Vietnam

Members of the Vietnamese government will not be punished for problems at a state-owned shipbuilder whose debts threatened the country's global financial reputation, a top official said Monday, Agence France-Presse reported. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung made the comments to the National Assembly, where some lawmakers last year said the government should be held accountable for the scandal at Vinashin (Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group).

Malaysian conglomerate The Lion Group has blamed problems at Vietnam's scandal-hit shipbuilder Vinashin for the failure of a multi-billion-dollar joint venture, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported on an Agence France-Presse story. The $9.8 billion project by state-owned Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, or Vinashin, and Lion would have included a steel mill, power plants and a sea port in the southern Vietnamese province of Ninh Thuan. Vietnamese officials said last month that the project's investment license had been revoked because investors didn't fulfill their commitments.

Vietnam's leaders unveiled measures aimed at curbing soaring inflation rates Thursday, even as residents worried over electricity- and fuel-price increases that are sending energy costs as much as 24% higher, The Wall Street Journal reported. It's a time of spreading unease about the stability of this fast-growing economy. Communist-run Vietnam has one of Asia's worst inflation problems, with a consumer price index that hit a two-year high of 12.31% this month.

Vietnam's inflation posted another double-digit rise ahead of the Lunar New Year, adding pressure on authorities to raise interest rates to slow the nation's growth and curb pressure on its currency, The Wall Street Journal reported. The nation has struggled to deal with several economic stresses, fueling concerns about the government's ability to manage fiscal policy as the trade deficit balloons and the Vietnamese dong remains persistently weak, bucking a trend across the region.

Vietnam's nearly-bankrupt shipbuilder Vinashin yesterday said that it will be allowed to take out interest-free loans, in another concession after it reportedly defaulted on a debt to international lenders, Agence France-Presse reported, according to Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review today. Vinashin said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had authorized companies, workers, and former employees of Vinashin group to borrow money at zero percent interest from the state-owned Development Bank of Vietnam.

State-owned shipbuilder Vinashin's default on a $600 million loan late last week is just the latest crisis challenging Communist-run Vietnam's ability to get its economy under control after years of pell-mell growth and spiraling inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Last week's default by shipbuilder Vinashin could be a make-or-break moment for Vietnam, say some analysts. Above, a ship is worked on at Vinashin's Nam Trieu shipyard in Hai Phong.

Creditors of Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, better known as Vinashin, are seeking a commitment from the government that it will not let the state-run shipbuilder fail, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Vinashin is seeking a standstill agreement on a $600 million international loan arranged by Credit Suisse in 2007 as a $60 million principal repayment was due Monday.

Vietnam's beleaguered state-run shipbuilding company does not have enough money to make a $60 million loan payment next week, and has asked foreign creditors for more time to pay, state-run media reported Tuesday. Nguyen Ngoc Su, chair of the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, is quoted in the online newspaper VietnamNet as saying that he informed creditors on Dec. 10 that it will be impossible for the company to make the first repayment of principal due Dec. 20 on a $600 million loan from a group of creditors led by Credit Suisse.

Vietnam's legislature has rejected a lawmaker's rare call to investigate senior government leaders in a scandal involving a state-run shipbuilder that resulted in billions of dollars of debt, state media reported Friday. The National Assembly, dominated by lawmakers from the ruling Communist Party, has long been considered a rubber stamp and has never called for an investigation of the government, but has recently become increasingly vocal about the government's performance.

Vietnam will restructure Vinashin, its top shipbuilder, cutting its non-core businesses after the firm was found to be nearly bankrupt, a ruling party commission said, Reuters reported. The case of Vinashin, which followed a pilot scheme to reform state-run businesses, has raised concern over the effectiveness of the reforms, economists have said. The ruling Communist Party found Vinashin Chairman Pham Thanh Binh, who also heads the party chapter at the firm, "irresponsible in the mobilisation, management and use of the state capital, pushing Vinashin to the brink of bankruptcy".