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Official confident in State enterprise equitisation
Deputy Head of the Enterprise Renewal Department Nguyen Trong Dung has reiterated the Government’s resolution to boost the equitisation of State-owned enterprises (SoEs) despite slow progress made in the recent past.
He said his agency is awaiting the Prime Minister’s approval for its new plan on SoEs equitisation to speed up the tempo and ensure the quality of the process.
The move asks responsible agencies to reconsider the proportion of shares for foreign strategic partners and revise relevant policies in favour of the target enterprises.
A recent survey conducted on 1,600 one year and odd old SoE-turned joint-stock companies has shown that their charter capital increased 58.6 percent on average, revenues up 48 percent, profits 331 percent and employees’ incomes, almost 52 percent.
However, the recent past witnessed a huge reluctance for equitisation among corporations and consortiums, which experts blamed on the sluggish stock market and high inflation.
Statistics released by the Enterprise Renewal Department revealed that so far this year just 10 of 45 State-owned corporations and economic groups on the Government’s list for this year’s equitisation have started their process. Many of them have delayed their equitisation and initial public offerings (IPO) schemes in the wake of the diving stock market, high inflation and bank loans interest hikes.
Dung acknowledged the failure of the relevant pricing policy which offers the same prices of shares for both individual investors and strategic partners. The policy has failed to draw investments from potential investors, especially foreign partners with financial, management, technological and market power, he said.
In fact, in addition to the Vietnam Garment and Textile Group which has submitted an official proposal for postponing equitisation timetable till 2009, many other groups such as the Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Bank, mobile phone giants Mobifone and Vinaphone and the Vietnam Airlines are open to an option of delaying their equitisation schemes till next year.
Despite all above difficulties, SoEs equitisation will continue in an effort to renew enterprises and improve their competitive edge and performance as well as to draw foreign investment, emphasised the official.
VNA
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