Vietnam

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT) recently released the draft of a new Decision of the Prime Minister (“Draft Decision”)1 replacing current Decision No. 28/2014/QD-TTg dated 7 April 2014 (“Decision 28”) on electricity retail tariff structures.The Draft Decision tries to reflect practical power consumption by power consumers to address certain practical issues on the retail tariff structure. From a power developer's perspective, however, the tariff framework for average electricity retail prices remain unchanged and the roadmap to retail electricity tariffs toward market-based pricing remain to be developed.The proposed structures and options for determining electricity retail price in the Draft Decision are still in draft form. If you would like to discuss the details of the Draft Decision and its impacts to a specific business, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Asia Pacific International Commercial and Trade Webinar SeriesDecember 2020 – January 2021 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm (GMT+8)We are pleased to present the...

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT) recently issued new Circular No. 25/2020/TT-BCT (“Circular No. 25”)1 replacing Circular No. 09/2012/TT-BCT ("Circular No. 09")2 on the formulation and reporting on planning of economical and efficient use of energy ("Energy Efficiency Plan"). Circular No. 25 provides businesses with simplified and more straightforward procedures for registering and reporting on their Energy Efficiency Plan. This is one of the steps toward the implementation of the earlier-approved National Energy Efficiency Program for the period of 2019-2030 (VNEEP).

On 25 September 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT) circulated to the relevant line ministries and Vietnam Electricity (EVN) the draft proposal letter to the Prime Minister ("Draft Proposal"), together with the full text of the draft Prime Minister's Decision on the pilot program for competitive selection of solar power projects ("Draft Decision").The pilot program targets a limited number of solar power projects that have been included (or will be included soon) in the power development master plan, but are not eligible for Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) 1 and FiT 2 ("Pilot Program"). Under the Draft Proposal, this program will tentatively take place from November 2020 to May 2021 (to be finalized) as a transition phase for future competitive auction mechanisms (such as "substation-based" and "solar park" models).

Under the new Investment Law 2020, which will take effect on 1 January 2021 (“New Investment Law”), the most notable change is the introduction of the “negative list” approach, according to which foreign investors will be entitled to market access conditions applicable to domestic investors for any sectors not included in the list of sectors, which foreign investors are restricted from accessing ("List of Restricted Sectors"). The government recently released a draft regulation that guides market access by foreign investors and provides the List of Restricted Sectors applicable to the foreign investors, which is to be included in the decree guiding the implementation of New Investment Law (“Draft Decree”).

On 9 September 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT) issued Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BTC ("Circular No. 21") to replace the current Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BCT, disappointing certain investors who hoped the threshold for power generation licenses would be raised to facilitate market entry. Circular No. 21 takes effect from 26 October 2020, and it provides updated procedures for applications for power operation licenses, including power generation licenses for all types of power plants in Vietnam.1We have highlighted some of the key takeaways and key provisions below.

On 18 September 2020, the Government issued Decree No. 111/2020/ND-CP on Vietnam's Preferential Export Tariffs and Special Preferential Import Tariffs for the implementation of Vietnam's commitments on opening the market for goods under the Free Trade Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the European Union ("EVFTA") for the period 2020 – 2022 ("Decree No. 111").

On 20 August 2020, the Trade Remedy Authority (TRA) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) – the Investigator – received a petition for an anti-dumping and countervailing investigation (AD) with regard to cane sugar under HS code 1701.13.00, 1701.14.00, and 1701.99.10, originating from Thailand.

The Ministry of Health ("MOH") has issued Circular No. 14/2020/TT-BYT dated 10 July 2020 ("Circular No. 14"), which will regulate various aspects of the bidding process of medical devices for public health establishments. This circular will take effect on 1 September 2020.

In light of the global pandemic, governments across the globe are faced with urgent needs whose immediate coverage is a matter of life and death. Hence, these unusual and uncertain times call for rare and exceptional measures, and without much ado, governments around the globe have provided them. Common to all approaches is the will to enable public contractors to procure the urgently needed supplies to save lives and contain the pandemic without major bureaucratic hurdles.