REVISITING THE CONCEPT OF STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES FROM VIETNAM’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This paper presents the dynamics of the concept of state-owned enterprises in Vietnam, which manifests the changes in ideological orientation relating to the role of the state sector and of the economic management system. Indeed, the economic reform (Doi moi policy) and the integration into the global economy have fostered the participation of the private sector in the economy through the process of state-owned enterprise equitization. The analysis of the concept of state-owned enterprises over time however argues that the change, which has been subject to both internal and external impulses over time, is not fundamental as the key element of socialist ideology, the public ownership of the means of production remains the guiding principle of Vietnam’s economic development. In other words, the Vietnamese Government continues to its control over the national economy through the operation of state-owned enterprises.