Hundreds of companies told to register prices

HCMC – The Ministry of Finance has announced on its website a list of more than 150 companies that are required to register prices for their products in compliance with a circular on price stabilization. The listed companies must register with the authorities the prices of their products, including imports in accordance with Circular No.122/2010/TT-BTC issued on August 12, and are obliged to stick to the registered prices. In the list, there are seven companies providing dairy products for children under six, including FrieslandCampina Vietnam, Nestlé Vietnam Ltd., Mead Johnson Nutrition Vietnam and Meiji Vietnam.   The list also comprises many manufacturers of cement, steel, liquefied petroleum gas, chemical fertilizer, plant protection chemical, veterinary medicine, salt, and sugar, and service providers like seaports and aviation.   The ministry said it had made the list of the companies and sent announcements to them before the circular took effect on October 1. The full list is available on the ministry’s website athttp://www.mof.gov.vn/portal/pls/portal/docs/1080266.DOC.   Earlier, Nguyen Tien Thoa, director of the ministry’s Price Management Department, was quoted on the Government’s website in September as saying that the circular did not contradict the country’s commitments to the World Trade Organization. The comment was made after foreign-invested companies and some ambassadors to Vietnam complained that the price management regulations would discourage investors.