Five Hydropower Plants Found Selling Electricity Worth 5,232 Billion Kip Despite Lacking Signed Concession Agreements

On October 8, 2026, Mr. Viengthavisone Thephachanh, President of the State Audit Organization, reported to the 2nd Ordinary Session of the 10th Legislature of the National Assembly regarding the implementation of the 2026 work plan, audit results, and the plan for 2027. In 2026, audits were planned for 147 targets; 105 of these were completed, representing a completion rate of 71.43%. Regarding the resolution of findings from previous audits, the state budget sector faced issues totaling 14,124.88 billion Kip and 25.42 million USD, of which 38.57% has been resolved. In the sector covering loan-funded and grant-funded projects, 64.11% (out of 81.26 billion Kip) has been resolved, while in the enterprise sector, 89.68% (out of 1,963.16 billion Kip) has been resolved. In contrast, the banking sector has resolved only 26.86% of the 14,345.52 billion Kip in identified issues, leaving an outstanding balance of 10,452.92 billion Kip.
Budget-related audit findings revealed numerous issues, including: the identification of 7,339.38 billion Kip in revenue and accounts receivable; incomplete collection of tax obligations and fees across 10 provinces; the requirement for 223 mineral extraction projects to pay additional obligations; and outstanding royalty payments from 20 hydropower dams, amounting to 20.35 million USD and 5.81 billion Kip. Additionally, there are 5 hydropower dams that are already generating and selling electricity (with sales totaling 5,232.95 billion Kip) but have yet to sign concession agreements; consequently, there is no legal basis for collecting royalties. Regarding expenditures, 78.26 billion Kip was spent outside the budgetary plan, and one construction project was valued at 57.82 billion Kip above the established benchmark price.
In the enterprise and banking sectors, it was found that 8 enterprises failed to remit the full amount of taxes and dividends, with a shortfall of 13.88 billion Kip. Furthermore, public-private joint ventures borrowed 38.22 billion Kip without authorization from the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, 2 banks failed to remit the full amount of profit tax—a shortfall of 5.24 billion Kip—and approved 25 loan agreements that exceeded 25% of their Tier 1 capital, amounting to 8,446.18 billion Kip.

Source: People’s Representatives News #BreakingNews