General Obligations of A Foreign Company Conducting Business in Vietnam’s Cyberspace

Only a limited subset of foreign companies providing services over in Vietnam’s cyberspace are subject to data localisation requirements in Vietnam under the recent Decree 53/2022. However, any foreign company providing services in Vietnam’s cyberspace will need to comply other obligations under the Law on Cybersecurity 2018 and its implementing regulations. These obligations include, among other things, the following:

· To give warnings of the possibility of a loss of cybersecurity during use of the services in cyberspace provided by such enterprise and to provide guidelines on preventive measures;

· To formulate plans and solutions to quickly respond to cybersecurity incidents;

· To immediately deal with any security weaknesses or vulnerabilities, malicious codes, cyberattacks, cyber intrusions/infringements or other security risks;

· When a cybersecurity incident occurs, to immediately implement appropriate emergency plans and response measures, and at the same time provide a report thereon to the Cybersecurity Task Force of Vietnam;

· To apply technical solutions and other necessary measures to ensure security during the process of collecting information;

· To prevent the risk of revelation, damage to or loss of data;

NOTABLE CHANGES IN FOREIGN LOAN BOROWING AND REPAYMENT REGULATIONS

Pending the issuance of a new Circular to replace existing Circular 12/2014 on borrowing and repayment of foreign loans of enterprises, on 30 September 2022 (New Foreign Loan Circular), the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued Circular 12/2022/TT-NHNN guiding the management of foreign exchange in respect of the borrowing and repayment of foreign loans by enterprises (Circular 12/2022) which replaced Circular 03/2016/TT-NHNN from 15 November 2022 (as amended) (Circular 03/2016).

Circular 12/2022 is expected to improve the legal framework on enterprises’ borrowing and payment of foreign loans not guaranteed by the Government, simplify the administrative formalities, and provide guidance for certain matters which may be addressed in the New Foreign Loan Circular.

We discuss below some key changes introduced by Circular 12/2022.

Certain Questions Regarding Refinancing Of Onshore And Offshore Loans In Vietnam

1. Is it permitted for an onshore loan to be refinanced by another onshore loan?

Short answer: Yes.

1.1. Under Article 8.6 of Circular 39 of the State Bank of Vietnam dated 30 December 2016 on lending by credit institutions and foreign bank branches to clients, as amended (Circular 39/2016), a new onshore loan (New Loan) can be used to refinance an existing loan (either onshore or offshore) (Existing Loan) if all the following conditions are satisfied:

1.1.1. the purpose of the Existing Loan is for business activities;

1.1.2. the term of the New Loan must not exceed the remaining term of the Existing Loan; and

1.1.3. the Existing Loan has not been restructured.

Supreme Court’s Precedent 55/2022 recognising validity of an unnotarised contract for transfer of land use right

In October 2022, the Supreme Court issued Precedent 55/2022 which recognises the validity of an unnotarised contract for transfer of land use right on the basis that two thirds of the contract have been performed and accordingly the contract becomes valid in accordance with Article 129 of the Civil Code 2015. The background of the case is as follows:

· In 2009, the parties signed a contract for transfer of land use right over a piece of land which would be allocated by the Government to the seller in accordance with a land compensation scheme. The contract was not notarised.

· In 2016, the Seller received the land use right certificate for the transferred land. The Buyer also paid around 90% of the sale price. The Buyer also leased the land to a third party.

· However, the Seller later on refused to register the transfer with the authority and claimed that the transfer contract was invalid since it has not been notarised.

In the Precedent 55/2022, the Supreme Court accepts the judgement of the lower court which recognises the validity of the transfer contract on the ground that the parties have performed two-thirds of the contract. Under Article 129.2 of the Civil Code 2015, where the civil transaction established in writing is in breach of compulsory provisions on notarization or certification, and one or more parties have performed at least two-thirds of the obligations in the transaction, the court will, at the request of one or more parties, recognize the validity of such transaction.