Q: Enhancing the performance of SOEs is one of the issues in implementing the socio-economic development tasks for the 2021-2030 period being discussed at the 13th Congress. Can you please give us more details?
A: The draft Political Report submitted to the Party Congress has provided an overview of the achievements while pointing out the drawbacks in the re-organisation of SOEs. The report affirms that SOEs are a major component of the economy, helping to maintain macroeconomic stability as well as to regulate, orientate and promote overall socio-economic development. Such a reaffirmation lays down the requirements and responsibilities for SOEs in national socio-economic development in a new period.
I entirely agree to the content in the draft Political Report on the policy of renewing the growth model and restructuring the economy with a focus on restructuring SOEs by concentrating on core businesses, making their finances healthier and enhancing the technological level and innovation and administration capacity in order to increase their performance.
Over the past several years, the SOE restructuring process has been fostered as many SOEs have reformed themselves substantially and fundamentally fulfilled their leading role in the economy, helping to ensure macroeconomic stability and promote broader socio-economic development. But the restructuring of many SOEs has yet to produce any significant results and their performance has remained low. These bottlenecks are hindering their development, preventing SOEs from realising their full potential.
Q: As the leader of a large SOE and with experience of a major commercial bank, what do you think are the measures to continue enhancing the performance of SOEs?
A: It can be said that Vietinbank is a prime example of successfully implementing the Government’s instructions and orientations in reforming and equitising SOEs during Vietnam’s process of market opening and international integration.
Vietinbank has succeeded in equitisation and has MUFG as a foreign strategic shareholder to help the bank improve its financial capability and expand its business activities.
Vietinbank successfully implemented the restructuring and bad debt handling plan during the 2016-2020 period by enhancing its operation standards and strongly reforming its business model. The result is a much better business performance with a sustainable income structure, affirming its position as a key state-owned commercial bank, a pillar of the economic system, making active contributions to national economic development.
With the numerous opportunities and challenges facing Vietnam, I think there are some measures for SOEs to continue reforming and enhancing their performance.
First of all, they need to pursue a comprehensive restructuring plan towards changing their business models, increasing their competitiveness, enhancing their financial capability and raising their operation standards. SOEs need to attract strategic investors and enhance their management capacity to meet international practices.
SOEs should identify science-technology and innovation as a key factor in improving labour productivity and implementing their restructuring plans successfully. They need to give adequate attention to investment in technology and developing advanced technological solutions along with taking measures to ensure information security.
Enterprise leaders also need to focus on creating a highly qualified workforce, considering it as a decisive factor in implementing their restructuring plans and promoting the development of their companies.
Thank you very much.
