VietNamNet Bridge - The State has been urged to withdraw capital from Vinamilk because dairy production is not a business field the State needs to invest in. However, the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), which has the power to make investments in business with the state’s money, does not agree.

SCIC, which is restructuring its investment portfolio, decided that it will keep long-term investment in four enterprises. Vinamilk, the leading dairy producer, is one of these.

Economists say they don’t think continuing holding Vinamilk shares is a good idea. The State plans to withdraw capital from thousands of enterprises by bringing them into equitization and only pour capital into certain business fields which cannot be done by private investors, or fields related to national defence and security.

Pham Chi Lan, a renowned economist, said there is no reason for the state to continue being a shareholder of Vinamilk, an enterprise in a business field where the state’s investment is unnecessary.

Meanwhile, sources said that the presence of SCIC in Vinamilk is not welcomed by shareholders, who say that SCIC, a state-owned institution with its own operating rules, cannot help the enterprise develop. 

Lan stressed that it is unnecessary for the State to continue making capital contributions to Vinamilk, an enterprise which can stand on its own feet. 

Nevertheless, SCIC still insists on holding the state’s capital in Vinamilk. The reason behind SCIC’s decision, according to analysts, is the benefit and power SCIC expects to have from Vinamilk.

Vinamilk, with its good performance and high profit, is called the goose that lays golden eggs. The enterprise always pays high taxes to the state, thanks to its fat profits. This means that with Vinamilk’s shares, SCIC can “get big benefits while sitting idle”.

Bui Ngoc Son, also a renowned economist, pointed out that Vinamilk wants to continue keeping Vinamilk’s shares to cement its presence in enterprises which can bring it big benefits.

What Vinamilk’s non-SCIC shareholders want now is to buy shares the State is now holding in the enterprise. If this can be implemented, SCIC will have to leave Vinamilk. And if so, Vinamilk’s board of directors and shareholders will manage the enterprise as they want.

Lan noted that the State will receive high benefits if it sells Vinamilk’s shares. First, it will get big money from the sale of shares which it can inject into other fields, such as healthcare and education development.

Second, it can expect to collect more in tax from Vinamilk, once the enterprise can better its business performance and make higher profits.

Dat Viet