Decree to deregulate petrol prices

Vietnam’s Ministry of Trade has completed drafting a new regulation which would give petrol distributors and dealers more flexibility in setting retail petrol prices, said Deputy Trade Minister Phan The Rue. “The most noticeable point of this decree is to allow petrol enterprises to set retail prices themselves on the basis of the import tax, which will be set and applied for a year in advance by the government,” Rue said. Handing over the function of setting petrol prices to enterprises would help enterprises become more active in input accounting, and petrol prices would be fairer to customers, said Phan Ngoc Binh, director of Vietnam Air Petrol Co. Rue noted that mechanisms were needed to ensure a suitable price, as major enterprises with strong distribution systems would be able to deliver fuel to retail consumers at a lower cost than smaller ones. (January 24, 2007)