HÀ NỘI – Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ has asked the Ministry of Construction in 2016-20 to speed up the divestment of the State’s stake in State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in which it acted as owner representatives.

Huệ at a conference on Monday said the ministry must divest completely out of 10 enterprises by 2018, while the ministry proposed to reduce the State’s stake to just 36 per cent.

“Whichever enterprises still have 36 per cent of the State’s stake by 2018 must be reported to the prime minister,” Huệ said.

The Ministry of Construction was acting as owner representatives of State ownership in 16 enterprises which held significant assets and land and provided jobs for dozens of thousands workers, according to minister Phạm Hồng Hà.

“2016-20 restructuring will focus on completing privatisation and divesting following the appropriate roadmap,” Hà said.

The ministry proposed to maintain the State’s stake in Licogi Corporation JSC and transfer it to the State Capital Investment Corporation in the first quarter of this year.

In the remaining five corporations - Lilama, Vicem, Sông Đà, Viglacera and HUD - State holding would be reduced to a controlling level of 51 per cent by 2020 as these corporations had huge assets or were participating in implementing key national projects, according to the ministry’s proposal. Divestments would continue to be implemented at these five companies from 2021, it added.

However, Huệ said the State’s stake in these five companies must be reduced by less than 51 per cent by 2019.

According to Hà, the ministry’s results of SOE restructuring were disappointing in the 2011-15 period due to a stagnant progress, failure in improving competitiveness, and therefore State stake remained high.

In this five-year period, the ministry would hasten SOE restructuring, including State stake divestment and transfer ownership representative rights, to prevent losses to State assets.

“The restructuring of SOEs aims at building strong construction firms which would contribute to promoting economic development and security,” Hà said, adding SOE restructuring would be undertaken in line with the restructuring of the construction sector.

At the conference, Huệ also asked the ministry to increase initial public offerings and listing on stock exchanges while tightening management of stake sale in member companies.

Regarding Sông Thao and Hạ Long cement joint stock companies, Huệ agreed with the ministry’s plan of transferring them to Vicem, noting that attention must be paid to issuing stake to raise their charter capital. - VNS