The plan to convert non-business units of State-owned corporations intojoint-stock companies should be expanded to cover those underministries and provincial administrations, officials said on December11.

Representatives of many ministries and sectors made thissuggestion at a conference held to discuss a draft Governmental Decisionon the conversion process.

At present, the plan is to pilot theconversion at State-owned companies that are to be equitised, butdelegates at the conference said that it should also includenon-business units under ministries, People's Committees of cities andprovinces nationwide.

They said that over many years ofequitising State-owned corporations, many public non-business units,especially in the healthcare, education and training sectors, had beengiven autonomy and responsibility for performing their tasks andmanaging their organisational apparatus, payrolls and finances.

This has had a positive impact by improving the quality of public services, they added.

Accordingto the Ministry of Finance, the main drafter of the GovernmentDecision, the conversion aims to reform the work of public non-businessunits and enhance their capacity to provide high-quality services tosociety as a whole, contributing to national socio-economic development.

The ministry said that the conversion can be done in threeways: keeping unchanged the existing State investment capital in theenterprises and issuing shares to attract more capital where needed;selling part of the State's stake or doing it in combination withissuing shares; and selling the entire stake of the State in theenterprises or doing it in tandem with issuing shares.

Under thedraft decision, after becoming joint-stock companies, the units willoperate under the Law on Enterprises and other relevant regulations.

Theywill continue providing public services but can decide on the prices ofthe services based on a reasonable calculation of their expenses.

Thedecision also says that employees of the non-business units who areexperts will be given priority in buying shares in the new joint-stockcompany.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh agreed with theproposal to expand the process, but added that units under State-ownedcorporations might enjoy some preferential policies.

Ninh, who isalso the head of the Steering Committee for Enterprises Innovation andDevelopment, said that in terms of financial management, units likehospitals, schools and research institutes should be allowed toself-evaluate their human resources and the State would cover theexpenses of this process as well as subsequent training provided.

Heexplained the purchasing priority given to expert employees by sayingthe success of the new companies depends on both financial and "greymatter capital”.

Ninh also said that based on the characteristicsand functions of the units, the State would have some involvement inthe conversion process when national defence and security issues comeinto play.

The Finance Ministry should draw up a list of those non-business units that require such involvement, he said.-VNA