Beer-maker dethrones steelmaker as biggest domestic tax payer in central Vietnam province

Saigon-Ha Tinh Beer has surpassed Taiwan-invested Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation (FHS) to become the biggest Jan-Sept domestic taxpayer in the central province of Ha Tinh.

The company, under Sabeco - the biggest brewer in Vietnam, topped the list with a payment of VND504.8 billion ($20.7 million) in the nine-month period.

Other top contributors were Vung Ang Petroleum JSC, under PVOIL - the oil arm of state-owned Petrovietnam; major builder Hoanh Son Group JSC; and Giang Nam Petroleum Co. Ltd.

FHS, among the biggest steel producers in Vietnam, had topped the chart for years before coming in second place with a payment of VND358.8 billion ($14.7 million), according to the Ha Tinh Tax Department.

The figure did not include import-export tax of VND5 trillion ($204.8 million).

In the nine months, FHS’s output reached 3.6 million tons of steel billets, reaping revenues of VND66 trillion ($2.7 billion), the provincial tax department reported.

In the period, Ha Tinh’s import expenditure fell 4.09% year-on-year to $2.73 billion, according to provincial data. Of this, FHS accounted for $2.04 billion, or 74.87% of the total, mostly for input materials. FHS’s import expenditure is expected to rise in the remaining months of this year due to higher prices of the products and higher demand towards the end of the year.

In January-September, Ha Tinh province collected VND3.82 trillion ($156.4 million) in domestic taxes, up 30% year-on-year. The 10 biggest taxpayers accounted for 40.7% of the total domestic tax revenue.