Number Of State-owned Enterprises Research Articles

РОЗВИТОК ДЕРЖАВНИХ КОРПОРАЦІЙ: УПРАВЛІННЯ ТА РЕЗУЛЬТАТИ

The study is devoted to the generalization of experience and the development of scientifically based applied recommendations for managing the development of state joint-stock companies. Abstract-logical, systemic-structural and comparative analysis, grouping, statistical-economic, systematization and generalization methods were used for the research. Retrospective analysis made it possible to establish that in Ukraine, the joint-stock form of management was developed with the adoption of a legislative framework, which was developed using experience and information on legal foundations in economically developed countries. The grouping of signs regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the management joint-stock form was carried out, and the most significant ones were determined. A comparison of corporate governance outsider and insider models as the most frequently used in the countries of the world is made. Characterization of these models’ elements made it possible to establish significant discrepancies. The Ukrainian model of corporate governance uses elements of outsider and insider models, which reflects its specificity, including in the legislative framework. The provisions of the Ukraine new Law «On Joint-Stock Companies», effective from 01.01.2023, required changes to bring the management of corporations closer to international norms, which was implemented in the newest legislative framework from 03.05.2024. With the use of official statistical data, the dynamics of the decrease in the number of state-owned enterprises, their structure according to organizational and legal forms, and insignificant financial results of activity have been established. The rating of state corporations by the size of the share capital showed that the largest joint stock companies belong to the energy sector, as well as transport and communication. Of the TOP-5 state corporations, only three enterprises pay dividends according to the established norm, but all entities have mostly low-level financial indicators. It is proposed to increase the efficiency of management and results of state corporations on the basis of taking into account detailed external and internal factors of the precrisis state, as well as the introduction of an anti-crisis management mechanism, the components of which differ depending on the state of the economy. In particular, the developed external and internal factors are recommended to be used in the period of a stable state of the economy, in the period of the pre-crisis state - measures for the recovery or restructuring of joint-stock companies, and in the conditions of a crisis state - an anti-crisis strateg

How do industry and province attributes impact corporate contribution to poverty alleviation: A multilevel analysis.

This study employs a multilevel model, nesting firm observations within industry and province groups, to investigate the influences on corporate contributions to poverty alleviation while considering the industrial and provincial contexts. Using a sample of Chinese firms listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges between 2016 and 2019, we find that Herfindah-Hirschman Index (HHI) does not affect corporate contribution. The results show a significantly negative relationship between industry dynamism and a firm's substantial poverty contributions, as well as a significantly positive relationship between number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in industry and the likelihood and extent of a firm's contributions. Moreover, a firm's likelihood to participate in anti-poverty activities and make substantial contributions is affected by more intense government intervention and lower per capita GDP. A province's poverty rate is positively associated with the extent of corporate investments in poverty alleviation. Additional analyses note that firms competitive in an industry that is less dynamic environment are more likely to invest funds into poverty alleviation instead of material contribution. Moreover, for firms headquartered in an industry with more SOEs and in provinces with a stronger government, a higher poverty rate and lower per capita GDP mean it is more likely for them to make both monetary and material contributions for anti-poverty campaigns.

Exploring the relationship between digital transformation of enterprises and “information infrastructure” in the new infrastructure perspective - based on industrial connection

Abstract This paper aims to investigate the relationship between enterprise digital transformation and “information infrastructure” by analyzing the mechanism of enterprise digital transformation under the new infrastructure, constructing an input-output analysis model and a double difference model, and conducting a parallel trend test on the two models, bringing in the data between enterprise digital transformation and “information infrastructure” on the model, and studying the relationship between the two and the degree of influence. The relationship between the two and the degree of influence is investigated by bringing in the data of “information infrastructure”. The resulting data show that artificial intelligence accounts for 25.4% of digital transformation, followed by IoT at 19.7% and 3D printing at 1.4% of digital transformation. The change in the number of state-owned enterprises and non-state-owned enterprises before and after digital transformation is the largest in the range of 0-50%, with 44.4% change in the number of state-owned enterprises and 31.25% change in the number of non-state-owned enterprises. The research in this paper provides favorable data and analysis to prove that “information infrastructure” drives the digital transformation of enterprises.

Participation of business entities in legal relations in the field of natural resource use

The article analyzes the participation of business entities in legal relations in the field of natural resource use. Doctrinal and legislative approaches to the concept of «business entities» are taken into account, as well as their classification. Official statistical data on the number of state-owned enterprises and business associations in the charter capital of which the state’s share is more than 50%, as well as the total number of business entities on the territory of Ukraine, have been clarified. It is emphasized that due to the war, the occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine, the destruction of many objects, buildings, and natural resources, the statistics on the number of business entities will be significantly smaller this year.
 The common approach of defining business entities through their legal entity features is analyzed. It is substantiated that economic entities that use natural resources in their activities have the following main characteristics: the presence of separate property; state registration in the organizational and legal formspecified by law, the right to use natural resources in economic activity in the order of special and general nature use.
 The legal principles of the use of natural resources by economic entities in their activities, both in the order of special and general nature use, are analyzed. Among the natural resources for the use of which a business entity needs to obtain a special permit are the following: resources of the continental shelf, the exclusive (marine) economic zone, animals and marine mammals that are in the natural environment, other objects of the animal world that are of national importance ; natural resources that are on the territory of the national nature reserve fund, etc.
 It is proposed to classify business entities from the point of view of the use of natural resources according to the following criteria: depending on the nature of the use of natural resources; depending on the legal basis for the use of natural resources; depending on the legal regime of use of natural resources. Amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On the permit system in the sphere of economic activity» have been developed, taking into account the state of war.

Оцінка інституціонального середовища діяльності державних підприємств в умовах невизначеності

The number of state-owned enterprises in Ukraine, despite expectations that it will decrease after the collapse of the socialist economy, remains significant. The article provides an institutional analysis of the regulatory and legal support for the activities of state-owned enterprises through the assessment of its state. The starting point of such an analysis was the following hypothesis: the management of the activities of state-owned enterprises formed at the level of interstate, national and local politics with the decisive importance of the national level under the decisive impact of the European integration vector of development. This directed the research and made it possible to come to the following conclusion. In Ukraine, a thorough regulatory and legal support for the activities of state-owned enterprises has been formed, considering the recommendations of international documents. At the same time, under the conditions of uncertainty caused by negative phenomena, in particular, military aggression, the need for the process of further development and the formation of a resilient institutional environment remains extremely relevant.

The Position of Municipal Economic Enterprises Against Stamp Duty

Günümüzde Türkiye’de özelleştirmeler ile kamu iktisadi teşebbüslerinin sayısı azalmış olsa da belediyeler tarafından kurulan iktisadi teşebbüsler sürekli artış göstermektedir. Belediyeler tarafından kurulan ve sermayeleri de belediyeler tarafından sağlanan bu kuruluşlar çok sayıda personel çalıştırmakta ve önemli bir iktisadi işlem hacmi gerçekleştirmektedir. Damga vergisi hukuki muameleler için düzenlenen kâğıtlar nedeniyle gündeme gelen bir hukuki muamele vergisidir. Damga Vergisi Kanunu’nda belediyelerin de içinde yer aldığı resmi daireler bu vergiden muaf kılınmış ve bunlar ile kişiler arasından düzenlenecek kâğıtların damga vergisinin işlemin diğer tarafı olan kişilerce ödeneceği düzenlenmiştir. Belediye iktisadi teşebbüslerinin de bu muafiyet kapsamında bulunup bulunmadığı ile bunların gerçekleştirdikleri iktisadi muamelelere dair kâğıtların damga vergisinin kim tarafından ödeneceği zaman zaman uygulamada ve yargı kararlarında tartışma konusu olmaktadır. Bu çalışma belediye iktisadi teşebbüslerinin damga vergisi karşısındaki konumunu açıklamaya çalışmaktadır.

The Existence of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs): A Case on Nusantara Bonded Zone of Indonesia

The number of state-owned enterprises in Indonesia has tended to decline in the last five years due to restructuring by cutting the number of state-owned enterprises. The restructuring was caused by two factors, namely the existence of SOEs that suffered losses and to focus the government's capital participation on SOEs that still existed. This study aims to analyze the existence of PT. Nusantara Bonded Zone as one of the SOEs in Indonesia. The analysis can be seen from the aspects of regulation, budget, and management. This research uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive type of research. Data obtained from interviews with parties who have the capacity to manage PT. Nusantara Bonded Zone. Therefore, the technique of determining informants in this study was purposive sampling. The results showed that the existence of PT. Nusantara Bonded Zone can exist as a SOES in Indonesia by implementing Good Corporate Governance in management aspects, sustainable government funding to improve its financial performance, as well as regulations that accommodate its flexibility as a business entity.

Transforming state-owned enterprises in Vietnam until 2030: orientations and solutions

In recent years of renovation, Vietnam has consistently implemented the policy of developing a multi-sector economy based on market mechanism and managed by the State. Vietnam has built a relatively complete system of policies and legislation on the transformation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). With the equitization process, although the number of SOEs is gradually decreasing, accounting for a low proportion in terms of quantity in the entire enterprise sector, it still holds a large amount of resources in terms of capital and assets, generates revenue and has a significant contribution to the state budget. However, the results of the transformation of SOEs are still limited, including: The progress of equitization and divestment is still slow, development strategies of many SOEs are not clear, the choice of investment structure, resource mobilization is still confusing, financial capacity is limited, management efficiency, investment efficiency, production and business efficiency are still low... These inadequacies may originate from the content of the policy or in the organization of business activities of SOEs with low efficiency. The article focuses on assessing the overall process of SOEs transformation in the transition to a market economy, especially from 2011 to now. The article points out the successes and limitations, identifies the causes of the limitations in order to overcome and adjust the SOE transformation process in the coming period.

LinkAja Business Models Strategy Development Using BMC Approaches

In the first quarter of 2019, there was an increase in the value and the volume transaction on electronic money transactions in Indonesia. The development of electronic money is directly proportional to the high competition of companies engaged in the field of mobile payment. LinkAja is a mobile payment application product that is representative of collaboration between Telkomsel and the number of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). One of the keys to success in facing competition is to develop continuously. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the right business model to determine the optimal strategy in developing the LinkAja application business. The objectives of this research are formulating and developing LinkAja business models strategy. This result of this study proposed business model in the form of improvement for each element of its business model including: elements (1) Customer segments: Adding target customers to e-marketplaces and e-commerce, (2) Customer relationships: Developing cooperation with LinkAja competitors, (3) Value Proposition: Developing customer consulting services by providing training for using the LinkAja application, (4) Key Activities: Developing collaboration with partners and competitors, (5) Key Partners: Collaborating with the competitors such as Gopay, OVO, FUND, etc., (6) Key Resources: Using digital budget information systems to facilitate transparency of company budgets, (7) Revenue streams: Upgrading fees for premium services, and (8) Cost Structure: Research costs.

Status and Analysis of Formal and Actual Human Resource Management, Financial and Policy Autonomy of State-Owned Enterprises in Pakistan

This paper studies the formal and actual human resource management (HRM) autonomy, financial autonomy and policy autonomy of the state owned enterprises (SOEs) of Pakistan and points out the differences that exist between them. It also identifies behind the lack of autonomy of SOEs and proposes multiple recommendations though which this gap can be bridged. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected to carry out this study. Quantitative data was collected from 40 randomly selected SOEs using a close-ended questionnaire while 20 semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect qualitative data. Descriptive statistics was used to see the number of SOEs having different levels of HRM autonomy, financial autonomy and policy autonomy. It was found that a very less number of SOEs were completely autonomous in different aspects of HRM, financial management, policy formulation and its implementation. Excessive political intervention, dependence on government for resources, lack of power of Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and poor performance of SOEs along with numerous other reasons were identified as causes behind this lack of autonomy. Multiple recommendations have also been proposed to overcome this issue. Keywords: Autonomy, State Owned Enterprises, Human Resource Management Autonomy, Financial Autonomy, Policy Autonomy, Task Autonomy, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Companies Ordinance 1984, Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules 2013. DOI : 10.7176/PPAR/10-1-01 Publication date: January 31 st 2020

Rent-seeking by politicians in state-owned enterprises

Motivation: Notwithstanding the privatization processes, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to play an important role in Poland and other post-socialist countries. Governments declare that privatization is completed and that they do not intend to sell any more enterprises. They justify this by pointing to the national security and strategic sectors in which companies should remain state-owned. Unfortunately, SOEs are used by politicians for economic and personal rent-seeking. Aim: This article aims to discuss the idea of economic rent-seeking by politicians, particularly its impact on SOEs. We claim that politicians, being a group of interest, capture SOEs in order to achieve private gains for themselves and their parties, which compromises economic performance of these companies. We analyze the mechanism of influence that politicians have on SOEs, including the processes related to rotations of managers and boards of directors after winning parliamentary elections. To illustrate this, we analyze the scale of rotations in Polish SOEs in the years 2001–2017. The rotations are presented in absolute terms. Additionally, an index of the average number of changes in a company was estimated. Results: We listed several examples of capturing SOEs by politicians. The number of SOEs in EU countries varies. Most SOEs are located in Germany and France. Among the countries of the post-socialist EU–11, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania have the most SOEs. The average number of rotations in personnel was significantly greater in SOEs than in private companies in Poland. Rotations in SOEs are positively correlated with political elections. The greatest increase in the number of changes in SOEs can be observed in the periods following parliamentary elections, regardless of which political party wins. This means that politicians treat SOEs as well-deserved spoils of victory and take it as their own.

Merger and Acquisiton(M&A) Analysis of Pt Kimia Farma Tbk and Pt Indofarma Tbk

Under the 2014-2019 roadmap, Indonesias Ministry of State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) plans to cut the number of SOEs from 119 to 85 and restructure them into 15 sector-based holding companies to improve effciiency. Within healthcare sector, the government has re-initiated the merger plan of PT Kimia Farma Tbk and PT Indofarma Tbk. The government is now considering whether the merger,which actually has been planned since 2005,should be conducted prior to the establishment of holding company. At one side,the government believes that the merger will diminish business overlap between these two SOEs and catalyze growth through synergy. In spite of that, some concerns start to emerge around the plan, including disagreement among shareholders and the uncertain impact of JKN scheme to both companies, among others. Given the aforementioned issues, the purpose of this research is to analyze the feasibility of the merger and propose the most appropriate acquisition scheme. As for the methodology, the author uses PESTLE, SWOT and TOWS to perform qualitative analysis at the economy,industry and company level. For the quantitative analysis,the author performs firm valuation using Discounted Cash Flow(DCF) method to calculate the standalone and post-merger values of both i¬ rms. Eventuall ,the result shows thatt here is expected synergy that comes from revenue enhancement and costs reduction with total value of IDR 968,332,350,219 under base case scenario, IDR 361,754,014,000 under downside scenario, and IDR 1,274,420,797,608 under upside scenario. The best scheme for this merger will be PT Kimia Farma Tbk acquiring PT Indofarma Tbk using 100% stocks with 0.41 exchange ratio. Through this merger, the two companies will form a stronger and more efficient pharmaceutical SOE that can withstand competition in years to come.

Cook Islands

Cook Islands Christina Newport (bio) The year under review was a pivotal one as the Cook Islands celebrated its fiftieth anniversary of independence. Over the last twelve months, immediate and longer-term concerns have seen old relationships revisited and new ones forged. In this review, particular attention is given to highlighting the leadership of women in advancing the Cook Islands across different sectors and issues as political powers continue to shift and take hold. Although women are increasingly elected and appointed as parliamentarians, heads of government departments, chairs and directors of statutory bodies and private entities, and customary titleholders, there appears to be little progress made toward transforming the gendered nature of Cook Islands politics. Indeed, despite women’s making up approximately 50 percent of the country’s population and positions held in the public service, their representation remains low across positions of authority and leadership (Ministry of Finance and Economic Management 2012; Ministry of Internal Affairs 2011). Nevertheless, key appointments have been made this year. Six women were appointed as heads of ministries among the thirteen government departments. They include the first-time appointment of seasoned public servants who have worked their way up the ranks. Tepaeru Herrmann was appointed secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, and Gail Townsend replaced the retiring secretary of the Ministry of Education, Sharyn Paio. Reappointments included Elizabeth Wright-Koteka as chief of staff for the Office of the Prime Minister, Elizabeth Iro as secretary of the Ministry of Health, Bredina Drollett as secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Daphne Ringi as chief executive officer of the Office of the Public Service Commissioner (opsc 2015). This year also saw Teremoana Yala appointed as Cook Islands’ high commissioner to New Zealand. With thirty-five years of public service experience, including fourteen years as a senior official at the Cook Islands High Commission in New Zealand, Yala is very familiar with Cook Islands’ development and diplomatic representation needs (cin, 3 June 2016). Although not the first woman to be appointed to the position, she is the first to take up the office; traditional leader and former head of the Koutu Nui (traditional leaders group) Te Tika Mataiapo Dorice Reid was announced in April 2011 to take up the role but passed away unexpectedly before being able to assume the appointment (cin, 23 June 2011). A less obvious but nevertheless [End Page 127] noteworthy appointment was also made with Caren Rangi taking up a directorship on the Board of Directors for the Cook Islands Investment Corporation (ciic). Based in New Zealand and with ties to Northern and Southern group islands in the Cooks, she holds a range of community and national level governance roles. She is the national president of pacifica Inc, a pan-Pacific women’s organization in New Zealand, and serves as a board member of the Creative New Zealand Arts Council as well as the Pacific Homecare Services and Charities Registration Board (pacifica Inc 2016). Responsible for the oversight of all government assets including land and a number of state-owned enterprises, ciic makes use of Rangi’s expertise in attending to its affairs. These include the development of seabed minerals and preparation of the contract with the United Nations International Seabed Authority, which gives the country mineral rights to a specified area of its exclusive economic zone, and a joint-venture agreement with gsr (Global Sea Mineral Resources nv). This allows the Belgium-based private company the opportunity to explore and mine the designated area held by the Cook Islands (ciic, 15 July 2016; cin, 26 July 2016). Caren Rangi’s appointment can be seen as a reflection of the government’s openness to looking beyond its geographical boundaries in making use of skilled Cook Islanders to provide expertise for the country. As an example of Cook Islands women’s leadership outside of the country, Teresa Manarangi-Trott was appointed to the new Specialist Sub-Committee for Regionalism supporting the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat implementation of the Pacific Regionalism framework (cin, 6 May 2015). She provides the committee with a small island states perspective, supported by her private sector and economic development experience. Having served on the Cook...

State-owned enterprises, competition and product quality

We consider a general oligopoly model with consumer surplus moderated quantity competition among state-owned enterprises (SOEs), where the SOEs employ workers who are members of the state-owned worker union and produce differentiated products. We show that increasing the number of SOEs would lead to an outcome in which these enterprises choose a lower level of product quality and this, in turn, results in welfare losses for the society, depending on the degree of substitutability. Our findings are consistent with the evidence from China and uncovers important linkages that exist between worker union, product quality and competition, and that have mostly been ignored in the industrial organisation, trade and development literature.

Are Chinese state-owned enterprises lagging behind in product innovation?

Chinese State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have been in the spotlight of studies on modern China. Many scholars label the SOEs as low-productivity monopolies with little innovation. After more than 30 years of reform, does the situation remain the same? By measuring the recent new product development in Chinese SOEs and non-SOEs, this paper reveals a comparatively large innovation gap: the quantity and the quality of new products generated from each SOE are higher than those of non-SOEs, although there is no big difference between SOEs and non-SOEs in terms of the total output of new product innovation. It also finds that the gap varies among industries with different degrees of market competition and government intervention. Furthermore, it discovers an inverted 'U'-shaped contribution curve of the SOEs, i.e. SOEs are particularly effective in promoting an industry's innovation, if the number of SOEs accounts for 15-30% in the industry.

Speed-up the privatization of state-owned enterprises – An urgent requirement

Privatization of state-owned enterprises and transformation of state-owned enterprises to joint stock ones not only help to mobilize more capital to expand and develop but also change the organizational model and manage enterprises in a more public, democratic, transparent and efficient manner. Therefore, privatization is the principal and most important way to innovate and enhance the efficiency of the state-owned enterprises. The total number of state-owned enterprises that have been privatized since 1992 to date is about 4000, or 181,5 enterprises per year on average. This average number, especially in the period of 2001 – 2006, is by no means low. The number of state-owned enterprises have declined dramatically, from more than 12,000 in 1990 to only 3,265 in the early 2012 in which the fastest decline is observed in the enterprises controlled by local governments. However, there are noticeable problems in terms of the speed. In order to meet the target of privatization of state-owned enterprises by 2020, it is necessary to: (i) Build a privatization plan for approval by authorities (ii) Build a progress plan on withdrawal of capital which was invested outside main business activities for approval by authorities.

Protection of Sovereign Wealth: Book Review of Sovereign Investment: Concerns and Policy Reactions / edited by Karl P Sauvant, Lisa E Sachs and Wouter PF Schmit Jongbloed

This collection of essays by leading specialists from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), academia, law firms, transnational corporations and think-tanks analyses the role of sovereign investors in the international economy. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach to a wide range of issues raised by investments of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and State-owned enterprises (SOEs). It highlights that, contrary to the general supposition that sovereign investments would flow overwhelmingly from rich to developing countries, sovereign investments from developing countries actually predominate. Sovereign investment constitutes an increasingly important portion of foreign direct investment. In 2012, there were more than 70 SWFs globally—60 percent of which were established in the past decade—and their number is expected to continue to rise. Cumulative foreign direct investment by SWFs amounted to at least US$127 billion in 2012. 2 SOEs are also expanding their investments abroad. The number of SOEs investing abroad increased from 659 in 2010 to 845 in 2012, with SOEs having a cumulative share of foreign direct investment of 10 percent. 3

Does Chinese State Control Facilitate Relative Performance Evaluation?

Previous studies of relative performance evaluation (RPE) for executive compensations in Western developed markets have produced mixed findings. This is partly because the dispersion of share ownership in Western capital markets does not closely correspond with the single-principal/multi-agent theoretical setting assumed by Holmstrom (1982). In this study, we exploit the existence of a large number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China to examine RPE in a setting closer to the theoretical assumption. We find that SOEs are more likely to use RPE for executive compensation than non-SOEs. This is consistent with better cross-firm coordination in executive contracting among SOEs under a common “state” principal than among non-SOEs with dispersed principals similar to Western firms. Furthermore, we find a more pronounced RPE effect among SOEs that are larger or have poorer past performance. This implies that the state principal has greater incentives to monitor strategically important firms or those in distress.

State Ownership in the Russian Economy: Its Magnitude, Structure and Governance Problems

This article analyzes the extent and sectoral distribution of state ownership in the Russian economy. The different legal forms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Russia are described. Official data on the evolution of the size of the state sector is provided, where the size is measured by the number of SOEs, their share in employment, fixed assets, investment and industrial production. The sectoral distribution of SOEs, the degree of their internationalization and data on the subset of listed SOEs are described. The latter gives a picture of a much stronger involvement of the government in medium and large sized companies than what can be inferred from the official data. Furthermore, this article discusses the objectives and challenges for corporate governance of SOEs in Russia, and provides an international perspective of the performance of SOEs as compared to privately owned companies. Recent trends in the policy and management of state property are presented. The problems of corporate governance in Russia are described in an agency perspective, and survey evidence on corporate governance and transparency of Russian SOEs is provided. Particular attention is given to the legal construction of the state corporation. The final section on the performance effects of state ownership summarizes the key contributions in the international economic literature in this field.

The reformatting of state control in Vietnam

This paper examines changing forms of state control in Vietnam. It argues that while reform and rapid economic growth have been associated with promotion of market activity and decline in directly controlled activity as measured by the number of SOEs (State Owned Enterprises) and the state sector's share of gross industrial output, this conceals a major reformatting of state control. Direct control over equitised SOEs has been maintained by the state holding the majority of the shares. Meanwhile complex, often inconsistently enforced and interpreted regulation ties enterprises to the state, a situation reinforced by the state's ability to facilitate (or not) access to credit, technology, market information and know-how. Perhaps even more significant is the manner in which, in much of the new economy in Vietnam, the former distinction between the public and the private has been blurred, and in many cases new hybrid forms have emerged that defy conventional classification. This reformatting of power has been accompanied by the emergence of some serious contradictions which may come to undermine the developmental effectiveness of the Vietnamese state.