VietNamNet Bridge - Why do many banks hold membership on seaport management boards? 

VietinBank and VPBank, as the strategic shareholders of the Saigon Port, have representatives that belong to the port developer’s board of directors and supervision board. Meanwhile, Vietcombank, BIDV and Agribank have announced their investments in seaports. 

The state has kicked off the process of withdrawing capital from nine large seaports. It will retain 51 percent of stake at four important ports of Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Da Nang and Sai Gon, and hold 49 percent or take back all investment capital from the other ports in Can Tho, Nghe Tinh and Cam Ranh.

Vinalines, the state owned shipping firm, which is still a big debtor after a long period of struggling with restructuring, has proposed that the State reduce the state’s ownership ratio at the Sai Gon and Hai Phong Ports to 20 percent, which is far below the proportion suggested by the Ministry of Transport.

There are many seaports throughout Vietnam, but only a few ones have been thriving. 

According to the Vietnam Maritime Bureau, the seaports in Hai Phong, Quang Ninh in the north, in HCM City and Vung Tau in the south, where 80 percent of total goods go through, reported growth rates of 7-15 percent in the first six months of the year in comparison with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, other ports have been repeatedly taking losses. Becoming operational in August 2012 with investment of $155 million contributed by Vinalines and foreign partners, the Cai Lan International Port has also been taking losses.

A Ministry of Transport report showed that by the end of 2014, Cai Lan had incurred the loss of VND270 billion by the end of 2014 and took another loss of VND40 billion in the first two months of this year. 

By the end of the last year, it had had no money to pay the debt worth $6.7 million and had to bear a penalty interest rate of 2 percent on principal. 

Seaports taken over by bankers

In fact, bankers have become unwilling shareholders.

In the past, they were very ‘generous’ in providing loans to Vinalines and its subsidiaries to fund shipbuilding and port development projects. The loans later became a heavy burden on banks as the national shipping firm could not pay debts.

According to HSC Securities, the outstanding loans VietinBank provided to Vinalines and its subsidiaries was nearly VND5 trillion, which accounted for 1.3 percent of the bank’s total outstanding loans.

VietinBank and VPBank have become large shareholders in Cai Lan Port because Vinalines has no money to pay debts, trying to give ports’ shares as payment of the debts.

NCDT