The State-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has made it into the top three largest firms in Vietnam this year, the tenth year in a row, according to the latest ranking co-released by Vietnam Report (VNR) and e-newspaper VietNamNet.

PetroVietnam exploits oil and gas at offshore Bach Ho field.

The VNR500 ranking lists the 500 largest companies in Vietnam, considering revenues, profits, growth rates, labour, owner’s equity, and total assets. It is the 14th consecutive year the ranking has been announced.

PetroVietnam was listed in the third place, after Samsung Vietnam in the first position and state-run firm Vietnam Electricity (EVN) in the second.

A number of subsidiaries of PetroVietnam were also named in the top 40 of the list, including Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR) in the 11th position; PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL), 15th; PetroVietnam Gas Corporation JSC (PV Gas, 16th; Vietnam-Russia joint venture Vietsovpetro, 28th; PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP), 39th; and PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), 40th.

Other member companies on the list include PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC), Vietnam Public Joint Stock Commercial Bank (PvcomBank), insurer PVI Holdings, PVI Insurance, PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation Mechanical & Construction (PTSC M&C), PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVTrans), PetroVietnam Low Pressure Gas Distribution JSC (PV Gas D), PetroVietnam Fertiliser and Chemicals Corporation (PVFCCo), PetroVietnam Power Nhon Trach 2 Corporation, PetroVietnam Ca Mau Fertiliser JSC (PVCFC), PetroVietnam Gas South JSC (PGS), PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Service Corporation (PV Drilling), and PetroVietnam Chemical and Services Corporation (PVChem).

In October, PetroVietnam topped the list of 500 most profitable businesses (Profit500) also released by VNR and VietNamNet. This is the third consecutive year the corporation has led the ranking. Enterprises honoured are those with efficient and sustainable production and business activities, as well as high profitability amid challenges caused by the pandemic-triggered crisis.

PetroVietnam and its members have taken a comprehensive set of response measures to tackle challenges induced by COVID-19 and maintain stable production since the beginning of this year. It exploited an estimated 17.32 million tonnes of oil equivalent in the first ten months of the year, surpassing the plan for the period by 2.3%.

The group's total revenue reached VND464.5 trillion (US$20.1 billion), or 83% of the yearly plan while its contribution to the State budget hit VND58.3 trillion, equivalent to 86% of the yearly target.

Amid a global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group was among a few oil and gas businesses in the world that have managed to post positive growth in the January-October period. In the past 10 months, the group reduced costs by VND8.1 trillion as part of the effort to weather the crisis.

Towards the year’s end, PetroVietnam sets the goal of continuing to exercise thrift, effectively using resources and devising scenarios to cope with market developments, as well as grasping new opportunities for effective disbursement, thus propelling its next growth.

An October survey by VNR found that 24.4% of asked enterprises said they performed better in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year. Some 36.6% said production was stable and 39% said they performed worse than a year earlier.

About 41.5% of firms said their nine-month revenue declined against the same period last year while 43.9% saw higher revenue. Some 14.6% said their revenue did not change much, according to the survey.

The survey also showed the top five strategies that enterprises had adopted to tackle challenges this year, namely accelerating personnel training and maximising human resources (90.4% of asked enterprises); cutting costs (86.5%); sharpening competitive edges (73.1%); increasing investment in technology and digital technology application (53.8%); and strengthening customers’ experience, 42.3%.

A ceremony to officially announce the VNR500 2020 will be held on January 8, 2021 in Hanoi.