How much money from the State budget does the Finance Ministry plan to allocate to State-owned corporations next year?

It will be not much, about VND5 trillion (US$278 million). The biggest portion, VND3.5 trillion ($194 million), will be allocated to the Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetrolVietnam). Viet Nam Coal and Mineral Industries Group will receive VND28 billion ($1.5 million), Viet Nam Post and Telecommunications Group VND60 billion ($3.3 million), Viet Nam Textile and Garment Group VND10 billion ($555,000), and Viet Nam National Maritime Administration VND54 billion ($3 million).

What is the opinion of the NA Financial and Budgetary Committee on how the money should be distributed?

The funds PetrolVietnam receives will be for general usage, but the committee has decided that the money other organisations will receive is to be earmarked for specific tasks the Government has assigned the State-owned enterprises to implement. Money for other projects must come from their profits.

What are your thoughts on the fund distribution?

Units which are assigned by the Government to invest in specific tasks in addition to their own tasks will be allocated funds.

If Electricity of Viet Nam, for example, installs electricity wires in a remote commune per request by the Government, the National Assembly will agree to allocate funds for the corporation to implement the project. The corporation, however, is not allowed to use the budget to implement other tasks.

For example, corporations and groups that have established vocational training and health care centres for labourers in their organisations must allocate fund for these activities by themselves.

What is the incentive for State-owned enterprises to invest in certain areas, if they do not receive funds from State budget?

The Government should have policies to encourage corporations to invest in such areas as education and training, health care to serve their long-term development.

If the Government just gives the organisations money, however, it will set a precedent and make these units passive and reliant on the Government. Moreover, this would cause an inequality between organisations which are granted money from the State budget and those units which do not get preferential treatment.

Do you think the State-owned enterprises that have asked the Government to allocate them State budget funds, are trying to recoup the money spent on implementing Government resolution 30A?

In response to Government resolution 30A, State-owned corporations have redistributed VND1.6 trillion ($89 million) to the 62 poorest districts nationwide. This is a timely action for which NA deputies and voters applaud such businesses.

The money for 30A was taken from the profits and welfare funds of these firms, so the request for State budget funds is not an attempt to retrieve money they have given in support.

Yet, some are suspicious that firms spent VND1.6 trillion to implement resolution 30A, and now they are asking for about VND1.5 trillion. What is your comment to this?

They’d better not suspect, as the examination of State expenditures is very transparent and clear.

As regulated, 50 per cent of profits earned from crude oil exploitation should go to PVN, but there are only a few years this has happened. Is that correct?

PetrolVietnam should receive VND10 trillion ($55 million) next year from the State budget, according to regulations. The actual figure, however, is merely VND3.5 trillion. In my opinion, it would be better to allocate more money to the corporation to help it grow. But it is impossible to do so because of the small State budget, forcing the Government to cut down expenses to the most reasonable level.

Source: VietNamNet/Viet Nam News