At a teleconference chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 24, the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) proposed the prime minister allow it to begin research to invest in an oil refinery in Japan.

According to the Ministry of Finance’s Price Management Department, domestic petroleum prices may go up in the next review as a result of price increases in the world market.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has proposed removing a tentative regulation in a draft decree that says foreign investors can hold up to 35 percent of shares of petroleum trading companies.

Consumers hope that they will get benefits when foreign distributors are allowed to join the petroleum retail market.

The Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) plans to sell 15 million treasury stocks in transactions held between June 16 and July 15 to mobilise capital for investment in 2020, 

Petrolimex, which holds a 40% stake in the Petrolimex Group Commercial Bank (PGBank), sought to complete the merger between PGBank and the HCMC Development Bank before August 31, said the Vnexpress website.

Subsidiaries of SOEs like Jetstar Pacific, Angkor Air, DAP-Vinachem, and Petrolimex Laos will come under special financial supervision.

Unprecedented public health challenges have crimped a hefty sum of profits of both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic counterparts. 

The Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) reported a loss of nearly VND1.9 trillion (US$80.75 million) in the first quarter of 2020 as consumption was dampened by the coronavirus outbreak.  

Oil may reach its lowest price in history this week but its impacts on the world economy and Viet Nam have been limited at this time when the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping people at home and transportation has been cut off.

Petroleum prices in Vietnam were cut from Monday to the lowest level over the past 11 years.

The revenues of PetroVietnam and Petrolimex slumped by $6.13 billion and $521.74 million this year due to the dropping oil price and the COVID-19 health crisis.

The retail prices of petrol plummeted from 3pm of March 29, making it the sixth consecutive reduction since the beginning of this year.

Vietnam's gas supply is forecast to fall short of demand between 2017 and 2035, therefore, which makes it necessary to develop new gas sources, build infrastructure to develop marginal gas fields or even import liquefied natural gas (LNG).

VietNamNet Bridge - Though Vietnamese enterprises imported no petrol in the first two months of the year, they still raised the retail price.

VietNamNet Bridge - Because of limited financial capability, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have decided to quit multi-billion dollar oil refinery projects. 

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerrce & Industry and experts have warned that minimum limits on petroleum imports to be allocated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade may kill small businesses.

Petrolimex and the Japan Cooperation Centre Petroleum has signed an agreement for the second phase of a technical cooperation project on operating the petroleum depot at Petrolimex’s headquarters.

Foreign petrol distributors have set foot in the Vietnamese market, but they will have to confront Petrolimex, the giant which holds 50 percent of market share, and other rivals.