The new Land law 2024 expected to boost foreign investment

	Reasons for ups and downs of land rent
	The Government regulated four land valuation methods

Overview of the Conference

New advances

This information was revealed at the seminar "Land Law 2024: Effective implementation solutions for investors" organized by the Investment & Trade Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City (ITPC) in collaboration with the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) on July 17, 2024.

At the seminar, Cao Thi Phi Van, Deputy Director of the ITPC, stated that the Land Law 2024 includes several noteworthy new features: added regulations on citizens' rights and obligations regarding land; revised land classification rules; continued improvements in land use planning; expanded the limits for individuals to receive agricultural land use rights; and added regulations on the development, management, and exploitation of land funds. Additionally, the Land Law 2024 includes provisions for decentralization and local empowerment to match the realities of each locality and legalize regulations that have proven effective in practice, helping to address difficulties, clear obstacles, and unlock land resources for national development.

Notably, Phan Duc Hieu, Standing Member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, expressed optimism that the new Land Law would bring a new wave of investment to Vietnam. He pointed out that the new features and improvements in the Land Law 2024 benefit investors. For example, overseas Vietnamese are allowed to enter Vietnam and own housing associated with land use rights, including land in industrial zones, industrial clusters, and high-tech zones. This regulation is expected to attract a new wave of investment from overseas Vietnamese.

Mr. Angus Liew, Chairman of the Malaysian Business Association in Vietnam, discussed issues related to the Land Law 2024 concerning investment.

Besides new investment opportunities for overseas Vietnamese, there are three ways for businesses to acquire land for production and business more easily. Firstly, existing land being used for other purposes can now be converted. Secondly, if there is no land, market agreements can be made through transfers or business cooperation. Thirdly, land can be obtained through leasing or allocation by local authorities after land recovery. Hieu emphasized that the new Land Law 2024 applied market mechanisms to production and business land, with minimal administrative intervention.

Reducing land disputes

From the perspective of a dispute resolution coordination agency, Chau Viet Bac, Deputy Secretary-General of VIAC, noted that 2023 saw an increase in real estate disputes, with about 26.18% of total cases involving land issues. Due to legal limitations, these disputes often caused concerns for the parties and arbitration councils regarding jurisdiction.

However, the revised and supplemented Land Law 2024 includes mechanisms to address these issues. From an investment perspective, Bac evaluated that with many improvements in the current Land Law, investors would find it easier to access land, with simpler and more streamlined procedures, eliminating many existing legal obstacles. Thus, investors should quickly equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and information to operate effectively within the new legal framework before the law takes effect.

Lawyer Nguyen Van Hai, a partner at YKVN Law Firm, shared the same view, pointing out that legal issues arising for investors and foreign-invested economic organizations under the new legal framework include applying the new Land Law and related laws to practical transactions, along with risk management recommendations in the new legal context. This will help investors orient their business strategies more safely and effectively.

For example, the new Land Law will supplement the method of resolving land-related disputes through Vietnamese commercial arbitration, in addition to the old methods of local People's Committees or courts. This method applies if disputes arise from "commercial activities related to land."

Moreover, at the seminar, experts also discussed issues related to changes and impacts of the Land Law on the market, including land recovery and land use conversion, and clarified the provisions of the law concerning foreign investors, foreign owners, and other related laws.