Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the VietnamChamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that restructuring SOEs wouldcreate opportunities for the private sector, considered the driver for growthin the next phase of restructuring.
Loc said at an economic forum held recently in Hanoi that the work of equitising SOEs had been disappointing,despite being one of three major pillars of economic restructuring in 2011-15.
“Significant resources are still inthe hands of SOEs. Equitisation must now focus on quality rather than quantity,” Loc said.“This is important as equitisation and State divestments will create opportunities for privateinvestors to buy stakes and become strategic stakeholders.”
According to Deputy Chairman of theNational Assembly’s Economic Committee Nguyen Duc Kien, the Governmentencouraged the private sector to participate in the restructuring of SOEswithout a cap on stake holdings for private investors, except in creditinstitutions.
The biggest challenge is implementingeconomic restructuring efficiently, given unpredictable global developments,such as Brexit, Kien said.
Dau Anh Tuan, Head of the VCCI’sLegal Department, said the picture of the private sector in Vietnam remainedworrisome, citing that more than 58 percent of private firms were unprofitable.
Private firms were still strugglingto access resources, especially loans and land, Tuan said.
“A business environment in whichfirms of all sizes and from all economic sectors can access resources iscritical,” Tuan said.
Dang Quyet Tien, Deputy Director ofthe Corporate Finance Department under the Ministry of Finance said that the equitisation was slow compared to economic development.
“The stagnation is due to the failureto renovate corporate governance and a lack of accountability,” Tiến said. “Equitisation is not simply selling stakes but a process in which SOEswill be renovated towards efficiency,” he said.
Director of the ministry’sEnterprise Development Department Ho Sy Hung questioned why stakes in many SOEsremained unattractive to buyers, citing that nearly half of 426 SOEs whichimplemented stake sales from 2011 to September 2016 failed to sell theirstakes.
Duong Thanh Hien, Deputy Director ofthe Debt and Asset Trading Corporation, said that divesting from loss-makingenterprises was difficult, adding that another problem was evaluating assetvalue.
According to Pham Van Thinh, generaldirector of Deloitte Vietnam, investors still did not trust that enterprises’assets evaluation process used international standards. In addition, there wasa shortage of information provided to investors, causing transparency worries,he said.
Nguyen Quang Thuan, CEO of Stoxplussaid that enterprise information must be adequate and transparent to attractbuyers. “Many foreign investors are keeping their eyes on the equitisation processand waiting for opportunities. The Government and SOEs’ determination isnecessary,” Thuan said. - VNA