Foreign investors must go through a number of investment, land, construction, and environment procedures in order to operate a project using land (Investment Procedures) in Vietnam. The Investment Procedures have been provided in various legal instruments and involved a number of State licensing authorities. Given the lack of clarity at law, the Investment Procedures are applied differently and inconsistently by licensing authorities. Hopefully, this unpleasant practice would be changed when, for the first time, the Government introduced the unified process of all Investment Procedures in its Resolution 43 dated 6 June 2014 (Resolution 43). Whereby, the Government requires all relevant State authorities to consistently carry out the Investment Procedures with specific steps, order, timing and in-charge agencies. Resolution 43 provides the Investment Procedures in three categories in respect of:

• Investment projects using land through auction of land use rights (LURs);

• Investment projects using land through bidding to choose the investors; 

• Investment projects with allocated land or leased land without bidding or auctions.

Resolution 43 phases the Investment Procedures into two stages:

Stage 1: Prior to amendments to relevant laws and ordinances, relevant State authorities are required adjust their regulations and procedures in line with the unified Investment Procedures as described in Annex I of Resolution 43. For example, with regard to investment projects using allocated land or leased land without bidding or auctions, the Investment Procedures shall be unified as provided in table 1 below.

Stage 2:  when relevant laws and ordinances are amended, the unified Investment Procedures as described in Annex II of Resolution 43 shall be implemented.

The Government’s attempt to provide more transparent and consistent Investment Procedures should be appreciated. However, the enforcement of the unified Investment Procedures will be definitely another story. Hanoi People’s Committee also issued Decision 4752 on 12 September 2014 to guide the implementation of the unified Investment Procedures of Resolution 43. Foreign investors of projects using land in Hanoi can test now how the unified Investment Procedures of Resolution 43 to be implemented.

Table 1: the unified Investment Procedures with regard to investment projects using allocated land or leased land without bidding or auctions

This post is contributed by my colleague, Ha Thi Dzung.