Viethaus joint venture in Germany reported accumulated losses of US$16 million

By Minh An - Jan 11, 2018 | 12:04 AM GMT+7

TheLEADERDespite contributing only VND15 billion (US$661,521), Southern Airports Services JSC (SASCO), Viethaus’s shareholder, has paid on behalf of the joint venture nearly VND300 billion (US$13.2 million) to fees and had to make provision since 2015.

Viethaus joint venture in Germany reported accumulated losses of US$16 million
Photo: Viethaus.

Viethaus, which is a joint venture between SASCO and the HMSKY of the Vietnamese community in Germany, aims to establish a center for trade, investment, culture and tourism of Vietnam in Berlin, Germany. This is also Vietnam’s first investment project abroad in this model.

According to Vietnam’s Government Inspectorate, from 2005 to 2015 Viethaus joint venture was unprofitable with accumulated losses of EUR13.4 million (roughly US$16 million). As a result, the project has failed to meet its economic targets, which are unlikely to recover its investment capital and debts of up to EUR 9.6 million (VND62 billion).

"SASCO is responsible for ineffective investment and at the risk of losing investment capital," the Government Inspectorate stated.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has instructed the Ministry of Transport to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to review and evaluate the effectiveness of the project, propose solutions and report to the Prime Minister in January 2018.

According to SASCO’s report, the company holds a 29 per cent stake in the joint venture with an investment capital of VND15 billion (US$661,521). In addition, SASCO is recording receivables of nearly VND300 billion (US$13.2 million) from the joint venture as the company has paid on behalf of the joint venture to fees including land rental fee.

Since 2015, recognizing low recoverability, SASCO has set provision for all of its investment and receivables at the joint venture.

A 49 per cent stake in SASCO is held by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV). SASCO is the largest company offering services at airports in Vietnam with major revenue from duty-free shops, lounge, retail and food, advertising, etc.

The large provision in 2015 made the company's profit fall sharply to VND11 billion (US$485,115). In 2016, the company's profit recovered and increased to VND234 billion (US$1.03 million). In the first nine months of 2017, the company's profit reported at VND209 billion (US$921,719).