Vietnam’s Decree 31 Provides Guidance on Implementation of the Investment Law

Vietnam’s Decree 31 sets out a list of business lines where foreign investors are subject to market access restrictions. These business lines are further divided into two: The Market Entry list and the Prohibition List.

In March 2021, the government of Vietnam issued Decree 31/2021/ND-CP (Decree 31), which provides guidance on the implementation of the new Law on Investment, introduced in 2020.

Decree 31 sets out a list of business lines where foreign investors are subject to market access restrictions. These business lines are further divided into two: the Market Entry list and the Prohibition List.

There are 58 sectors where foreign investors must satisfy certain conditions to enter the market; 25 sectors are completely closed to foreign investments. Moreover, under Decree 31, any project can be terminated, as a whole or in part, is accused of making fraudulent transactions, pursuant to a court judgment.

The recent changes under the new legal framework are part of the Vietnamese government’s efforts to improve competitiveness in its market, attract foreign investors, and develop a more user-friendly government e-system.

The market entry list and prohibition list

Decree 31 stipulates two lists of business sectors; one, where foreign investors are forbidden to participate (Prohibition List), and another, where foreign investors must satisfy certain market entry conditions to invest (Market Entry List).

In case a foreign investor holds investments in multiple sectors in the Market Entry list – all the conditions in each sector must be fulfilled. The details of the market access conditions will be summarized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment through the National Portal on Foreign Investment.

If there is no market entry restriction, then the foreign investor is treated as if they were a domestic investor — no restrictions on foreign ownership.

Guarantee of investment incentives in case of changes to the law

If there are revisions to existing legislative documents, which lead to changes to investment incentives being applied to investors before the effective date of the revisions, then these investors will have their investments guaranteed, in accordance with Article 13 of the Law on Investment.

Investment incentives include those specified in:

• The investment license;
• Business license;
• Enterprise license;
• Investment certificate; or
• Investment registration certificate.

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