Ministry of Transport makes $93 million from divestments

In its quarterly meeting on April 12, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong reported that the ministry has completed the majority of its plans to divest from SOEs.

The deputy minister said that the MoT has organized first general shareholder meetings for 25 enterprises that have been converted into joint stock companies, approved initial share prices for strategic investors and organized the first general shareholders meeting for Vietnam Airlines Corporation.

Vietnam Airlines Corporation was subject to plans for divestment in first quarter. Photo by VnExpress

According to Dong, the ministry has finished its divestment in the Transport Investment Cooperation and Import and Export Corporation and the Vietnam Motors Industry Corporation (Vinamotor), Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No.6 (Cienco 6) and the Waterway Transport Corporation.

The MoT has also transferred state capital ownership rights in Thang Long JSC to State Capiltal Investment Corporation (SCIC), and divested 23 percent of charter capital in Cienco 5.

The total amount obtained from divestment transferred to the SCIC was VND1,98 trillion (about $89 million) in Q1, while SOEs including Vietnam Railways Corporation, Vinamotor, Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) and Vietnam National Shipping lines (Vinalines) completed divestment from five subsidiaries worth VND85 billion (about $3.8 million).

The Ministry of Transport has also asked prime minister for approval to divest state ownership from the South Thang Long Hospital, Transport Engineering Design Inc. and the Can Tho Bridge Management and Operation Company.

According to the MoT report, the total estimated disbursement in 2016 is VND66.5 trillion (nearly $3 billion), of which VND13.1 trillion (about $589 million) was disbursed in the first three months, making up 19.85 percent of the annual target.