Definition of a finance lease under Vietnamese law

Vietnamese banking regulations do not provide for a clear definition of a financial lease (cho thuê tài chính). The lack of a clear definition may result in unnecessary legal risks for parties to a cross-border lease transaction (e.g., an aircraft lease). For example, if a cross-border lease is regarded as a financial lease, then the lease may need to be registered with the State Bank of Vietnam as a foreign loan.

Under the Law on Credit Institution 2010, the act of finance leasing is defined to be (1) the extension of medium and long-term credit; (2) on the basis of a finance leasing contract; and(3) satisfying one of the following conditions:

upon expiry of the lease under the contract, the lessee may take over ownership of leased assets or may continue to lease them under the agreement of the parties; or
upon expiry of the lease under the contract, the lessee shall have the priority right to purchase the leased assets at a nominal value less than the actual value of the leased assets as at the date of purchase; or
the minimum term of the lease of any single asset must equal at least 60% of the period necessary for depreciation of such leased asset; or
the total rent for any single asset stipulated in the finance lease contract must be equal at least to the value of such asset at the signing date of the contract.

Transfer of large Vietnamese State-owned enterprises to Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises

From 29 September 2018, under Decree 131/2018, the Government decides to transfer the management of 19 larges State-owned enterprises (SOEs) from various Ministries to the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC). Brief details of each SOE are provided below:

UPSTREAM REGULATIONS IN VIETNAM – CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

In Vietnam, foreign and Vietnamese organizations and individuals carry out the petroleum operations based on a petroleum contract signed with Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) or other agreements signed with PVN or the Government of Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Petroleum 1993.

A petroleum contract can be a production sharing contract (PSC), joint venture agreement or other forms if approved by the Prime Minister. Unless otherwise approved by the Prime Minister, a PSC must comply with the model petroleum product sharing contract promulgated by the Government under Decree 33/2013.

PVN is entitled to participate in petroleum operations as an investor while concurrently has rights and power to manage contractors’ activities and, in some cases, is authorized to act on behalf of the Government in relationship with other investors under PSCs. This results in a material conflict of interests for PVN in acting as an investor under the PSC and as a regulator at the same time. Vietnamese law does not have a clear provision to control the conflict of interests where PVN participates in capital investment with other investors in petroleum operations and concurrently exercise rights and powers which should belongs to a State agency in relationship with such contractors under a PSC.

That said, in theory, the Competition Law 2015 may provide some restrictions on PVN’s authorities under the Law on Petroleum 1993. For example, when exercising the power conferred to it under the Law on Petroleum 1993,

· if PVN is regarded as a State agency then the Law on Competition prohibits “State agency” to force enterprises, organizations, and individuals to purchase services or goods from enterprises as specified/selected by such State agency/State management agency; and

· if PVN is regarded as an enterprise then PVN could be deemed to have significant market power (sức mạnh thị trường đáng kể) and is prohibited from abusing such power.

This post is contributed by Ha Thi Dung, a partner at Venture North Law.

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Ownership of bank deposits in Vietnam

The core business of a bank (a Bank) is to take monies (Deposits) deposited by its customers (Depositors) and to lend such monies to its borrowers. Therefore, legally, it is important to determine who owns the Deposits. Unfortunately, Vietnamese banking law is not clear whether after the Depositors make a Deposit with the Bank, the Bank or the Deposit owns the Deposit.

The case for the Bank

The most logical conclusion is that:

· the Bank is the owner of the Deposit;

· the Depositor is not the owner of the Deposit, but the Depositor has a contractual right to request the Bank to return the Deposit to the Depositor in accordance with the terms of the Deposit; and

· the borrower will own the Deposit after it borrows the same from the Bank.

Vietnam Business Law