Vinashin collapse gives State a lesson

HA NOI — The collapse of the Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) has forced the Government to restructure State-run groups and provided valuable lessons for their extensive development, says an official.

Tran Tien Cuong, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management's enterprise renovation and development department, made the statement at a conference on the State-owned group model during the renewal period in Viet Nam, held in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

The Chairman of the Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group, Dinh La Thang, pointed out some of the shortcomings in the group model, saying that it was too similar to the former corporation model.

"A legal framework related to group activities has not been completed and there are no separate and specific rules between State administration governance and State capital ownership," Thang said.

With experience from South Korea and China, it was essential to build and develop the groups more intensively, control extensive development, avoid inappropriate mergers and acquisitions as well as avoid multi-sector investment and only focus on investment in core business, Cuong said.

Director of Vinashin's technical department Ngo Tung Lam also agreed that one of the solutions to improve the governance of the groups was to avoid multi-sector investment, especially in risky areas that could cause major losses and stretch unqualified human resources.

It was also necessary to build a system to supervise and investigate the groups' assets and State capital as well as the capacity of their leaders, Lam said.

Nguyen Dinh Phan, former rector of the Ha Noi National Economics University, claimed:"Co-operation between affiliates in each group is still loose and their business effectiveness is low."

Phan advised that more measures were needed to legalise group activities, including increased autonomy in subsidiary management and an independent agency to supervise the groups. Since 2006, a dozen groups have been established in various key economic sectors. — VNS

Related Articles

• Vinashin collapse gives State a lesson
• State-owned enterprise reform steals spotlight at NA
• Naval forces boost global co-operation
• PM foresees bright future for co-operation with Africa
• Trieu Phong to operate first commodity exchange

Bids roll in for Carrefour's S.E. Asian stores

Photo: AFP

SINGAPORE - British and Japanese retail giants along with local operators are in an auction battle to take over the Southeast Asian business of French supermarket chain Carrefour, reports said Thursday.

Britain's Tesco is among more than 10 bidders for Carrefour's assets in the region, which total 61 stores in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, the Financial Times said.

Singapore-based retail group Dairy Farm and French retailer Casino are also in the bidding, but US titan Wal-Mart has not entered the race, the FT said.

Company executives from Carrefour Singapore and Dairy Farm were not immediately available to comment.

Japan's Aeon group also declined to comment on a report in the Nikkei business daily that it hoped to expand into Southeast Asia via the Carrefour auction to make up for sluggish consumer demand at home.

Aeon acquired Carrefour's Japanese operations in 2005, five years after Carrefour entered Japan.

The French retail giant on Tuesday said it made a net profit of 82 million euros (US$104 million) in the first half, after a loss in the same period of 2009.

At the results announcement, Carrefour chief executive Lars Olofsson refused to comment on the group's plans in Asia amid speculation that he wants to raise money to fund an ambitious revamp of hypermarkets in Europe.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that another Singapore retailer, NTUC FairPrice, as well as Malaysia-based private equity group Navis Capital had placed bids for Carrefour assets in the two countries.

NTUC FairPrice is interested in Carrefour's two branches in Singapore, but they are likely to be sold together with the Malaysian assets, Dow Jones quoted a person familiar with the situation as saying.

Malaysia's deputy trade minister Mukhriz Mahathir said last month that Carrefour was believed to be looking to divest its business in the country, where it has 19 stores.

Carrefour also has 40 outlets in Thailand.

Tesco, the world's third-biggest retailer behind Wal-Mart and Carrefour, has also declined to comment on the Asian auction. The British group has been steadily expanding in the region, notably through smaller "express" stores.

Carrefour's website says international markets account for 57 percent of the group's total sales and that future growth will likely come from China, Indonesia, Brazil, Poland and Turkey.

The FT said Carrefour has no intention of abandoning China, which accounts for 70 percent of the group's stores in Asia. It also plans to remain in Indonesia and Taiwan, the newspaper said.

Related Articles

• Cashew traders yet to embrace trading center system
• PM foresees bright future for co-operation with Africa
• VN, Mozambique take steps to boost ties in many areas
• ASEAN's socio-cultural issues promoted at Da Nang meeting
• Esperanto leader receives VN’s distinction