Draft law puts external loans under strict control

HCMC - Provinces and ministries would have to go through the Government to take out foreign loans, instead of directly accessing foreign lenders, to fund their socio-economic development projects, according to a draft law on control of public debt.

The draft law prepared by the Ministry of Finance states that local governments, ministries and agencies must submit their plans to use official development assistance (ODA) loans for their projects and programs to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval. The plans should clarify the need to use ODA loans, investment purpose and project scale, the efficiency and return on investment of the projects, and their repayment plan.

The draft law requires the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies, to appraise the plans and report their viability to the Prime Minister for consideration.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment should work out a review report on the need of local governments and agencies to use ODA loans for their investment projects that have already got the PM’s nod and help look for finances for projects.

Local governments, ministries and agencies should carry out the feasibility studies for their projects and programs based on the ‘in principle’ approval of the PM for submission to competent agencies for approval. Then, the projects will be forwarded to authorities for approval in line with the prevailing regulations.

The Ministry of Finance will work with ministries and localities which have projects using ODA loans over borrowing terms before proceeding with borrowing agreements.

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Foreign Investment in Vietnam

Ministries, agencies and localities should prepare lists of projects and programs subject to allocation of State money for submission to competent authorities to approve the use of the Government’s source of development investment.

The Ministry of Finance will check and sign on-lending agreements or authorize agencies to strike such deals for the eligible projects and programs, according to the draft law. The ministry should report budget estimates for the loans sourced from the State budget to competent agencies for approval.

The draft law also puts an emphasis on the efficient use of the ODA loans. Ministries and local governments will have to earmark their budgets to timely settle payments for on-lending of ODA loans.

Ministries and local governments will be required to get the PM’s nod for their plans to seek and use concessional loans for investment.

External commercial loans should be taken out for lending-on for the projects and programs with a high return on investment. The investors will have to submit to the PM their reports on how to use the capital source for their projects.

Source: The Saigon Times

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What lawyers should not promise

In Vietnam, the law has continuously played an important role in the life and contribute to protect and maintain the stability and development of society. In the trend of integration of the world economy, the role of the law has once again been confirmed with a new level in order to contribute to promoting the integration of Vietnam into world economy and opens a new opportunity for those who are practicing law in general and lawyers in particular in Vietnam.

In general, lawyer profession in Vietnam has been a noble profession for the purpose of contributing to the protection of justice, while contributing to the socio-economic development. In reflection, lawyers themselves take professionalism as the basic foundation of the profession, and should always have the responsibility to self-improve skills and widen knowledge in various areas to meet the growing demands as Vietnam develops i.e. corporate, commercial, investment, construction, environment, securities laws…etc.

Sometimes, when providing legal services to clients in handling disputes claim against damages for breach of contractual obligations, the customer has requested a lawyer to promise and guarantee the results of the dispute.

The lawyer, whom represents the client to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the client, has to follow the law, and the ethics. Responding to the request of the client to promise and guarantee the result, the lawyer shall refuse because the outcome of such will depend on the facts and legal grounds of the disputed matters in Vietnam.

The lawyer shall collect comprehensive information from the client then analyze possibilities of outcome. Lawyers should not promise the results or the percentage of success which could potentially lead to the wrong decision made by the client. If the results are not as customer’s expectation, it will be a great loss to the prestige, and the image of lawyers. A good lawyer will have the skills to analyze problems, look at the details, and propose solutions but cannot guarantee the outcome of a case. Each case is different and there are too many unknown factors, and the unanswered questions.

In a litigation case, the lawyers will tell the customers what they are facing, what the lawyers could do, the best situation and what is worst. Good lawyers will know how to analyze and clarify the issue. Both the client and the lawyer should have a positive attitude to solve the problems in regard to the disputing matters.

The only thing ANT Lawyers could promise in a dispute case is that we will follow the laws of Vietnam.

Source: antlawyers.vn

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Visa and Immigration Matters in Vietnam

Foreigners  entering  Vietnam  for  different  purposes  will  need proper  visas  issued,  failing  which  would lead  to  the  revocation,  invalidation  of  entry/exit/residence  permits issued  by  Vietnamese  competent authorities.  The  length  of stay  in  Vietnam for foreigners  depend  on the  visa type and the time  duration specified  on  the  visa  itself.   

 For  some  visas,  especially  work  related  visas,  the  foreigners  need  to  be sponsored by Vietnam enterprises  for working purpose.  The proper works  visa must be obtained before work permit in Vietnam would be issued and the foreigners could apply for temporary residence card to stay in Vietnam for a longer period.

Below lists down all visa symbol for references.

1. NG1 –  Issued  to  members  of  delegations  invited  by  the  Secretary  General  of  Vietnam’s  Communist Party of, the President of Vietnam, the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister.
2. NG2 –  issued  to  members  of  delegations  invited  by  standing  members  of  the  Secretariat  of  the Vietnam’s Communist Party, Deputy President of Vietnam, Deputy President of the National Assembly, Deputy  Prime  Minister,  President  of  Vietnamese  Fatherland  Front,  Executive  Judge  of  The  Supreme Court, Chief Procurator of the Supreme Procuracy, State Auditor General; members of delegations at the same  levels  of  Ministers,  Secretary  Generals  of  Provincial Communist  Authorities,  President  of  the People’s Committees of provinces.
3. NG3 –   Issued   to   members   of   diplomatic   missions,   consular   offices,   representative   offices   of international organizations affiliated to the UN, representative offices of intergovernmental organizations and their spouses, children under 18 years of age, and housemaids during their term of office.
4. NG4- Issued  to  people  who  come  to  work  with  diplomatic missions,  consular  offices,  representative offices  of  international  organizations  affiliated  to  the  UN,  representative  offices  of  intergovernmental organizations,  visitors  of  members  of  diplomatic  missions,  consular  offices,  representative  offices  of international   organizations   affiliated   to   the   UN,   and   representative   offices   of   intergovernmental organizations.
5. LV1 –  Issued  to  people  who  come  to  work  with  units  affiliated  to  Vietnam’s  Communist  Party;  the National  Assembly,  the  government,  Central  Committee  of  Vietnamese  Fatherland  Front,  the  People’s Supreme  Court,  the  People’s  Supreme  Procuracy,  State  Audit  Agency,  Ministries,  ministerial  agencies, Governmental agencies, the People’s Councils, the People’s Committees of provinces.
6. LV2 –  Issued  to  people  who  come  to  work  with  socio-political  organizations,  social  organizations, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
7. ĐT – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam.
8. DN – Issued to people who come to work with companies in Vietnam.
9. NN1 –  Issued  to  Managers  of  representative  offices  or  projects  of  international  organizations  and foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.
10. NN2 – Issued to heads of representative offices, branches of foreign traders, representative offices  of other foreign economic, cultural, professional organizations in Vietnam.
11. NN3 –   Issued   to   people   who   come   to   work   with   foreign   non-governmental   organizations, representative  offices,  branches  of  foreign  traders,  representative  offices  of  other  foreign  economic, cultural, professional organizations in Vietnam.
12. DH – Issued to people who come to study or serve internship.
13. HN – Issued to people who come to attend conventions or conferences.
14. PV1 – Issued to journalists who have permanent residences in Vietnam.
15. PV2 – Issued to journalists who come to work for a short period of time in Vietnam.
16. LĐ – Issued to people who come to work.
17. DL – Issued to tourists.
18. TT –  Issued  to  foreigners  that  are  parents,  spouse,  children under  18  years  of  age  of  the  foreigners issued  with  LV1,  LV2, ĐT,  NN1,  NN2,  UNIVERSITY,  PV1,  LĐ  visas,  or  foreigners  that  are  parents, spouse, children of Vietnamese citizens.
19. VR – Issued to people who come to visit their relatives or for have other purposes.
20. SQ – Issued to people at an overseas visa-issuing authority of Vietnam

It is  important that the immigration lawyers  in Vietnam to be retained for advice in regard to visa, work permit, temporary residence card or other immigration matters.

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Major realty firms to be inspected

HANOI - The Ministry of Construction is going to inspect a dozen real estate companies, including major ones, a source told the Daily.

Through the periodical checks, inspectors of the ministry will clarify some issues concerning the operations of realty firms, such as their observance of law and policies on planning, quality management and real estate business in 2011-2016.

Reportedly, among the 12 property firms to be examined are those of significant scale such as Vingroup, Sun Group, FLC, Hoa Binh Group, Novaland, Muong Thanh Group, Tan Hoang Minh Group, Bitexco Group, Empire Group, Dai Quang Minh, Phu My Hung Corporation and Nam Thang Long (Cipurtra). Each of these enterprises will undergo a month-long inspection.

In particular, the ministry will look into projects of Muong Thanh Group in Hanoi and Khanh Hoa Province, Bitexco’s projects in HCMC, Cocobay Danang project of Empire, and Dai Quang Minh’s construction of four main roads in Thu Thiem New Urban Area in HCMC.

Such inspection is a regular activity of the Ministry of Construction. Nevertheless, this inspection plan has stoked public curiosity and attention since some real estate projects have recently stirred up public concerns. Particularly, Muong Thanh Group has just been examined, with a number of irregularities detected such as violating height limits.

Speaking at a review conference for 2016 last Friday, Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung said the Government had assigned his agency to review urban planning. The ministry has already ordered inspections into controversial projects in Hanoi this week.

Source The Saigon Times

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Foreign firms expand presence in retail market

HANOI – Foreign companies are establishing a stronger presence on the fast growing Vietnamese retail market, according to a report which the Ministry of Industry and Trade released last Friday.

Foreign direct investment enterprises now hold a 17% retail market share in the segment of shopping centers and supermarkets, 70% in convenience stores, 15% in minimarts, and around 50% in online, TV and phone shopping, said the report.

These percentages are not too high but the rising presence of foreign investors in the retail market can be seen in major cities. For instance, Thailand’s Central Group has taken over the entire stake of France’s Casino Group in Big C Vietnam, and another Thai conglomerate, TCC Holding, has acquired Metro Cash and Carry Vietnam.

Other foreign business groups such as South Korea’s Lotte and Japan’s Aeon have been steadily expanding, with plans to double or triple their stores in Vietnam in the coming years.

The swift expansion of foreign firms has piled pressure on local retailers. Domestic goods suppliers have also felt the pinch as foreign retailers are developing their own goods brands for sale at their stores.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, total retail sales of goods and services last year rose 10.2% year-on-year to VND3,530 trillion (US$156.7 billion).

Business-to-customer (B2C) transactions were estimated to double from the US$2.2 billion recorded in 2013.

Source The Saigon Times

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Workshop discusses renewable energy development

HCMC – Experiences from developed countries have shown that renewable energy cannot be developed without a competitive electricity market in place, heard a workshop in Hanoi on Monday.

Experts attended a workshop to make policy recommendations for boosting the development of renewable energy in a competitive power market, the Vietnam News Agency reports.

Building a competitive power market is an important element of institutional reform, Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), told the event held by CIEM.

Pham Duc Trung, deputy head of CIEM’s Committee for Enterprise Reform and Development, said producers of renewable energy should be entitled to preferential treatment in terms of tax, land use fee and access to credit.

The domestic power market has not been made competitive while there are no independent agencies monitoring and regulating the market, making it unattractive to investors, he said.

To spur competitiveness, Trung stressed the need to reform State utility Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) and guarantee a level playing field for electricity producers and distributors.

He suggested making the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam more independent, strengthening the capacity of the Vietnam Competition Authority at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and applying a competitive pricing mechanism.

Nguyen Van Vy, vice chairman of the Vietnam Energy Association (VEA), said the Government should adopt incentive investment policy for projects generating and using renewable energy, and give financial assistance to renewable energy research projects.

Source:The Saigon Times Daily

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