The government of Vietnam has asked the steering board in charge of restructuring State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to takes six drastic measures in 2006 to speed up the current dragging process.
The measures are set to take into effect at the start of next year, sources from the government office said.
Firstly, legal frameworks must be further improved to equalize business conditions for all enterprises, minimizing State monopolization, and supervising and regulating the monopolizing enterprises.
Secondly, the structure of SOEs must be enhanced towards one with multi-ownership. The State will hold 100 per cent of shares in enterprises involved in security and national defense, and public facilities that other investors are unable or unwilling to join.
The equitization process must be attached to share bidding and listing on the bourse, government said.
Thirdly, a mechanism on supervising and rating the efficiency of SOEs to timely uncover and adjust errors in management work, with an aim to reduce direct intervention from the outside.
Fourthly, the ownership role of ministries and provincial People’s Committee in SOEs must be narrowed and gradually removed. Administrative management must be resolutely changed to the form of the State investing in SOEs under the market mechanism.
According to experts, the measures are hoped to create a breakthrough for SOEs allowing them to develop strongly in the coming years.
In a related development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has announced that equitized State-owned enterprises (SOEs) performed efficiently in 2005, earning an average on-year increases of 24 per cent in revenue and 140 per cent in profit.
About 87 per cent of the 850 surveyed enterprises reported that their financial situation greatly improved after equitization.
A total of 724 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have gone public in 2005, fulfilling the target set for this year and bringing the number of equitized enterprises to 2,996 since 1992.
Of the total number this year, 55 enterprises are located in Ho Chi Minh City, raising the total number of privatized SOEs in the southern economic hub to 172 in the last five years, taking the lead among localities nationwide regarding the field. Hanoi took the second position with 19 SOEs sold during the year, raising the total in the last five years to 92.
Vietnam Financial Times
Vietnamese
