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SOE equitisation speeds up
The Government will continue to restructure State-owned enterprises (SOEs), a focus on converting them into stock companies, according to Pham Viet Muon, deputy head of the Committee for SOEs Renewal and Development at a press conference on Thursday.
The Government can hold a controlling stake of up to 99 percent, he stated, adding: “the goal is to shift companies’ operation into a new mechanism and improve enterprises management modes.”
According to the Ministry of Finance, there are now around 3,800 SOEs that have been equitised. The remainder of more than 1,700 SOEs, and the form of economic groups and State-run corporations, are now in a list for re-organisation between now and 2010.
The ministry said it was establishing an equitisation steering board in order to speed up the process over the final months of this year.
Pham Chi Lan, an economist, said the equitisation of SOEs was facing difficulties due to the stock market downturn. It was particularly difficult for companies to make initial public offerings (IPOs).
Muon agreed, saying difficulties within the financial market were hindering the equitisation plan from being completed on schedule.
“We can’t finish equitising all 1,700 companies within the next two years,” he said. “The target is unfeasible and must be adjusted.
“The [Government’s] policy is not to equitise SOEs at any cost,” he added. “Equitisation must be firm and effective.”
Enterprises going public needn’t make initial public offerings but can carry out the process by selling stakes to their employees and strategic partners through negotiation, explained Muon.
VNA
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