In its endeavor to attract foreign investment inflows and realise the diversity and security of its energy supply, Vietnam has set out short, medium and long term strategies which have been articulated in a number of legal instruments. These developments include the drive and acceleration of divestment and liberalisation of the energy market and ensuring healthy competition therein.
This article provides a critical analysis of the current divestment of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Vietnam’s oil and gas sectors. In doing so, it also assesses current state of affairs against the key principles and objectives of competition law. After providing a brief summary of the milestones in the oil and gas sector, the article explains the equatisation in and privatization of SOEs and critiques the implications of these practices against the benchmarks of competition law provisions. After identifying the current problems and future challenges that lie ahead, it provides a number of constructive recommendations for policy development and legal reform.
Reference: Nguyen, T.H. & Turksen, U. (2020). Divestment of State-Owned Enterprises and Competition in Oil & Gas Sectors in Vietnam. Vietnamese Journal of Legal Sciences, 1(1), 1-32. [01]. https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/vjls-2020-0001
About authors:
- Prof. Dr. Umut Tusksen is interested in the practical application of the law in innovation, societal security and development. He has published several articles and books on energy, financial crime and international trade and economic law. He has provided consultancy and training to prestigious international businesses and government projects. These include technical assistance programmes to multinational corporations (e.g. France Telecom, Orange, Equas Ltd, Wilmington Plc.) and international organisations (e.g. Commonwealth, NATO, EUROPOL), professional development training to practitioners and to the EU funded projects (e.g. CEPOL, SecuCities, MUTRAP III, COFFERS, PROTAX, VIRTEU). Prof Turksen is currently leading an EU H2020 project, PROTAX (www.protax-project.eu), which aims to co-create solutions - in collaboration with ministries and law enforcement agencies across Europe - for the prevention and prosecution of tax crimes. Prof Turksen is also a member of the Innovation Caucus (https://innovationcaucus.co.uk).
- Ha Nguyen (LLB, LLM), a partner of Huy&Partners LLC., is interested in cross-border trade and investment, energy, infrastructure construction, competition and State-owned enterprises. He has participated in energy megastructure projects in Vietnam and other ASEAN countries (Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemicals Plant, Song Hau 1 coal-fired power plant, petroleum production platforms in Vietnam offshore, Petronas RAPID project, Southern Johor, Malaysia) and airport projects in Vietnam (T3 Terminal – Tan Son Nhat Airport, Long Thanh international airport (phase 1)). He has also published a few articles on Vietnam oil and gas sector, renewable energy, State-owned enterprises privitisation and competition.
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