Expert Analysis: State-Owned Enterprises & Vietnam’s Energy Future
Resolution 79: Empowering State-Owned Energy Enterprises to Lead
Resolution 79-NQ/TW creates mechanisms for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to be strong enough to play a leading role in key strategic sectors such as national defense, security, and energy.
Resolution No. 79-NQ/TW dated January 6, 2026, of the Politburo on the development of the state economic sector has opened up new development space. One of the specific tasks and solutions for SOEs outlined in the resolution is to focus on investing and developing several strong, large-scale economic groups and SOEs to play a leading role in key strategic sectors of the economy, such as national defense, security, and energy.
Dr. Ha Dang Son, Director of the Center for Energy Research and Green Growth, shared his insights with Industry and Trade Newspaper.
Creating Momentum from Large-Scale Projects Dr. Ha Dang Son shared that in the energy sector, the structure and role of state-owned groups have been and are being viewed substantively, based on the requirements of energy transition and market-based operation.
1. Oil and Gas Sector: Has transitioned from an “oil and gas group” to an “energy – industrial group” with a pioneering role in green transition and global chain integration. Oil and gas is a strategic sector for energy security managed by the state; the private sector is not allowed to directly participate in exploitation. Current oil and gas projects are mainly implemented by Petrovietnam (PVN) or in joint ventures/associations with foreign investors.
2. Coal Sector: Currently, Vietnam National Coal – Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin/TKV) plays a leading role in coal exploitation and supply alongside units like Dong Bac Corporation. However, in the context of global energy transition, TKV faces immense challenges because its core assets currently consist of coal mines and coal-fired power plants. In the medium and long term, TKV faces risks as Vietnam and the world increasingly tighten commitments to green growth and emission reduction.
“Even in actual operation, the efficiency of coal-fired power plants under TKV is not high, and they are struggling to adapt to increasingly strict environmental requirements. In that context, TKV is forced to consider transition directions, such as producing ammonia from coal to increase power generation efficiency, but this is still a risky process with unclear long-term effectiveness,” said Dr. Ha Dang Son.
Power System Scale: Vietnam’s power system ranks 2nd in the ASEAN region in terms of installed capacity.
Dr. Ha Dang Son analyzed that Vietnam Electricity (EVN), Petrovietnam, and TKV all participate in owning power sources, but the total market share of the state sector is less than 50%. Specifically, EVN accounts for about 37%, with the remainder belonging to PVN (8%) and TKV (2%).
If a scenario is set to consolidate all power sources under a single state-owned group, it is uncertain whether core issues would be resolved; it might even reduce competition and lead to the risk of monopoly. Lessons from the telecommunications sector show that maintaining multiple SOEs participating in the market has created innovation momentum and more positive competition.
Notably, current losses in the electricity sector do not necessarily stem from the internal capacity of enterprises but mainly because the electricity selling price mechanism does not follow the market and remains subsidized. Whether EVN or any other enterprise manages power plants, if the output price does not truly reflect costs, losses are inevitable. This is why the private sector always demands sufficiently high electricity purchase prices and contract terms reflecting stability when investing in wind, solar, and gas power projects.
Dr. Ha Dang Son believes the State needs to maintain key enterprises but must meet modern governance criteria and international competitiveness. The key requirement is information transparency, publishing financial reports, annual reports, and ESG reports according to international standards, approaching OECD criteria.
Reality shows very few SOEs meet these standards. In the energy sector, Petrovietnam has a better foundation in approaching international standards. EVN, despite achieving high ranking criteria in the region and significant progress in improving financial credit ratings (from BB in 2020 to BB+ in 2025), still has limited financial capacity. Specifically, it has not thoroughly resolved “policy losses,” making access to international capital difficult.
Therefore, the direction consistent with the spirit of Resolution 79 is to continue assigning EVN and Petrovietnam large-scale energy projects, from offshore wind and nuclear power to billion-dollar projects, to increase asset scale and financial capacity. In return, these groups must meet transparency and governance requirements according to international standards to effectively access global capital.
Transparency in Political Tasks and Social Responsibility The goal of Resolution 79 by 2030 is: “Continue strong socialization of public service provision; streamline focal points, retaining only public service units serving political tasks, state management, and basic, essential public service provision,” aimed at clearly demarcating the boundary between essential public services and services that can be socialized.
Dr. Ha Dang Son noted that many energy infrastructures have expired depreciation periods but continue to operate and generate revenue. This “depreciation advantage,” in reality, has become a resource to subsidize prices and perform social tasks, even contributing to profits for SOEs.
“If all assets, including those fully depreciated and those not, are ‘mixed into one basket,’ production and operation costs will be obscured. Financial reports will not truly reflect market signals or corporate governance capacity. A situation may occur where ‘certain profits’ from fully depreciated assets are used to subsidize inefficient operational segments, creating a feeling of no loss, but in reality nurturing stagnation and lack of transparency,” analyzed Dr. Ha Dang Son.
He proposed the need to inventory, audit, and re-evaluate all assets fully, then clearly separate them:
- Fully depreciated assets still in good use should be accounted for separately, treated as a specific resource to serve operational – social – public service tasks (non-market parts), instead of merging into business efficiency.
- Non-fully depreciated assets must report separately on costs, efficiency, and operational indicators to look straight at the substantive governance capacity of the enterprise regarding these assets.
According to Dr. Ha Dang Son, this approach aligns with transparency requirements, separating non-market and market parts to avoid creating distorted competition that does not comply with market principles. When transparency is improved, enterprises will be able to access loans, especially good capital sources. Donors looking at a clear, transparent indicator system will assess risks, governance capacity, and financial sustainability.
Policy Pillars and the “Leading” Role In general assessment, Mr. Ha Dang Son believes that in the current national energy security problem, three policy pillars can be visualized going together:
- Resolution 70-NQ/TW of the Politburo: The most important directing axis, setting requirements to prioritize key projects to ensure energy security and mechanisms to handle “bottlenecks.”
- Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo: Creates a corridor for the private sector to participate, creating more equal conditions, thereby sharing the investment burden with the state sector.
- Resolution 79: “Removes mechanisms” for SOEs, helping them have the capacity to execute Resolution 70 in the role of the locomotive for ensuring national energy security, while competing fairly with the private sector.
Dr. Ha Dang Son observed that if separating each resolution, the full picture cannot be seen. In reality, the private sector, following market logic, will not undertake high-risk or low-profit tasks. Therefore, Resolution 79 appeared at the right time to remove “knots” for the SOE bloc. Tasks avoided by the private sector must still be done by the State, but in a new way, with mechanisms to separate risks, separate obligations, and eliminate cross-subsidies, so that the remaining business part operates according to market principles.
According to Dr. Ha Dang Son, “leading” in the spirit of Resolution 79 means daring to go first, daring to experiment, and daring to take on difficult parts, including new models that the private sector has not dared to do because of risks. SOEs must be the pioneering force to deploy first, drawing lessons for the State to perfect policies, thereby attracting private participation on a large scale.
