Vietnam Airlines has stated it will be partially privatised in November as part of a long-delayed government drive to sell off the country's mostly inefficient state-owned enterprises.
Around 25% of the national carrier will be sold in an IPO, the company said in a statement.
"Based on the [privatization] plan approved by the Prime Minister, Vietnam Airlines will quickly implement steps to proceed with the IPO in late November 2014," it said.
Vietnamese state media reported that 20% of the shares will be sold to strategic investors, some 3% to airline staff and the rest to the public.
The state will retain a 75% controlling stake in the company, whose registered capital is roughly VND 14 trillion (US$661 million), the statement added.
Vietnam first began modest State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) reforms in the 1980s, and there has been subsequent talk of privatizing Vietnam Airlines since at least the mid-1990s. Prior attempts to sell off portions of the airline were blocked primarily by resistance from vested interests and a lack of political will. At least one prior attempt was abandoned due to the global economic crisis in 2008.