Vietnam appointed a senior executive at the nation's state-run petroleum giant to take over Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, which has fallen under scrutiny after the arrests of top managers showed the potential vulnerability of Vietnam's state-controlled corporate champions.
The government Wednesday said Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung named Nguyen Ngoc Su, the deputy general director of PetroVietnam, as the chairman of the shipbuilding company, which is known as Vinashin. The appointment is part of the government's effort to restructure the company within the fourth quarter this year, the government said in a statement earlier this week.
Vinashin will now focus on ship building and repairing, and training human resources for the shipbuilding industry, the government said.
The company's former chairman, Nguyen Thanh Binh, was fired and then arrested in August pending a criminal investigation into his role in alleged accounting and financial mismanagement that put the company deep in debt. Mr. Binh has been unavailable for comment
The unlisted company, the country's ninth largest based on assets, was burdened with a total debt of 86 trillion Vietnamese dong ($4.43 billion) at the end of June, while its total assets were 104 trillion dong, the government said earlier.
According to documents reviewed earlier by The Wall Street Journal, Vinashin expanded too aggressively in its bid to become a major global shipbuilder, including investments in industries unrelated to shipbuilding. Lax oversight and a pervading disregard for financial regulations added to the crisis, the documents said. The government and company have declined to comment on the matter.
Many of Vietnam's 4,000 state companies have expanded their reach in recent years as capital flowed into the country. In many cases, Vinashin and other state companies were encouraged to expand and take more risk by a government eager to turn them into global powerhouses.
The government Wednesday said Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung named Nguyen Ngoc Su, the deputy general director of PetroVietnam, as the chairman of the shipbuilding company, which is known as Vinashin. The appointment is part of the government's effort to restructure the company within the fourth quarter this year, the government said in a statement earlier this week.
Vinashin will now focus on ship building and repairing, and training human resources for the shipbuilding industry, the government said.
The company's former chairman, Nguyen Thanh Binh, was fired and then arrested in August pending a criminal investigation into his role in alleged accounting and financial mismanagement that put the company deep in debt. Mr. Binh has been unavailable for comment
The unlisted company, the country's ninth largest based on assets, was burdened with a total debt of 86 trillion Vietnamese dong ($4.43 billion) at the end of June, while its total assets were 104 trillion dong, the government said earlier.
According to documents reviewed earlier by The Wall Street Journal, Vinashin expanded too aggressively in its bid to become a major global shipbuilder, including investments in industries unrelated to shipbuilding. Lax oversight and a pervading disregard for financial regulations added to the crisis, the documents said. The government and company have declined to comment on the matter.
Many of Vietnam's 4,000 state companies have expanded their reach in recent years as capital flowed into the country. In many cases, Vinashin and other state companies were encouraged to expand and take more risk by a government eager to turn them into global powerhouses.