'The government does not sell beer or milk'

“The Prime Minister said, the Government does not sell beer or milk. The Government and the State budget do not need to control those areas. If the private sector does better, then let the private sector do it.”

That was the affirmation of Minister and Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung on the issue of divesting State capital from enterprises at the regular August press conference on the afternoon of August 31.

Leaders of ministries at the regular Government press conference in August 2016. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

According to Mr. Mai Tien Dung, the Government has directed the equitization and divestment of State capital to be carried out in a spirit of transparency, listing on the stock exchange, bidding, auctioning, consulting, and referencing market prices... All stages of implementation must be under the supervision of the people.

In equitization and divestment of State capital, the Government also determined that it would not control enterprises, but only maintain the national brand, gain the highest benefits and efficiency for the State, thereby using the collected money in a transparent manner, bringing benefits to the people.

Mr. Mai Tien Dung affirmed that the issue of equitization and sale of State capital is a major issue that the State focuses on and the people are concerned about. The policy is to require all enterprises to be listed on the stock market when divesting capital.

Minister and Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung chaired the regular Government press conference. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

“Sabeco and Habeco have not been listed, which does not reflect the spirit of the Law. In this regard, the Prime Minister requested that, immediately after the meeting, these two companies must immediately list themselves to create financial transparency. There are transactions on the stock exchange, take the transaction price as a reference, conduct further research as a basis for setting the starting price when divesting State capital, and also calculate the purchasing power of investors,” said Mr. Dung.

Mr. Dung also emphasized that listing is mandatory, not whether it is possible to list or not.

Responding to the press on this issue, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that regarding the divestment of Sabeco and Habeco, at the regular Government meeting on August 29, the Prime Minister directed that the divestment of the two companies must be carried out publicly and transparently according to international practices, avoiding group interests in the divestment process, causing damage to the interests of the State and shareholders. The two companies' shares must be listed before the divestment and consultants, including foreign consultants, must be hired to ensure accuracy and transparency. To appraise the value of the two companies' shares as a basis for divestment according to regulations.

Mr. Hai said that Habeco is an equitized enterprise but the state holds 81.79% of the charter capital, employees hold 0.56%, other shareholders hold 1.88%, and one strategic investor holds 15.77%...

As for Sabeco, nearly 90% of the charter capital is held by the State. In addition, the Ministry has reported to the Government on the divestment roadmap. Due to the different scales of the two companies, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed different divestment roadmaps. Habeco has divested all state-owned capital equivalent to VND9,000 billion in 2016. Sabeco is a large company, so the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed implementing the roadmap in two phases. Phase 1 will sell 53.59% of the charter capital equivalent to VND24,000 billion in 2016, and phase 2 will sell the remaining 36% equivalent to VND16,000 billion in 2017 after the company is listed on the stock exchange.

The representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the method of divestment is in accordance with the current provisions of the Law on Securities, Law on Enterprises, Law on Competition... The selling price is to hire an experienced independent consulting unit, possibly a foreign consultant, to appraise the stock price of the two companies before the auction. In case of listing, the transaction price on the reference floor can be used to consider the starting price of the auction. Domestic and foreign investors, regardless of economic sector or business sector, participate in the auction.

“Regarding the agency organizing the divestment, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to continue the work. In the immediate future, the Ministry has directed two companies to list their shares according to regulations. After the Prime Minister's decision, the Ministry will carry out the divestment work by hiring domestic and foreign consultants, appraising the value of shares, developing a divestment plan, and organizing the divestment in the spirit of transparency and international practice,” Mr. Do Thang Hai affirmed.

According to chinhphu.vn/baotintuc