Public to comment on State capital law

The Ministry of Finance’s draft law guiding the use of State capital in enterprises will be open to public opinion before it is submitted to the Government in July.

Deputy minister of Finance Tran Van Hieu said the law, if approved, would help State agencies avoid losing control over enterprises they owned. It would also prevent State owners from interfering too much into their enterprises’ operations, limiting the companies’ flexibility and creativity when doing business.

Experts agreed that the law was necessary but raised concern that the scope of regulations was too narrow.

The draft bill only covers limited liability companies completely owned by the State. But it was the loose management of State-owned groups like Vinashin and Vinalines that caused the loss of trillions of dong, seriously damaging the economy. The losses caused by inefficient use of State capital would be difficult to curb if only wholly State-owned companies were covered, warned Le Dang Doanh, former director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).

Currently, State capital granted to companies was often re-invested in their subsidiaries, so subsidiaries must be subject to the law just as their parent companies were. State capital belonged to the people, so it must be strictly controlled, Doanh stressed.

Dang Van Thanh, chairman of the Viet Nam Accounting and Auditing Association, said that internal auditing regulations would help control business risks and avoid financial mismanagement. In addition, the actions of chairmen of management boards and general directors responsible for business and production must be clearly regulated.

Vu Nhu Thang, director of the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Strategy and Policy Institute, said that if State capital invested in enterprises was re-invested in businesses beyond their core operations, it must be strictly managed.

Doanh agreed, saying that enterprises must regularly report operation results, as modern corporate governance required high transparency and accountability. He added that the law should also regulate how staff are recruited to ensure that qualified people are hired to deal with State funds.

Viet Nam-Russia ties stand test of time, says veteran diplomat

Relations between Viet Nam and Russia have stood the test of time and created a firm foundation for the two countries to boost co-operation across many common interests, a Russian diplomat has said.

Photo: dangcongsan.vn

The assertion was made by Russia’s Consul General in HCM City Anatoli Vasilievich Borovik at a press conference on February 19, to mark the 63rd anniversary of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and Russia (1950-2013), as well as Russian Diplomats Day.

Borovik said that in 2012, the bilateral relationship was raised to a new high level thanks to the exchange of visits by the two sides’ senior leaders as well as business leaders, in order to seek co-operation and investment opportunities in each country.

The Consul General confirmed that Russia will continue to assist Viet Nam in implementing the construction of a nuclear power plant in central Ninh Thuan Province. He stressed that Russia will provide the plant with the latest technology to ensure its safety.

Last year, two-way trade between Viet Nam and Russia reached US$3.5 billion, up 40 percent from 2011. The two countries aim to double the figure this year.

Party official calls on press to contribute to nation

Politburo member and Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) Dinh The Huynh has called on journalists nationwide to uphold the tradition of revolutionary press and to overcome difficulties and shortcomings so as to disseminate information on the nation’s renewal process and its construction and defence in a thorough, profound and righteous manner.

At a meeting with national media on Feb. 19, Huynh, who is also Head of the CPVCC Commission for Popularisation and Education, said 2013 is a significant year for implementing the Resolution of the 11th National Party Congress and the 10-year socio-economic development strategy designed to turn Vietnam into a modern-oriented industrialised nation by 2020.

In the immediate term, media agencies need to disseminate the Party’s Resolution and those of the National Assembly and Government, public opinions on the draft amendments to the 1992 Constitution and national patriotic movements, he said.

Huynh highlighted journalists’ contributions to the implementation of the CPVCC resolution on the Party building work.

He commended media agencies on their diverse information and new contents, and take note of their efforts in fulfilling their assigned political tasks of disseminating all resolutions, the “Studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example” campaign, socio-economic development tasks and the safeguarding of national sovereignty.

VNN/VNS/VNA