Firms ask for delay financial statements release

Market regulators must perform effective monitor and sanctions mechanism over listed businesses, violators must be fined or even suspended transactions.

Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) recently sent a letter to the HOSE, asking to delay the deadline to announce this year’s financial statements.

REE requested to extend the deadline for the submission of last year’s Q4 financial statement, within 30 days of the end of the quarter (December 31, 2019).

The company also asked to extend the deadline for the submission of the 2020 reviewed semi-annual financial statement, within 60 days from the end of the first half of this year.

REE said it needed more time to prepare the separate financial statements of its subsidiaries and process the consolidated figures.

Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ) also requested an extension for last year’s Q4 financial statement and this year’s reviewed semi-annual financial statement.

PNJ said the company would struggle to complete the publication of financial statements on the due date as it had up to 376 stores and branches as well as four subsidiaries across the country. It also said the compilation of documents, reporting and consolidating reports took a long time.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (HAG) faces the same situation. The enterprise attributed the delay to the diversification of business lines and its large number of subsidiaries and affiliates, both locally and in Laos and Cambodia.

It was time-consuming to gather data for the preparation of separate financial statements and consolidated financial statements, HAG said.

Some businesses even asked for the extension at the end of 2019, such as Nam Kim Steel Joint Stock Company (NKG), Apax Holdings Joint Stock Company (IBC), Techno - Agricultural Supplying Joint Stock Company (TSC), Vinalink Logistics JSC (VNL), Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation (TTF) and Ba Ria – Vung Tau House Development JSC (HDC).

According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Finance on October 6, 2015, listed organisations and large-scale public companies must publish quarterly financial statements within 20 days, reviewed semi-annual financial statements within 45 days and audited annual financial statements within 90 days after the endorsement of the auditor.

If a company fails to submit the financial reports on the due date, the State Securities Commission (SSC) will consider a time extension, but it shall not exceed 100 days from the end of the fiscal year.

Some experts said the extensions could easily affect information transparency and slow down investors' access to information.

According to the SSC, by the end of January 31 last year, there were 191 enterprises on the three stock exchanges sending extension requests for their 2019 annual financial statements.

Phan Dung Khanh, director of investment consultancy at Maybank Kim Eng Securities, said requests for delays happen every year, even every quarter, which highlights the lack of transparency in the Vietnamese stock market.

In addition to the reasons for the delays listed above, Dung said some businesses had asked for an extension to “distort data”.

Market regulators must effectively monitor and sanction listed businesses that violated regulations, he added.