesterday, Vinashin affirmed that the group still has contracts stretching until the end of 2012 with a total value of four billion dollars. To date, the group had had the total revenue of 16.5 trillion dong and it expects production and business value growth rate of 12 percent this year over the previous year.
vietnamnet, vneconomy
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