State firms had mixed profitability record in 2021: report

The combined pre-tax profits of 826 companies, of which more than half are wholly state-owned, increased by 25% from 2020 to VND198.67 trillion (US$8.23 billion).

Major corporations, most of which have many subsidiaries, saw profits soar by 33% to VND156.63 trillion.

Some of the most profitable were Viettel (VND36.91 trillion), PetroVietnam (VND51.7 trillion) and Vietnam Electricity (VND17.99 trillion).

But 58 companies in which the state has at least a 50% stake recorded losses.

Some of the biggest loss makers were Vietnam Airlines (VND12.96 trillion), Vietnam National Chemical Group (VND3.04 trillion), Vietnam Railway (VND1.98 trillion), and Vietnam National Coffee Corp (VND857 billion).

Several reported large sums of uncollectible monies, including PetroVietnam (VND19.4 trillion) and Viettel (VND8.31 trillion).

Thirteen companies had a debt to equity ratio of over 3, including the General Import and Export Van Xuan Corp (24.14) and Thai Son Corp under the Ministry of Defense (7.08).

The report said state-owned enterprises’ performance last year were not commensurate with the resources they have at their disposal.

Some have not succeeded with projects getting huge funds such as exploring for and drilling oil and gas and mining.

Some have projects that have been losing money for years.

Top managers “have not been determined” in preventing people from taking advantage of the privatizing process.

The government seeks to have at least 25 companies with equity or market capitalization of over $1 billion, including 10 worth over $5 billion.