Under Vietnam's new governmental decision on classifying state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the state holds 100 percent of registered capital in firms operating in fields essential to the country's socioeconomic development and security, said local media on Friday.

The fields include transmission of electricity under the national power network; large electricity production significant to socioeconomic development, defense and security; management and exploitation of national and urban railways; airports; large seaports; flight control; control of national and urban railway transport; maritime safety guarantee; postal public utility; radio and television broadcasting; publishing and press; lottery; money printing and casting; cigarette production; and policy credits to serve socioeconomic development.

The fields also include production and supply of explosives, toxic chemicals and radioactive substances; and production and repair of military weapons and equipment, according to newspaper Young People.

The Vietnamese government has recently instructed the Finance Ministry and relevant agencies to speed up equitization of SOEs operating in different fields and create favorable conditions for equitized firms to list their shares in the effervescent local stock market.

Vietnam has planned to equitize some 1,500 SOEs from late 2006 to the end of 2010. By 2010, it will have only 554 SOEs, including 26 groups and corporations, 150 affiliates of the groups and corporations, 178 enterprises operating in the fields of security, defense, production and supply of essential products and services, and 200 farms and afforestation yards.

By the end of August 2006, Vietnam restructured 4,447 SOEs, of which 3,060 were equitized.

Source: Xinhua