Vietnam to Sell Shares in Agribank, Mobifone by the End of 2020

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam plans to sell shares in 93 state-owned companies, including Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam Posts & Telecommunications Group and Mobifone Corp by the end of 2020.

The government, which has struggled to meet its goal of privatizing state-owned companies, announced on its website yesterday it plans to sell as much as a 35% stake in Agribank, Vietnam National Coal & Mineral Industries Holding, Vietnam Northern Food and Minerals Co. Ltd.

It also plans to sell as much as 49% of its shares in Vietnam Posts, Mobifone, Vietnam National Coffee Corp., Vietnam Cement Industry Corp., Saigon Trading Group and 57 other companies. Its divestment schedule also includes selling between 50% and all of its shares in 27 companies, such as Saigon Jewelry Co., Housing and Urban Development Corp, Power Generation Corp. 1, Power Generation Corp. 2 and Hanoitourist.

Among 18 companies the government said it would privatize this year, only one enterprise conducted a stake sale in the first half of the year, according to the finance ministry. In October 2017 Vietnam targeted selling shares in 127 state companies, yet only 35 firms had met the goal by the end of June this year, said the ministry, which accused some officials and companies of not taking the process seriously.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mai Ngoc Chau in Ho Chi Minh City at cmai9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Boudreau at jboudreau3@bloomberg.net, Clarissa Batino

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.