Prime Minister requests verification of Asanzo's import of Chinese goods labeled as Vietnamese

On June 24, Minister and Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said that the Prime Minister has directed relevant ministries and branches to investigate suspicions that Asanzo Electronics Joint Stock Company sold Chinese goods but labeled them as Vietnamese. The Prime Minister requested strict handling in accordance with legal regulations.

The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance - the Standing Agency of the National Steering Committee 389 to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to urgently inspect and verify press information reflecting the case of Asanzo importing products manufactured in other countries with Vietnamese origin labels for sale in the Vietnamese market.

"Ministries and branches need to clarify violations to strictly handle them in accordance with the law," the Prime Minister requested.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade directed functional agencies such as customs, market management... to review the implementation of state management and assigned duties and tasks in this case, and to clarify responsibilities in accordance with the provisions of law.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade are required to urgently carry out the above tasks and report the results to the Prime Minister before July 30.

Previously, according to the investigation, Asanzo Electronics Joint Stock Company imported a series of electronic devices from China such as rice cookers, ovens, televisions, air conditioners, speakers... and removed the "made in China" label and labeled them as Vietnamese to sell on the market.

Responding to the press on the afternoon of June 23, Mr. Pham Van Tam - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Asanzo affirmed that there was no such thing as removing the Chinese stamp and then sticking the Vietnamese stamp on.

"The so-called evidence that we peeled off the "Made in China" label on the product is actually just a label on a component, specifically the cover behind the TV. We cannot yet assess whether this is true or not, it could be a worker's mistake, or something, I have to investigate carefully. But saying that we put a "Made in Vietnam" label on that component is not true. We only put this label after the product is completed and this is correct and not against the law," Mr. Tam explained.

Investigations show that Asanzo does not produce any components but imports them all from China. According to Mr. Pham Van Tam, Asanzo collects all components from suppliers to make a complete product. These include components imported from abroad and also other auxiliary suppliers such as plastic parts, paper, packaging, speakers, power cords, etc.

"Asanzo TVs have 3 components imported from China including: circuit board, panel and glass (screen) accounting for about 70% of the entire product. All other details such as plastic shell, remote control... are manufactured by Vietnamese enterprises," said Mr. Tam.

Regarding Asanzo's advertisement of "the pinnacle of Japanese technology", the head of this group affirmed that it does not produce TVs based on Japanese production lines, but assembles them according to Japanese company processes. "It is not that the components have to be from Japan to be called Japanese technology. The technology here is the technology to control and verify the harmful effects on consumers," Mr. Tam analyzed.

On the afternoon of June 21, the Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Goods Enterprises announced that it had revoked the right to use the High-Quality Vietnamese Goods certification mark for Asanzo enterprise immediately after information about the household electronic products belonging to this enterprise.

Immediately after this information, some electronics supermarkets such as Nguyen Kim, Dien May Xanh... and online sales channels stopped selling all electronics products from Asanzo. However, in some retail stores, Asanzo brand products are still sold on shelves as usual while waiting for the conclusion of the authorities.