VietNamNet Bridge – Only 150 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were equitized in 2014, but the figure is expected to double this year as the State withdraws its stake in non-core businesses of state companies.

 

Two brothers Tran Kim Thanh and Tran Le Nguyen of Kinh Do Group in 2014 attracted public attention when they acquired 51 percent of Vocarimex, an SOE that holds the largest domestic market share.

Analysts said they could see the signs of the State trying to speed up the equitization process by sellng part or all of enterprises in some business fields.

Cienco 4, a large construction corporation, for example, was taken over by Tuan Loc JSC in 2014. 

Sources said the State is also considering selling all of Quang Ninh Port’s stakes held by Vinalines, the state-owned flag shipping carrier, to the T&T Group. 

The owner of T&T Group, Do Quang Hien, an influential businessmen, reportedly agreed to pay VND500 billion in the deal.

The State has also decided to let go of Vinamotor, once considered a key enterprise in its strategy to develop the automobile industry. 

Two private investors expressed their willingness to buy Vinamotor soon after the State announced the sale of the enterprise.

Meanwhile, eight large enterprises in the healthcare sector will be equitized this year, though it is still unclear about the percentage of stakes to be sold and the date of the IPO.

The Ministry of Transport has recently called for private capital for infrastructure projects which previously had not been reserved for private investors. 

The national flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines and the private budget airline Vietjet are competing for concessions to exploit T1 Terminal of  Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi.

Who will take over the businesses?

Analysts believe that only large private enterprises can buy “valuable commodities” offered by the State. 

It would take nearly one trillion dong to buy Vinamotor, and half of this sum to buy a port now run by Vinalines. 

Though the concession fee of Noi Bai Airport’s T1 Terminal has not been determined, it is known that this will be a huge amount of money.

However, analysts say the amount of money is nothing compared to the financial power of Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines.

The largest shareholder of Vietjet, the first private air carrier in Vietnam, is Sovico Holdings, owned by business tycoon Nguyen Thanh Hung.

Vietjet has signed a contract to buy 100 Airbus aircraft worth $9 billion, an indication of the growing power of the airline, which began operations in late 2011.

NCDT