Three impediments to State divestment and equitization in 2024

First, the internal element of firms includes management strategies, land usage, and land base organization. This component is dependent not only on the management capabilities of direct management agencies inside organizations, but also on the leadership's willingness to strictly follow policies, plans, or reluctance to accept responsibility. There is a huge psychological anxiety about bearing responsibility, particularly with regard to land. Furthermore, permission from key levels about the company is critical.
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Second, an external issue affecting company valuation is the lower value of real estate management, usage, and rearrangement due to the market slump. We know that the real estate industry is currently experiencing challenges in various categories, and this is projected to continue at least into the first part of 2024. Even prime property, which has lost its attraction owing to price reductions, is no longer appealing to many significant investors, who have depleted their resources for purchase and land growth. As a result, firms, including those originally planned to go public, will find it difficult to rely on "prime land" to recruit strategic partners.

In response to National Assembly deputies, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc stated that the slow progress in implementing equitization and capital divestment is due to the fact that these enterprises have a large scale, operate in multiple industries and fields, and have various specialized assets, making it difficult to determine their value. Financial asset processing, debt, assessing enterprise value, state capital value, and document and plan preparation all take time.

The Ministry of Finance also believes that subjectively, the evaluation, awareness, and implementation of some representative agencies of owners and leaders of enterprises are not high, are not steadfast in organizing equitization and capital divestment, and continue to have an avoidance mindset.

Third, there are major legal concerns in the context of internal mistakes on both the selling and purchasing sides, which result in transaction cancellations, with no mechanism in place to safeguard investors investing in state-owned firms. For example, according to the Government Inspectorate's finding in 2018, divestiture was necessary in the instance of Thuy Transport Corporation (Vivaso, a strategic stakeholder in the Vietnam Film Studio - VFS).

As a result, there were several irregularities in the equitization process, including unauthorized lease of offices and property, asset management violations, and continuous company losses. However, by 2023, Vivaso's disposal has not been completed, and VFS's management agency has not identified new strategic shareholders. As a result, the equitization of this Film Studio has stalled in terms of restructuring and enhancing management and production.

According to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1479/QD-TTg approving the Plan for restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the period 2022-2025, SOEs will maintain 195 single-member limit  ed liability companies during this period (according to the list of enterprises held 100% by the state during this period). Simultaneously, the plan calls for equitizing 19 firms, restructuring 5 enterprises, divesting from 141 enterprises between 2022 and 2025, and keeping public capital in 126 enterprises.

The strategy and goals are obvious, but there are substantial obstacles, both objective and subjective. The causes have been stated, yet they continue from year to year. As a result, if no definite and particular solution is found, or a decided and adequate plan is devised to overcome these difficulties, divestiture and equitization operations are likely to continue to stagnate in 2024.