VietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly Standing Committee yesterday (April 22) took a close look at draft revisions and amendments to the 2005 Investment Law.

While taxation agencies are vowing to punish those foreign invested enterprises which conduct transfer pricing, investment consultants believe that the negative impacts of price transfer on the national economy have been exaggerated.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam, having been burned several times with “super projects”, now casts a suspicious eye on proposals for mammoth, multi-billion dollar projects.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign investors have distributed US$1.12 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Viet Nam during the first two months of 2014, up 6.7 per cent from one year ago,

 VietNamNet Bridge – A number of foreign investors, seeing bright opportunities springing from the free trade agreements expected to be signed in the near future, have jumped into the Vietnamese retail market to develop convenience stores.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnamese workers in South Korean and Taiwanese invested enterprises complain that they have been maltreated by the foreign bosses.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign investors have said the government of Vietnam proves to be very mean about the rises of the foreign ownership ratios in Vietnamese banks.

VietNamNet Bridge – Circular 05/2014/TT-NHNN (12 March 2014) issued by the State Bank of Viet Nam contains guidelines on opening and using indirect investment capital accounts for implementing foreign indirect investment activities in Viet Nam.

VietNamNet Bridge – Strategic foreign investors on March 18 showed disapproval of a scant increase of the foreign ownership limit (FOL) in local banks.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign indirect investments must be transacted in Vietnamese dong, with related transactions being made through accounts in authorised banks, noted a new State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) circular.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The draft amendments to the Real Estate Trading Law have loosened some property trading conditions for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese but foreigners are still prohibited from trading houses in Vietnam.

Economists all have affirmed that Vietnam would witness a strong foreign capital inflow this year. However, it is unclear if the investors come to Vietnam to implement their long term business strategies, or just to seek temporary shelter.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The total foreign investor stakes in Sacombank (STB)'s equity could be increased to 30 per cent, the maximum level stipulated by the current regulations for lending institutions.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Economist Pham Chi Lan tells the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that preferential treatment for foreign firms at the expense of Vietnamese enterprises will harm the nation in the long run

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is rallying support from relevant State bodies for its initiative to create a more liberal environment for foreign-invested enterprises, especially in business start-up procedures.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of gigantic foreign invested projects capitalized at multi-billions of dollars, hoped to help develop the poor local economies, have failed completely for many reasons.

VietNamNet Bridge – Although the project awaits approval from the Prime Minister, the equitisation of Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) this year has attracted the interest of many domestic and foreign investors. 

 VietNamNet Bridge – The government has issued guidelines for the purchase of shares in Vietnamese credit institutions by foreign investors and their sale by these institutions through Decree No 01/2014/ND-CP (January 3, 2014).

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The diaper market has heated up with a lot of deals made by the big guys: Unicharm has bought Diana, while other big guys P&G, Kimberly Clark and KyVy have announced a series of new investments.