The perfection of legal institutions and mechanisms is one of the prerequisite tasks in order to speed up the equitisation of State-owed enterprises (SOEs).

According to Pham Viet Muon, deputy head of the Steering Committee for Business Renovation and Development, the Government’s Decree No. 99/2012/ND-CP has clarified the rights, responsibilities and obligations of the Government, ministries, agencies, local governments and member councils of State-owned economic groups and corporations.

Under the decree, relevant ministries are responsible for exercising the rights, responsibilities and obligations of the State as the owner of SOEs, particularly State-owned groups and corporations, which includes inspecting and assessing the efficiency of business operations.

Reports show that the implementation of State ownership management has been improved following the issue of the decree, towards ending State agencies’ administrative interference into SOEs’ operation. The management method of State capital in SOEs is also gradually shifted from administrative to business forms.

Between 2011 and 2013, the country equitised 180 SOEs, bringing the number of wholly State-owned businesses down to 949. Of these, 19 were State-owned corporations and 21 had State capital of over 100 billion VND.

Among the equitised were the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Petrolimex, Vietnam Steel Corporation and Viglacera.

According to the steering committee, after equitisation, the businesses have enjoyed considerable growth and performed their tasks more effectively. The appearance of joint stock companies has increased the economy’s competitiveness and accelerated the restructuring of the stock market.

The equitised corporations have also reorganised business and production activities and reshuffled member companies while merging those which overlap.

Implementing financial restructuring, a number of businesses have increased their charter capital and withdrawn capital from non-core areas.

Despite numerous difficulties in 2013, 18 State-owned groups and corporations recorded total revenues of 1,184 trillion VND (56.38 billion USD) and contributed 191 trillion VND (9.1 billion USD) to the State budget.

Under the 2011-2015 SOEs restructuring plan, the country will have to complete the equitisation of 531 SOEs by 2015.

To have the remaining 432 businesses equitised between now and 2015, the Ministry of Planning and Investment stressed the need for a determination and unity from central to local levels to ensure the progress of SOEs restructuring.-VNA