The Government has approved a plan to comprehensively restructure the national flagship carrier, Vietnam Airlines, by 2015.
Under the plan, the Government will reduce its stake in the airline from 70-80 percent to 65-70 percent after the company issues its IPO this year as expected.
This represents a major shift from the initial draft submitted to the Ministry of Transport last April, in which the airline proposed a 70-80 percent stake held by the State. Vietnam Airlines will continue to issue shares to mobilise capital.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the change aimed to bring the airline in line with the country's State-owned enterprises, as other businesses in the transport sector are undergoing similar restructuring.
Apart from the mother corporation, which includes 9 member companies, the restructured Vietnam Airlines will consist of 26 independently audited companies.
The mother corporation will hold a 100 percent stake in Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company (VAECO) only, while owning half of the registered capital of 14 companies and less than 50 percent of registered capital in the 11 remaining companies.
After finishing the restructuring plan, Vietnam Airlines will comprise four airlines: the mother corporation, Vietnam Air Services Co (VASCO), Jetstar Pacific (a low-cost airline) and Cambodia Angkor Air.
By late 2015, Vietnam Airlines is expected to completely divest its capital from non-core businesses with a view to improving its business performance.
Revenue from air transport will reach 43.8 billion USD in the next 8 years with a pre-tax profit of more than 1 billion USD. By 2015, the national flag carrier will rank third in the region.
Vietnam Airlines' total annual revenue reached 50.891 trillion VND (2.4 billion USD) in 2012, surging 6.3 percent. The airline also saw profits of 69.8 billion VND (3.3 million USD), up 239 percent year on year.
By mid-December, the national flagship carrier controlled 69.7 percent of the domestic market, a yearly decrease of 4.47 percent./.VNA
