With 461 “yes” votes, or 95.05 percent, deputies of the 14th National Assembly approved the appointment of Nguyen Manh Hung as Minister of Information and Communications during the ongoing sixth session in Hanoi on October 24.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) presents flowers to new Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung

The appointment was made through secret voting.

Hung will hold the position for the 2016-2021 tenure.

NA removes Truong Minh Tuan from his ministerial post

Truong Minh Tuan has been removed from the post of Minister of Information and Communications 

The National Assembly has formally relieved Truong Minh Tuan, 57, from the post of Minister of Information and Communications, reported the local media.

As many as 473 out of 477 deputies were in favor of Tuan’s removal from office this afternoon, October 23. As a result, the legislative body approved a resolution on his dismissal.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc this morning delivered a statement to the National Assembly, proposing the dismissal of Tuan.

On July 23, the then-State President Tran Dai Quang suspended Tuan from his ministerial position. Tuan had signed a decision approving MobiFone's acquisition of pay TV firm AVG, while serving as deputy minister at the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Major General Nguyen Manh Hung was selected as the acting minister of Information and Communications on July 25. Prior to his appointment, Hung served as the chairman and general director of the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group.

Various irregularities were uncovered in the acquisition process, initiated by MobiFone, a business under the ministry and the country’s third-largest mobile carrier by subscription. MobiFone had spent roughly VND8.89 trillion (some US$390 million) buying 344.66 million AVG shares in late 2015.

Following a probe into the deal, the Government Inspectorate concluded that AVG had started incurring losses after it was acquired by MobiFone. The irregularities and irresponsibility of MobiFone have cost the State some VND7 trillion, including AVG’s liabilities of VND1.13 trillion.

The acquisition of AVG led to MobiFone’s poor performance from 2016 onward, with profits that year falling by VND321.7 billion against the previous year. Late last year, MobiFone’s accumulated losses amounted to more than VND1.98 trillion, which also affected its plan to go public.

MobiFone and AVG called off the controversial deal on March 12, with AVG making a full refund. By May, AVG’s shareholders had returned more than VND8.5 trillion to MobiFone to reclaim the 95% stake.

On July 12, the Politburo, the Party’s decision-making body, issued a warning to Tuan, who is also a member of the Party Central Committee. He was dismissed from the position of secretary of the ministry’s Party Committee for the 2016-2021 tenure, a position that he had held since April 2016.

Tuan was held accountable for the violations by the committee during the 2011-2016 tenure, when he served as deputy minister. He was found to have violated the principle of democratic centralism and working regulations, showing lax leadership and a lack of responsibility when tasked with directing the execution of the project, and approving the project and a number of related documents that were illegal, including documents beyond his mandate.

VNA/SGT