Government to sell stakes in 93 state-owned firms by 2020

The government will sell up to 35 percent stake in major state corporations (SOEs) including Agribank, Vietnam National Coal & Mineral Industries Holding Corp (TKV), and Vietnam Northern Food (Vinafood 1), it said in a statement late Thursday.

Agribank, formally known as the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, is the country’s biggest bank by assets. TKV is the country’s largest coal miner, and Vinafood1 is one of the nation’s biggest rice exporters.

The government will sell as much as 49 percent stake in 62 enterprises, which include Vietnam Posts & Telecommunications Group (VNPT), MobiFone, and the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (Vinacafe).

It will also sell 50 percent to 100 percent of its shareholdings in 27 companies, which include a major jewellery producer, real estate developer, and several power companies.

According to a report by the Steering Committee for Enterprise Renewal and Development released last month, Vietnam’s privatization efforts are way behind schedule with only 35 of 127 enterprises, equivalent to 27.5 percent of the government’s 2017-2020 plan, equitized thus far.

While state enterprises blame recent changes in regulation for delays, National Assembly deputies in June pointed out that group interests had interfered with the equitization process of several companies, and that authorities were slow to penalize violations.