Market economy to drive Vietnam’s growth Next year is expected to bring a flurry of stock listings by Vietnam`s state-owned enterprises — a development symbolized the country`s shift from a government-led economy to one powered by market principles. The “new driving force of Vietnam is the acknowledgment that the state will not mobilize or distribute or regulate resources, but direct [companies] via policies,” Nguyen Duy Hung, chairman and chief executive of Saigon Securities, said on Nov. 15 at the Nikkei Asian Review Forum in Hanoi. Already, the government’s changing approach is encouraging companies to be more proactive about expanding their businesses, spurring positive changes in the economy that will promote a better environment for both local and foreign investors. While the government has moved to allow greater foreign ownership and is pushing its approximately 700 SOEs to list, the pace of initial public offerings has been slow so far. Progress is expected to pick up in 2018, however, as the government is warning there will be consequences for those in charge of state companies that miss the deadline for restructuring and equitization. Shosuke Mori, deputy head of international banking at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., noted that the SOE sector has seen slower growth than the private sector and foreign-owned companies in Vietnam. “I think SOE reform will be the key in driving the evolution of the Vietnam economy,” Mori said. A number of forum participants from Vietnamese companies said they have had positive experiences welcoming overseas shareholders. Vietnam Airlines Chairman… [Read full story]
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