How important are SOEs and MNEs in Vietnam’s economy?

This paper examines patterns and changes of shares of the state sector, including stateowned enterprises (SOEs) and other state entities, and foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Vietnam since the mid-1990s. Because most Vietnamese are still self-employed or household workers with little or no connection to the state sector or MNEs, it is important to exclude the household sector from these comparisons. First, ownership shares vary markedly among economic activities. For example, economy-wide estimates indicate that MNEs and state sector have both been relatively small employers, but larger producers. MNEs have also become by far the largest exporters. Second, ownership shares and their trends vary substantially depending on the data source. Most conspicuously, SOE shares of nonhousehold enterprise employment and sales have decreased rapidly since 2000. On the other hand, economy-wide estimates of state shares in non-household employment and GDP declined much more slowly. Recent discrepancies between these estimates have become so large that they almost certainly result from errors in one or more data sources. There are also smaller discrepancies between corresponding, alternative estimates of MNE shares. The extent of privatization of SOEs and its economic effects are thus ambiguous in Vietnam, creating important concerns for academics and policy makers.