VietNamNet Bridge – Taiwanese-invested Formosa Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. based in Ha Tinh Province, in central Vietnam, has asked for the Ministry of Transport’s permission to establish its own steel-transport fleet in Vietnam.

According to Formosa’s petition sent to the Ministry of Transport, Ha Tinh province, the National Maritime Administration and the Board of Management of the Ha Tinh Economic Zone, after building two blast furnaces, each year the company would produce 7.1 million tons of finished steel products. It would need to have a fleet to transport such a high volume of steel products in Vietnam.

The company said that at least three million tons of steel products would be consumed in Vietnam, mainly in HCM City and Hanoi.

Formosa is a wholly-foreign owned firm. According to Article 6 of Decree No. 140/2007 / ND-CP detailing the Commercial Law regarding business conditions for logistics services, foreign firms offering maritime transport services are only allowed to establish joint-venture company fleets, in which the capital contribution ratio of foreign investors shall not exceed 49%.

However, in its petition, Formosa explained that its fleet would only transport its own steel products, so the fleet would not affect the business activities of other carriers.

S. Tung