More than 400 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) declared bankrupt or were dissolved in 2013 in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA on Wednesday quoted a report from the ministry as saying that around 6,400 SOE units were restructured across the country in 2013.

According to Vietnam's finance ministry, the financial situation of several restructured companies had improved. About 85 percent of the 3,576 businesses that implemented re-capitalization programs reported higher revenues, while 90 percent posted profits. About 86 percent of these companies also contributed more towards the state budget.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said recently in a report released at the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum held in December 2013 that in 2011-2013 period, Vietnamese government have approved restructuring plans of 68 state owned corporations and economic groups, 19 of which were approved by the prime minister.

The number of SOEs reduced from 12,000 in early 1990s to more than 1,000 at the end of 2013, excluding state-owned farms, said the prime minister.

In 2014-2015 period, non-core SOE business will be completely stopped and as many as 500 SOEs will be equitized, Dung added.

Regarding the issues of SOEs restructuring in Vietnam in recent years, Victoria Kwakwa, country director of the World Bank in Vietnam said in a meeting with Vietnam's Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung in Vietnam's capital Hanoi on Tuesday, that though Vietnamese government has gained initial achievements in SOEs restructuring, the progresses remained slow.

Vietnamese government should be more selective in SOEs restructuring, focusing on key sectors to ensure enough resources for the progress, said Kwakwa.

The WB is ready to support the Vietnam's finance ministry in the field, said Kwakwa.

Statistics from Vietnam's finance ministry revealed that the preparation and implementation of restructuring plans in term of sectors had fallen below the target. The number of businesses that are more than 51 percent owned by the state still accounts for a high proportion of the companies requiring restructuring.

The ministry said it would accelerate the re-capitalization of companies in collaboration with the related ministries to ensure that the process is completed by 2015.