On October 17, 2025, Vietnam’s National Assembly Standing Committee gathered under the leadership of Vice Chairman Vũ Hồng Thanh to discuss sweeping changes to the nation’s investment law. The draft law, presented by Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyễn Thị Bích Ngọc, aims to modernize the legal framework that governs both domestic and outbound investment, making it easier for businesses and individuals to navigate an often-complicated landscape. The stakes are high: the goal is nothing less than to remove institutional bottlenecks, cut red tape, and create a more dynamic, investor-friendly environment.
The revised Investment Law, as outlined in the draft, is a substantial overhaul. It consists of seven chapters, sixty articles, and four appendices. Notably, the draft amends and supplements thirty-three out of seventy-seven articles, removes seventeen, keeps twenty-five unchanged, and adds two new articles while rearranging several provisions. According to Deputy Minister Ngọc, the intent is to institutionalize the Party’s resolutions, promptly resolve legal obstacles, and simplify procedures for investment and business activities. "The law is designed to create favorable conditions for people and enterprises," she explained, as reported by Tạp chí Tài chính.
One of the most significant shifts in the draft law is the narrowing and clarification of which projects must go through the approval process for investment policy. Instead of casting a wide net, the new law focuses approval requirements only on projects in critical and sensitive sectors—such as seaports, airports, telecommunications, publishing, and the press—as well as projects proposing land use in coastal areas, or those with significant environmental impacts or implications for national defense and security. This is a marked departure from previous, broader requirements, aiming to reduce bureaucratic delays for most investors.
But the draft doesn’t stop there. It introduces clear exceptions, specifying which projects are exempt from the approval process. For example, projects that have already won mineral exploitation rights through auction, technical infrastructure projects in industrial clusters, or those that involve land allocation or leasing via public auctions (except for major projects like airports or seaports) will not need to undergo the lengthy approval procedures. This, according to the Ministry of Finance, is expected to streamline investment flows and accelerate project implementation across the country.
The law also proposes a major decentralization of authority. Under the new system, the power to approve investment policy will largely shift from the National Assembly to the Prime Minister and provincial-level leaders. Only in rare, particularly significant cases—such as projects requiring special mechanisms not covered by existing law—will the government need to seek the National Assembly Standing Committee’s consent. This decentralization is intended to speed up decision-making and reinforce the principle of "local decision, local implementation, local responsibility."
The Standing Committee’s Economic and Financial Committee, led by Chairman Phan Văn Mãi, voiced broad support for the draft’s political, legal, and practical foundations. However, the committee called for detailed impact assessments and risk evaluations, especially regarding the proposal to remove the National Assembly’s authority over major investment decisions. They urged drafters to ensure that only the most essential projects are subject to the approval process, and to clearly define which projects require central, local, or special investment procedures. "We need to design the rules so that only cases which are truly necessary are subject to the investment policy approval process," Chairman Mãi noted, as reported by CLO.
Another notable reform in the draft is the shift from "pre-approval" (tiền kiểm) to "post-approval" (hậu kiểm) mechanisms, paired with stronger inspection and supervision. This means that, instead of requiring exhaustive checks before projects can begin, the emphasis will move towards monitoring compliance during and after implementation. The goal is to foster innovation and development, rather than stifling it with excessive upfront controls. According to the draft, this approach is expected to create a more open and attractive environment for both domestic and foreign investors.
In a move that drew attention from business circles, the draft law also proposes eliminating the need for foreign investors to have a project in hand before establishing an economic organization in Vietnam. This change is expected to make the country more appealing to international investors, who will now find it easier to enter the market and set up shop.
On the regulatory side, the draft law takes a hard look at conditional business sectors. It proposes removing twenty-one sectors that no longer meet the criteria for conditional investment, such as accounting services and tax procedure services. At the same time, it introduces a ban on investment and business activities related to electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, aligning with the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15. This ban extends to the production, business, import, storage, transportation, and use of these products, as well as other substances that are addictive or harmful to health.
The law also introduces principles for determining which sectors and regions are eligible for investment incentives, especially those facing difficult or particularly challenging socio-economic conditions. The government will be tasked with specifying these details in subsequent regulations, offering targeted support where it’s needed most.
Outbound investment is also addressed. The draft abolishes approval procedures for outbound investment projects (previously under the authority of the National Assembly or Prime Minister), except for those above a certain financial threshold or in sectors requiring special conditions. For projects under 20 billion VND (about $760,000), investors will only need to register their foreign exchange transactions with the State Bank, further reducing administrative burdens for smaller ventures.
The draft law doesn’t overlook Vietnam’s burgeoning industrial and economic zones, either. Projects in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech parks, digital technology clusters, and free trade zones will be able to access special "green lane" procedures, except for large-scale or sensitive projects like airports or seaports. This reform has been welcomed by investors and management boards alike as a key step toward improving the investment climate.
In his closing remarks, Vice Chairman Vũ Hồng Thanh praised the proactive and close coordination among the government, the Ministry of Finance, and the Economic and Financial Committee in shaping the draft law. He emphasized that the law must adhere to three core principles: removing bottlenecks, creating a stable and synchronized legal framework, and ensuring alignment with development needs without introducing new obstacles. "We must maximize the reduction of procedures and conditions for investment and business," he stated, urging further simplification and a decisive shift from bureaucratic management to innovation-driven development.
The government has proposed that the revised law take effect on January 1, 2026, aiming to promptly address practical challenges faced by investors and businesses. If adopted, these changes could mark a turning point in Vietnam’s journey toward a more transparent, efficient, and globally competitive investment environment.
