Minister asks Coca-Cola to “be transparent in business operations”

Minister Bui Quang Vinh suggested that Coca-Cola "should regularly provide information and be transparent about its business activities"...

During his visit to the US and meeting with leading US corporations investing in Vietnam, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh had a meeting with representatives of the Coca-Cola Group.

According to a report on the Foreign Investment Agency's electronic information portal, at the above-mentioned meeting, Minister Vinh "welcomed Coca-Cola's continued expansion of investment in Vietnam by an additional 300 million USD within the next 3 years."

However, he also suggested that “the company should regularly provide information and be transparent about its business activities in Vietnam, contributing to the effective implementation of projects in Vietnam and keeping on schedule with investment commitments.”

Minister Bui Quang Vinh (second from right) during an activity during his visit to the US.

In April 2013, answering on VTV in the program "People ask - Ministers answer", when asked about the phenomenon of transfer pricing of some FDI enterprises, Minister Bui Quang Vinh said that Vietnam "does not accept Coca-Cola or Adidas investing and making profits in Vietnam without losing a single tax penny, we are not satisfied and accept this" and "the viewpoint of the Ministry of Planning and Investment is that we must strictly and seriously handle this matter".

Recently, Coca-Cola has been caught up in a "transfer pricing scandal" in Vietnam when it continuously reported losses while still planning to expand its investment. Coca-Cola's representative in Vietnam later spoke up to confirm that the group did not transfer prices to evade taxes, and also said that although it had not yet made a profit to pay corporate income tax, between 2008 and May 2013, Coca-Cola in Vietnam had paid more than 33 million USD in various taxes.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency's information portal, the working delegation of the Ministry of Planning and Investment led by Minister Bui Quang Vinh "had a successful working trip to San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington DC".

A key and important content in the working program of this working group is the working content with the World Bank (WB) in Washington DC. The content focuses on assessing the macroeconomic situation of Vietnam in the medium and long term, the progress achieved in structural reform, especially public investment reform, and achievements in poverty reduction and implementation of the millennium goals.

In San Francisco, Minister Bui Quang Vinh had a discussion with American companies co-organized by the Bay Area Business Council, in coordination with the California Asia Business Council (CalAsia).

At the seminar with about 20 leading enterprises in the energy, high-tech, logistics, processing industries, etc., Minister Bui Quang Vinh presented on Vietnam's macroeconomic development situation, the Vietnamese Government's orientation in improving the business environment and opportunities for US investors.

In San Francisco, Mr. Vinh also had a working session with Intel and Google companies.

Regarding Intel, Minister Vinh highly appreciated Intel's contribution to promoting the development of information technology in Vietnam. Intel's representative shared some difficulties that have affected the progress of Intel's project in Vietnam, from external factors such as the impact of the global economic crisis leading to a decline in demand, to internal factors such as the problem of electricity supply.

According to vneconomy.vn LT