The Saigon Times Daily
EVN’s deputy general director Dinh Quang Tri said the average hike of 7.5% would help offset rising input costs, especially of coal and gas, the two main fuels for power generation. This is one of the reasons heard at a meeting last week between the Prime Minister and relevant agencies and EVN before the approval was given.
At the meeting, the industry ministry proposed revising up the electricity price by 7.5%, 8.5% or 9.5%, and the first got the nod. Though the 7.5% spike could bring extra revenue of VND13 trillion and additional profit of VND1.5 trillion to the State-owned group this year, Tri said, this profit accounts for a mere 1% of the group’s equity while the normal profit margin should be 3%, which means the power price should be increased by 12.8%.
EVN presented certain figures to make the case. However, the monopoly in the power industry did not make clear the elements that constitute the power price, including production cost and efficiency of its corporate governance.
The profit of VND1.5 trillion is below EVN’s expectations, but it is huge for many private enterprises which are still wrestling with losses amid a slow recovery of the economy.
The Business Registration Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment pointed out the difficulties faced by the local business community in a recent report. In the first two months of this year, more than 16,000 enterprises were dissolved and suspended while the number of business startups in the period was a little more than 13,760.
Businesses said they were not surprised at the power price hike from mid-March but demanded transparency so that they could draw up business plans and weather the protracted economic woes.
The Saigon Times Daily
Đăng ký: VietNam News