From Public To Private: Evidence From a Transitional Economy Setting

Abstract

The literature on public financial management reform has devoted comparatively little attention to the detail and effect of reform process implementation in developing economies. This study contributes to an understanding of this phenomenon by examining the impact of privatisation on a sample of previously state‐owned enterprises in Vietnam. Using a detailed, financially focused methodology and drawing on data sourced from audited general purpose financial statements, our analysis suggests evidence of material variation in financial performance and position post‐privatisation compared to the position observed immediately prior to privatisation. Specifically, our data suggest that after being privatised, firms generally exhibit reductions in profitability, some degree of improvement in working capital management, an increase in financial leverage accompanied by a higher degree of solvency risk and greater calls on cash resources for the purpose of funding capital expenditure. Our results assist with understanding the impact of privatisation as a reform technique in developing economies, and may help policymakers and managers better target areas of likely risk, during the process of transition from public to private ownership.