VietNamNet Bridge – Formosa, the steel investor from Taiwan, has made many requests in the last two years of the government, questions about the real motive for the investor’s steel project in Vietnam.

Most recently, Formosa asked the Ministries of Finance and Transport for permission to retain 100 percent of the fee for the fairway to Son Duong Port in Ha Tinh province.

Under current regulations, enterprises must hand in 30 percent of the annual maritime security charge collected from the means of transport in circulation on the fairway to contribute to the national maritime safety fund.

However, Formosa does not want to hand in the 30 percent of fee, believing that it has the right to retain 100 percent of the fee collected because it deserved credit for maintaining the Song Duong passage, which “helped ease the workload on the Ministry of Transport”.

Just some days before, Formosa proposed to the ministry to allow it to set up a domestic fleet in charge of transporting finished steel products.

The investor plans to buy 3 million tons out of 7.1 million tons of steel in the domestic market, and it needs a fleet to carry steel to the two major domestic markets of Hanoi and HCM City.

The Vietnam Maritime Bureau (Vinamarine) has immediately sent a rejection letter to the transport ministry, emphasizing that foreign vessels are not allowed to transport cargo in domestic routes, according to Vietnamese laws. This is not allowed in any country in the world.

Regarding waterway transport, in June 2014, Formosa asked the government to allow it to set up a 100 percent foreign-owned towage company. The proposal was rejected because this was contrary to Vietnamese law.

Analysts noted that since 2012, when Formosa began implementing its steel project in Vietnam, it has been making requests that are “unreasonable” and “odd”.

Formosa asked the government to protect domestic steel production with high import tariffs, and to be given privileges in buying foreign currencies.

It also requested permission to borrow money from foreign finance institutions and to be exempt from withholding taxes and from taxes on imported machines, equipment and materials.

It has also asked for “special” policies, including exemption from land-use right fees and for permission to establish a special economic zone specifically set up for the Formosa steel complex, and permission to recruit about 10,000 foreign workers. In principle, Formosa must give priority to hire Vietnamese workers.

Formosa’s many requests for favors have come under public fire. As a result, the Ha Tinh People’s Committee has instructed Formosa to remove a temple it built within the Vung Ang Industrial Zone.

Le Dang Doanh, a renowned economist, said he could not understand why Formosa made so many requests. “Who is Formosa and in what position is it to make such claims?” he said.