A Satra grocery store in HCM City. The company plans to cut the State ownership in its capital to 66 per cent after being equitised. - Photo satra.com.vn

HCM CITY – Government agencies will hold a 66 per cent of the limited liability firm Saigon Trading Group (Satra) after it is equitised, according to a recently submitted plan.

The State-owned firm Satra has filed an equitisation plan with the HCM City People’s Committee. Equitisation will begin once the plan is approved, Satra said in a statement on its website.

Satra will also sell entire its controlling stakes in 17 member companies including HCM City Rubber JSC, Saigon Petroleum JSC, Saigon Southwest Trading JSC, Saigon Phương Trang Trading JSC, and Saigon Sundries Electric Appliances JSC.

The company will also withdraw from Sai Gon-Ha Noi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) and Saigon Bank for Industry and Trade Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Saigonbank).

Satra will also represent the Government to hold more than 50 per cent of capital in its associate firms after those companies are privatised.

In the leading food processor Vissan, State capital will account for 67.76 per cent of the capital after equitisation. The figures are 90 per cent at Ngọc Đồng Food Co Ltd, 55.68 per cent at HCM City General Material Import Export JSC and 51 per cent at Bình Điền JSC.

Current State ownership in those firms is not mentioned in the statement.

According to the group’s representative, the company has not sold financial assets that were bought prior to 2020 because it is waiting for the 2018-20 restructuring plan to be approved.

The company will sell its financial investments when HCM City authorities approve its restructuring plan.

Whether the plan is approved or not, recent developments show Satra has lagged behind the Government’s plan to sell all State capital in State-owned enterprises (SOEs) by the end of 2020.

In 2017-20, the Government, ministries and large-cap corporations have to cut ownership in 283 SOEs but they have completed doing so in just 171 companies. Ninety-two firms are still awaiting their equitisation plans being approved.

Satra has not released its full-year financial report for 2019. In the first six months of last year, Satra posted a 7.45 per cent increase in total revenue, which reached VND3.95 trillion.

However, its six-month post-tax profit fell 20 per cent year-on-year to nearly VND1.95 trillion. – VNS