VietNamNet Bridge – The Party Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to erase the names of three people from a list of deputy ministerial candidates in 2016-2021, with one of them being the current chairman of Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation (Sabeco).

Sabeco chairman Vo Thanh Ha (L), who used to work as head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s administrative office, has been removed from a list of candidates deputy minister in 2016-2021 - Photo: HOCHIMINH STOCK EXCHANGE

The other two are Trinh Xuan Thanh and Nguyen Xuan Son. Thanh is facing an international arrest warrant over losses of a whopping VND3.3 trillion at PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC) where he was serving as chairman in 2011-2013. Meanwhile, Son, former chairman of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN), was detained over his alleged involvement in wrongdoing committed by former OceanBank chairman Ha Van Tham who is also in police custody.

The Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission said in late October that it had detected the ministry’s Party Committee’s irregularities in appointments of Thanh, Son and Vu Quang Hai, a son of former Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang.

The Secretariat of the Party Central Committee issued a warning against Vu Huy Hoang for wrongdoing in the ministry’s promotions and appointments of Hai, Thanh and Son. Hoang’s son has tendered his resignation from Sabeco’s board.

The ministry’s Party Committee issued a resolution dealing with these wrongful appointments.

The ministry wrote to the Party Central Committee’s Personnel Commission saying it had removed Thanh, Son and Sabeco chairman Vo Thanh Ha from the list of candidates for deputy minister in the 2016-2021 period.  

Ha used to serve as secretary of the then Minister Vu Huy Hoang and head of the ministry’s administrative office. He was assigned to replace Phan Dang Tuat as Sabeco chairman later.

The ministry’s Party Committee asked incumbent Minister Tran Tuan Anh to revoke those promotion and appointment decisions running counter to the prevailing regulations.

Thanh used to serve as head of the administrative office and director of the Enterprise Reform Department under the ministry and head of its representative office in Danang.

Meanwhile, Vu Quang Hai used to serve as inspector of the Vietnam National Tobacco Corporation before he was assigned to Sabeco’s board. The Party Committee has asked Sabeco’s board and shareholders to dismiss Hai from the post of deputy general director.

The committee has cancelled the appointment decisions on Vu Dinh Duy, former general director of PetroVietnam Petrochemical & Textile Fiber JSC (PVTex) whose whereabouts are still unknown. Duy was appointed deputy head of the industrial and environmental safety under the ministry before he was transferred to Vietnam National Chemical Group.  

The ministry has also revoked the appointment decisions on Vu Thuy Hue, who is the representative of the ministry’s General Directorate of Energy in HCMC.

SGT