An investigation has been launched into the financial workings of the state-owned firm Vietnam Cement Industry Corp. (Vicem), after they reported debts totaling thousands of billions of VND.
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| Vicem deep in debt |
Nguyen Viet Thach, Deputy Chief of Anti-Corruption Investigation Department, was appointed to lead the inspection team for the ten-day investigation, which started on March 26.
According to Thach, Vicem subsidiaries, such as But Son and Bim Som Cement Company are also receiving scrutiny. The inspection team will carry out audits of all companies involved, as well as look at their business practices, recruitment of staff and executive appointments. Any corruption exposed before will also be dealt with.
Though Vicem is one of the biggest state-owned cement companies in Vietnam, its profit in first nine months of 2011 was only around VND540 billion (USD25 million). Returns on their various investments accounted for just under 2%, while interest on equity added almost 4.5%.
The company is currently in debt for VND4.7 trillion (USD225 million).
Vicem has already stirred up public outrage after it reported losses totaling VND200 billion (USD9.6 million) in the first three quarters of 2011, despite a reported income of VND20 trillion (USD957 million).
