Leaders at municipal departments and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are set to face disciplinary measures in case of delay in the privatization process, according to Nguyen Doan Toan, vice chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee.
Overview of the meeting.
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In the 2017 – 2020 period, Hanoi is tasked with privatizing 15 state firms, divesting state capital in other 34 and SOEs’ share in 67 enterprises, said Toan.
Notably, Hanoi has completed the privatization process at Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro), raising VND2.83 trillion (US$122.13 million) with book value of VND1.74 trillion (US$75.1 million).
As of present, the divestment process in four SOEs has been completed, including Dong Anh Chain, Hanoi Plastic, Thong Nhat Electromechanical and Ha Tay 1 Road Construction and Management, earning VND873 billion (US$37.67 million) for book value of VND161 billion (US$6.94 million).
Twenty four Hanoi’s SOEs have also finalized the divestment of investment funds in other enterprises for a combined of VND572 billion (US$24.68 million) with book value of VND182 billion (US$7.85 million).
Despite the preliminary result, representative of the municipal Finance Department acknowledged slow progress in both privatization and divestment processes.
Additionally, problems in finance, land and laborers from periods prior to the privatization also hindered the process at SOEs subject to such processes.
Vice chairman Toan urged concerning parties to strictly follow the instruction of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc regarding the privatization and divestment process.
In the remaining period of 2019, Hanoi would focus on speeding up the process and disclosing publicly all information on the website of the Finance Department for public supervision, Toan added.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue requested government agencies to push towards the privatization process of SOEs, which has only completed 27.5% of the target for the 2016 – 2020 period.
According to Hue, only 35 out of 127 SOEs subject to privatization have completed the process, while the number of SOEs should have completed the privatization process in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are 13 and 36, respectively.
Meanwhile, state capital divestment in SOEs has also been slow compared to the targets set in Decision No.1233 of the Prime Minister, requiring the completion of divestment in 405 SOEs in the 2016 – 2020 period, in which only 88 SOEs have been divested so far.
