INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
A fundamental problem in corporate governance is the generation of information
asymmetry in relation between owners and business managers. The owner - the trustee - assigns
his or her investment to the manager - the representative - to run the day-to-day business.
However, the representative often has an information advantage over the trustee and tends to
exploit this to benefit himself instead of the investor.
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the broadest sense are also the type of public
corporation with ownership belonging to the entire population. However, people's ownership
rights are entrusted to the Government for enforcement. Therefore, strengthening publicity and
transparency will lend a helping hand for state agencies as well as the whole society to monitor
the activities of SOEs, avoid frauds and inefficient use, loss and waste of national resources;
thereby putting pressure on these enterprises to operate more efficiently and at the same time,
creating an initial database for state agencies to develop timely and effective governance policies.
Nonetheless, so far, many Vietnamese state-owned enterprises have not strictly complied
with the regulations on publication and transparency of the issued information. The situation of
SOEs without information disclosure, slow, incomplete disclosure is quite common. The question
is how to impulse the equitization process of SOEs, accelerate the enterprises restructuring
process towards better operational efficiency, more sustainably developing so as to be worthy of
the economic pillar. Part of the answer lies in enhancing information transparency of SOEs.
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, research on information transparency of SOEs is quite limited.
Stemming from that situation, the author selected the topic "Enhancing information transparency
of state-owned enterprises in Vietnam" to implement the PhD thesis.
2. Purpose, thesis question and research duty
Thesis is based on reasoning of information transparency of SOEs, evaluating the situation
of information transparency of SOEs, in order to propose solutions to enhance information
transparency of SOEs.
To achieve objectives above, there are three thesis questions as follows:
1) How was the situation of information transparency of SOEs in Vietnam? Is there any
difference of information transparency between unlisted SOEs and listed SOEs in Vietnam?
2) Which factors impacts on information transparency of SOEs and to which degree?
3) How to enhance information transparency of SOEs in Vietnam in the coming time?
3. Research object:
Object of the study are theoretical and practical issues on information transparency of
SOEs in Vietnam.
4. Research scope:
Content scope: The thesis studies and evaluates the status of information transparency and
factors affecting information transparency of SOEs in Vietnam (enterprises in which the State
holds 50% of capital charter and over). When assessing the factors affecting information
transparency of SOEs in Vietnam, due to limited access to information of macro and other micro
factors, the thesis only focuses on Analysis of the financial factors of enterprises influencing the
information transparency of the above enterprises.
Venue scope: The thesis does not go into the information transparency of a specific SOE
but only evaluate the overall information transparency of SOEs on the basis of surveyed
information which is published by SOEs via channels such as website of enterprises, information
portal about SOEs of Ministry of Planning and Investment, information portal of state-owned
shareholder representative agencies and other media.
According to information transparency of SOE in a number of countries, the thesis
selected two countries neighboring to Vietnam that have advance in the implementation of
information transparency of SOEs such as South Korea and Malaysia and lessons applicable to
Vietnam.
Time scope:
