VINACHEM

These enterprises have significantly contributed to boosting economic growth and tackling social problems, the report says.

Twelve out of 20 state corporations, which had a total pre-tax profit of VND16.6 trillion (US$874 million), recorded better business results than for 2007, while some performed ineffectively, losing part of their capital. Ten out of 20 state co-operations had invested into their non-traditional fields.

Finances at some state corporations were poorly managed, leaving huge bad debts such as those of the Southern Food Corporation, Ha Noi Construction Corporation and Viettel Corporation's commercial and export company.

The SAV's report, released in Ha Noi yesterday, presents SAV's auditing results of 2009 and a report on implementation of auditors' proposals in 2008.

All of the 16 state budget revenue sources beat planned targets, except for petrol fees, which only accounted for 90.7 per cent of the target, said Deputy General Auditor Le Minh Khai at the press conference to release the report.

Khai said that even if an increase due to inflation is factored in, revenues still recorded an increase of nearly 14 per cent.

Domestic revenue accounted for nearly 56 per cent of the total state budget. Revenues from state corporations increased by 43.2 per cent over 2007, 13.7 per cent higher than targeted in the plan.

Revenue from raw oil was 37 per cent higher than targeted and 14 per cent higher than in 2007, said Khai.

However, revenue planning didn't always closely follow practices, and in several cases, realised revenue sources were higher than had been planned. Khai said some corporations didn't even have a revenue plan.

The SAV has proposed to ask the Ministry of Finance for a higher planned revenue of VND4.5 trillion ($237 million), of which VND3.3 trillion ($174 million) would be allocated for the state budget.

A decrease in state budget expenditure of VND 3.4 trillion ($179 million) was also proposed, as a significant amount of funds had been misspent.

The report said many localities had higher expenditures than planned, and many of them spent as much as 30 per cent more than what they should have.

The audited government's foreign debt by the end of 2008 was VND432.3 trillion ($228 million), accounting for 29.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and total government debt accounted for 33.4 per cent GDP.

According to the audit results, banks, insurance companies and other credit institutions in general performed effectively and followed security regulations set by the State Bank of Viet Nam. Many of them focused on increasing their service quality and diversity.

120 projects experienced some delays due to efforts to curb inflation, stabilise the macro economy and ensure sustainable development. The total number of delayed or cancelled projects in 2008 was 1,884, with total capital of VND5.66 trillion ($298 million).

The SAV proposed to replace or amend 45 legal documents that were not in line with State regulations, and also urged the issuance of 20 new policies and guidance documents.

A fine of VND14.7 trillion ($774 million) was also proposed for those caught misusing funds.

(Source: VNS)