How to Set up a Company in Vietnam

How to setup a company in Vietnam
© Lorenz & Partners December 2010 Page 16 of
19
Vietnam: Tel.: +84 (0) 8 822 623 0 Fax: +84 (0) 8 824 844 1 e-mail: vietnam@lorenz.co.th
L&P
Legal, Tax and Business Consultants
• Should the legal representative of the company be a foreign national;
he/she is required to obtain the temporary residence card
• Within six months from the incorporation of the company, a Trade Un-
ion or an Interim Trade Union Board must be established
5. Foreign owned trading company.
On 12 February 2007 a new decree (Decree 23) was signed by the Prime Minister,
dealing with enterprises having foreign owned capital, which want to become active
in the field of purchase and sale of goods or undertake activities directly related
thereto. To guide the implementation of Decree 23, the Government issued Circu-
lar No. 09-2007-TT-BTM dated 17 July 2007 Guiding implementation of Decree
23 (“Circular 09”) and Circular No. 05-2008-TT-BCT dated 14 April 2008 Amend-
ing and Adding to Circular 09. These legislations clarified certain issues regarding
the conditions and procedures for issuance of distribution license to foreign inves-
tors, however some matter still remain unclear.
5.1 Import and Export
Foreign investors may engage in import and export activities by establishing a
100% foreign-invested enterprise or a joint venture with local partners. Production
enterprises with foreign capital investment are permitted to export their products
and imported goods/services for its business purposes.
The import/export shall be conducted in accordance with WTO’s rules which
Vietnam has committed. It should be noted that there are certain goods that are
not permitted and/or restricted to be imported or exported. This list of goods may