Vietnam issues decree on re-registering foreign firms

The Vietnamese government has issued a decree on compulsory re-registration of foreign firms following the enactment of new law. 

The decree, signed Thursday by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, is the final one in a set of decrees guiding implementation of the Enterprise Law passed last year to supersede a 1999 law and which took effect on July 1.

Decree 101 will apply to all foreign-invested enterprises licensed under the old Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam. They include joint-ventures, wholly foreign-owned companies, foreign-invested joint-stock companies, and projects under business co-operation contracts.

The decree stipulates that joint-ventures and wholly foreign-owned companies with more than two owners have to register as limited liability companies.

Wholly foreign-invested companies owned by an individual or organization must re-register as single-member limited liability companies.

Joint-stock companies with foreign investment have to register afresh.

The decree calls upon licensing offices to issue fresh certificates within 15 days.

While registering afresh, companies are allowed to change their ownership structure.

Joint-venture and wholly foreign companies with more than two owners may become one-member limited liability companies.

Private companies invested by a foreign organization or individual may become limited liability shareholding companies.

The time given to licensing agencies for this process is 30 days.

Though the Investment Law and Enterprise Law came into effect on July 1, decrees needed to guide their implementation were not issued, keeping government agencies and enterprises guessing.

Recently decree 95 on converting state-run enterprises into one-member limited liability companies and decree 88 on business registration were passed.

The delay has been blamed for the low inflow of foreign investment recently.

(Source: Thanhniennews)