Reviewing the Enterprise Law and Investment Law after one year

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Nearly 106,000 enterprises have been established and some 3,500 ineffective business regulations have been eliminated .

But there remain obstacles to implementing these laws. The government, ministries, and concerned agencies are finding ways to resolve the problems.

Statistics released by the Business Registration Management Agency of the Ministry of Planning and Investment reveal that since the revised enterprise and investment laws took effect, nearly 106,000 enterprises have been established with a total registered capital of more than US$34 billion, up from the previous year.

The exchange of information between the national business registration portal and the tax information system has reduced the time needed to register a new business from five working days to three.

With no requirement to declare business lines on the business registration certificate, enterprises now have the right to do business in any line not prohibited by law.

Eliminating the investment registration certificate for domestic businesses has reduced registration costs, increased flexibility for businesses, and made it easier for foreign investors to invest in Vietnam.

Do Nhat Hoang, Director of the Foreign Investment Department, said, “The entire political system has made a joint effort to improve the business and investment environment by streamlining the legal system and offering more open policies to encourage investment and trading. Vietnam has also shown a determination to enforce the law in a way more favorable and inviting to investors.”

Thanks to big improvements in the business environment and amendments to enterprise and investment laws, Vietnam moved up 3 places last year in the World Bank’s global rankings for ease of doing business.

The Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index 2015 report recorded the biggest breakthrough in the past 11 years in the number of newly registered businesses.

Despite the achievements so far, implementing the two laws has met with several problems, according to Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He explained, “After reviewing the two laws and collecting opinions from enterprises, we find a number of problems. Some of the list of 267 conditional business lines can be removed. We’ll ask the government and the National Assembly to amend several laws including the enterprise and investment laws to ensure legal consistency, an optimal business environment, and the right of citizens and enterprises to freely conduct any business activity.”

Phan Duc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Central Economic Study and Management Institute, said, “In this review, the government has directed the Ministry of Planning and Investment to revise existing laws while keeping the same positive changes in the two newly revised laws to reduce overlaps."

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"The two newly revised laws should be implemented and all inappropriate rules and regulations that are contrary to the Law on Investment or the Law on Enterprises should be eliminated or revised to create a more favorable business environment. In this tenure the National Assembly should review all 267 conditional business lines and remove any unnecessary lines,” he said.