Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung.

VietNamNet Bridge – Minister of Transport Ho Nghia Dung told the press on August 31 that the state shipbuilding group’s general director and a subordinate were suspended after investigative agencies found incriminating evidence.

Asked why the Prime Minister decided to suspend Vinashin chief Tran Quang Vu and management board member Tran Van Liem, Dung replied that it was at the urging of investigators.

“They have detected wrongdoings related to Mr. Vu and Mr. Liem and, at their request, the Prime Minister agreed to suspend them to further the investigation,” the Transport Minister said.

Vu was dismissed just two months after he was named to replace Pham Thanh Binh as Vinashin general director. The move has prompted new questions about management and personnel at the Ministry of Transport.

On August 30, one day after being dismissed, Vu said confidently to VnExpress that he had committed no wrong during his time at Vinashin and would bear responsibility for all his acts while leading the shipbuilding group. “My biggest concern is to ensure a good hand-over. Vinashin has just recovered so it can really be destabilized by changes like this,” Vu said.

According to Dung, the top priority in rebuilding Vinashin is restarting shipbuilding projects, ironically a field in which Vu is more experienced than his successor, Nguyen Quoc Anh, a financial specialist.

Dung judged that Vinashin’s shipbuilding and ship repair projects have been resumed quite well.

Vinashin’s financial restructuring is making progress, said Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Cong Nghiep. The group has narrowed its scope of business and now can address its need for chartered capital. The new capital plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the Government for approval.

A representative of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said that the bank has told credit institutions to check and classify Vinashin’s debts.

According the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Vinashin Group’s total debt is 86 trillion dong ($4.5 billion), 6 trillion dong ($315 million) higher than the data reported to the cabinet two months ago. Its current assets are estimated at 104 trillion dong ($5.4 billion).

PV