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A ship in Hai Phong Port. Vietinbank will become a strategic shareholder of Hai Phong Port. — Photo vnexpress
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HA NOI (Biz Hub) – The State Bank of Viet Nam has agreed to transfer some of the debt owed to Vietinbank by the Viet Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) into shares of member ports.
The scheme, affecting VND5 trillion (US$234.7 million) in debt, will go into effect when the port managers are equitised and will first be applied to Hai Phong Port and Da Nang Port, making Vietinbank the ports' major shareholder for next year's issuance.
According to a document sent to the prime minister, the central bank said this measure would not only help Vinalines reduce its debt burden but would also improve the non-performing loans situation of the banks.
However, the State Bank was concerned about the lack of legislation for transforming debts into shares, particularly when Hai Phong Port and Da Nang Port are not Vietinbank's clients.
The responsibility for building a legal framework for this operation lies with the Ministry of Finance, which needs to quickly implement the scheme aimed at addressing bad debts that was approved last year by the prime minister.
Since the beginning of 2014, Vietinbank has expressed its will to acquire the shares of Vinalines' members, which would be a positive development for the state-owned giant, allowing it to handle a large volume of debts while selecting a strategic partner following the unsuccessful launch of the ports' initial public offerings.
Vietinbank reportedly asked to be excused from the standard requirements for becoming a strategic shareholder.
As of the end of last year, Vinalines owed some VND48 trillion ($2.25 billion) to the banks. – VNS