Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that Vinashin and Vinalines are still taking huge losses, but it is better to restructure them than allow them go into bankruptcy.
Speaking at the 13th National Assembly’s Q&A session on June 14, the deputy prime minister said after being the restructure, Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) has operated better.Under the government’s restructuring plan, the group will retain eight businesses with around 8,000 employees. The remaining stakes in the other 216 businesses must be sold.
About 170 vessels have been built and sold over the past three years, among them 66 vessels worth USD1.215 billion have been exported.
“If the Vinashin restructure is successful, Vietnam will have a promising shipbuilding industry and retain a good part of the qualified workers and technicians employed in the industry,” Phuc said.
Answering National Asembly deputies’ questions about the reasons the government decided to restructure Vinashin instead of allowing it to fail, the deputy PM said Vinashin is a wholly stated-owned enterprise, and, if it allowed to go bankrupt, the government would be left with the debts and thousands of workers and their families would be affected. He added that there was a hope that the company would have better operations when the global economy improved.
According to the deputy PM, Vinalines has withdrawn its investment capital from 16 enterprises and completed privatisation of four businesses. It has also finished debt restructuring.
VIETNAM SHIPBUILDING NEWS 