Vietnam to Allow Oil Importers to Set Prices

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Sept. 22 – The Vietnam government is now allowing oil product importers to set retail prices in an effort to move towards a market-oriented mechanism.

It will give oil product importers the flexibility to react with complicated market changes and should create a transparent business environment.

Vietnam is Asia’s second largest importer of petroleum products and prior to the new regulation, finance and trade ministries have been in charge of dictating the price for retail oil products in the country.

Importers will be required to register their proposals for price adjustments to a government committee for approval. The new prices would then be automatically implemented three days later.

Vuong Thai Dung, deputy general director of top oil product distributor Petrolimex, told Thanh Nien News that the company would decide retail prices “quite independently” and “on the basis of respecting the government’s regulations and consumers.”

Petrolimex supplies more than 60 percent of the country’s oil products needs.

In addition, Vuong Dinh Dung, director of the Military Petroleum Company (MIPECO) said that “it is a good time” to apply the new mechanism as world oil prices are falling.

Last year, the government said it would allow importers price their products but would later cancel plans because of rising oil prices.