Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has decided to financially back the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corp (Vinashin), the largest shipbuilder in Vietnam, in its expansion scheme with plans to build ships capable of carrying as much as 300,000 metric tons by 2010.
The ministry will soon provide Vinashin with US$750 million it has just mobilized from its first ever global bond issue to finance the expansion, the MOF said in its website at www.mof.gov.vn.
The money is expected to arrive in Vietnam on November 4 and will then be sent to Vinashin immediately, MoF Deputy Minister Le Thi Bang Tam told a press briefing yesterday in Hanoi.
The loan, with an annual coupon of 6.875 per cent and a maturity of 10 years, will help Vinashin to realize its approved projects capitalized at VND22 trillion (US$1.39 billion) for the period to 2010, said Nguyen Thanh Binh, general director of Vinashin.
“Vinashin is completely able to clear this debt,” Binh also confirmed, citing that Vinashin’s production value of this year is estimated to reach US$1 billion this year and its export contract value to 2009 has already reached around US$1.5 billion.
From now to 2015, Vinashin may need total investment capital of US$3 billion, but Vinashin will possibly attain a total annual production value of US$3 billion a year, Binh said, referring to his corporation’s liquidity of all debts.
The State-backed Vinashin is currently developing its shipbuilding industrial complexes in northern Hai Duong, Nam Dinh and Quang Ninh provinces, northern Haiphong City, central Quang Ngai and other localities.
“With better facilities and shipyards, Vinashin will be able to build larger ships and win more export contracts,” he said.
Vinashin targets to build 80,000 DWT, container vessels of 3,000-TEUs and oil tankers of 100,000 tons, manufacture 22,000-HP engines, and repair oceangoing vessels of 400,000 DWT by 2010. The corporation also has plans to build oil tankers of 300,000 tons in a couple of years later.
B.T
Vietnamese
