The Hanoi-Me Linh factory of the Hanoi Beer Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (Habeco) (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has approved alist of 406 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) marked for divestment from now until2020.
The divestment list, proposed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, aimsto raise funds for the nation’s public investment plan for the 2016-20 period,and advance the SOE restructuring process.
Under the new schedule, the State will divest from 135 businesses this year,181 in 2018, 62 in 2019 and 28 in 2020. The total face value divestments from2017 to 2020 are estimated at 64.46 trillion VND (2.82 billion USD).
The Ministry of Industry and Trade, representing the State, will divest 52.47percent of its stake from the Vietnam Engine and Agricultural MachineryCorporation (VEAM) this year, and other 36 percent by 2020.
VEAM, established in 1990, mainly manufactures agricultural machinery. Thecompany has 20 subsidiaries nationwide, including Song Cong Diesel LimitedCompany, Southern Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Company Ltd and AnGiang Mechanical JSC.
The Ministry of Transport (MoT) will divest from two of its major corporations:the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV); and the Vietnam Airlines Corporation(VNA).
From 2018-2020, the MoT will divest 30.4 percent of its stake from ACV. TheState, which currently owns 95.4 percent, will maintain a 65 per cent ownershipafter divestment.
The ministry will also sell 35.16 percent of its 86.16 percent stake innational carrier Vietnam Airlines by 2019. In February this year, 107.66million shares in the airline, or 8.77 percent, was sold to its strategicpartner – Japan’s ANA Holdings. With this sale, the carrier completed 38 percentof its plan to sell shares to strategic partners.
Deputy PM Hue has asked ministers, heads of Government agencies andchairpersons of major cities and provinces to participate as needed in thedivestment process.
They should strictly exercise their representation rights of State-ownedcapital with the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) per regulations.After receiving the representation rights from concerned agencies, the SCICwill be responsible for divestment, according to the new decision.
The decision says that before the 25th of the last month of every quarter andbefore December 25 every year, the ministries and localities will have to sendreports on their divestment activities to the Steering Committee forBusiness Renovation and Development, the Ministry of Finance andthe Ministry of Planning and Investment.
[State to divest capital from Sabeco, Habeco via open tenders]
Beyond this list, separate decisions will be issued for divestment from certainspecial businesses in the agriculture and forestry sectors, subsidiaries ofeconomic groups and large State corporations that have not been equitised, somebusinesses managed by the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Public Security,major cities and the SCIC.
This will also apply to companies like the Hanoi Beer Alcohol and BeverageJoint Stock Corporation (Habeco), Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverages Joint StockCorporation (Sabeco), Transport Hospital,Cable TV provider Vietnam Satellite Television (VSTV)and Vietnam Broadcasting Tower Investment Joint Stock Company, the decisionsays.
Dang Quyet Tien, Deputy Director of the Finance Ministry’s Corporate FinanceDepartment, said the announcement of the list was an important step, allowingprospective investors to know about the State’s divestment plan in detail.
It would help expedite the divestment process by making clear the investmentoptions in equitising SOEs, he added.-VNA
VNA
