Strict management of revenue from equitisation

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Leaders of the Department of Corporate Finance responded to the press.

Removing the fund at the enterprises

According to statistics from the Ministry of Finance, as of 15th December 2017, 8 SOEs were approved with restructuring plan in 2017-2020 and 1 enterprise was approved on the List of enterprises of restructuring, equitisation and divestment in 2017 - 2020 (PVN).

Also in 2017, 45 enterprises were approved by the competent authorities with equitisation plan with total actual value of VND 213,747 billion (6 times higher than the actual value of equitized enterprises in 2016). The actual value of state capital in enterprises was VND88,390 billion (3.5 times higher than the actual value of state capital of equitized enterprises in 2016).

Total charter capital under approved equitisation plan was VND 93.888 billion, of which VND 42,007 billion was owned by the State; VND 36,346 billion was sold to strategic investors; VND 354 billion was sold to employees; VND 20 billion was sold to union organizations and VND 15,159 billion of shares was sold at public auction.

Regarding equitisation, Mr. Dang Quyet Tien, Director of the Department of Corporate Finance under the Ministry of Finance, said that according to the new mechanism issued by the Government, from now on, the revenue from equitisation of SOEs and enterprises at level II would be centrally managed by Enterprise Restructuring and Development Support Fund.

This fund will be managed by the Ministry of Finance and all fund balances in groups, corporations and parent companies by the end of 2017 will be transferred to the Enterprise Restructuring and Development Support Fund. "All is strictly managed, the entire interests from unused amounts will be contributed to the fund. This will not only create resources to balance the budget but also solve the problem of redundant labour after equitisation and other problems."

The central management of revenue from equitisation to the Enterprise Restructuring and Development Support Fund will facilitate the unified management of resources from equitisation, ensure the balance of medium- term investment capital of state budget 2016-2020 of VND 250 trillion according to the the National Assembly’s Resolution.

Capital divestment for development and investment

Regarding the capital divestment in enterprises, in 2017, 10 units carried out the divestment, of which 8 units were under the divestment plan in 2017 and 2 units under the divestment plan in 2018.

Specifically, on 18th December 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Trade held a successful auction to sell 343,662,587 shares (53.59% of charter capital) of Sabeco through the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange at an average price of VND 320,000 per share. The state was expected to earn about VND109,972 billion, equivalent to US $ 4.8 billion (28th December 2017 is the payment deadline for the winners).

In summary, the enterprises have divested VND 182 billion, earned VND 292 billion in 5 sensitive sectors and divested VND 1,803 billion, earned VND2,953 billion in other sectors

State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) has sold its capital in 40 companies with a value of VND1,903 billion, earned VND21,639 billion (including a divested capital of VND783.7 billion on book with revenue of VND 11,286.4 billion in 2016, and a divested capital of VND 247 billion with a revenue of VND 8.990 billion in 2017 from Vinamilk)

Answering questions from reporters about the management of revenues from divestment in Sabeco, Mr. Tien said that the amount of nearly VND 110,000 billion from the sale of Sabeco shares will be transferred to the SOE Equitisation Fund opened at the State Treasury for development and investment.

"According to the regulations, investors will have to transfer money within 10 days, now we are urging investors to transfer money to the State Treasury to allocate to projects," said Dang Quyet Tien.

Not only Sabeco, all divestment amounts from previous companies such as Vinamilk are also used to create capital sources to invest in projects under the National Assembly’s Resolution. The list of medium-term projects has been determined clearly by the National Assembly, just waiting for the capital investment. The expenditure must comply with the Law on Public Investment, State Budget Law, and the regulations. The expenditure is clearly accounted and audited fully every year.

A reporter said that Vietnam Beverage Ltd bought 53% of shares in Sabeco, but it was a new enterprise which was just established 2 months ago and of which 49% of its capital was indirectly owned by BeerCo Ltd - a beer company owned 100% of capital by ThaiBev. This raised a question that whether this was an act to dodge the law of investors to indirectly hold more than 50% of Sabeco.

The leader of the Department of Corporate Finance stated that there should not be a difference between domestic enterprises and foreign enterprises. The Government's Resolution confirmed that what the private sector does well, the State would support. The Government would not "sell beer, sell milk", that meant the state were willing to sell all the capital in these sectors. The Government did not distinguish between domestic enterprises and foreign enterprises. Vietnamese enterprises with 49% foreign capital were still considered as Vietnamese enterprises under the Law on Investment.

Regarding concerns that Vietnamese brands will drop into foreign enterprises, Mr. Tien said that whether the brand was lost or not, mainly depended on regulations and binding principles while signing the contract. Whether brands were held by domestic enterprises or foreign enterprises was not important, the importance here was that a brand must go on and in order to be identified by people and market.

The representative of the Ministry of Finance also emphasized that in the economic integration, the important element was the compliance with Vietnamese law by domestic and foreign enterprises. “We are willing to invite foreign businesses that bring benefits to the economy and social life, but also are ready to kill the domestic enterprises that defame the national brand image, like Khaisilk," Tien said.

After equitisation, the land used for the wrong purpose will be withdrawn VCN- Dealing with land and determining the value of land use rights in the value of equitized ...

The representative of the Ministry of Finance also emphasized that in the economic integration, the important element was the compliance with Vietnamese law by domestic and foreign enterprises. “We are willing to invite foreign businesses that bring benefits to the economy and social life, but also are ready to kill the domestic enterprises that defame the national brand image, like Khaisilk," Tien said.