The state-owned Vietnam National Petroleum Corp (Petrolimex) asked the Ministry of Finance for approval to determine the price of its own fuels.
Petrolimex seeks approval to decide petrol prices
Bui Ngoc Bao, Chairman of Petrolimex’s Board of Directors said at the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s recent meeting, that if the request is approved the firm will decide petroleum prices based on the ceiling defined by an interdisciplinary team of agencies. If the price should go above the set limits, State agencies would intervene.
According to Bao, last year, the petroleum market experienced extreme price fluctuations. Despite lower crude oil prices, imported petroleum products rose, with diesel up by 40% compared to 2008. Regular gasoline prices increased by an average of 17% during the same time.
“Last year the country applied very few adjustments because of across the board efforts to tame inflation. Actually, in 2011, petroleum prices should have been adjusted about 11 times, instead of just three,” Bao noted.
He said that Petrolimex had revenues of VND177 trillion (USD8.41 billion), and contributed VND24 trillion (USD1.14 billion) to the State budget in 2011. However, the company incurred losses of VND2.5 trillion (USD118.84 million), including VND1.5 trillion (USD71.3 million) as a result of the disparity in foreign exchange rates.
Fuel prices are forecast to continue to rise in 2012, even though the price of crude oil may hover at last years rates of around USD97 per barrel, he estimated.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung reaffirmed the Government’s determination to price petroleum products according to the market, paying special attention to transparency.