Vietnam Shipping Industry Burns its Fingers

Vietnamese state-run shipping line, ports, are US$2-billion in debt due to mismanagement "irregular expenses"

According to a Reuter news report by Ngo Thi Ngoc Chau, Vinalines has become a bloated behemoth with 18,000 workers, a fleet of loss-making ships and $2.1 billion in debt. In recent weeks, two senior executives have been arrested, its former chairman is on the run, and the firm has become a byword for mismanagement.

Vinalines and other debt-ridden state companies are turning into a big test of the government's graft-fighting credentials and whether Communist-run Vietnam is likelier to reclaim its status as a star among emerging markets or sink deeper into an economic malaise rooted in a state sector plagued by red ink and cronyism.