VALIDITY OF A CONTRACT DENOMINATED IN US$ AND SETTLED IN VND (Updated)

In June 2015, the first instance court decides that a contract in the territory of Vietnam that is denominated in US$ but settled in VND is not invalid. In December 2015, according to newspaper report, the appeal court has revoked a decision of the first instance court and held such a contract invalid in its entirety. This is a surprise development and may cause concern to many business transactions in Vietnam which have relied on a more relax view of the court earlier. 

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Written by Nguyen Quang Vu On In ,

WTO And TPP – A Comparison of Vietnam’s Commitments Regarding Investment In Financial Services

The table below tries to compare the existing commitments of Vietnam under WTO Agreement with the commitments under TPP for financial services. This post is contributed by Tran Thi Thu Thao, a VILAF associate. Pdf version of the table can be downloaded here.

Notes:

  • No limitation means no limits on national treatments in terms of foreign ownership, form of investment or other restriction.
  • Branch is generally not allowed unless otherwise indicated.
  • Share acquisition is generally allowed with no foreign ownership limitation for committed sectors and sub-sectors unless otherwise indicated.
  • Underlined words indicate new commitment under TPP. 

 

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Written by Nguyen Quang Vu On In , , ,

Refund guarantees for house purchase contracts in Vietnam

Under the Law on Real Estate 2014, a real estate developer must provide a bank guarantee to secure for the developer’s obligations to refund to a house buyer the advance payment that the developer has received from the buyer if the developer fails to deliver the house to the buyer on time (a developer refund guarantee). In June 2015, the State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular 7/2015 on bank guarantees which provides further guidance on a developer refund guarantee as follows:

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Written by Nguyen Quang Vu On In ,

Validity of a contract denominated in US$ and settled in VND

According to newspaper report, in June 2015, a district court in Hanoi has just held that an apartment sale and purchase contract the price of which is denominated in USD but settled in VND is not invalid. Instead, the price of such contract will be converted into VND at the exchange rate of the signing date of such contract. This is just a first instance judgment which can be changed or cancelled by higher courts. However, this decision has helped to clarify the long-term uncertainty about the validity of a contract denominated in US$ but settled in VND.

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Written by Nguyen Quang Vu On In ,