A citizen receives his motorbike licence plate at No 282 on No Trang Long Street in HCM City’s Binh Thanh district (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Vehicleowners in Vietnam will soon be able to buy their favourite registration platesvia auctions, with a pilot programme launching in five major cities, namely Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong and Can Tho.
The Ministry of Public Security was assigned to run the programmelast month by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Colonel Tran Quoc Trung, deputy head of the ministry’sTraffic Police Department said apart from the five selected cities, theministry would consider other localities if they met standards and were willingto run the pilot the programme, reported Tuoi tre (Youth)newspaper.
The ministryplans to offer licence plate numbers which are believed to bring luck owners upfor auction. Other number plates will also be chosen at random.
A detailedroadmap for the auction is awaiting approval from the Government, he said.
Colonel Le Xuan Duc,deputy director of the department, said there were two methods to selectregistration plates for auction. First, five numbers which are the same such as88888 will be selected. Second, registration plates with the two last numbers68, 86 would be picked up.
In Vietnamese, an alternative way to say the number six (luc) derivingfrom Chinese sounds like loc meaning a windfall of money, andeight (bat), also a Chinese spelling, sounds like phat,meaning progress. Hence, the numbers 68 and 86 are very lucky. People also likethe number nine as the Chinese version has the same pronunciation as cuu meaningeverlasting.
According to Duc, the People’s Committee of each locality will setits own starting prices for the auctions.
The auctions will be conducted publicly and transparently aimingto limit bribery for the issuance of plate numbers and to increase the State’sincome, Duc said.
Additionally, the auctions aims to serve the demand of rich peoplewho want licence plates they thing will bring them luck, he added.
The ministry said the auction was expected to be widely operatedacross the country after the pilot programme ends and the ministry conducts anassessment of it.
Responses
A representative from the Ministry of Finance’s PublicAsset Management Department said it approved of the auctions.
Tran Quang Thang,president of HCM City’s Institute of Economics and Management, said he applaudedthe movement.
Thang said themoney gained from the auctions should be added to public funds to upgradepublic works as hospitals, schools and roads.
“In the past,several people, including businessmen, paid an amount of money to individualsto get their favourite vehicle registration plates,” he said, adding that thiscould result in corruption and extravagance.
Now that vehicleregistration plates are being auctioned, the money would be added to theState’s coffers, he said.
Nguyen Binh, abusinessman in HCM City’s District 3 said the move aimed to “kill two birdswith one stone.”
People got theirfavourite vehicle registration plates while the State could earn more money tospend on public works, he said.
Ton That Minh, aresident of HCM City’s District 1, said both the poor and the rich couldbenefit from the programme.
The rich couldget their favourite plates and the poor would benefit from upgraded publicservices through money gained at the auctions, he said.
However, Phan ThiBich, a resident living in Binh Thanh district said, “It’s unfair because onlyrich people can buy them.”
Some people asked if plate owners could sell their lucky plates toothers.
In response to the question, Colonel Le Xuan Duc said each vehiclehad only one plate, the owner could only a plate with the vehicle, notindividually.
Major General Tran The Quan, deputy chief of the ministry’s Legaland Judicial Administrative Reforms Department said under the revised Law onManagement and Use of Public Assets, adopted by the National Assembly in June,a person who buys vehicle registration plates via an auction can’t sell theplates to someone without a vehicle.
It is estimated that the State could earn 5 trillion VND (222.2million USD) a year from auctioning vehicle registration plates.-VNA
The Ministry of Public Security was assigned to run the programmelast month by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Colonel Tran Quoc Trung, deputy head of the ministry’sTraffic Police Department said apart from the five selected cities, theministry would consider other localities if they met standards and were willingto run the pilot the programme, reported Tuoi tre (Youth)newspaper.
The ministryplans to offer licence plate numbers which are believed to bring luck owners upfor auction. Other number plates will also be chosen at random.
A detailedroadmap for the auction is awaiting approval from the Government, he said.
Colonel Le Xuan Duc,deputy director of the department, said there were two methods to selectregistration plates for auction. First, five numbers which are the same such as88888 will be selected. Second, registration plates with the two last numbers68, 86 would be picked up.
In Vietnamese, an alternative way to say the number six (luc) derivingfrom Chinese sounds like loc meaning a windfall of money, andeight (bat), also a Chinese spelling, sounds like phat,meaning progress. Hence, the numbers 68 and 86 are very lucky. People also likethe number nine as the Chinese version has the same pronunciation as cuu meaningeverlasting.
According to Duc, the People’s Committee of each locality will setits own starting prices for the auctions.
The auctions will be conducted publicly and transparently aimingto limit bribery for the issuance of plate numbers and to increase the State’sincome, Duc said.
Additionally, the auctions aims to serve the demand of rich peoplewho want licence plates they thing will bring them luck, he added.
The ministry said the auction was expected to be widely operatedacross the country after the pilot programme ends and the ministry conducts anassessment of it.
Responses
A representative from the Ministry of Finance’s PublicAsset Management Department said it approved of the auctions.
Tran Quang Thang,president of HCM City’s Institute of Economics and Management, said he applaudedthe movement.
Thang said themoney gained from the auctions should be added to public funds to upgradepublic works as hospitals, schools and roads.
“In the past,several people, including businessmen, paid an amount of money to individualsto get their favourite vehicle registration plates,” he said, adding that thiscould result in corruption and extravagance.
Now that vehicleregistration plates are being auctioned, the money would be added to theState’s coffers, he said.
Nguyen Binh, abusinessman in HCM City’s District 3 said the move aimed to “kill two birdswith one stone.”
People got theirfavourite vehicle registration plates while the State could earn more money tospend on public works, he said.
Ton That Minh, aresident of HCM City’s District 1, said both the poor and the rich couldbenefit from the programme.
The rich couldget their favourite plates and the poor would benefit from upgraded publicservices through money gained at the auctions, he said.
However, Phan ThiBich, a resident living in Binh Thanh district said, “It’s unfair because onlyrich people can buy them.”
Some people asked if plate owners could sell their lucky plates toothers.
In response to the question, Colonel Le Xuan Duc said each vehiclehad only one plate, the owner could only a plate with the vehicle, notindividually.
Major General Tran The Quan, deputy chief of the ministry’s Legaland Judicial Administrative Reforms Department said under the revised Law onManagement and Use of Public Assets, adopted by the National Assembly in June,a person who buys vehicle registration plates via an auction can’t sell theplates to someone without a vehicle.
It is estimated that the State could earn 5 trillion VND (222.2million USD) a year from auctioning vehicle registration plates.-VNA
VNA
