PRESS RELEASE

Regarding the warning status of the OIL stock of PetroVietnam Oil Corporation

On March 20, 2023, the Hanoi Stock Exchange issued Decision No. 157/QD-SGDHN to put the stock of PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL) under the warning list, with the reason being "The annual financial report given opinion by the auditor for three consecutive years." The effective date of the warning is March 23, 2023. In relation to this event, PVOIL provides the following information:

In the consolidated financial report of PVOIL for 2022, there were three qualified opinions from the auditor, specifically as follows:

“1. PVOIL's investment in PetroVietnam Biofuels and Petroleum Chemistry JSC (PVB - an associate company of PVOIL), which is the investor of the Phu Tho Biofuels Project with a value of 272.72 billion VND as of December 31, 2022. This investment was made before the date of enterprise valuation for PVOIL's equitization (December 31, 2015). Currently, the Phu Tho Biofuels Project has been suspended and PVB is being considered for bankruptcy according to legal regulations. Based on the available information, the auditing firm was unable to obtain sufficient information on the changes in PVOIL's contribution to the net assets of PVB from the investment date to December 31, 2022, so it was unable to determine whether it was necessary to adjust the figures in the consolidated financial report of PVOIL or not.”

“2. Other receivables from PetroVietnam with an amount of 169.79 billion VND as of December 31, 2022. This is the loss incurred by Petroleum Technical Trading and Investment Corporation (PETEC - a subsidiary of PVOIL) during the period of enterprise valuation (June 30, 2010) until the official conversion into a joint stock company (May 18, 2011), awaiting approval of settlement and determination of the specific value of the state capital portion in PETEC at the time of its official conversion into a joint stock company by competent authorities (Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, State Capital Management Committee, Ministry of Finance). Based on the current information, the auditors did not gather sufficient appropriate audit evidence on the recorded value of the above-mentioned receivable, hence could not determine whether it is necessary to adjust the consolidated financial statements of PVOIL.”

“3. Value of land lots owned by PVOIL Saigon - a subsidiary of PVOIL: These are 6 land lots invested by PVOIL Saigon to build retail petrol stations with a total amount of 29.70 billion VND as of December 31, 2022, but the transfer procedures to PVOIL Saigon's name have not been completed or the land lease term has not been extended. Based on the current information, the auditors did not gather sufficient appropriate audit evidence on the land use rights and lease term, hence could not determine whether it is necessary to adjust the consolidated financial statements of PVOIL.”

In fact, the issues mentioned above with the exception of the audit points, have existed since PVOIL was transformed into a joint-stock company. Although PVOIL has made many efforts to address and resolve these outstanding issues, for many objective reasons related to the state's mechanisms and policies, these issues have not been fully resolved. Specifically:

- Regarding exception point 1: The investment in PetroVietnam Biofuels JSC (PVB) was incurred before PVOIL's equitization. The construction of the Phu Tho Biofuel Plant project has been ongoing for many years and has been halted since 2013. The project has not been handed over to the owner by the contractor, and the construction has not been accepted and settled, therefore the related asset increase from the project has not been recorded on PVB's accounting records. Therefore, PVB has not recorded the loss incurred from this project.

During the equitization settlement process, PVOIL submitted a letter to the management agencies proposing to re-determine this investment to zero when carrying out the equitization settlement (understood as excluding this investment from the joint stock company). At the same time, during the process of carrying out bankruptcy procedures for the project, if there is any recovery from asset liquidation at PVB, PVOIL will fully contribute to the Fund for Enterprise Arrangement and Development Support. However, to date, PVOIL has not received guidance from the relevant authorities.

- Regarding exception point 2: According to the regulations on equitization of state-owned enterprises, the losses at PETEC during the period from the valuation date of the enterprise (June 30, 2010) to the official transfer to a joint stock company (May 18, 2011) will be considered and approved by competent authorities when settling the equitization. As for the responsibility of PVOIL/PETEC, the company has submitted the equitization settlement dossier to the competent management agencies. At the same time, PVOIL/PETEC regularly monitors and is ready to provide additional information and complete documents to the relevant authorities. However, to date, the equitization settlement dossier of PETEC has not been approved by the competent authorities.

- Regarding exception point 3: in fact, the value of the excluded land lots on the financial statements has decreased from 60.1 billion VND as of December 31, 2018, to 29.7 billion VND as of December 31, 2022. However, due to procedural difficulties, some of PVOIL Saigon's land lots still have incomplete procedures as the local authorities are slow in resolving them.

Every year, when announcing the audited financial statements of the parent company and consolidated statements, PVOIL always includes a document explaining the exceptions from the auditors, which is sent to the State Securities Commission, Hanoi Stock Exchange, and posted on PVOIL's website at /quan-he-co-dong in accordance with regulations.

It can be said that the above exceptions do not significantly affect the direction, development plan, and business operations of PVOIL, nor do they affect the existence or trading of OIL shares on the Upcom exchange. In fact, PVOIL's business performance has improved over time, especially in the past 2 years, PVOIL has achieved impressive consolidated revenue and profit figures, expanded market share, and affirmed its brand reputation in the market. Specifically:

In addition to the efforts to continuously improve production and business efficiency as mentioned above, PVOIL is also aiming to list its OIL shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) to increase liquidity and shareholder value, optimizing benefits for shareholders. PVOIL is committed to making further efforts to address the aforementioned "warning" situation, contributing to meeting the conditions for transferring OIL shares to be listed on the stock exchange. Specifically:

- Regarding exception point 1: PVOIL will actively work with state management agencies to find comprehensive solutions in the spirit of harmony between shareholder interests and compliance with legal regulations.
- Regarding exception point 2: PVOIL will continue to strongly recommend to higher management agencies to comprehensively resolve the issue of settling the PETEC equitization.
- Regarding exception point 3: PVOIL will be more determined in working with local management agencies to complete the legal procedures for PVOIL Saigon's land plots.
PVOIL sincerely appreciates the sympathy and continued support of Shareholders and Partners.