   Government            Socialist Republic of Vietnam
     ---*---             Independence-freedom-Happiness
 No: 5397/KTTH               html----*html----

                              Hanoi, September 30, 1994

To:

- Ministry of Heavy Ministry.
- Ministry of Science, Technology and environment.
- Ministry of finance.
- Ministry of Trade.
- State Committee for Co-operation and Investment
- State Planning committee
- Mechanical Engineering Department of the Government (Ministry of Heavy Industry)
- General Department of Customs

On considering papers submitted by the Mechanical engineering Department of the Government and the State Committee for Co-operation and Investment on the assembly and trading of motorbikes at present (document No 181-CKCP dated 8 August 1994, Views of the Ministry of trade (Document No 9752-TM/XNK dated 24 August 1994 and Document No 9907-TM/XNK), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Document No 1875/TDC dated 26 August 1994), the Ministry of Communication and transport (Document No 2357/V P) and the Ministry of finance (Document No 2389-TC/TCT dated 20 September 1994), the Prime Minister:

- Agreed with the views of the Ministry of Heavy Industry and the Ministries, branches concerned on the need for organization and rearrangement of activities concerning the assembly and trading of motorbikes at present in the whole country. To adjust thes e activities, the Ministries and branches should implement immediately the following works:

1. from 1 October 1994, the Ministry of Trade shall stop granting licence for the import of assembly lines for motorbikes (except businesses which were permitted to assemble motorbikes and now import assembly lines as additional investment); stop permitti ng businesses to apply for assembling and trading motorbikes.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment in coordination with the Ministry of Heavy Industry and the Ministry of Trade shall re-check the businesses which were permitted by the Ministry of Trade according to enforced regulations of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. In the case where any businesses fail to meet conditions and standards required for the assembly of motorbikes, the business-operation and production license shall be withdrawn.

2. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall conduct, in coordination with the Ministries and branches concerned, the re-formulation of standards for the assembly of motorbikes, with domestic Technologies of welding, painting and manufactu ring spare-parts and technological standards must endure the technique of assembling motorbikes according to new standards. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall submit to the prime Minister these two categories of standards before 15 December, 1994.

3. The Ministry of finance shall consult the Ministry of Trade and General Department of Custom to adjust the rate of import and export duties of the accessories for assembling motorbikes according to existing standards so that the duties rate may not dif fer too much from motorbikes imported under the form of complete-set and the ones assembled from separate imported components as at present. At the same time, the duties rate must be determines in conformity with imported components for assembling motorbi kes according to newly published standards available at the end of 1994.

4. following the publishing of new assembly standards and assembly, technological standards, the businesses involving in the assembly and trading of motorbikes shall prepare the investment for production in two years 1995-1996 so that new assembly standar ds may be reached. Any businesses which fail to invest in order to reach standards according to new regulations shall not be permitted to operate further in this field.

5. The State Committee for Co-operation and Investment shall, in coordination with the Ministry of trade, be responsible for re-checking the Companies which manufacture and assemble motorbike with foreign investment capital in order to clarify and obtain an unified views on the following issues:

- Purposes of the Company when applying for the establishment and real activities in the past period.

- Proportion of export products and products which are permitted to be sold at home which has not been stipulated clearly by the investment license.

- Schedule of investment of the Companies according to feasibility studies and investment licences which were granted.

Based on the clarification of the above-mentioned issues, the two. Ministries concerned shall submit proposals concerning the sale of motorbikes of these Companies in domestic market and other relevant supporting measures to be taken, if necessary.

6. In the period to come, the State committee for Co-operation and Investment shall consider and may accept for 1-2 big firms of foreign countries which manufacture motorbikes to enter into joint-ventures and invest capital in our country for manufacturin g and assembling motorbikes according to the direction which aims at IKD technology accompanied by the manufacture of spare-parts.

for the Government Vice Prime Minister

TRAN DUC LUONG