Can a limited liability company in Vietnam sell its new capital contribution for a premium?

A profitable and well-run company usually demands a “premium” when it issues new equity to investors. This means that in a profitable company, a new investor may be required to pay more than the price paid by an existing investor for the same amount of equity and voting rights in the past. Usually, the difference between the price of the new equity portion and the nominal value of such equity portion is referred to as premium.

However, it appears that a limited liability company (LLC) in Vietnam may not be able to do so without changing the voting rights of existing members. This is because:

• Other than in the context of a joint stock company (JSC), there is no legal concept of equity capital premium in the Enterprise Law and in accounting regulations. “Par value” of shares only exists in the context of shares in JSCs. And under Circular 19/2003, the difference between issuance price of new shares by a JSC and their aggregate par values could be recorded as “capital premium accounts”. On the other hand, capital contribution in a charter capital of a LLC does not have a “par value”.  There is no legal concept for the difference between the price of the new capital contribution portion and the nominal value of such capital contribution portion. Therefore, LLC does not have capital contribution premium if it issues new capital contribution;

• Decree 102/2010  further provides that charter capital of a LLC with two or more members is “the total value of capital portions” already contributed or undertaken to be contributed within a certain period by its members and is stated in the company charter. If the value of all assets contributed by members of a LLC including new members constitutes the charter capital of such LLC then there is no capital contribution premium in a LCC. In addition, under Decree 102/2010, all amounts paid by a new member of a LLC should carry voting rights; and

• Tax regulations only expressly exempt corporate income tax on share premium received by a JSC. Therefore, there is no certainty that a LLC will be exempted from capital contribution premium.

In light of the above, a LLC wishing to issue new capital contribution at a premium may consider an alternative structure which allows such a LLC to record the actual value of the amount to be contributed by the new member and at the same time maintains the desired ownership percentage and voting among all members.

“Legal capital” for companies in Vietnam

In other countries, legal capital is often understood to be “the amount of a company's equity that cannot legally be allowed to leave the business and cannot be distributed through a dividend or any other means. The closest meaning to this under Vietnamese law is “charter capital”.

However, for a Vietnamese company, the term “legal capital” has a different meaning than it is usually understood in other countries. Currently, under the Enterprise Law, “legal capital” (vốn pháp định) is defined as the minimum amount of capital required by law for the establishment of an enterprise engaging in certain conditional business (e.g. real estate, banking or securities). “Charter capital” is the amount actually contributed or will be contributed by the shareholders of a company. Therefore, the “charter capital” must be at least equal to the “legal capital”, and in most cases are much higher than the “legal capital”. Usually, legal capital is fixed at a specific number. For instance, an entity engaged in real estate business must have a “legal capital” of VND 6 billion. This means that the entity must have a charter capital of VND 6 billion or more.

The above difference may cause certain confusion when interpreting Vietnamese law. For example,

• Before 1 July 2006, for foreign-invested enterprises, under the old Foreign Investment Law, the term “legal capital” is defined to mean the equity capital contributed (or to be contributed) by the investors in a foreign invested enterprise. Certain laws or regulations still use the term “legal capital” in this sense. These laws and regulations are usually issued before 1 July 2006. However, by mistakes, some laws or regulations issued after 1 July 2006 still use the term “legal capital” in this sense (e.g. the amendment to the Law on Cinematography issued in 2009).

• The WTO Commitments of Vietnam also contain various references to “legal capital” in the context of applicable foreign ownership limits. Again the term “legal capital” in this context should be understood as “charter capital”.  

That being said, there is no express guidance about how to interpret the term “legal capital” used in the above scenarios. Therefore, if the authority happens to take a restrictive view then the foreign ownership limit in certain sectors provided in the WTO Commitments or certain laws and regulations may be subject to a much lower limit.

“Bailiff” services in Vietnam

Vietnam has just introduced bailiff services (dịch vụ thừa phát lại) on a nationwide scope under a Joint Circular 9/2014 between the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court issued on 28 February 2014. A bailiff service company may provide services:

• To serve notices relating to court proceedings;
• To prepare certified written minutes (vi bằng) to serve as evidence for use before the courts; and
• To verify the conditions of the debtor for enforcement of a court judgements and to enforce court judgments.

The introduction of bailiff services will hopefully improve the poor state of dispute settlement through courts in Vietnam. 

Vietnam Business Law Blog

New Foreign Exchange Rules for Foreign Investment in Vietnam

about 2 weeks ago

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) officially issued Circular 38/2026/TT-NHNN dated 31 July 2026 on foreign exchange management for foreign investment activities in Vietnam (Circular 38/2026). Effective from 18 August 2026, Circular 38/2026 replaces Circular 06/2019/TT-NHNN (Circular 06/2019) as amended by Circular 03/2025/TT-NHNN (Circular 03/2025), which has governed the direct investment capital account (DICA) regime since 2019. Circular 38/2026 also terminates Articles 11.3 and 11.4 of Circular 03/2025 on opening and use of VND-denominated accounts for conducting foreign indirect investment in Vietnam and amends Circular 16/2014/TT-NHNN on the use of foreign currency and Vietnamese dong accounts of residents and non-residents.

When Does CIT Arise on a Foreign Seller’s Share Transfer — At Signing or at Closing?

about 2 weeks ago

A typical share sale agreement (SPA) takes effect on signing. Closing, when the buyer and the seller exchange money and title to the shares, usually comes later, once conditions have been met. One might expect tax on the sale to be imposed when the shares are sold, that is, at closing. But where a foreign enterprise with no permanent establishment (Foreign Seller) in Vietnam sells shares in an unlisted Vietnamese company to a resident buyer, Article 5.2(a) of Circular 20/2026 provides that revenue is taxed when the initial capital-transfer contract takes effect. On the face of that Article, the SPA can be that contract, and signing can be when it takes effect. The fact that closing has not yet occurred might not, by itself, defer the tax. Until Circular 20/2026, that was not so.

Whether a JSC may issue new voting preference shares to founding shareholders after ERC issuance?

about 2 weeks ago

Similar to the Enterprise Law 2005 and the Enterprise Law 2014, the Enterprise Law 2020 is silent on whether founding shareholders may hold voting preference shares newly issued after the issuance date of the enterprise registration certificate (ERC), and only provides at Article 116.1 that the voting preference of founding shareholders is effective for three years from that date. This blog will examine different views on this issue.

On the one hand, one may support the view that founding shareholders are entitled to hold voting preference shares issued after ERC issuance date because:

Major Reductions in Fire Safety and Environmental Administrative Procedures in Vietnam

about 2 weeks ago

Based on Resolution No. 206/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly on special mechanisms to address difficulties and obstacles arising from legal regulations, the Government has issued several Resolutions on administrative procedure reduction (such as Resolution 66.16/2026/NQ-CP, Resolution 66.18/2026/NQ-CP, etc.). Most of these provisions remain effective until 28 February 2027. If new provisions covering the same subject matter are promulgated to replace them during this period, the relevant provisions of these Resolutions will automatically cease to be effective.

Key Concerns In Draft Cyber & PDP Sanctions Decree On Personal Data Protection

about a month ago

On 16 March 2026, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) issued the draft decree on administrative sanctions in the fields of cybersecurity and personal data protection (the Draft Decree) for public consultation. It is the first step to put concrete penalties behind the PDPL 2025, which took effect on 1 January 2026 but left the enforcement details to the Government. The Draft covers a wide range of sectors, such as cybersecurity, personal data, AI, telecommunications, and digital signatures. This post focuses on the personal data provisions (Articles 57 to 69 of the Draft Decree), which raise potential concerns for businesses.

Proposed new changes to the Enterprise Law 2005

The Vietnamese Government is contemplating to pass certain amendments to the Enterprise Law 2005 by end of this year. It is still early to tell how the amendments will look like. However, it appears from Resolution 22 dated 22 March 2014 of the Government that:

• the Government is considering whether to apply criminal liability to enterprises under the amended Penal Code. Currently, only a natural person will be subject to criminal liability;
• there will be a separate charter on management, governance and operation of State-owned enterprises in the Enterprise Law. However, there will also be a separate law on State capital in enterprises. Currently, these issues are regulated in various Decrees of the Government;
• there will be a provision on social enterprise; and
• it is not compulsory to record all the business lines of an enterprise in its Enterprise Registration Certificate except in case of business lines which are subject to certain business conditions. If this proposal is adopted then it could substantially reduce the hassles that an enterprise must go through when it expands its scope of operation. Currently, whenever an enterprise expands its business, it must apply to change its Enterprise Registration Certificate to record a new business line. 

Vietnam Business Law Blog

New Foreign Exchange Rules for Foreign Investment in Vietnam

about 2 weeks ago

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) officially issued Circular 38/2026/TT-NHNN dated 31 July 2026 on foreign exchange management for foreign investment activities in Vietnam (Circular 38/2026). Effective from 18 August 2026, Circular 38/2026 replaces Circular 06/2019/TT-NHNN (Circular 06/2019) as amended by Circular 03/2025/TT-NHNN (Circular 03/2025), which has governed the direct investment capital account (DICA) regime since 2019. Circular 38/2026 also terminates Articles 11.3 and 11.4 of Circular 03/2025 on opening and use of VND-denominated accounts for conducting foreign indirect investment in Vietnam and amends Circular 16/2014/TT-NHNN on the use of foreign currency and Vietnamese dong accounts of residents and non-residents.

When Does CIT Arise on a Foreign Seller’s Share Transfer — At Signing or at Closing?

about 2 weeks ago

A typical share sale agreement (SPA) takes effect on signing. Closing, when the buyer and the seller exchange money and title to the shares, usually comes later, once conditions have been met. One might expect tax on the sale to be imposed when the shares are sold, that is, at closing. But where a foreign enterprise with no permanent establishment (Foreign Seller) in Vietnam sells shares in an unlisted Vietnamese company to a resident buyer, Article 5.2(a) of Circular 20/2026 provides that revenue is taxed when the initial capital-transfer contract takes effect. On the face of that Article, the SPA can be that contract, and signing can be when it takes effect. The fact that closing has not yet occurred might not, by itself, defer the tax. Until Circular 20/2026, that was not so.

Whether a JSC may issue new voting preference shares to founding shareholders after ERC issuance?

about 2 weeks ago

Similar to the Enterprise Law 2005 and the Enterprise Law 2014, the Enterprise Law 2020 is silent on whether founding shareholders may hold voting preference shares newly issued after the issuance date of the enterprise registration certificate (ERC), and only provides at Article 116.1 that the voting preference of founding shareholders is effective for three years from that date. This blog will examine different views on this issue.

On the one hand, one may support the view that founding shareholders are entitled to hold voting preference shares issued after ERC issuance date because:

Major Reductions in Fire Safety and Environmental Administrative Procedures in Vietnam

about 2 weeks ago

Based on Resolution No. 206/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly on special mechanisms to address difficulties and obstacles arising from legal regulations, the Government has issued several Resolutions on administrative procedure reduction (such as Resolution 66.16/2026/NQ-CP, Resolution 66.18/2026/NQ-CP, etc.). Most of these provisions remain effective until 28 February 2027. If new provisions covering the same subject matter are promulgated to replace them during this period, the relevant provisions of these Resolutions will automatically cease to be effective.

Key Concerns In Draft Cyber & PDP Sanctions Decree On Personal Data Protection

about a month ago

On 16 March 2026, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) issued the draft decree on administrative sanctions in the fields of cybersecurity and personal data protection (the Draft Decree) for public consultation. It is the first step to put concrete penalties behind the PDPL 2025, which took effect on 1 January 2026 but left the enforcement details to the Government. The Draft covers a wide range of sectors, such as cybersecurity, personal data, AI, telecommunications, and digital signatures. This post focuses on the personal data provisions (Articles 57 to 69 of the Draft Decree), which raise potential concerns for businesses.

New Decree on private bonds (Part 2)

about a month ago

On 5 June 2026, the Government issued Decree 200 on private placement and trading of corporate bonds on domestic market and offering of corporate bonds on international market (Decree 200/2026). Decree 200/2026 will replace Decree 153/2020 (as amended) on the same subject. We have discussed certain contents of Decree 200/2026 in New Decree on private bonds (Part 1) — Vietnam Business Law.

New Changes to Administrative Sanctions for Merger Control Violations

about 2 months ago

The Government officially issued Decree 102/2026/NĐ-CP (Decree 102/2026), which introduces critical amendments and supplements to Decree 75/2019/NĐ-CP (Decree 75/2019) regarding administrative penalties for violations in the competition sector. Effective from 20 May 2026, Decree 102/2026 provides clearer enforcement guidelines and adjusts penalty frameworks, particularly for economic concentrations.

Below is a summary of the key changes introduced by Decree 102 that will directly affect M&A transactions subject to merger control (economic concentration notification) requirements in Vietnam.

MOF Sets To Keep The 0.1% Pit Rate On Transfers Of Unlisted Shares?

about 2 months ago

In March 2026, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) released a draft decree (Draft Decree) implementing the Law on Personal Income Tax 2025 (PIT Law 2025) for public consultation. One proposal drew strong feedback from businesses and investors: a change to how individuals are taxed on the transfer of shares in non-public/unlisted joint-stock companies (JSCs). Following the consultation, the MOF now appears poised to step back from that change – welcome news for investors and companies engaged in M&A and private share transactions.

New Decree on private bonds (Part 1)

about 2 months ago

On 5 June 2026, the Government issued Decree 200 on private placement and trading of corporate bonds on domestic market and offering of corporate bonds on international market (Decree 200/2026). Decree 200/2026 will replace Decree 153/2020 on the same subject. In the past, Decree 153/2020 has been amended by Decree 65/2022 and Decree 8/2023. Decree 200/2026 introduces more conditions for private bond issuance.

5x debt/equity ratio

1.1.      Decree 200/2026 reflects the 5x debt/equity requirement established under the 2025 amendment to the Enterprise Law. In particular, the debt of a bond issuer (including the value of the bonds to be issued) must not exceed 5 times of the equity of such issuer as recorded in the audited financial statements of the year preceding the issuance.

New M&A Approval Forms Under Circular 55/2026 Changes

about 3 months ago

On 15 May 2026, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 55/2026/TT-BTC (Circular 55/2026), introducing a new set of forms for investment activities in Vietnam. Two specific changes in the new form of application for M&A Approval are notable for investors engaged in M&A transactions.