Viet Nam is a socialist country operating under the single-party leadership of the Communist Party.
A nationwide congress (‘National Congress or National Assembly’) of Viet Nam is held every five years, with the upcoming Congress is scheduled to take
place in the first quarter of 2021, to determine the country’s orientation and strategies and adopt its key policies on policies for socio-economic development.
Viet Nam’s legal powers are centralised in one supreme body, and then delegated to lower bodies
located in Viet Nam’s 63 municipalities and provinces. The National Assembly is the only body with the power to amend the Constitution and pass laws but the implementation and administration of
such laws is de-centralised.
One of the Government’s priorities is to enhance the legal system, which will result in a more
business friendly regulatory environment. In 2019 some laws came into effect, largely focusing on
sectors such as IT, real estate and agriculture. Among them, the most significant ones are the Law on Cybersecurity, the Law on Zoning and the Law on Competition.
Law on investment and enterprises will be amended and become effective on 1 January 2021
In late 2014, the National Assembly passed the Law on Investment (LOI) and Law on Enterprises (LOE), both of which came into effect on 1 July 2015. These laws govern the establishment and operation of companies in Viet Nam.
Since 2015, a series of implementing regulations have been issued including Decree 78/2015/ND-CP guiding enterprise registration (amended in 2018), Decree 96/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the LOE, and Decree 118/2015/ND-CP (amended in March 2020) guiding the implementation of the LOI. In 2020, the National Assembly plans to pass the Laws amending the LOE and LOI to improve the business and investment environment in Viet Nam.