13:35 24/05/2022

Addressing problems facing equitization and divestment of State capital

Quoc Phong

Solutions suggested for overcoming the issues clouding the process.

The equitization of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the divestment of State capital faces issues in the process for effective businesses and the valuation of assets. By looking at the experience of other countries and categorizing businesses, however, the process can be executed smoothly.

The restructuring of State ownership ratios and investments is only done when business results are not effective. If a business is profitable, it is not necessary to equitize or divest capital.

Another obstacle is asset pricing. Although there are many different valuation methods, if the results of two or more methods have low bias, the more commonly used method should be chosen.

The experience in valuations in other countries is to determine the minimum price of the asset (reservation price) at auction and choose a valuation method suitable for the type of asset. For example, if it is real estate, it will be the market reference price in the area where the real estate is located.

Once there are clear and transparent principles and processes, equitization or divestment, if implemented, must ensure the interests of the State and society. As for solutions in and the experience of other countries, Vietnam can access these to learn and make adjustment based on to its own circumstances.