Petroleum firms in Vietnam increased retail prices of petroleum products on Monday morning due to rising world prices, according to the Vietnamese Trade Ministry.

Regarding A92 petroleum product, the retail price rose by 800 Vietnamese dong (VND) (5 U.S. cents) to 11,800 VND (over 73.7 cents) per liter. This is the first time local petroleum enterprises have had the right to increase the retail prices. Previous hikes were conducted by the state.

In March, the state raised retail prices of petroleum products by 900 VND (5.6 cents) per liter to 11,000 VND (nearly 68.8 cents).

Late last month, Vietnam slashed its import tax on petroleum products to five percent from 10 percent to assist local petroleum importers which were facing losses since the world petroleum price remained high.

Vietnam imported 4.1 million tons of petroleum products worth over 2 billion dollars in the first four months of this year, posting respective year-on-year rises of 14.8 percent and 14 percent, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

To reduce reliance on petroleum imports, Vietnam, in late 2005, started the construction of its first oil refinery with annual refining capacity of 6.5 million tons in central Quang Ngai province. The refinery is scheduled to go into operation in late 2008 or early 2009.

Source: Xinhua