VietNamNet Bridge – Some 900 overseas Vietnamese, or Viet Kieu, looked into Vietnam’s regulations on residency, investment and housing, and many of them asked for procedures to bring cars and other assets to this country when they return to live and work.  

The HCMC government explained the situation in a report sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Tuesday.

Statistics of the HCMC government showed incoming remittances to the city last year stood at about US$5 billion and 70% of the total figure has been channeled to production and trading projects.

The city encouraged overseas Vietnamese to return to do business in this city, and pledged multiple incentives for them.

Last February, the Ministry of Finance issued a circular with strict conditions for Viet Kieu to enjoy import tariff and value-added tax exemptions for their asset imports.

The circular came out after competent agencies detected many people had taken advantage of tax incentives to commit tax evasion. These agencies also reported a surge in the number of cars and motorbikes imported by repatriating overseas Vietnamese as their private properties in 2012.

The city government said it has collaborated with Vietnam’s representative offices overseas to protect its Vietnamese citizens.

SGT