The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) will sell stakes in State-owned enterprises (SOEs) it is holding via auctions on the northern bourse, says The Saigon Times Daily, quoting an agreement SCIC signed with Hanoi Stock Exchangeon December 6.

Under the memorandum of understanding, SCIC and the northern bourse will join forces in restructuring those SOEs where State stakes are held by SCIC. Such enterprises will be asked to get listed on bourse to improve their performance transparency.

The list of those SOEs whose State stakes are to be sold is not unveiled, however.

Lai Van Dao, general director of SCIC, said that the corporation will accelerate the restructuring process of SOEs in line with new regulations issued by the Government that allow for more flexible operations of SCIC.

“SCIC will bolster the sale of State stakes in those enterprises where State ownership is deemed not necessary so as to concentrate (capital) resources on key industries of the economy,” Dao said.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai last week noted that the program to let SOEs go public had almost stalled after the global crisis, with the number of SOEs selling shares or getting disbanded totaling only 32 in 2012 and 100 this year.

Meanwhile, the Government aims for reducing the number of State concerns from the current 1,200 to around 300 by 2020, with more enterprises in the sectors of oil and gas, electricity and mining to go.

The Government will consider dissolving money-losing State-owned enterprises, while efficient enterprises will also be put on offer via auctions, Hai said.

Tran Van Dung, board chairman and CEO of Hanoi Stock Exchange, noted that the cooperation between the northern bourse and SCIC in the past few years has borne fruit, with stakes in many SOEs auctioned.

“In the past three years, SCIC has divested stakes in ten SOEs via auctions on the northern bourse with the total value of VND160 billion, which is twice the nominal value and some VND4 billion higher than the starting prices,” Dung said.

Currently, there are 33 SOEs with SCIC holdings listed on the northern bourse with combined chartered capital of 8.29 trillion VND compared to their current market value of 14 trillion VND.-VNA