Selling State capital at Vinamilk this year

Vinamilk is the first enterprise selected by SCIC to sell shares this year, while 9 other "golden goose" enterprises will be divested by early 2017 at the latest.

The divestment process at 10 large enterprises such as Vinamilk, FPT, Bao Minh... managed by SCIC was just announced by Mr. Dang Quyet Tien - Deputy Director of the Department of Enterprise Finance of the Ministry of Finance - at a press conference at the end of September 14.

After being assigned by the Government, SCIC has planned and will start selling Vinamilk's capital in 2016. "Of course, it is possible to sell part or all of Vinamilk's shares depending on the situation. For a large enterprise like Vinamilk, it is necessary to choose a selling order that maximizes the State's benefits. The remaining 9 enterprises will plan to do so this year and early next year," said Mr. Tien.

SCIC is determined to sell Vinamilk's capital this year.

The leader of this Department also said that the scale of State capital in Vinamilk is up to 100,000 billion VND, so it cannot be sold to the market and absorbed immediately, but can be done many times. The principle of selling shares must still ensure publicity and transparency.

At the end of 2015, the Government requested the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) to develop a roadmap to sell all capital in 10 large enterprises, where the State holds capital equivalent to more than 3 billion USD. These are also enterprises whose shares are awaited by investors, including foreign investors, on the stock exchange. However, to date, this capital divestment roadmap is still "in the plan" despite the anticipation of domestic and foreign investors.

SCIC's 10 "golden goose" include Vinamilk, FPT, FPT Telecom, Bao Minh, National Reinsurance Corporation (Vinare), Ha Giang Mechanics and Minerals, Tien Phong Plastic, Vietnam Infrastructure and Real Estate Company, Binh Minh Plastic, Sa Giang Import-Export.

The story of equitization of Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) and Hanoi Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Habeco) was also mentioned.A representative of the Department of Corporate Finance said that Sabeco and Habeco are currently under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and have not been handed over to SCIC. Therefore, the role of the Ministry of Finance in the equitization process of these two beer companies is mainly to monitor and give opinions if the Ministry of Industry and Trade needs it.

In fact, many foreign investors are eyeing shares in Vietnamese beer companies. The State currently holds 90% of capital in Sabeco and 82% in Habeco. A source close to the Wall Street Journal said that companies that could bid for these shares are Thai Beverage and Singha Group of Thailand, Kirin Holdings and Asahi Group Holdings of Japan, Heineken (Denmark) and Anheuser-Busch InBev (Belgium).

Admitting that in a public auction, there can be no distinction between domestic and foreign investors. However, Mr. Dang Quyet Tien affirmed that there are still ways for the State to have veto power even if it does not hold a large number of shares through technical barriers. He said that, based on experience at some enterprises in the world, they use the form of "golden shares" - shares with voting rights on some issues such as brand names. "Usually, countries that do not want to hold a large proportion of shares but still want voting rights on brand names will hold golden shares," he said.

According to VNE