The 14-member steering committee for enterprise privatization is headed by Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. Do Dang Ai, Deputy Director of the Department of Finance, serves as the deputy head.

The committee's mission is to guide and implement the successful privatization of state-owned enterprises and single-member limited liability companies wholly owned by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, transforming them into joint-stock companies according to regulations.

Ho Chi Minh City currently has 46 state-owned enterprises, including 22 public service companies. In May, Nguyen Van Duoc, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, assigned the Department of Finance and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS) to develop a plan for restructuring state-owned enterprises under a corporate model, to be submitted to competent authorities in October.

According to Mr. Duoc, the current structure of state-owned enterprises has become restrictive, multi-layered, and difficult to manage. "Therefore, a new structure is needed, a restructuring to open new development opportunities and combat waste, including researching new operating models for state-owned enterprises," he stated.

At a seminar in June, Dr. Tran Du Lich proposed that Ho Chi Minh City should establish five state-owned corporations and groups to play a facilitating and supportive role for the private sector. According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, these state-owned corporations and groups should be managed according to private sector models and international practices to increase operational efficiency.

Some experts also suggested that state-owned enterprises should take on areas where the market economy has failed (in terms of public utilities and welfare) or infrastructure projects requiring large resources and long-term capital recovery, which are difficult for the private sector to participate in.

Dr. Tran Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Members' Council of Tan Thuan Industrial Development Company, suggested that state-owned enterprises could focus on digitalization, infrastructure, and national defense and security. "When divesting from other enterprises, the resources gained should be reinvested in these units. Good investment in infrastructure (transport, digital) will promote private sector development and attract FDI," he said.

Vien Thong