12 Vietnamese state-run firms poised to sell non-core investments
12 Vietnamese state-run firms poised to sell non-core investments
Twelve state-run enterprises have submitted applications to sell their stake in businesses operating in sectors outside of their normal activities or operations to the State Capital Investment Corp (SCIC), the company’s chief said Thursday.
The state companies want to sell their non-core investments in the banking and insurance sectors, SCIC general director Lai Van Dao told a meeting held to recap the SCIC’s first-half operations in Hanoi.
They include big names such as power monopoly Vietnam Electricity, oil and gas behemoth PetroVietnam, telecom giant VNPT, and loss-making shipbuilder Vinalines, Dao elaborated, adding their applications are under consideration.
“The SCIC is studying the chance of buying some of these investments,” he said.
The corporation has recently worked with representatives from VNPT, Vinalines and the state-owned Saigon Trading Group, but the evaluation and assessment process “takes time because it needs to be carefully done,” he said.
“Upon having the final conclusion, the SCIC will work directly with the banks and insurance companies involved.”
The SCIC was founded in 2005 to manage, invest and trade in the state capital under a restructuring program aimed at improving the effectiveness of the state’s investments.
The SCIC posted VND3.35 trillion (US$157.68 million) revenue in the first six months of this year, a 37 percent increase year on year, according to the general director.
The corporation’s net income rose 34 percent from a year earlier to VND2.62 trillion ($123.32 million), or 55 percent of the full-year target.
The SCIC has successfully sold its stake in 31 enterprises, raking in VND863 billion ($40.62 million). The company admitted, however, that it failed to meet the divestment target as the macro-economy, stock market and investment environments remain in trouble.
Vietnamese state-run enterprises are on the run to completely withdraw from non-core businesses by the end of 2015, under an order from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Vietnam Electricity, commonly known as EVN, announced earlier this month that it had completely divested from the real estate business. EVN will have to divest from seven joint stock companies from now until the end of next year, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s directive.
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