For many years, VEAM Corp has had to reserve a large area to keep 2,200 trucks. The products did not sell at many previously organized auctions.

Most recently, on May 13, 2024, Vietnam Partnerships Auctions (VPA) again announced the auction of 2,177 VEAM’s trucks authorized by the manufacturer with the starting price of VND503 billion, much lower than the starting prices set in previous auctions.

In 2000, VEAM planned to build a factory to manufacture and assemble cars in Thanh Hoa, capitalized at VND350 billion. However, later VEAM changed its mind, deciding to take over an old factory owned by Samsung.

Samsung once run two automobile factories in South Korea, which manufactured cars and trucks. The factories began operating in 1996 and stopped in October 2020 because of financial crisis. Samsung decided to sell both factories to pay debts. 

The car manufacturing factory was sold to French Reunault, while the truck manufacturing car was sold to VEAM in early 2004. 

VEAM’s report dated May 7, 2019 to the board of directors and board of supervisors showed that as of December 31, 2018, total investment capital transferred by VEAM to the automobile project had reached VND2 trillion and the accumulated loss was VND343 billion.

The inventory by December 31, 2019 had reached 2,950, including 2.355 products made in 2017 and before (which met Euro 2 emission standards), and 219 products made in 2015 and before.

The report also showed that the project initially had investment capital of VND599.59 billion. The figure rose to VND700 billion later, while the factory’s design capacity remained unchanged. The project was finalized with investment capital of VND662 billion.

VEAM reports said that the cars manufactured many years ago remain unsold.

There are 2,622 products with VEAM brand (at the cost price of VND966 billion) unsold. Of this, 2,221 products remain unchanged since 2017 (with the cost price of VND7878 billion). 

A question was raised why VEAM decided to launch trucks under the VEAM brand. The report said that the trucks were assembled with different sets of vehicle parts, not compatible sets. VEAM did not have a partner to make products.

The first auction of the inventoried trucks was organized in November 2021. As many as 2,290 products were put into auction with the starting price of VND971 billion.

The second announcement about the truck auction was in February 2022. As many as 2,257 trucks were put on sale with the starting price of VND931 billion.

Another auction was organized in August 2023, where 2,122 trucks were offered. The starting price was VND626 billion.

Most recently, the manufacturer announced an auction on May 13, 2024 with the starting price of VND503 billion.

VEAM has experienced tough years recently. In April 2021, the investigation agency under the Ministry of Public Security detained two defendants who were high-ranking executives of VEAM’s factory in Thanh Hoa province, deputy director Nguyen Duc Toan and Tran Thi Thanh Tam, to serve the investigation on property embezzlement under Article 353 of the Penal Code.

Prior to that, in 2020, Tran Ngoc Ha, who was then VEAM’s general director, and many managers were arrested.

On October 4, 2023, the Hanoi Police said it had taken criminal proceedings in the case of "violating regulations on the management and use of state’s assets, causing losses and waste" that occurred at VEAM.

The police also filed charges and issued a ban from leaving the country for Nguyen Thanh Giang, born 1949, former VEAM’s CEO; and filed charges against Ho Manh Tuan, born 1963, who was then VEAM’s deputy CEO and arrested him.

Both have been prosecuted for "violating regulations on the management and use of state assets, causing losses and wastefulness".

The investigators found that in 2005 and 2011, Nguyen Thanh Giang, who was then VEAM’s CEO, instructed Ho Manh Tuan, who was then head of the technical division, to make reports and statements on buying equipment that did not follow the laws on fixed asset procurement applied to state owned enterprises.

All the products bought in these years did not have usable value, causing losses of VND26 billion to the state.

Manh Ha