Losses of State-funded projects continue snowballing The total amount of capital used by loss-making and ineffective projects of ministries and State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in recent years has outstripped the losses incurred by the debt-laden Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin). The Ministry of Planning and Investment said in a new report that VND42.7 trillion has been ineffectively invested in 43 projects under the management of ministries, local governments and SOEs. Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade made known 12 of its loss-making projects, which have a combined investment of around VND63.6 trillion, with VND14.35 trillion of it equity and the remainder bank loans. As such, the total investment in the loss-making and ineffective projects amounts to more than VND100 trillion, with loan interest excluded. The figure is higher than Vinashin’s debt which was put at VND86.7 trillion by end-2009. The list of debt-laden and ineffective projects might be longer when all ministries, local governments and SOEs complete reports and send them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Those not submitting reports to this ministry include the ministries of construction and trade-industry, the governments of Hanoi and HCMC, business groups such as Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN), Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem), Military Telecom Group (Viettel), Electricity Vietnam Group (EVN), Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), and corporations like Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM), Song Da Corporation, and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUD). The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has 27 projects showing signs of poor investment under Vietnam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2), Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (Vinacafe), and Halong Fisheries One Member Limited Liability Company. The projects have a combined investment of VND909.76 billion. The Ministry of Transport is in charge of two debt-hit SOEs, namely Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) and Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines).  However, the ministry has yet to make a detailed report on SBIC’s ineffective projects. Regarding Vinalines, three of its projects are performing poorly. First, Van Phong International Transshipment Port in the central province of Khanh Hoa which has total capital of VND6.17 trillion has been suspended since 2012. Second, the VND829.8-billion Cai Cui Port in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has its profit much lower than expected.  Finally, the container depot project worth VND352.9 billion in the northern coast city of Haiphong has suffered hefty losses since it was put into operation. Vinalines Ship Repair Company Limited – a subsidiary of Vinalines – has an ineffective investment project.  The company kicked off construction on a ship repair factory worth VND6.49 trillion in 2008.  By the end of April, Vinalines had completed its divestment from the facility. However, it has recovered VND82 billion to date. Bien Dong Shipping Company Limited is another infamous example of Vinalines, as the company runs two ship building projects with a combined cost of more than VND1.4 trillion.  They have been in the red since 2009, with losses totaling VND1.6 trillion. The Ministry of Planning and Investment said Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) has been operating Vinasat-2, Vietnam’s second telecom satellite, whose approved investment was VND5.4 trillion.  The satellite has been put into orbit since 2012, and as a result, it suffered a loss of VND1.2 trillion from 2012 to 2016. SGT