VietNamNet Bridge – Restructuring of State-owned enterprises (SOE) is moving at a snail’s pace and it will take many more years until the process is completed, said Doan Hung Vien, deputy head of the Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform and Development.

The Government has told State-run groups and corporations to stop investing in non-core business sectors and pull out of their non-core operations by 2015. However, this is not an easy task, said Vien at the Spring Economic Forum in Nha Trang last weekend.

For example, Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) will divest some VND4.5 trillion from its non-core operations by 2015. By the end of 2015, the total investment of the group in non-core business sectors will have shrunk to VND660 billion, or 1.5% of its equity.

Thereafter, VRG will divest an additional VND562 billion, bringing down its investment in non-core areas to around VND100 billion, or 0.2% of its equity. The number of VRG’s subsidiaries will fall from 168 to 101, down 40%.

Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) will focus on restructuring 29 second-tier subsidiaries and 206 third-tier offshoots. After that, the group will have to sell out its stakes in six second-tier subsidiaries and 80 third-tier subsidiaries.

Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) will have to pull out of nine firms. It is estimated that the group will gain VND5-6 trillion from equitization, divestment from non-core operations and stake sale.

Vinacomin will equitize eight single-member limited companies by 2015. In addition, it will have to merge one company, disband two and let one go bankrupt.

Vietnam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2) has drawn up a plan for withdrawing VND152 billion from eight companies. At present, the corporation has four single-member limited companies, 12 joint stock companies and 15 affiliate companies.

After restructuring, Vinafood 2 will be left with three single-member limited companies, 10 joint stock companies and nine affiliate companies. The corporation will sell out its shares in 18 enterprises.

Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) will have to rearrange its subsidiaries and dependent companies so that the number of units under its umbrella will drop from 73 to 37. To do so, the State-run firm will equitize 18 subsidiaries, dissolve two others, let two go bankrupt and pull out of 37 companies.

Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) now has 20 subsidiaries and 19 affiliates. By 2015, the group will finish equitizing six companies, reduce the number of affiliates to nine and sell out stakes in 13 firms.

So far, the Prime Minister has given the nod to six out of nine restructuring plans submitted by State economic groups, and eight out of ten restructuring plans by State corporations. The Prime Minister has decided not to pilot the State economic group model at Vietnam Industrial Construction Corporation and Housing and Urban Development Corporation, said Vien.

Source: SGT