The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam (“MONRE”) has recently released a new Draft Law on Environmental Protection (“Draft Law”) to replace the current 2014 Law on Environmental Protection (“Current Law”). 1 The Draft Law proposes, among other things, significant changes to current policies on climate change adaptation…
Recent developments The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT) recently submitted Proposal No. 544 to the Prime Minister along with a new draft Decision on approval of the pilot program on direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) mechanisms between renewable energy developers/power generation companies and private power buyers/consumers (Draft…
Recent developments The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (“MOIT”) recently released a draft Circular (“Draft Circular”) amending Circular No. 32 and Circular No. 06 on avoided cost tariff (“ACT”) mechanisms for small hydropower projects in Vietnam and the respective model power purchase agreement (“ACT PPA”). In relation to…
The Agreement on Investment among the Governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“AHK-IA”) introduces investment protection and transfer guarantees for investments between Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand and Hong Kong…
On 26 June 2019, the Government issued Decree No. 57/2019/ND-CP (“Decree No. 57”) effective on 26 June 2019 to implement Vietnam’s tariff commitments on exports and imports under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”) Decree No. 57 sets forth the tariff rates applicable to countries which already…
On June 30th 2019, the EU and Vietnam signed the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) in Hanoi. The EU and Vietnam began negotiations on the EVFTA in 2012 and expect the EVFTA may enter into force before the end of 2019. What…
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) officially entered into force for Vietnam on 14 January 2019. From a customs perspective, there are a number of noteworthy issues as follows: 1. Drastic Tariff Elimination and Reduction CPTPP member countries agreed to eliminate duties on 97% to 100% of…
The National Assembly amended the 2015 Penal Code and introduced corporate criminal liability for certain violations and commercial bribery.
On 15 September 2017, the 5th draft of the new Competition Law (the 5th Draft) was published on the National Assembly Office Portal for public review and comments. The 5th Draft is being reviewed by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and is expected to be passed in May 2018.