The fact that Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has repeatedly denied negative rumors about Vingroup, as well as the head of this group, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, has led a legal expert and socio-political commentator to believe that now, Vingroup is “inviolable.“
Information about Vingroup attracts public opinion
Lieutenant General To An Xo, Chief of Staff and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security, personally spoke at a regular Government meeting on October 29 that Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong was not banned from leaving the country at the same time affirming that this business is operating stably and normally.
Mr. To An Xo affirmed that the information posted by some social network accounts was false and inaccurate rumors.
Law Ph.D. Cu Huy Ha Vu commented that any information related to Vingroup is very interesting and noticed by the public.
This, according to Mr. Vu, is easy to understand, because recently, a series of leaders of Vietnam’s largest enterprises have been arrested. That makes many people think that Vingroup will also share the same fate:
“Information about Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong being banned from leaving the country can be divided into two directions. Firstly, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong is also in the sights of the Ministry of Public Security, or in the “burning furnace” campaign of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
Secondly, because Mr. Vuong is the richest man in Vietnam, all information related to this group makes the stock market, which is fragile and very small in Vietnam, easily affected.
Vietnamese people, especially those who buy shares of Vingroup, have absolute reason to worry, watching the fate of the head of Vingroup. Any information released related to this group and Mr. Vuong personally will cause a huge disturbance in the stock market.”
The police repeatedly denied rumors about Vingroup
This is not the first time the Ministry of Public Security has denied rumors about this giant company. From the beginning of July, rumors appeared on social networks that Pham Nhat Vuong was banned from leaving the country because Vingroup had previously divested capital in companies and transferred assets abroad.
Right after that, the website of the ministry announced that “several social media accounts spread information about the head of an enterprise with certain influence on the stock market, bond market, etc. be subject to a number of preventive measures as prescribed by law.”
A researcher, observing the socio-political situation currently in the country, asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, saying that the Ministry of Public Security saw that this rumor about Vingroup was related to national security so the ministry directly spoke out:
“The fact that Vingroup or Mr. Vuong personally has not spoken, but Mr. To An Xo has spoken, it is true that people can’t help but feel that the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security is also a personal spokesman for Mr. Vuong.
And another reason is that rumors can affect the mood of domestic and foreign entrepreneurs doing business in Vietnam, which will have a greater impact on the economy.”
Cu Huy Ha Vu said that the Ministry of Public Security spoke on behalf of Vingroup partly because this business pays a huge amount of tax:
“As General To An Xo of the Ministry of Public Security said just now, Vingroup also contributes a large amount of tax. It is not possible to destroy all of Vietnam’s largest corporations at once because after all, there are illegal relationships in the so-called business activities of this group. Vietnam’s economy will be severely affected and the revenue from those businesses will also be severely affected.”
General To An Xo said on October 29 that Vingroup is a huge taxpayer, taxing up to VND 127 trillion ($500 million) in the past time.
Vingroup “inviolable“?
Not only refuting information unfavorable to Vingroup, but police forces also worked and sanctioned many people who posted information about this corporation on social networks.
For example, on November 1, the Hanoi Police Department coordinated with the Internal Political Security Department, and the Economic Security Department, under the Ministry of Public Security, to work with two people on the alleged act of “using personal accounts on social networks posting or commenting on false information about the financial and securities markets.”
Previously, on July 11, a man named H. in Hanoi was summoned and fined VND7.5 million for reporting information related to Vingroup. General To An Xo said that this action affected the reputation, rights, and legitimate interests of enterprises, and adversely affected the stock market.
The anonymous researcher said that after following Vingroup for a long time, he realized that there are certainly great forces protecting Vingroup:
“Clearly the government acts in the interest of a business, which is unusual and unacceptable as the state is expected to act fairly and according to the law and not act in favor of any business.”
Simply encroaching on the Saigon River in Vinhomes Central Park that the state authorities turned a blind eye to. An incident that violates the law, wreaks havoc on the public environment, is easy to see, but Vingroup is still outlawed.”
In 2014, Vingroup invested VND30 trillion to build a Vinhomes project in Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City. This project was warned by Dr. Dao Trong Tu – Director of the Center for Sustainable Development of Water Resources and Climate Change Adaptation, former Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Mekong River Commission – that this project encroached on the Sai River. Gon, change the flow of this river.
According to Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu, the fact that the police hunt down individuals who post unfavorable information for Vingroup is an excessive act. It also shows that, in Vietnam today, Vingroup is “inviolable.”
“It can be said that Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong’s power is the best in Vietnam, not only in terms of money, but Mr. Vuong’s relationships with the President and Prime Minister of Vietnam show that he is a character, until now, is inviolable.”
The top leaders of Vietnam have visited the projects or factories of this group many times.
In December 2021, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc came to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony of the VinES Battery Factory of Vingroup, with a total investment of more than VND4 trillion.
On the morning of January 26, 2022, Mr. Phuc visited the VinFast automobile factory, gave gifts, and wished workers New Year’s greetings. Accompanying were leaders of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Hai Phong city.
On the evening of January 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a series of senior Vietnamese state leaders attended the awarding ceremony of the first VinFuture Global Science and Technology Award held at the Hanoi Opera House. The VinFuture Grand Prize is worth up to $3 million.
On the afternoon of March 12, 2022, Mr. Pham Minh Chinh and the Government delegation visited and welcomed Vingroup to invest in an urban project in Cam Lam district, Khanh Hoa province.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
