3:26:42 PM | 7/8/2005
Vietnam is mulling over licensing 25 foreign direct investment (FDI) companies to turn into joint stock firms by the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Planning & Investment.
Most of these firms are involved in industrial production and construction and have an investment capital of at least US$10 million each.
The ministry has so far licensed two FDI firms to go public including Hoang Gia Company Ltd, a US$46-million hotel developer, and Austnam Co., a US$1.9-million metal roof sheet maker.
According to the ministry, licenses are about to be given to four more FDI firms. The Government has also agreed, in principle, to allow five other foreign companies to follow the same step.
Under current laws, foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam can only exist in the form of a limited liability company, making them unable to issue shares to raise capital.
Vietnamese
