Ex-Vinalines chairman arrested for criminal mismanagement by Interpol

FORMER Vinalines chairman Duong Chi Dung has been arrested after Vietnam laid charges of criminal mismanagement of the biggest state-owned carrier, Reuters reports.

During his chairmanship from 2005 until he disappeared early 2012, Duong allegedly wasted billions of dollars with foreign partners on ineffective ports in the Cai Mep - Thi Vai area, said the report.

Its three ports of Cai Mep Port (CMIT) jointly partnered by Danish terminal operator APM Terminals, SP-SSA Port (SSIT) and SP-SSA with Singaporean PSA wracked up huge losses in the period 2007-2010 of VND252 billion (US$10 million) from an initial investment of VND1.8 trillion.

In 2011, Vinalines reported a loss of VND43.1 trillion, more than four times its equity of VND9.41 trillion.

Following Duong's arrest as a fugitive by Interpol in an unnamed southeast Asian country, he was extradited to Vietnam to join six other Vinalines executives implicated in the 14 failed port projects and costly errors.

The acquisition of a 43-year-old floating dock from a Singapore firm became a particular embarrassment for the carrier being described as an "iron heap". The now unused dock had a price tag of US$9 million more than doubled to $26.3 million due to extensive repair costs.

The state-owned carrier's "protracted wrongdoings in business management" is likely to lead many to question the policy wherein a dozen or so firms run by the state languish in debts.