Vietnamese officials to inspect giant aluminium stockpile linked to Chinese billionaire

According to a Vietnamese media report (VN Express International) a massive aluminium stockpile, believed to have arrived in Vietnam as a way of evading trade restrictions by a Chinese billionaire, would be inspected by ministry officials.

The government official says that giant aluminium stockpile is found at a foreign company's factory in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The officials are investigating based on a report by Wall Street Journal and U.S. industry officials last year which stated about  the arrival of a giant aluminium stockpile in the coastal city of Vung Tau. They will inspect the stockpile to find out if it has been shipped to Vietnam as part of a tariff evasion scheme.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has instructed the officials from the trade, finance and planning and investment ministries to verify the origin and purpose of the aluminium stock. The stock is claimed to belong to Global Vietnam Aluminium Co Ltd, a $250 million joint venture between two Chinese-Australian businessmen, Jacky Cheung and Wang Tong.

The company is said to be developing an aluminium factory with an annual billet production capacity of 200,000 tons.  There is no confirmation about whether the large stockpile of aluminium will be used as raw materials for the upcoming factory or re-exported to any other destination.

According to a Bloomberg report, the stockpile has connections to one of China’s richest men, Liu Zhongtian, chairman of China Zhongwang Holdings. The Wall Street Journal report said that the about 1.7 million tons of aluminium have been moved from Mexico to Vung Tau in Vietnam since 2015 by a company co-owned by one of Liu’s business associates. According to the data provided by Global Trade Information Services, which tracks worldwide trade, the value of the aluminium stockpile would be about $5 billion.

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The report alleged that the unusual shipping route like Mexico-Vietnam may have something to do with hiding the real source and destination of the traded metal. It is noteworthy that exports of Chinese aluminium extrusion to the U.S. market are subject to anti-dumping tariffs as high as 374%, compared with those of about 5% on Vietnamese aluminum extrusion products. Shipping the metal from Mexico and Vietnam would actually negate its Chinese origin, helping the exporter avoid the stiff U.S. tariffs imposed on Chinese extrusions.