HCM City seeks to restructure state-owned enterprises

The Sài Gòn Zoo and Botanical Garden, formed in 1864, is a State-owned enterprise under the HCM City People’s Committee, operating under the Saigon Zoo – Botanical Garden Company Limited. It needs to renovate its development orientation and operation activities to be more attractive to the city’s residents and tourists, experts said. — VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hương

HCM CITY — HCM City plans to restructure all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) after 2025 to form and develop leading economic conglomerates.

Municipal People’s Committee Chairman Phan Văn Mãi said the restructuring of SOEs, including companies with state capital, would create a new driving force for these businesses to renew their growth models and enhance growth quality to improve economic competitiveness.

“SOEs are expected to be market leaders, playing a pivotal role in the city’s socio-economic development,” he said.

The government may group existing SOEs into categories such as infrastructure, services, and technology, according to Mãi.

For instance, the category of infrastructure includes Saigon Real Estate Corporation (RESCO), Saigon Construction Company, and Saigon Industry Corporation, while Saigontourist Holding Company and Benthanh Group belong to the services category.

The city now has 46 SOEs, including 22 public service companies.

According to experts, the city needs four to five public service companies instead of having one in each district.

Alongside the processes of equitisation and divestment, SOEs should be reorganised to invest in resources and focus on mechanisms and personnel to create strong economic units.

These units would serve as management tools in sectors that need the presence of State agencies.

For the areas where the private sector can perform effectively, it is advisable to allow private enterprises to take on those roles.

Clear roadmap, specific policies needed

The number of SOEs in HCM City is higher than in other localities in the country, significantly contributing to the city’s development.

Lê Thị Huỳnh Mai, director of the city’s HCMC Department of Planning and Investment, said it was essential to strongly develop SOEs. However, the city needed to build a clear roadmap and have specific policies.

Leaders of the city’s Department of Finance also highly appreciated the reorganisation of SOEs to help the city’s authorities operate and manage economic and social development.

In August 2022, the municipal People’s Committee issued Decision 2916 on issuing a plan for reorganising SOEs under the management of the municipal People’s Committee in the 2022-25 period.

The plan aims to effectively enhance business and production activities, improve competitiveness and profit margin, and increase revenue for the city’s budget.

Under the plan, the city will address issues of scattered and non-core investments, select some enterprises in the post-equitisation period that meet the necessary conditions for stock registration and listing on regional and global stock markets, and inspect the current status of each enterprise.

Trần Anh Tuấn, head of the city’s Enterprise Management and Innovation Board, said up to now, the city’s SOEs had submitted their restructuring plans. — VNS