Without decentralization, delegation of authority, everything must be submitted to superiors, then it cannot be done!

On the morning of October 7, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on the draft Law on Management and Investment of State Capital in Enterprises.

Presenting the Government's proposal, Deputy Minister of Finance Cao Anh Tuan said that one of the major contents stipulated in the draft Law is the investment activities of enterprises stipulated from Article 25 to Article 32.

Specifically, Article 25 of the draft Law stipulates that investment projects of enterprises must be approved by competent authorities in accordance with the provisions of investment law or decided on investment policy in accordance with the law on public investment.

Enterprise projects that must have investment policy approval but are not subject to the provisions of the Investment Law or the Public Investment Law shall have their investment policy approval carried out in accordance with the provisions of this law.

After the competent authority decides to approve the investment policy, the enterprise shall implement the investment project in accordance with the provisions of investment law, construction law and other relevant laws.

Not really suitable for the spirit of decentralization and delegation of power

Examining this content, Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee Le Quang Manh said that the majority of opinions of the Standing Committee of the Committee believe that this regulation "is not really consistent with the spirit of decentralization and delegation of power to enterprises, and still interferes administratively in the management of enterprises".

Some regulations on business investment activities stipulated in the draft Law are not consistent with relevant legal regulations such as the Investment Law and Enterprise Law.

From there, the audit agency proposed to review regulations to avoid overlap in business investment activities.

In case of investing in normal production and business projects using the enterprise's capital, it should be considered and delegated to the board of members to decide and take responsibility. The specific procedures can be assigned to the Government for detailed regulations.

In case of investment in production and business projects using budget capital, the enterprise shall be assigned as the investor according to the provisions of the law on public investment.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh proposed reviewing the entire draft Law to consistently reflect the ideology of Resolution 12 of the 12th Party Central Committee on continuing to restructure, innovate and improve the efficiency of state-owned enterprises.

In which, the consistent ideology is "The State does not directly intervene in the production, business and management activities of enterprises".

"State capital after being invested in an enterprise is determined to be the asset and capital of the enterprise. However, if everything has to be requested, and the enterprise has to go through procedures, it will lose business opportunities," the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly noted.

Mr. Dinh said that with regulations like Article 25 of the draft Law, businesses cannot do anything. Meanwhile, private businesses are effective because they save time, simplify procedures, and reduce costs of applying for permission here and there.

According to the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, the draft Law has not cut many procedures, has not decentralized or delegated much power. Therefore, it is necessary to revise it in the direction of cutting and simplifying administrative procedures to the maximum, limiting the mechanism of asking and giving, and increasing decentralization and delegation of power.

Without decentralization and delegation of authority, everything must be submitted to superiors, then it cannot be done. According to Article 25, enterprises must submit and request many things, from strategies, directions to plans.

"There are many issues that need to be presented and requested, but the enterprise must take full responsibility. If everything needs to be requested, how can it take full responsibility? The enterprise must also meet goals and requirements, ensure effective use of capital, and ensure compliance with business strategies and plans," Mr. Dinh analyzed.

No investment capital in real estate business?

Another content that delegates were interested in discussing was the provision in Clause 2, Article 27 of the draft Law, which is that enterprises are not allowed to invest capital to establish enterprises, contribute capital, buy shares, or buy capital contributions in the real estate business sector.

Enterprises with state capital are also not allowed to invest capital to establish enterprises, contribute capital, or buy shares in banks, insurance companies, securities companies, venture capital funds, securities investment funds, securities investment companies, and securities investment fund management companies, except for enterprises with the function of investing and trading state capital, and doing business in the fields of banking, insurance, and securities.

Chairman of the Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung agreed that state-owned enterprises should be banned from investing and pouring capital into risky areas such as real estate.

However, Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that such regulations are not suitable for reality. Because there are many cases where state-owned enterprises, after restructuring and rearranging, have surplus offices and headquarters but are not allowed to rent them out.

They want to rent out the excess offices and headquarters, which must be included in the investment project, approved and decided by the competent authority. This leads to waste and needs to be reviewed.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man raised the issue of needing to review whether the provisions in the draft Law are consistent with other laws (Investment Law, Construction Law), and thoroughly handle practical problems of state-owned enterprises.

According to the National Assembly Chairman, this law amendment needs to clearly separate the functions of ministries and branches managing state-owned enterprises, avoiding the situation of "one place thinking that another place is in charge", causing difficulties for business operations.

The draft Law on State Capital Management and Investment in Enterprises has 8 chapters and 62 articles, and is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for first comments at the upcoming 8th session.