State-owned forestry and agricultural farms won't be equitised but their production models will be revised, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has said.

The Deputy PM was speaking at a national conference on restructuring State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Hanoi yesterday.

Hung said that the transformation process would be closely monitored to ensure the integrity of State land and other properties.

The Government would deploy five inspection teams to State farms nation-wide to review their business and managing performance. The farms were considered an important component in the nation's socio-economic development, he said.

In reference to the restructuring of SOEs, the Deputy PM told the Steering Committee for Renewing and Developing Enterprise to continue perfecting a mechanism and policies on equitisation of SOEs. The process needed to be in line with market principles and balance benefits between the State, workers and businesses.

The equitisation process was also expected to contribute to the country's social stability and international economic integration, Hung said.

The Deputy PM also urged participants at the conference to focus discussions on ways to rearrange SOE's to ensure they run efficiently.

In addition to facilitating the restructuring process, local and ministerial leaders and CEOs of major State-owned corporations had to continuously review the performance of the restructured SOEs, Hung said.

The Ministry of Finance would bear the largest responsibility for the success of the restructuring.

Hung said the Government were determined to complete the restructuring work before 2010 despite recent setbacks caused by downturns in the country's stock markets.

The conference heard reports by representatives from the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Transport and Communication analysing shortcomings, disadvantages in the equitisation process of SOEs and land use and management at State farms.

Businesses and experts from Hanoi and HCM City also shared their experiences in SOE equitisation.

According to the Steering Board for Business Renewal and Development, 1,553 businesses will be rearranged in the 2007-2010 period, of which 950 businesses will be equitised.

(Source: Viet Nam News)