Equitization of state-owned enterprises is expected to create a transparent competitive environment while maximizing the mobilization of possible resources in the private sector. However, the reality shows that certain prosperous state-owned businesses during this equitization process become ineffective and are full of debt now, with abandoned projects and state property loss.

Six State-owned enterprises and corporations, including Vietnam Airlines Corporation, Airports Corporation of Vietnam, Vietnam Railways Corporation, Vietnam Coffee Corporation, and Vietnam Southern Food Corporation, failed to meet the annual revenue and profit targets. Vietnam Electricity could not achieve the revenue target despite having obtained the profit plan.

By December 24, 2020, Vietnam had merely achieved 27.3% of the equitization plan for State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in 2020, while 89 SOEs had not completed equitization. This is a content stated in the report which the Finance and Budget Committee sent to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly recently.

Experts predict that the M&A market in Vietnam will likely make the V-shaped recovery in the period from 2021 to 2022, reaching US$4.5 billion-US$5 billion by 2021 before rebounding stronger with a value of $7 billion by 2022.

The Government has just released a report to the National Assembly on a five-year economic reform review. In which, the Government stated that the structure of the economic sectors continued to have positive changes and in the right direction; the proportion of processing, manufacturing, and high-tech industries increased; the investment and business environment improved.

According to the Department of Corporate Finance under the Ministry of Finance, from 2016 to July 2020, 177 enterprises had received approvals for their equitization plans by the competent authorities with a total value of over VND443.5 trillion, of which the State capital value was over VND207.1 trillion.

According to the Ministry of Finance, by the end of third quarter of this year, there were only nine enterprises having been approved equitization plans with total value of merely VND780 billion although according to the Decision No.26/2019/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, there will be up to 128 enterprises carrying out equitization by 2020.

Total value of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in Vietnam has nearly reached US$5.43 billion in the first seven months of this year and is expected to touch $7.6 billion this year.