Vietnam - Top private group project is knee capped

Saigon Invest Group, one of the leading domestic private firms in Vietnam, has had its investment certificate revoked for the Saigon-Binh Dinh Pulp factory in south central Binh Dinh province.

Huynh Thi Thanh Thuy, deputy director of Binh Dinh Provincial Department of Planning and Investment, said that Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee had recently revoked the investment certificate as it doubted the developer’s financial ability. Thuy said that the investment certificate was withdrawn as the construction had made scant progress.

Saigon Invest Group received the investment certificate for developing the pulp factory in April 2008 on a 100 hectare site in Phu Cat district, with the registered total investment capital of VND8.8 trillion ($419 million). According to its design, the factory would produce 280,000 tonnes of pulp per year.

Thuy said the local authorities tried hard to support the large-scale project because it could make great contributions to the local economy and pave way for other investors. However, the province did not want the group to delay the project construction too long as it impacted the local investment climate.

“We are still calling for other potential and interested investors to replace Saigon Invest Group to develop the project,” added Thuy. Saigon Invest Group is operating in many fields including property, banking-finance, industrial parks, power, mining and telecom.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2012 Vietnam’s total demand for paper was estimated at around 2.9 million tonnes but the nation had to import around 1.23 million tonnes. The nation’s demand for pulp was estimated at about 575,000 tonnes while domestic producers’ output reached 480,000 tonnes.

Nguyen Chung | vir.com.vn

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