>> Vincomin brushes off questions of profiteering on coal imports
>> Vietnam begins importing coal
Vietnam is considering an increase in the coal export tax to 20%, from the current 15%; according to the Ministry of Finance.
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| Tax increase should minimise the export of natural resources. |
An official from the ministry said that the move is expected to decrease coal exports.
Domestic coal production is forecast to gradually fall in relation to rising demand. Meanwhile Vietnam continues to export tens of millions tonnes per year. The largest market for Vietnamese coal exports are other Southeast Asian nations, he noted.
He also said that the tax increase will be in accordance with the Government’s wider plan to decrease the export of natural resources.
The state-owned Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), the country\'s top mining company, produced 26 million tonnes of coal in the first half of this year. It exported 8.5 million tonnes of coal during the same period.
Vinacomin expects its coal output to be 44 million tonnes this year, with 16 million tonnes for export, according to Vu Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the company.
Vinacomin will comply with the Government\'s policy to reduce exports and minimise imports, he added.
The firm has been facing public scrutiny about their intensions for the recent import of 9,570 tonnes of coal from Indonesia.
Hung said that the imports were needed to satisfy rising domestic demand, and were done with the Prime Minister\'s approval.