>>Government stands firm on petrol prices
Vietnam will set up hotlines to deal with the problem of petrol stations with unlawful business practices, with the aim of withdrawing the licences of violating firms.
This came after a dispatch by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on tightening control over the retail petroleum market, to prevent possible fraud.
The moves were taken after many petroleum stations around the country closed for dubious reasons, resulting in illigetimate gasoline vendors sprouting up.
According to the ministry, despite difficulties in business, all petroleum wholesalers have pledged to import products on schedule in order to ensure sufficient supply for the national economy.
The ministry also requested that the Departments of Industry and Trade in the cities and provinces directly under the Central Government, which wold include localities such as Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City, to require all retail petroleum sellers to sell as normal.
All petroleum wholesalers across the country were told to tighten control over their distribution networks to prevent any possible misconduct.
The ministry’s Department of Market Management has set up two hotlines, listed below, to deal in a timely fashion with any violations.The hotlines are 0943868839 and 04.39348103.
On February 19, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) confirmed that commercial banks had ensured sufficient foreign currency supply for petroleum traders to foster their petroleum imports for both consumption and reserve purposes.
From February 9-18, the market management group in Ho Chi Minh City had issued an administrative warning to 20 petroleum stores for delaying sales in with an eye towards waiting for higher prices.
Some private petroleum firms in central Nghe An Province have raised prices by between VND500 and VND800 per litre after the Tet holiday without any official approval.
These violations of the petrol pirce regulations were only corrected after inspections from local market management groups.
Mounting losses Vietnam National Petroleum Corp (Petrolimex), the country’s biggest petroleum trader, has been incurring losses of around VND3,000 (USD0.15) for each litre of gasoline they sell, said Deputy General Director Vuong Thai Dung.
Dung explained that the loss is a result of increasing prices in the world’s petroleum market along with the recent hike in the foreign currency exchange rate.
Concerning recent worries about the lack of supply, Dung confirmed, “All of Petrolimex’s petroleum stores nationwide will ensure sufficient petroleum supply and follow the state price regulations.”
At present, Petrolimex owns 6,016 out of total around 14,000 petroleum stores across the country, Dung added.
Between January and mid-February, Petrolimex had imported over 1.5 million metric tonnes of petroleum products to feed domestic market, up 22% compared to the same period last year, he noted.
He admitted that Petrolimex is facing difficulty in obtaining foreign currency to import petruleum for domestic market.
“Commercial banks have just provided guarantee for us to open L/C or provided certain loans but they have not sold foreign currencies directly. Petroleum traders’ demand for foreign currencies is huge but commercial banks do not have enough such bank notes to meet the demand,” Dung emphasized.
He added that Petrolimex needs up to USD6 billion for petroleum imports per year. The firm has incurred a loss of over VND1 trillion (USD48.32 million) as a result of the recent hike in the official foreign currency exchange rate.