On 10 April 2020, the prime minister approved, under Decision No. 503/QD-TTg, a mission to formulate a national infrastructure plan for oil and gas reserves and supply for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050. In accordance with this decision, on 31 December 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade released a draft for comments from relevant agencies. The Draft Plan covers two main areas: reserves, and supply.
On 11 January 2022, the Office of Government of Vietnam issued Document No. 229/VPCP-CN to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam for the next steps of updating the draft regulations on the implementation of the pilot program on the direct power purchase agreement mechanism between renewable energy power generation companies and major power consumers.
Cross-border lending in Asia Pacific continues to grow steadily despite external factors such as COVID-19. While the region is not immune to external factors, borrowing volumes for financial institutions, credit funds and other market participants remain high in Asia Pacific. Considering the demographics of many of the nations, the various financial centers and many market participants investing more substantially in some of those financial centers, we remain optimistic that lending activity across Asia Pacific will continue to grow.
Vietnam is projected to be the only ASEAN economy to report growth following the emergence of the global COVID-19 pandemic. With the ratification of the CPTPP, EVFTA, and entering into RCEP, coupled with the fallout from regional trade tensions, the country is poised as the next regional hub for logistics and manufacturing, energy production, agricultural production and distribution, and corporate investment.
On 31 December 2020, the Government issued Decree No. 155/2020/ND-CP (“Decree No. 155”) implementing Securities Law No. 54/2019/QH14 (“Securities Law”). Decree No. 155 provides detailed guidance on the Securities Law, with changes made to the regulations on tender offer, foreign ownership limits, corporate governance and public company disclosure obligations — all of which could have an impact on public M&A transactions.
In brief On 19 March 2021, the Government issued Decree No. 21/2021/ND-CP on implementing the provisions of the Civil Code on securing performance of obligations (“Decree 21”). “Civil Code” here refers to Civil Code No. 91/2015/QH13 adopted on 24 November 2015 by the National Assembly. Decree 21 will take effect…
On 9 March 2021, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 316/QD-TTg, which takes immediate effect, to allow a pilot program for mobile money service (MMS), under which telecommunication accounts can be used to make payment for small value transactions. The pilot program will run for two years from the first enterprise being approved to pilot the MMS, and the result of the pilot program will be used by regulators to design concrete legislation.
The MMS pilot program is designed to encourage financial inclusion and promote a cashless society, and rural, mountainous and remote areas will be prioritized for implementation. MMS can only be provided for payment of legal domestic transactions in Vietnamese dong, and payment for goods and services provided on a cross-border basis is not allowed.
Vietnam is projected to be the only ASEAN economy to report growth following the emergence of the global COVID-19 pandemic. With the ratification of the CPTPP, EVFTA, and entering into RCEP, coupled with the fallout from regional trade tensions, the country is poised as the next regional hub for logistics…