Finance Minister Vuong Dinh Hue asked relevant agencies to apply flexible and reasonable solutions over management of sensitive products in Vietnam to secure the Government’s targets on curbing inflation and ensuring social security in the last months of 2011.
He said the Ministry of Finance’s price management has yielded positive results, helping implement the Government Resolution 11/NQ-CP dated February 24, 2011 on inflation curbing, macroeconomic stability and social security guarantee. He asked relevant agencies to apply flexible and reasonable solutions over management of sensitive products to secure the targets on curbing inflation and ensuring social security.
He noted that price management must make a positive contribution to solving difficulties of business, production, speed up development and integration. He stressed the need to check and disclose price forming factors of State monopoly and sensitive products. If management fails to meet market demands, related agencies must seek solutions to ensure all product prices run following market principles and the State management.
While persistent market pricing principles, management of sensitive products like electricity and gasoline must be flexible and suitable to ensure inflation curbing and social security targets.
Relevant units need to check and disclose price forming factors of State monopoly and sensitive products such as electricity, oil and gas, steel, seaport services, food and foodstuff, medicine, tuition and milk.
The Market Price Management Department is required to learn about experience on price control and management in other countries, especially neighbouring nations of Laos, Cambodia and China to provide consultancy to the ministry. Besides, the department must improve its manpower to follow close behind businesses, grasp information and focus on policy building and price control.
Minister Hue said the department will weigh up price scenarios for gasoline and electricity.
As for electricity, when calculating the price, apart from price-rising factors, it is necessary to look at price-reducing elements like power consumption; cost control in EVN affiliates, asset liquidation, revenues from electric post leasing, sale of assets and materials, wages, exchange rates, etc. The Price Management Department will work with relevant bodies to study cost factors at EVN electricity selling companies.
Meanwhile, the ministry's Corporate Finance Department has been asked to report on the financial position of the Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation (Petrolimex) and Government support for the corporation to cover its losses, as well as the use of funds to stabilise fuel importers' prices.
Quynh Anh
Vietnamese
