DECISION OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Regarding the issuance of Government bonds for the first phase to invest in some important transportation and irrigation works of the country

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THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Pursuant to Decree No. 77/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 25/CP dated April 5, 1995 of the Government stipulating tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the State Treasury under the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2000/NĐ-CP dated January 13, 2000 of the Government promulgating the regulations on the issuance of Government bonds;

Pursuant to Decision No. 182/2003/QĐ-TTg dated September 5, 2003 of the Prime Minister regarding the issuance of Government bonds for the investment in some important transportation and irrigation works of the country;

At the proposal of the Director General of the State Treasury,

DECISION:

Article 1. Issuing VND 30,000 billion Government bonds for the first phase to invest in building some important transportation and irrigation works of the country.

Article 2. Government bonds shall be issued and settled in Vietnamese Dong, in the form of certificates or book-entry.

Bond certificates include named and unnamed types; printed with denominations of VND 100,000, VND 200,000, VND 500,000, VND 1,000,000, VND 2,000,000, VND 5,000,000, VND 10,000,000, VND 20,000,000, VND 50,000,000, and VND 100,000,000.

Article 3. Methods of issuing Government bonds:

1\. Issuance through the State Treasury system nationwide.

1.1\. The bond purchasers include organizations and citizens of Vietnam; overseas Vietnamese; foreigners working and residing in Vietnam; foreign organizations operating within the territory of Vietnam. Excluded from this are members of the government bond auction market and guarantors. Vietnamese organizations may not use state budget funds to purchase government bonds.

1.2\. The term of the bonds is five years.

1.3\. The interest rate on the bonds is fixed at 8.5% per annum for the entire five-year period and paid annually.

1.4\. The issuance period is from October 15, 2003, and ends before December 31, 2003.

2\. Auction through the Securities Trading Center:

2.1\. Participants in the government bond auction through the Securities Trading Center are members of the government bond auction market. Organizations and individuals wishing to purchase government bonds through auctions should register with organizations trading on the securities market.

2.2\. The term of the bonds is five years and ten years.

2.3\. The interest rate on the bonds is determined based on the auction results.

2.4\. The issuance period is from October 10, 2003.

3\. Guarantee issuance:

3.1\. Participants in guaranteeing the issuance of government bonds are organizations permitted to guarantee government bond issuance according to current regulations.

3.2\. The term of the bonds is five years and ten years.

3.3\. The interest rate on the bonds is agreed upon between the guarantor organizations and the Central State Treasury.

3.4\. The issuance period is from October 10, 2003.

Article 4. Principles for repayment of principal and interest on Government bonds:

4.1\. The principal of the bonds will be repaid once when due.

4.2\. Interest on the bonds will be paid annually. If the bondholder has not come to repay the principal or interest when due, the amount of principal or interest will be reserved for repayment when the bondholder requests it; no compound interest will be calculated during the overdue period.

Article 5. Holders of Government bonds have the right and enjoy the following benefits:

5.1\. They can transfer, gift, leave as inheritance, or use as collateral in credit relationships.

5.2\. They can buy and sell, trade bonds through the Securities Trading Center for listed bonds.

5.3\. Bondholders who are credit institutions can trade bonds in the money market, discount, and rediscount bonds according to the regulations of the State Bank.

5.4\. Individual bondholders are exempt from personal income tax on interest income from bonds and are entitled to free custody of bonds at the State Treasury system.

Article 6. The General Director of the State Treasury is responsible for:

6.1\. Organizing the issuance of Government bonds according to the methods prescribed in Article 3 of this Decision.

6.2\. Proactively managing the volume, term, and interest rate of Government bond issuance according to the issuance methods prescribed in Points 2 and 3 of Article 3 of this Decision within the scope of volume and interest rate framework approved by the Minister of Finance.

6.3\. Implementing reporting, accounting, and settlement of bond receipts and payments according to the prescribed regulations.

Article 7. This Decision takes effect from the date of effectiveness of Decision No. 182/2003/QĐ-TTg dated September 5, 2003 of the Prime Minister.

The General Director of the State Treasury, Heads of units related to and under the Ministry of Finance, Directors of Provincial State Treasuries directly under the central government are responsible for implementing this Decision.