Choice of foreign arbitration in contract with Vietnamese counter-parties
Vietnam officially acceded to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration Awards (1958 New York Convention) on 28 July 1995. Accordingly, by virtue of the 1958 New York Convention, if the parties to a dispute reside in countries, which are members of the 1958 New York Convention, then the parties should be able to refer their disputes to a foreign arbitration. In addition, Article 12.3 of the Investment Law provides that any dispute to which one disputing party is a foreign investor or a foreign invested company, or any dispute between foreign investors could be submitted to, among others, a foreign arbitration or an international arbitration. Outside the context of the 1958 New York Convention and Article 12.3 of the Investment Law, there is no express provision under Vietnamese law, which generally allows disputes with a Vietnamese party or relating to assets in Vietnam to be submitted to foreign arbitration.
As discussed in our previous post, we believe the pilot mechanism introduced under Resolution 171 will bring a significant improvement to the legal framework for commercial housing development in Vietnam. With the enactment of implementing Decree 75/2025, this pilot mechanism is now fully set up. In this post, we will highlight key takeaways from Decree 75/2025 and discuss potential implications for housing developers.
On 29 April 2025, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued Circular 3 on the opening and using of VND account for conducting indirect investment in Vietnam (Circular 3/2025). From 16 June 2025, Circular 3/2025 will replace Circular 5 dated 12 March 2014 of the SBV (Circular 5/2014) guiding the opening and using of indirect investment capital account (IICA) for conducting indirect investment in Vietnam.
n a landmark reform for 2025, the Government of Vietnam has commenced a significant restructuring of its ministries. This major overhaul, approved by Resolution No 176 of the National Assembly dated 18 February 2025, aims to create a leaner, more efficient, and effective state apparatus to better support the nation's development.
The restructuring involves a series of complex mergers and transfers of functions between ministries. Based on the guiding decrees, the key changes include:
The Vietnamese government recently issued Decree 69/2025 (effective 19 May 2025), which amends Decree 01/2014 regarding foreign investor’s share purchase in Vietnamese credit institutions. Here are the main changes:
1. Scope of application
Decree 69/2025 clarifies that foreign-invested economic organisations (FIEOs) which are required to comply with investment conditions and procedures applicable to foreign investors must now follow the same rules (in Decree 01/2014 as amended by Decree 69/2025) applicable to foreign investors when buying shares in Vietnamese credit institutions.
Under the Investment Law 2020, these FIEOs refer to entities where foreign investors hold a majority of the charter capital (FIEO-F1). Notably, Decree 69/2025 does not explicitly state whether it applies to economic organisations majority-owned by an FIEO-F1, even though such economic organisations are also treated as foreign investors under the Investment Law 2020.