Clarifying signs of profiteering in sand auction in Quang Nam

Authorities worked until dawn on October 19 to serve the sand mine auction - Photo: PHUC TRUONG

On the afternoon of October 19, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) of Quang Nam province reported the initial auction of the DB2B sand mine in Dien Tho commune, Dien Ban town. The winning bid belonged to MT Quang Da Joint Stock Company (Khue Trung ward, Cam Le district, Da Nang city) with a price of 370 billion VND to be granted the right to exploit.

However, at the end of the day, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Nam province directed to temporarily suspend the recognition of auction results and clarify signs of profiteering.

Auction day and night

According to a report from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Nam, at the end of April, the People's Committee of Quang Nam province issued a decision approving the plan to auction mineral exploitation rights and starting prices for 22 mineral exploitation investment project categories in many districts and towns.

Among these is the mineral sand area for common construction materials DB2B located in Dien Tho commune, Dien Ban town with an area of ​​6.04ha, estimated resources of 159,000m3. The starting price is 1.4 billion VND.

On October 18, at the hall of Dien Ban Town People's Committee, Hoa Thuan Joint Stock Auction Company organized a sand mine auction and attracted dozens of businesses. The auction started at 8am but ended after... 20 hours.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre reporters, people present at the auction said that the morning of October 18 was quite normal. But from noon onwards and until... midnight the next day, a fierce price chase took place between a number of businesses.

From midnight onwards, even though the task force had gone through a tiring and hungry day, some businesses continued to bid higher. It was not until 4:08 a.m. on October 19, meaning after 20 hours of pursuit, that MT Quang Da Joint Stock Company settled on a price of 373 billion VND for the sand mine.

Thus, compared to the starting price, the closing price of the auction increased by 1,534.6%. The estimated amount that the winning bidder must pay to the state budget is 370.577 billion VND, exceeding the starting price by 369.3 billion VND.

"Never before has there been an auction that lasted so long and had such unimaginably high prices. During the 20 hours of the auction, service staff were kept in the dark. Drinks, fast food, bread... were brought in from outside.

We were all exhausted, sitting from 8am the previous morning until 5:30am the next morning to sign the minutes," said a person present at the auction.

The auction was tense and lasted for dozens of hours - Photo: PHUC TRUONG

Absurd, signs of profiteering

After the auction ended, the news that the sand mine was priced at 370 billion VND for 159,000m3 of sand caused a stir in public opinion in the Central region.

The material business community, along with mining and construction companies, said it was unbelievable that a business that did business with serious calculations would be willing to spend 370 billion VND to buy a sand mine like that. The preliminary estimate of the unexploited price for each cubic meter of sand at the mine was over 2.3 million VND.

On October 19, surveying the Central market, Tuoi Tre reporters recorded that the price of sand transported to the construction site fluctuated around 390,000 - 450,000 VND/m3. Thus, compared to the unexploited price that the winning enterprise bid in Quang Nam, the difference was 4 - 5 times.

"Sand is not gold that you can buy at will. Each cubic meter of sand at the auction site costs 2.3 million VND, if you add the mining costs, taxes and fees, it is not less than 2.6 million VND. If that price is brought to the market, who will it be sold to?

Why do people have to buy such expensive sand when the best quality, delivered to their doorstep, costs only 400,000 - 500,000 VND/m3?", Mr. Bui Ngoc Duc, owner of a construction business in Lien Chieu district, Da Nang, wondered.

On October 19, many agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Nam, the Provincial Police, the Department of Construction, the People's Committee of Dien Ban town... stepped in to verify the unusual sand mine auction under the direction of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

Tuoi Tre reporters and many press agencies have tried to approach and discuss with representatives of the unit that won the sand mine bid but received no response.

Need to amend and supplement the Law on Property Auction 2016

Many businesses said that recently there have been many mineral auctions with huge prices. The participating units deliberately pushed up the price and then withdrew the deposit without facing any major consequences. "Currently, if you withdraw the auction result, you only lose the deposit. Depending on the scale of the auctioned asset, the deposit will be high or low.

Like the case in Dien Ban, if the business does not follow through, it will only lose 242 million VND, while the consequences are huge. We think that the deposit rate needs to be increased many times.

Or we can also set a rule that we will lose 10-20% of the auction winnings if we "cancel the show". Doing so will hopefully deter those units that intentionally inflate prices and act ridiculously," Mr. Le Truong Nam, owner of a large enterprise in Da Nang, suggested.

On the afternoon of October 19, in an official dispatch directing the temporary suspension of the recognition of the sand mine auction results in Dien Ban, the People's Committee of Quang Nam province stated that the auction had unusual elements. The bid price was many times higher than the starting price and the price announced by the authorities.

The final price also shows signs of market manipulation for profit, pushing up the price of construction sand materials, negatively affecting economic security and social order. The Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Nam province requested to check and review the case's records, processes and procedures.

When inspecting, pay special attention to the financial capacity and equity of the auction participants as prescribed in Article 53 of the 2010 Law on Minerals and the shortcomings in the process and procedures for auctioning mineral exploitation rights in the province.

The Chairman of the Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Provincial Police to direct the investigation into the motives and purposes of the unusually high bids at the auction. When violations are discovered, cases of taking advantage of the auction to disrupt the market for personal gain will be strictly handled.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lam-ro-dau-hieu-truc-loi-vu-dau-gia-cat-o-quang-nam-20241020085550637.htm