The SCIC might buy bank stakes in SOE divestments. — Photo baodautu.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) ─ The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) will be buying bank stakes from State-owned enterprises (SOEs) if two conditions for this to happen are met.

First, the SOEs divest from the banks, and second, the stakes are worth less than five per cent of the lenders' equity, said an SCIC representative at a seminar held here on October 9.

The seminar, which the State Securities Commission (SSC), Ministry of Finance and Ha Noi Stock Exchange jointly organised, focused on SOE capital transfer and share transaction regulations stipulated in Decision No. 51/2014/QD-TTg, which Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung issued on September 15.

The decision tasks the SCIC with acquiring investments from the SOEs in their non-core lines of businesses, including banking and insurance.

The SCIC representative told Thoi bao Kinh te Sai Gon (Saigon Economic Times) that the company was drafting regulations on such acquisitions, but the chances of such purchases happening were small.

"We will only consider buying the stakes via put-through transactions if the SOEs fail to unload shares at prices lower than their face or book values, and after they have transferred the share ownership to the State Bank of Viet Nam or offered the shares to some State-run banks designated by the SBV," the representative added.

The SCIC won't be purchasing the stakes at any cost, and if the deals between it and the SOEs are unsuccessful, the SOEs should ask the Ministry of Finance to consult the Prime Minister for resolution.

The SCIC is also tasked with buying shares of privatised SOEs when they launch initial public offerings. A decree regulating SCIC operations that took effect last August states that the company will have a charter capital of VND50 trillion (US$2.38 billion), or 10 times its former level.

Decision No. 51/2014/QD-TTg asks the SBV to take the main responsibility for SOE divestments with values exceeding five per cent of banks' equity.

SSC Chairman Vu Bang said the commission would closely coordinate with concerned agencies to facilitate the SOE divestment process. — VNS