The Ministry of Finance has planned to boost the equitisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) through rating the publicity and transparency of the enterprises' financial statements. — Photo thanhnien.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Finance has planned to boost the equitisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) through rating the publicity and transparency of the enterprises’ financial statements, a finance ministry official said.

Deputy General Director of the ministry’s Corporate Finance Department Đặng Quyết Tiến said that his department is working with securities exchanges and other relevant agencies to be able to implement the plan this year.

Independent agencies and mass media would be also invited to take part in the rating to make it more transparent, Tiến said.

He said that the plan is aimed at affirming that SOEs are also equal to other firms in the economy, besides making investors secure. It, therefore, would help accelerate the SOE equitisation process.

“If information is vague investors cannot be expected to feel secure,” Tiến said.

He expected the new plan to create a leap in the country’s SOE restructuring.

The finance ministry made the move as a number of ministries and agencies still want to be dominant stakeholders of some their subsidiaries.

He gave the example of the Việt Nam Machinery Installation Corporation (Lilama) - a subsidiary of the Ministry of Construction. The Ministry of Construction currently still holds 90 per cent of Lilama’s stakes while some investors expected to have a higher ownership. Meanwhile, without reforms, especially in corporate governance, it would be difficult for Lilama to compete against foreign rivals the next time.

According to Tiến, when investors pour their money into enterprises they would also like to make decisions related to the enterprises. Therefore, the opportunities to equitise the SOEs would be missed if the State still holds a majority stake in the enterprises.

The Ministry of Finance on Monday announced that 37 SOEs received approvals for their equitisation plans in the first five months this year, including Machines and Industrial Equipment Corporation, Việt Nam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation, Việt Nam National Construction Consultants Corporation, and Corporation 36, in addition to the Việt Nam Forest Corporation, and Vietnam General Corporation of Agricultural Materials.

The SOEs sold shares worth more than VNĐ2.08 trillion (US$92.85 million) in book value for VNĐ4.17 trillion in the period.

The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) also offloaded its shares in a number of companies during the period, earning more than VNĐ2.8 trillion from a total book value of VNĐ985 billion. — VNS