Mergers and acquisitions have been emerging as an attractive channel for international investors in Vietnam. However, some barriers are restricting foreign investors from entering shared sales and purchase agreements in Vietnamese enterprises. Two young lawyers Le Gia Khanh and Nguyen Van Hai Dang from NHQuang&Associates analyse the restrictions and how Vietnam can welcome more foreign funds.

With the strategic plan to attract qualified foreign investment into Vietnam in the light of the Politburo’s Resolution No.50-NQ/TW, the drafted amendment of the Law on Investment 2014 simplifies licensing procedures for setting up a foreign-invested entity.

Amongst the numerous revisions included in the draft of amendments of the Law on Investment, the expansion of investment capital and the “negative list” approach towards market access are two features less-frequently mentioned but expected to create significant changes for investors.

With significant contributions of foreign investment to Vietnam’s social-economic development over the past 30 years, Vietnam is working to increase its quality and efficiency for future attraction. Le Net from LNT & Partners and Nguyen Hung Quang from NHQuang & Associates delve into the last three decades and also look at the importance of new orientations for future investment prospects.

The Law on Enterprises has undergone amendments since the first incarnation 20 years ago, which impacted the change in business freedom and contributed to a fair, and non-discriminatory business environment. Nguyen Hung Quang, managing partner of NHQuang&Associates, analyses the development and implementation of the law over the last two decades in order to draw some lessons for lawmaking and enforcement in Vietnam.

Attracting international investment flows into state-owned enterprises by increasing foreign ownership limits will bring equal treatment between domestic and overseas investors. Tran Thi Thanh Huyen, partner at NHQuang&Associates, discusses the bottlenecks in the equitisation process and how important the revision of the relevant laws to international ventures is.