The Law on Investment under the Law revising nine laws in Viet Nam

The Law on Investment have a number of articles revised under the Law amending nine laws (the Law), which was passed on January 11 this year at the first extraordinary session of the 15th National Assembly.
Coming into force on March 1, the Law aims to institutionalize the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies on law building and remove obstacles to production, business and social activities, especially in the context of COVID-19 prevention and control, and socio-economic recovery and development.

Outstanding amendments to the Law on Investment

The provision of cyber security products and services, excluding provision of cyberinformation security products and services and provision of civil cryptography products and services, is stipulated as a new conditional business line in the Law. This conditional business line is numbered 132a on the List of sectors and trades subject to conditional business investment provided in Appendix IV to the Law on Investment.

The Law supplements the regulation on the competence of the Prime Minister and provincial-level People’s Committees to approve investment policy for investment projects. Accordingly, the Prime Minister may approve investment policy for investment projects to build houses (for sale, lease or lease-purchase) or urban centers using 300 hectares of land or more, or accommodating 50,000 people or more, while provincial-level People’s Committees are competent to approve investment policy for those using under 300 hectares of land and accommodating under 50,000 people.

Previously, the determination of the competence to approve investment policy for these projects was more complex with the criteria for determination including not only land use scale and population scale, but also the criterion on the place (urban or non-urban area) where a project is located.

The competence to approve investment policy for projects within the protected areas of relics now belongs to the Prime Minister, for projects to be implemented in level-I protected areas of national relics or special national relics; or in level-II protected areas of special national relics on the List of world heritages, or to provincial-level People’s Committees, for projects to be implemented in level-II protected areas of national relics or special national relics, except special national relics on the List of world heritages; or in areas restricted from development or inner areas of special-grade historical urban centers. Notably, the Law states that implementation of the above projects must comply with the law on cultural heritage.