Mar. 24 – Oil companies and authorities in the southern provinces have recommended that fuel prices be raised in Vietnam to combat smuggling into neighboring Cambodia, where fuel is much more expensive.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said A92 gasoline in Vietnam is VND19,300 per liter, while the price in Cambodia hovers around VND24,000. Continue reading
Aug. 24 – Vietnam has established the Large Enterprise Tax Management Department to specifically cater to the tax issues and payment needs of major corporations.
This move will ease the tax process for about 405 large corporations operating in the country. The majority of these types of firms are state-owned and have stakes in top industries such as oil and gas, electricity, mining, post and telecommunications and banking. Continue reading
Jul. 9 – The Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Administrative Reform is recommending that the five year limit on petroleum trading licenses be removed to cut down on administrative procedures.
The group advises shortening the time it takes to grant a petroleum license from 30 days to 20 days. Regular performance reports by petroleum importers and exporters are also recommended to improve government management. Continue reading
Jun. 25 – State-owned Petrovietnam wants to attract foreign investment for 30 energy and real estate projects.
The list of projects includes the country’s third oil refinery, the Long Son oil refinery in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The US$7 billion project is now looking for new investors after Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA stepped out the project. Continue reading
May 7 – Government authorities have reduced import tax rates for certain commodity items, including gas, according to Circular No. 59/2010/TT-BTC issued last month.
The import tax for gas has been reduced from 20 percent to 17 percent. The move is part of government efforts to contain rising gasoline prices and help affected gas companies. The new tax rates shall be applied to import declaration forms submitted to customs agencies beginning April 21. Continue reading
Nov. 27 – Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved plans to build two nuclear power plants in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan scheduled to be finished by 2020.
The nuclear plants will be located in Thuan Nam District’s Phuoc Dinh Commune and Ninh Hai District’s Vinh Hai Commune with a combined power capacity of 2,000 megawatts. Construction will cost an estimated VND200 trillion. Continue reading
Aug. 31 – Russia’s oldest oil and gas company, Zarubezhneft Joint Stock Company and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group have inked two deals to explore Vietnamese and Cuban waters for oil, according to a company statement.
The first deal will allow Zarubezhneft and Vietnam Oil and Gas to developed offshore oil blocks in southern Vietnamese waters while in the second deal, the Russian company and the subsidiary, PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP) will partner in looking for oil and gas exploration in offshore blocks in Cuba.
Aug. 20 – Vietnam is raising its investment in the Dung Quat oil refinery from US$2.5 billion to more than US$3 million due to additional construction costs and the resettlement of villagers.
According to a government statement, the additional cost will be taken from the net income of crude oil sales used by state-owned Vietnam Oil & Gas Group. Vietnam has been dependent on imported oil products. When the Dung Quat oil refinery is finished, its annual capacity of 6.5 million cubic tons of crude oil should provide a third of the country’s fuel needs.
An estimated US$2.48 billion of the refinery budget will be allocated for engineering, procurement and construction contracts while the rest will be used for working capital and resettlement.
The Dung Quat oil refinery is the first oil refinery in the country located at the Dung Quat Bay in the central province of Quang Ngai. It began its first commercial batch of products in February.
Feb. 17 – Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Sino-Vietnamese War that erupted on February 17, 1979 when Chinese military forces launched a brief invasion of Northern Vietnam.
China, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, sent 200,000 troops along with 200 tanks across the border. Two days earlier, China had publicly said that they intended to attack Vietnam for their invasion of Cambodia. It would be the first time that China struck against a Soviet ally after the 1950 Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance expired that same year. Continue reading
Nov. 25 – Vietnam's tax department will release the personal tax numbers of three million people by early next year when the Law on Personal Income Tax is implemented beginning January 1.
In the first three months of 2009, 15 million people are expected to register for tax numbers, not including organizations and other people who already have the numbers.
The public is instructed to bring a photocopy of your identity card or passport to register.Tax official, Tran Ngoc Van, told The Vietnam News Agency that the new law will regulate all tax levels for those eligible to pay tax, as well as dependants, such as children, parents, and wives and husbands, who are also required to get their own personal tax numbers.
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