Investment in Vietnam

 All vietnamese and foreign, natural and legal persons can, sole or corporately, invest in Vietnam. From  now on foreign investors can establish in company with vietnamese individuals  joint ventures.

 Legal form of a company

Now foreign investors have the same possibilies like the vietnamese entrepreneurs to choose the type of company:

• limited liability company with a sole shareholder
• limited liability company with at least two shareholders
• joint stock company
• general partnership
• partnership

 Forms of Investment

 Foreign investor can direct invest in different forms, such as:

• To establish economic organizations in the form of one hundred (100) per cent capital of foreign investors.
• To establish joint venture economic organizations between domestic and foreign investors.
• To invest in the contractual forms of: BCC; BO; BTO; and BT.
• To invest in business development.
• To purchase shares or to contribute capital in order to participate in management of investment activities.
• To invest in the carrying out of a merger and acquisition of an enterprise.
  

Timing

As a matter of law, business registration body shall issue the Business Registration Certificate within 10 time-limit of 10 working days from the date of receipt of the documents for registration.

With respect of foreign invested projects which have an invested capital of below 300 billion Vietnamese dong and which are not included in the list of sectors of investment subject to conditions, the provincial State administrative body for invesment shall issue an investment certificate within a time-limit of 15 days from the date of receipt of the complete and valid file for investment registration.

So, the total time is approimately estimated 25 working days from the date of receipt of the file for investment. The time for amending or supplementing documents shall not be counted.

Establishing of a commercial firm

The vietnamese law distinguishes between companies producing or providing services and trading companies. The former legislation prohibited enterprises consisting in foreign direct investment and pure trading companies. Against it the new laws enables the foreign investors to establish trading companies. In this context the law can be  interpreted in such a way that established companies with foreign direct investment can also apply for an enlargement of their licence so that they will be allowed to conduct pure trading operations.