The establishment of a FIC in Vietnam shall require an Investment Certificate (IC) and Certificate of Business Registration (BRC) from competent authority.

We would like to further note that licensing procedure for setting up a FIC in Vietnam is rather longer in comparison with other countries in region. Under Vietnam Investment Law 2014, within 15 days from submission of application dossier to the competent authority, you can obtain an IC and 05 days thereafter to obtain BRC.

However, in practice, it may be longer due to that the competent authority must consult other relevant government offices to evaluate the project.

In order to setup a FIC, you shall have to conduct two following steps:

Step 1: Obtainment of IC. In this step, client shall need to present an investment project to competent authority which shall be conducted by the FIC in future. Then, the competent authority shall evaluate the legitimacy and feasibility of such investment project to determine whether to grant IC on following basis:

– Legal framework including Vietnam’s WTO commitments, Vietnam Investment Law, Vietnam Enterprise Law, regulations applicable to specific industries as well as the master economic development plan of the city/province where the FIC shall register its head office.

– Financial ability, investment capital to put in the Investment Project, facilities and human resources serving the implementation of such investment project in Vietnam.

Step 2: After obtainment of IC, Client shall be required to obtain the BRC.

After obtainment of BRC, the FIC can officially recruit employees and conduct business activities in Vietnam.