Vinashin must pay its own debts

Hanoi: A Vietnamese minister said state- owned Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, known as Vinashin, should make a $60 million debt payment on its own as the government offers to help the company become profitable.
"They will have to pay on their own," Planning and Investment Minister Vo Hung Phuctold journalists in Hanoi today. "We will restructure Vinashin's projects and we will help Vinashin operate profitably so it can pay debts by itself."
Vinashin may default on foreign-currency liabilities within the next 30 days, Standard & Poor's said December 6. Moody's Investors Service last month cited the company as saying on November 19 that it may delay the $60 million principal payment on a $600 million loan. The company invested in non-core activities, falsified financial reports and is on the verge of default, the World Bank said in October. [09/12/10]