This is one of the notable points in Draft 2 of the Draft Circular amending, supplementing and abolishing certain regulations in the petroleum business activities being proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to solicit opinions.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is developing principles for managing petroleum prices.
In the draft, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is establishing principles for managing petroleum prices. Accordingly, the sale price of petroleum will be implemented according to market mechanism, with state regulation and in line with the fluctuation of world petroleum prices and the socio-economic situation in each period.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Finance in managing the sale price of petroleum, managing the allocation and use of the Price Stabilization Fund.
The work of managing petroleum prices, managing the allocation and use of the Price Stabilization Fund in each management period must have the participation opinions of the Ministry of Finance in writing.
“The level of allocation and use of the Price Stabilization Fund at the time of announcing the base price for implementation, based on the participation opinions of the Ministry of Finance, in case of different opinions, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will decide and takes responsibility; if necessary, report to the Prime Minister” – The Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed in the draft.
Currently, petroleum prices are adjusted every 7 days. The decision on petroleum management is made by the Inter-Ministerial Department of Industry and Trade – Finance.
Regarding the management of the Price Stabilization Fund for petroleum, recently there have been many opinions that it should not be kept in corporate accounts but should be entrusted to a specialized management unit that takes responsibility, avoiding the situation of fund loss without any responsible agency.
According to TS Le Dang Doanh, Former Director of the Central Economic Management Research Institute, this is a complex issue. “I personally agree with the viewpoint that the Ministry of Finance should manage the fund instead of letting the leading business handle it, because this is the people’s money,” he said.
To effectively manage the fund, the Ministry of Finance can establish a council with the participation of leading businesses and relevant agencies to decide the level of expenditure, allocation during periods of strong fluctuations in world prices. How to use it most efficiently, as the name suggests – market stabilization.
“We absolutely must have a management solution, avoiding the ‘responsibility football’ between the two ministries. If it is entrusted to the Ministry of Finance, the minister of this ministry must take responsibility to the Government, to the people for the use and management of this amount of money” – TS Le Dang Doanh stated his viewpoint.
