LEGAL GUIDE FOR STARTUP INVESTMENT AND
VENTURE FINANCING IN VIETNAM

尽管许多外国投资者通常对在越南投资有基本了解，但仍有部分投资者对具体流程不熟悉。本文探讨了外国企业在越南可选择的主要投资形式：代表处（RO）、分支机构（Branch）和子公司（Subsidiary）。每种形式都有其独特特点，例如法人地位、运营自主性和许可程序。代表处适合市场调研和投资初期阶段，而分支机构因受限于实际操作中的困难，较少被使用。子公司则具有最高的运营自由度和盈利能力，是大规模投资的最佳选择。对这些选项的详细比较将有助于投资者更有效地应对越南的监管环境。

非越南投资者在收购越南电子游戏公司时面临市场准入限制，包括外资持股比例上限和企业形式要求。此外，不同类别游戏需满足复杂的许可条件。为规避监管风险，投资者通常采用跨境服务或多层结构进行投资，但这些安排需谨慎以避免触犯越南法律。

2015年，《Flappy Bird》的成功引发越南初创热潮，但监管挑战使许多创业者考虑在新加坡设立公司以规避风险。相比越南，新加坡提供快速许可流程、合同自由和行政便利，并能绕过本地法规限制。如今，选择“新加坡路线”已成为越南创业者的重要战略

越南五年试点计划：灵活利用土地进行商业住宅开发 越南政府正在实施一项为期五年的创新试点计划，允许投资者灵活利用包括农业用地和非农业用地在内的多种土地类型来开发商业住宅项目。这为扩大建设用地、减少行政障碍和成本、以及减少土地纠纷提供了宝贵的机会。然而，为确保可持续和协调的发展，这些项目必须符合县级土地利用规划或建设、城市规划，并获得省级人民委员会的批准。 这是满足人民日益增长的住房需求、推动越南城市活力发展的重要一步. *** Vietnam's Five-Year Pilot Program: Flexible Land Use for Commercial Housing Development The Vietnamese government is implementing an innovative pilot initiative that allows investors to flexibly...

Non-Vietnamese investors face market access restrictions when acquiring Vietnamese gaming companies, including foreign ownership caps and requirements on business structures. Additionally, different categories of games must meet complex licensing conditions. To mitigate regulatory risks, investors often adopt cross-border services or multi-tiered structures for investment, but such arrangements must be handled carefully to avoid violating Vietnamese laws

This post compares major differences between a foreign-invested education establishment and a purely domestic one to help foreign investors better structure their deals in...

(The full note in PDF is available here) Vietnam is one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with e-commerce sales in...

Please first read Part I here to understand what is e-commerce in Vietnamese legal context and how it is classified. *** 1 - Is investment in...

I am so proud to be a contributor for this comprehensive report that taps into various aspects of startup ecosystem in Vietnam ranging from...

I am recommended by Asia Law Portal as one of its annual 30 people to watch in the business of law in Asia, cited: Hoang...

Please ONLY read this post if you have gone through that post (and then that post) so that you will have initial ideas of what...

Imagine that, on a beautiful day, you stand in front of a fancy private club. To get in, you need to show the gatekeeper...

On 17 July 2020, the National Assembly of Vietnam issued Investment Law No. 61/2020/QH14 which will replace the current Investment Law No. 67/2014/QH13 of...

This note discusses possible impacts of employing intra-group ‘zero interest’ loans and respective solutions prefered by involved parties. 1. Debt Financing or Equity Financing? When a...

I had a very interesting interview with Asia Law Portal on the unique opportunities and challenges Vietnam offers to startups and venture capital investors...

In the preceding post, we discuss how foreign (i.e. - investor/parent company) loans are classified, how such classification would affect the funding plan and...

When it comes down to funding Vietnamese targets, advantages of loans, especially short-term ones, are obvious. A short-term loan would help to circumvent a...

Please see the first post on why investment in Vietnam via Singapore is preferred by all here.  But does it mean the Singapore route is...

The Government of Vietnam is accelerating the drafting of two most important laws relating to foreign investment, i.e. the Investment Law (IL) and the...

In the last post, we have discussed the history of using SPVs in Vietnam. This post will therefore take a close look at possible...