Hanoi People's Committee has instructed the equitisation of state-owned companies (SOEs) under their management during the 2016-2020 period, including allowing some firms to close.

Under the committee instruction, 16 SOEs will be equitised during the period, including five corporations and seven one-member limited firms. Meanwhile, some SOEs such as Elenco Electrical Technical Co. Ltd and Hanoi Youth Investment and Services Company will be allowed to close.

According to the municipal People's Committee, SOEs which will be equitised by 2020 are mostly those with large levels of investment, big employers and those operating at big scale.

The equitisation process is intended to improve the transparency of the SOE operations.

The Hanoi Department of Finance will support the municipal people’s committee for the equitisation process.

The sluggish equitisation of SOEs and their ineffective operations have been the focus of the public and media for many years.

Vietnam targeted to equitise 415 SOEs in 2015, however, in reality, only 70 companies were equitised last year.

Under the SOE restructuring scheme through to 2020, the number of SOEs would be reduced from 1,309 to 17, while corporations holding 100% of state capital would be cut to 200.