Four of 12 State-owned loss-making projects could be revitalized after Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue approved a restructuring plan for the Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) in the 2017-2020 period.

According to the plan, the State-owned group will divest all of its stakes in four fertilizer companies that have incurred losses of trillions of Vietnam dong. They are Ha Bac Nitrogenous Fertilizer and Chemicals Co Ltd, DAP-Vinachem Co Ltd, DAP No.2 Vinachem JSC, and Ninh Binh Nitrogenous Fertilizer Co Ltd.

To ensure successful State capital divestment, Vinachem has taken drastic measures to reduce production costs and thus improve overall performance in these projects, Lao Dong newspaper reports.

A report by Vinachem shows the four projects have resumed operations and achieved positive results. Particularly, DAP-Vinachem Co Ltd reported a VND5.2-billion profit as of late 2017.

Some of the remaining projects have shown signs of improvement, especially ethanol production projects, after RON 92 gasoline was banned from the market nationwide to boost E5 bio-fuel consumption. Dung Quat ethanol plant will resume operation in the second quarter this year while Binh Phuoc ethanol plant will get back to life after five years of interruption.

The remaining projects – Dinh Vu polyester fiber factory, Dung Quat shipyard, Phuong Nam paper pulp mill, the second phase of Thai Nguyen steel plant, and Vietnam-China steel plant – are still mired in difficulties. 

SGT