The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved Monday a credit worth US$630 million for Vietnam’s current privatization program that costs US$1.77 billion to help boost share sales of its state-owned enterprises from now to 2015, the government said.
The ADB loan, which accounts for 36% of the project’s capital, will help boost effective operations and transparency of local SOEs, and the local government will contribute the remaining in reciprocal capital, Pradeep Srivastava official of the bank said.
The government launched the program in 1992; however, the sales of shares of the SOEs are sluggish, Pradeep Srivastava said.
The current restructure of the SOEs is of significance, the ADB and strategic investors shared the view.
Currently, Vietnam allows foreign investors to hold 30% stakes in banks and 49% stakes in listed and public companies.
The government of Vietnam plans to sell shares in 1,000 of a total 1,500 SOEs by 2015, Pham Viet Muon, vice chairman of the National Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform and Development said at a recent conference.
Of the targeted companies, 104 are giant state corporations including the national textile and garments, coal, petroleum, and steel corporations whose share sales will offer substantial investment opportunities, Muon noted.
Since 1992, Vietnam has sold shares in nearly 4,000 small-and medium-sized enterprises, with the state holding 53% of their combined registered capital. (chinhphu.vn)
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