The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) would equitise its remaining affiliates and holding group this year in a bid to raise capital, expand scale and sharpen its competitive edge in the global market, said the group's deputy director general, Le Tien Truong.

The group reported its business performance at an online press conference in HCM City, Hanoi and Da Nang on Jan. 5.

"Vinatex charter capital is around 3.4 trillion VND (162 million USD) while its export turnover is 14 times higher, so privatisation plays a significant role in the group's development strategy this year," he said.

It should be easier to privatise the remaining affiliates because most of them are small firms, but it is not going to be easy to complete the entire equitisation of the group this year, but we will strive to realise the target, Truong said.

Another key point in the group's development plans is to improve the market forecasting that helped them achieve good business results last year, despite the global economic crisis.

Vinatex is looking to boost exports to new markets including Russia and Canada, while exploiting free trade agreements with China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

This was vital, given the economic woes in the world's largest economies including the EU, the US and Japan, which are some of Vietnam's major clothing importers, Truong said.

The group also plans to withdraw all capital from non-core businesses to focus on the textile and garment sector alone this year.

Its total capital in non-core fields was only 170 billion VND, much lower than other groups, according to Truong.

The group will also expand distribution in the local market by adding 14 Vinatex-Mart outlets to the existing 61.

In addition, the group will bolster training and invest in advanced equipment and technologies.

Vinatex earned 2.4 billion USD from exports in 2011, up 26 percent against the previous year. Its pre-tax profit reached 1.34 trillion VND (64 million USD), a success in the current economic climate.

This year, the group expects 14 percent growth in export value against last year.

Vinatex exports account for about 17 percent of the country's textile and apparel industry./.