The establishment of the new company requires an Investment Certificate from the licensing authority.
We would like to clarify that the procedure for establishment of a foreign invested company in Vietnam generally takes a rather long time in comparison with other countries in the region.
Our practical experiences show that although the total time for establishment of a foreign invested company as stipulated under Vietnam Investment Law 2005 is only 20 -45 days, the actual process may take a longer time due to that the competent authority must consult other relevant offices to evaluate the investment project.
Under Vietnam Law on Investment, for incorporating the New Company, a foreign invested company is required to propose an Investment Project initially to obtain Investment certificate.
This Investment Project would comprise of a collection of proposals for the expenditure of medium and long term capital in order to carry out the investment activity in Vietnam and for a specified duration.
The relevant competent authorities shall evaluate the legitimacy and the feasibility of such Investment Project to determine on granting of the Investment Certificate on the following basis:
a. The legal framework including Vietnam’s WTO Commitments, Vietnam Investment Law, Vietnam Enterprise Law, Regulations applicable to specific industries as well as the master economic development plan of the city or province that the New Company shall register its head-office.
b. The financial ability of foreign investor, investment capital to put in the Investment Project, facilities and human resources serving the implementation of such investment project in Vietnam.
The roadmap for the incorporation of the New Company can be described in following steps as follows:
- Preparation of application dossier
- Submission of application dossier to the concerned Competent Authority
- Comments from the relevant Ministries and Departments and providing explanations if required
- Grant of Investment Certificate
- Post Licensing Procedure
- Publication in the Newspaper
