Binh Dinh Maritime Joint Stock Company (MSC) is formerly Nghia Binh Sea Transport Company, a state-owned enterprise founded in 1976. In 1999, in the implementation of the government’s policy to privatise state-owned enterprises, MSC was privatised and turned into a joint stock concern. Since the start of new business form, MSC has seen great progress in its business performance.
When MSC was a state-run company, it had experienced many difficulties, once dissolved and then re-established. Binh Dinh, with the geographical advantage of coastal location, and its people’s living habits associated to the sea, the existence of enterprises in the field of sea transport is indispensable. This is one of the main reasons for the establishment of MSC which is a company with full of rise and fall on its development path.
The current firm position, stable development and growth of the MSC are attributed to many factors. After the liberation and unification of the country, Binh Dinh province had land planning for ship repairing and building of the company, with location adjacent to the area of storm anchor. This is very important because boats, during the run to avoid storms and strike against one another, can not be moved to another location but moved up factories to be repaired. On the other hand, the company has built up traditions of solidarity and labour force devoted to work.
During the integration period, 5 years ago, the company had plans to integrate into the international economy, clearly analysed all factors of human resource, context, advantages and challenges it might face. In terms of management, the company had earlier applied international safety management system and international security system in order to strictly implement international norms and regulations, and gradually put the activity of production and business of the company into stability. This had helped make the operation of the company more necessary and closer to the life of part of the people. Therefore, many domestic and foreign investors had been seeking partnership with the MSC to invest in Binh Dinh.
Repairing and building high-quality ships for people is to ensure their safety and lives, so that they can feel secured to work on the sea, catching seafood to meet the social demand and supply to export seafood processing plant. This has helped contribute to improving the living standard, creating jobs for local people, maintaining security and social order.
MSC has introduced and carried out harmonious policies, and it refuses to run by profit at all costs. Although coping with inflation and escalating prices, the company has still maintained the service charges with increasing quality of services as it had good preparation from the previous years. Although the company’s profits may be not high compared to other businesses, the social benefits that the company has offered is very large and can not be calculated by money, which is to ensure the safety of assets and lives of fishermen through repairing and building new high-quality boats for them. Every year, the company repairs nearly 1,000 turns of boats for fishermen and other units in the province; builds nearly 20 units. As of September, 2008, the firm obtained revenues of nearly VND3 billion, contributed more than VND1.2 billion to the state budget. The income of the company’s workers increased by 1.5 times compared with the previous year. All ships repaired and built at the companies are performing well and no boat has seen accident so far.
At this time, the biggest difficulty of the company is not capital source or technology, but the change of policies and land planning. The company expects the planning to be improved, so that they can stabilise the business activity and better serve the people.
Nguyen Quoc Thai - MSC Director
Vietnamese
