M&A market in HCMC hits US$2.5 billion in Jan-May

Capital contribution and share purchases by foreign investors via mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in HCMC amounted to some US$2.5 billion during the year up to late May, 3.6 times higher than the value of foreign direct investments, according to the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment.

Foreign investors conducted 1,130 M&A deals with local companies in the January-May period, said Le Thi Huynh Mai, deputy director of the department.

This period also saw 354 fresh FDI projects, whose registered capital was roughly US$403 million, and 98 operational FDI projects adjusting up their investment capital by nearly US$278.4 million.

HCMC was the most attractive destination for foreign investors pouring funds via capital contribution and share acquisition transactions.

Earlier, according to the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, foreign investors carried out 2,340 transactions to contribute capital and acquire stakes in local firms with a combined value of US$2.75 billion during the year up to May 20, up a hefty 53.5% from a year earlier.

They included 1,117 transactions to raise the chartered capital of companies worth US$1.58 billion, and 1,224 deals worth US$1.17 billion to buy domestic stakes without increasing the chartered capital.

HCMC took the lead in terms of M&A deals last year. Data from the Foreign Investment Department showed foreign investors injected US$6.19 billion into capital contribution and share acquisition, of which the city accounted for a staggering 60% of the amount.

This trend is expected to see a steep rise in the coming time. Su Ngoc Anh, director of the HCMC Department of Planning and Investment, noted at a previous meeting that his agency would pay more attention to this kind of investment, especially those transactions in the local retail sector.

As the city is a major, dynamic market and has many effective operating companies, more foreign investors have felt encouraged to have a presence there, according to analysts.

The municipal government has also created favorable conditions for foreign investors to contribute capital and acquire stakes through quick procedures, thereby spurring such investments.

Notably, the Government’s Decree 60/2015 allows foreign investors to increase their ownership in many listed and public companies from 49% to 100%, except for those active in conditional business sectors.

In addition, they have seen more opportunities emerging, especially with the Government’s determined efforts to equitize State-owned enterprises to divest State stakes from noncore business operations.

Source: The Saigon Times

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What Are Permits for Importing Cyber Information Security Products? and How to Apply For Trading License in Civil Cryptographic Products and Services?

According to Article 48, Law on Cyber Information Security, the import licenses and permits required for Cyber information security products are regulated as following:

To import cyber information security products on the Government-prescribed list of cyber information security products subject to import permit, an enterprise shall obtain a permit for import of cyber information security products from a competent state agency.

Before importing cyber information security products, organizations and enterprises must have them certified and announced as conformable with regulations.

An organization or enterprise shall be granted a permit for import of cyber information security products when fully meeting the following conditions:

a/ Possessing a license for trading in cyber information security products;

b/ Having cyber information security products certified and announced as conformable with regulations;

c/ Ensuring that users and use purposes of cyber information security products do not harm national defense and security or social order and safety.

The Ministry of Information and Communications shall prescribe in detail the order, procedures and dossier for grant of a permit for import of cyber information security products.

How to Apply For Trading License in Civil Cryptographic Products and Services?

According to Article 32, Law on Cyber Information Security, the application of licenses for trading in civil cryptographic products and services need to follow the following:

1. An enterprise applying for a license for trading in civil cryptographic products and services shall submit a dossier of application for a license at the Government Cipher Committee.

2. A dossier of application for a license for trading in civil cryptographic products and services shall be made in two sets, each comprising:

a/ An application for a license for trading in civil cryptographic products and services;

b/ A copy of the enterprise registration certificate, investment registration certificate or another paper of equivalent validity;

c/ Copies of information confidentiality and security diplomas or certificates of managerial, administration and technical staff members;

d/ A technical plan, consisting of papers on technical characteristics and specifications of products; standards or technical regulations of products; standards and quality of services; technical measures and solutions; and product warranty and maintenance plan;

dd/ A cyber information confidentiality and security plan in the course of management and provision of civil cryptographic products and services;

e/ A business plan, indicating the scope of provision and recipients of products and services, scale and quantity of products and services, customer service networks, and technical assurance.

3. Within 30 days after receiving a complete dossier, the Government Cipher Committee shall appraise it and grant a license for trading in civil cryptographic products and services; if refusing to grant a license, it shall issue a written notice clearly stating the reason.

4. A license for trading in civil cryptographic products and services shall be valid for 10 years.

Our cyber security lawyers always follow development of laws in Vietnam to provide the client with update. Please contact ANT Lawyers for service inquiries. Call us at (+84) 24 32 23 27 71 or send us email ant@antlawyers.vn

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What Are Prohibited Acts Under the Law on Cyber Information Security?

The Law on Cyber Information Security has been promulgated in 2015. According to Article 7, Law on Cyber Information Security, prohibited acts are:

1. Blocking the transmission of information in cyberspace, or illegally intervening, accessing, harming, deleting, altering, copying or falsifying information in cyberspace.

2. Illegally affecting or obstructing the normal operation of information systems or the users’ accessibility to information systems.

3. Illegally attacking, or nullifying cyber information security protection measures of, information systems; attacking, seizing the right to control, or sabotaging, information systems.

4. Spreading spams or malware or establishing fake and deceitful information systems.

5. Illegally collecting, utilizing, spreading or trading in personal information of others; abusing weaknesses of information systems to collect or exploit personal information.

6. Hacking cryptographic secrets and lawfully enciphered information of agencies, organizations or individuals; disclosing information on civil cryptographic products or information on clients that lawfully use civil cryptographic products; using or trading in civil cryptographic products of unclear origin.

Cyber security lawyers in Vietnam always follow development of laws in Vietnam to provide the client with update. Please contact ANT Lawyers for service inquiries.

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How Exemption for the Application of Trade Remedies Work in Vietnam?

Trade remedies measures, including anti-dumping measures, anti-subsidy measures and trade defense, are applied when conditions are satisfied that the act of damaging or threatening harm to the domestic production.

However, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has also issued separate regulations for some goods exempted from the application of trade remedies. The circular No. 06/2018/TT-BCT providing detailed regulations on trade remedies as effective on June 15th, 2018 regulating the exemption for the application of trade remedies.

The Minister of Industry and Trade shall consider and decide on the exemption for goods in the following cases:

The imports have characteristics which are different from and not substituted by the like or directly competitive products produced by domestic industry;

The imports are special products of the like or directly competitive products produced by domestic industry;

There are no sales of the like or directly competitive products produced by the domestic industry in the ordinary course of trade in the domestic market;

The volume of the like or directly competitive products produced by the domestic industry is not enough satisfy the needs of the domestic market.

The duration of exemption for the trade remedies is calculated as follows: From the date of the decision on the application of a provisional or official remedy or the outcome of the decision on the results of the review of trade remedies effective until the end of December 31 of the year issuing the decision; The exemption period is one year from January 1 to December 31 of the following year or the exemption period from the date of receipt of valid dossiers to December 31 of the year when the exemption decision is issued.

Goods are exempted for the application of trade remedies measures, organizations and individuals are entitled to a refund of trade remedies tax paid on imported goods within the exemption period of the exemption decision. However, if the goods violate conditions such as misuse of goods; Commits fraudulent acts in the application for exemption; Failing to comply with the conditions and obligations in the exemption decision and the exemption conditions are no longer available, the organization or individual shall be subject to the revocation of the exemption decision which has been issued and at the same time shall have to pay tax according to provisions of law.

Exemption from trade remedies is a form of incentive in import and export activities, but this preference must be within certain limits and should not affect domestic production, domestic company.

As international trade law firm, we at ANT Lawyers always monitor changes in law and provide clients with recent update.

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Danang Administrative Procedure is Attracting the Foreign Direct Investment

Da Nang is one of the five municipalities of Vietnam, located in the central Vietnam. Danang has the international seaport and airport, with natural advantages, therefore many tourists and foreign investors choose Danang is the interest destination in Vietnam. Many people are coming to Da Nang to buy apartment, properties, and invest in Danang in services and production. 

For foreign investors, to do business in Vietnam, they need to seek professional assistance from consultants and lawyers in Vietnam. In addition, the administrative procedures related to the laws is also a major obstacle, which makes investors consider when doing business. In recent years, Vietnam has carried out many administrative reforms to solve difficulties and problems in administrative procedures. However, the fact that at many provinces, the results have not been achieved.

For Da Nang, it particularly aims to attract investment capital in domestic and foreign, as well as attempt to solve difficulties that many other places have not reached. Thankful for the application of information technology to administrative procedures in receiving and returning the results, administrative staffs at state agencies and citizens save time and cost. In addition, due to the application of electronic systems and the publicity of administrative procedures, people can look at the procedures before doing the procedures, which makes the procedure easier. For many years, Da Nang has been the top administrative reform in all of country. The application of administrative procedures through the numbering order in the administrative agencies, it reduces the hardship when processing records. In addition to serial numbers, the application of sequential number tracking software can help people actively their schedule time to deal with other works. Not only applying electronic technology to departments, Da Nang also applies the e-government administration model, making it easy for people to handle administrative procedures in all state agencies. By gathering all the departments at the Da Nang Administration Center, this helps the staffs and citizens to conveniently communicate with the Department in dealing with related procedures.

In addition, Danang also focuses on developing and implementing information and feedback applications as well as interaction between citizens and authorities. This allows the parties to interact with each other electronically, in addition to assessing the effectiveness of the work and the attitudes of the administrative staff. Therefore, the administrative agency can timely overcome the weakness of their staffs, citizens will easily reflect the working attitude of staffs who solve administrative procedures.

The administrative reform in Da Nang in recent years, has brought in high efficiency.In 2017, Da Nang has attracted 111.9 million USD FDI, increased 6.5 times compared with 2016, from investors come from all over the world. This reflects Da Nang's efforts in reforming administrative procedures to bring high economic efficiency to the city in the future.

ANT Lawyers branch offices in Da Nang has assisted clients to review real estate deposit contract, apartment sales contract, advise them on laws on real estate and foreign ownership, set-up company in Da Nang, apply work permit, investment visa and temporary residence card to work and live in here, taking advantage of Da Nang’s environment.

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Three Difficulties in Applying Temporary Residence Card in Da Nang

In recent years, more and more foreigners are coming to live, work, study or to reside in Da Nang, therefore, many foreigners apply for Temporary residence card (TRC) for more convenience in Vietnam.

According to the regulation of Section 13, Article 3 of Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, Temporary Residence Card (TRC)is a legal document issued by an immigration authority or a competent authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreigner who is permitted to reside in Vietnam for a certain period of time. This card has the same validity as a visa. Therefore, if the foreigners have TRC, they will reside and entry/exit Vietnam without applying for visa.

However, the process and procedures to apply for TRC would have many different practical applications in each province. Particularly in Da Nang, the issuance of temporary cards for foreigners is more challenging.

The first, for the issuance of a TRC, the foreigner must apply for suitable visa, the issuance of TRC is executed at the Immigration Department of the Da Nang City Public Security. The application for a visa in Da Nang is more complicated than in other provinces. It is necessary to have specific information relating to the operation and management of the enterprise which guarantee foreigner to enter Vietnam(if any). For the submission of dossiers to apply for the visa, the foreigner shave to submit by themselves or by the staff of their company. This makes it necessary for the foreigner or the sponsor have to spend the time to complete the procedure.

Secondly, after having a valid visa, the foreigners should apply the TRC at the Immigration Department of the Da Nang City Public Security. The dossiers for applying the TRC is regulated in the Article 37 of the Law on enter, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam. However, when applying for temporary residence cards in Da Nang, the Immigration Department could request more other relevant documents to the business, which is some time not found in the law, which poses challenges to applicant.

Thirdly, the granting of TRC to foreign investors, workers in Da Nang requires the confirmation of work permit exemption, work permits. The duration of the TRC issued will be valid for a period of two (2) years. As a result, for foreign investors, only have TRC with the validity term of 02 years are granted, instead of maximum 5 years, as provided for in Clause 2, Article 38 of the Immigration law. In order to be granted a TRC for a period of more than two years, the Immigration Department shall consider the business situation of the company, the tax payment status of the investor, etc. Therefore, if investors want to be granted TRC for more than 02 years, they need to work in Vietnam for a longer time and the business must be profitable.

With the above difficulties, many foreigners need to necessary attention, prepare all the documents as well as know about the term of TRC, in order to be able to prepare the best dossier. In case of difficulties when set-up business in Da Nang, ANT Lawyers with offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang and experience in work permit, immigration, and temporary residence card could provide legal services for the client’s convenience.

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How Vietnam Regulations on Intellectual Property Change to Integrate into Global Economy?

The intellectual property system of Vietnam has not matched up with international practice. To resolve the matters, Vietnam has been developing programs on development of intellectual property legal system to meet the intellectual property standards of the international treaties which Vietnam is a member to.

Intellectual property rights have played an indispensable role in the process of forming a comprehensive economy and sustainable development. Certificates of intellectual property rights are the evidence of the success of each entrepreneur entering the world market. In the process of international economic integration, enterprises of Vietnam are forced to participate in international competitive environment with high intensity, strict requirements on enforcement of regulations on industrial property. This is also one of the requirement when entering bilateral trade agreements.

Infringement of intellectual property rights is not only common in Vietnam, but also happen in other countries around the world, including developed countries such as the US, Germany and France.… However, Vietnam’s weakness is not only the lack of awareness of intellectual property by the people, but also by regulators and the business community.

We need to recognize the fact that intellectual property rights in Vietnam are being increasingly violated. Counterfeit goods, counterfeit goods, pirated goods … are being sold in public. This risk will increase as Vietnam broaden our integration. Consumers’ awareness is also a concern. The cause of this phenomenon is that the price of counterfeit goods is only one-third to one-tenth of the price of genuine goods, so consumers know that fake goods, but still use because of being “cheap”.

The intellectual property of enterprises is valuable assets. When being focused and exploited optimally, this “intangible” asset will help businesses strengthen their strengths, enhance their position, reputation and competitiveness to increase sales and profits.

In the current trend of globalization, intellectual property is a powerful tool for the socio-economic development of nations. In practice, many companies and businesses around the world have been very successful and have become famous thanks to effective exploitation of intellectual property rights. For the enterprises of Vietnam, intellectual property rights also play an important role, especially in the process of international economic integration.

ANT Lawyers is a law firm in Vietnam located in the business centers of Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. We provide convenient access to our clients. Please contact us to book your time in advanced to let us provide our best service. 

Call us at (+84) 24 32 23 27 71 or send us email ant@antlawyers.vn

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