Decree eases foreign investment red tape

This is in accordance with Decree No 118/2015/ND-CP, which was issued on November 12 and takes effect on November 27, providing guidelines for the Investment Law 2014.

Quach Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's (MPI's) Legal Department, said the decree would ease procedures for foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises.

The economic institutions, with foreign investors' stakes or capital contribution, will be responsible for registering changes in shareholders or members with business registration agencies, if any. This process is to conform to the laws on enterprises and economic institution-related legislation.

However, foreign investors will have to register with planning and investment departments themselves, in localities where the economic organisations are headquartered, in the following cases:

- The economic institutions deal in business areas that are accompanied by certain conditions for foreign investment, as stipulated by the authorities.

- The stake acquisition or capital contribution increases the share of foreign investors in the economic institutions from below 51 percent to 51 percent or more; or from 51 percent to higher levels.

After receiving foreign investors' registration documents, the planning and investment departments will notify them whether they are qualified for their investments or not, within 15 days.

Following the new decree, the Government said it would provide support and incentives to investment projects involved in high-tech nursery, biotechnology development, information technology software manufacturing, and recycle and clean energy production.

The announcement has reportedly excited domestic startups, many of them told Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam recently that there was inadequate government support for the startup community.

There was a lack of tax incentives for internet-based service providers, while barriers in receiving foreign capital remained significant, they said./.

Source: VNA