VietNamNet Bridge – More and more abandoned businesses have been found in big cities or key industrial production centers of the country. Meanwhile, state management agencies cannot eliminate the businesses and revoke investment licenses.

A lot of businesses have “vanished into the air” in Dong Nai province, with the bosses escaped from the offices, leaving unpaid workers, unpaid bad debts and a lot of other problems. However, the local authorities cannot do anything at this moment to “bury” the businesses.

The dead bodies that wait to be buried

The reports by the local agencies show that there are 166 abandoned businesses in the province, including a lot of 100 percent foreign invested enterprises (FIEs). Many of the FIEs’ owners have been reportedly absent for the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, in the first six months of 2012, three more bosses, who ran the factories in three industrial zones of Long Thanh, Nhon Trach and Bien Hoa 2, quietly left the locality. The disappearance of the “big bosses” has put the Dong Nai provincial Industrial Zone Management Board in a muddle. Since the board cannot contact the investors, it has to add the names of the enterprises into the list of abandoned businesses waiting for treatment.

Of the abandoned businesses, Olldo Vietnam in the Nhon Trach II Industrial Zone and Koravina in Song May Industrial Zone are the two most famous cases.

The assets of the enterprises were mortgaged at commercial banks for loans, while the owners ran away. Therefore, a lot of arising problems have been left unsettled. The assets of the enterprises cannot be sold to get money back to pay debts to creditors.

In 2009, the Dong Nam Production Company in Bien Hoa 2 industrial zone transferred its workshop to Vinh Phu Company. However, the owner of the company fled while the assignment procedures were not completed. After that, Vinh Phu sold the workshop it bought from Dong Nam to another company, but the transaction failed because Vinh Phu could not show necessary documents to the management agencies.

The Dong Nam Company’s boss left Vietnam, and also left the unpaid tax and social insurance premiums worth 300 million dong. Besides, it has also been owing 155,000 dollars to the Industrial Zone Development Corporation. Therefore, local agencies believe that they cannot eliminate the enterprise and allow another investor to set up production basis on the premises.

The commercial banks in Dong Nai province, the creditors of the enterprises with disappeared bosses, complain that they cannot sell the mortgaged assets to collect debts because of the complicated procedures. Of the 20 enterprises named in the list of the Dong Nai provincial authorities, two enterprises mortgaged assets at banks for loans, but they have not paid debts and have stopped operation.

Meanwhile, workers complain that they cannot receive appropriate treatment for the service period. In the long term, officials say, this would have big impacts on the pension fund, thus badly affecting the social security.

Especially, what most worries the local authorities is the waste of the land. While a lot of investors still cannot get clear land for setting up factories, the land plots allocated before to the abandoned enterprises have been left idle, because the local authorities cannot take back the land to give to others.

What to do? – Wait!

The currently valid Enterprise Law, Investment Law, the Ordinance on the Execution of Civil Judgments and other legal documents do not stipulate how to deal with the businesses of this kind.

The local authorities have many times asked for the Ministry of Planning and Investment to give answer about what to do, but they have not got replies. Therefore, they have no other choice than waiting.

Source: DDDN