A customer care centre of the military-run telecommunications firm Viettel. The Prime Minister has urged relevant agencies to classify State-owned enterprises to speed up their innovation. -- Photo viettelstore.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Enterprises with over 50 per cent stake by the State that are to be equitised, will be classified into three groups, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stipulated in a decision recently.

According to the Decision No 37/2014/QD-TTg, dated June 18, based on the ratios of stakes by the State, the groups are: from 50 per cent to below 65 per cent, from 65 per cent to below 75 per cent, and 75 per cent or more.

The first group includes companies involved in urban water supply and sewerage, urban lighting and environmental sanitation. The group also comprises companies dealing with natural resource exploration, seed plantation and basic chemical production, along with rubber growing and processing, and railway and international seaway transport.

The second group lists such areas as petroleum and natural gas processing, cigarette production and aviation. Electricity distribution, banking and finance also make up this group. It also consists of businesses stabilising the medicine, food and petroleum markets, as well as those managing forest plantation and improving people's lives in remote areas.

The third group refers to firms involved in the management, exploitation and maintenance of airports and terminals, national seaports and, domestic road and waterway systems. Telecommunications infrastructure, mineral, petroleum and natural gas make up the other firms in the group.

Dung says the classification is the basis for speeding up the reorganisation and innovation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

He urged ministries, Government agencies, provincial people's committees and economic groups to review the SOE reorganising plan for the 2014-15 period before it was submitted to him in the third quarter of this year.

He requested 100 per cent State stake in enterprises for 16 sectors, including businesses involved in national defence and security, explosive material and poisonous chemical supply, along with national electricity transmission and railway operations.

The sixteen also comprise postal services, maritime, lottery and publishing. Money printing and casting, irrigational works management, protection of protective forest, and policy lending make up the rest of the group along with business sectors that require strategic know-how.

The new decision replaces Decision No 14/2011/QD-TTg and will take effect on August 6. — VNS