The book is a research work by a group of authors from Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences under the lead of Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan – Vice President of VASS.
Authors have focused on analyzing the achievements as well as limitations in the progress of restructuring, reforming, and enhancing operational efficiency of state – owned enterprises since 1986. They also pointed out the opportunities and challenges which enterprises might face up with in the deep and wide integration with the world economy. On the other side, the book has written about the overview of Communist Party’s viewpoint on roles and positions of state – owned enterprises as well as on their economic efficiency and contribution to the socialist oriented market economy in Vietnam. And they become the useful experiences for the speed up of restructuring, reforming, and enhancing operational efficiency of state – owned enterprises today. Also, this research work provides the empirical evidences for policy solutions as the economy’s assistance to make use of opportunities and overcome the challenges, hence, speeding up the reforms and improving the operating efficiency of state – owned enterprises in the global integration. Besides, it is the theoretical and scientific foundation for the reforms and development of state – owned enterprises in Vietnam from 2015 to 2025.
The book contains 3 chapters including: Chapter 1 – International experiences on reforms of state – owned enterprises and lessons for Vietnam, Chapter 2 – The practice of reforms in Vietnam in the period of 1986 to 2014, Chapter 3 – Some major solutions to improve the reforms of state – owned enterprises in the socialist oriented market economy in Vietnam in the period of 2015 to 2025.
Restructuring, reforming, and enhancing operational efficiency of state – owned enterprises in general and the equitisation of these state enterprises in specific, have played important roles in enhancing the performance and operating results of businesses which have increased the economic efficiency and competitive capability. Achievements which were obtained in 1990s, are significant and remarkable, however, the sharply decrease of efficiency and competiveness has reflected the slowness of the above progress since 2000, especially the equitisation of state – owned enterprises in Vietnam, in the market mechanism. Besides, the expansion of capital scale of state owned enterprises, low quality of enterprise management, and the increasing impacts of interests between groups in a limited competitive environment, have influenced on the progress of arrangement, renewal and efficiency improvement of SOEs in Vietnam with more difficulties and challenges. Its slowdown has cost Vietnamese economy more on society damage due to negative external impacts such as low efficiency of human resources.
Since Renewal, the major role of “State Economy” has always been officially and clearly confirmed in Party’s document, Constitution 1992 and 2013. Its role was even described in details in Vietnam’s legal and under the law documents. The sector of state – owned enterprises played the key role in supporting the state economy to implement its major role. Conclusion No. 50 KL/TW dated October 29, 2012 at the 6th Conference of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam has stated: “State owned enterprises are the key forces of the state economy, the important material entities and the supporting tools for State to control the economy, to stabilize the macro-economy, and to contribute to develop the socio – economy of the country following the socialist orientation. Organization and operation of state – owned enterprises should comply with the objective rules of market economy under the management and control of State as well as the supervision of State who is the owner equity. In fact, state owned enterprises are being used as one of important tools for state to control and stabilize the macro – economy.
State owned enterprises, however, have operated with low efficiency and competitiveness, especially in the highly unstable of Vietnamese economy in the period of 2007 to 2012, and they did not meet the expectation of State and Party in comparison with the resources offered. Besides, the efficiency of capital usage provided by state economy was much lower than the sector of non – state enterprises. Therefore, if the state – owned enterprises cannot completely reform following the market mechanism, it will be difficult for them not only to show their major role but also decrease the performance and competitiveness of whole economy. Especially, it is now the period for Vietnam to completely improve the performance, enhance the competitiveness and regain the long-term growth of economy. Among these purposes, the restructure of state owned enterprises is playing a special and key role in the pathway of speeding up the modernization and industrialization as well as improving the market economy growth following the socialist orientation./.
Nguyen Thu Ha
