Fly-by-night foreign companies remain a problem for Vietnam

Last month Kim Dae Gun, a South Korean national and director of the Cho Won Textile Company in southern Dong Nai Province, disappeared after a business trip abroad leaving the company owing VND23 billion ($990,138) to banks and VND120 million ($5,150) in employees’ social insurance premiums. The police are investigating the incident, the latest in a slew of such incidents in the country. Canadian steel-manufacturer Metacor Vietnam based in southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province was deeply in the red by mid-2018. It had racked up nearly VND150 billion ($6.4 million) worth of debts in the form of social insurance obligations, income tax and loans from banks. Denis Piche, its general director and a Canadian national, was summoned thrice in June this year by the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Industrial Zone Authorities but he failed to respond. But he had already left Vietnam — in early June — through the Moc Bai border in Tay Ninh Province, according to local authorities. In Ba Ria – Vung Tau alone, nearly 20 foreign-owned companies owing taxes worth VND30 billion ($1.28 million) no longer operate at their registered addresses, while another three owing VND60 billion ($2.56 million) have ceased operations completely. Speaking to Tuoi Tre newspaper, Nguyen Minh Cuong, deputy head of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau tax department, said some companies take advantage of lax policies and work online to avoid financial obligations, making it difficult for authorities to properly monitor them. Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Association of… [Read full story]