Laws of Vietnam

In order to materialize the Government’s Resolution No. 09/2001/NQ-CP of August 28, 2001 on further attracting and raising the efficiency of foreign direct investment in the 2001-2005 period, the Prime Minister hereby instructs the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government and the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities (hereafter called the ministries and the provincial-level People’s Committees) to perform the following tasks:

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility in elaborating the following projects:

- The project on elaboration and finalization of legal documents on foreign direct investment, which is carried out along the direction of creating a legal ground and major policies for domestic investment and foreign direct investment;

- The list of national projects calling for foreign direct investment in the 2001-2005 period.

In 2001, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall submit to the Government and the Prime Minister:

- The project on broadening the attraction of foreign direct investment; the experimental conversion of foreign-invested enterprises into joint-stock companies; the amendment of a number of stipulations for speeding up the formation and implementation of BOT projects;

- The decree amending and supplementing the Government’s Decree No. 36/CP of April 24, 1997 which promulgates the Regulation on Industrial Parks, Export Processing Zones and Hi-Tech Parks;

- The Regulation on coordination in the management of foreign direct investment activities, including the establishment of an inter-branch working team to systematically revise all permits and stipulations relating to foreign direct investment, annul unnecessary permits and stipulations, and build up the ‘one-door, one-coordinator’ management mechanism at central and local levels.

2. The Ministry of Trade shall promulgate the regulations on foreign direct investment in the domains of import service and domestic distribution service according to the Government’s Decree No. 24/2000/ND-CP of July 31, 2000 detailing the implementation of the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam; submit to the Government the project on shortening the list of goods not purchased for export by foreign-invested enterprises.

3. The Ministry of Construction shall submit to the Government the draft decree amending and supplementing the Government’s Decree No. 60/CP of July 5, 1994 on dwelling house ownership and residential land use right in urban areas and Decree No. 61/CP of July 5, 1994 on purchase, sale of and dealing in dwelling houses.

4. The Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall guide the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 06/2000/ND-CP of March 6, 2000 on investment cooperation with foreign countries in the domains of medical examination and treatment, education and training as well as scientific research.

5. The Government Pricing Committee shall submit to the Prime Minister the project on the adjustment of prices and charges to the common level for domestic and foreign investment; announce the prices and charges which can be uniformly applied right in 2001.

6. Vietnam Electricity Corporation shall complete before June 2002 the refund to foreign-invested enterprises of the conformable and actual capital amounts already spent by them on the construction of electric projects outside their perimeter.

7. The State Bank of Vietnam shall:

- Elaborate the project on reforming the monetary policy relating to foreign direct investment activities;

- Promulgate in 2001 the regulations guiding the implementation of the Government’s decrees on loan security, pledge, mortgage and guarantee for foreign-invested enterprises in order to create favorable conditions for them to borrow credit capital at credit institutions operating in Vietnam;

- Elaborate the project on capabilities and conditions to permit a number of foreign-invested enterprises to mortgage the land use right value at credit institutions operating overseas.

8. The Ministry of Finance shall:

- Elaborate the project on reforming the tax system relating to foreign direct investment activities;

- Promulgate in 2001 the policy on encouraging activities of foreign investment funds operating in Vietnam, and the regulations on tax declaration and payment and final tax settlement based on the auditing results.

9. The General Land Administration shall complete in 2001 the guidance on granting the land use right certificates for enterprises in industrial parks and export processing zones; elaborate the research project for permitting individuals to experimentally sublease land to foreign investors; guide the handling of land contributed as capital to joint ventures in case of bankruptcy, dissolution or conversion of investment forms.

10. The Ministry of Justice shall promulgate in 2001 the documents guiding secured transaction registration and establish a national agency for secured transaction registration; assume the prime responsibility for revising documents and stipulations relating to foreign direct investment, which have been issued by ministries or provincial-level People’s Committees in order to overcome any overlapping or contradiction among documents or stipulations, as well as to annul inappropriate stipulations.

11. The ministries and provincial-level People’s Committees shall make lists of projects calling for foreign direct investment of the ministries, branches and localities, reach agreement with the Ministry of Planning and Investment thereon and announce them in 2001 for use as basis for investment mobilization and promotion; simplify and make public the administrative procedures relating to foreign direct investment.

12. Economic and technical ministries and branches shall work out, adjust and announce their branch plannings and major products in the first 6 months of 2002, which clearly determine the domestic capital source, ODA capital and foreign direct investment capital for use as basis for determining the investment undertakings.

13. The investment licensing agencies shall regularly revise and classify foreign direct investment projects already granted the investment licenses in order to promptly remove difficulties and support projects so that they can soon operate and conduct business with efficiency.

For projects which are deemed feasible though they are not materialized yet, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall coordinate with the concerned ministries, branches and provincial-level People’s Committees to take initiative in exchanging ideas with investors to accelerate the implementation within a given period of time and settle problems, including the adjustment of the project’s objectives and operation scale.

14. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall closely coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade and other relevant agencies in elaborating and implementing annual programs for investment mobilization and promotion, well organizing the propagation on foreign direct investment, studying foreign direct investment partners as well as laws and policies on foreign direct investment of countries in the region; arranging personnel to perform the tasks of investment promotion in overseas key regions.

The Ministry of Finance shall arrange funding for investment promotion activities within the annual budget of regular spendings of the ministries, branches and localities.

15. In 2001, the Government Commission for Organization and Personnel shall work out the Regulation on Vietnamese officials’ participation in the Managing Boards and in the management of joint-venture enterprises; the Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility for elaborating the project on organization of training of officials engaged in the work of foreign direct investment; and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for elaborating the project on job training for foreign-invested enterprises.

16. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall coordinate with the Government Office in monitoring and summing up the implementation of the Government’s Resolution and this Directive in order to promptly report to the Prime Minister on the projects relating to the implementation of this Directive.

17. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall organize the strict and full implementation of this Directive. Any problems arising beyond their respective competence should be reported to the Prime Minister for consideration and direction of implementation.

Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI