ANT Lawyers is a Vietnam-based law firm with offices in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. We provide legal services to domestic and international clients, helping them navigate Vietnam’s legal and business environment with confidence.
Email: ant@antlawyers.vn
Tel: +84 28 730 86 529
The strategy to set up a representative office in Vietnam has become an increasingly popular one for foreign businesses looking to expand their presence in Southeast Asia. Vietnam’s dynamic economy, strategic location, and welcoming investment climate make it an attractive destination for international enterprises. The following explores the strategic reasons to set up a representative office in Vietnam, considering the current context of encouraging quality investment projects, and highlights the benefits and processes involved.
Strategic Reasons to Set Up a Representative Office in Vietnam
Vietnam’s digital economy is moving faster than many investors expected. Online retail is expanding beyond major cities. Cross-border platforms are gaining Vietnamese users. International startups are watching closely.
But here is the reality, to start an e-commerce business in Vietnam from 2026 is no longer just a technical launch decision. It is a structural decision. It is a regulatory decision. And increasingly, it is a risk management decision.
Vietnam’s legal framework has matured. The Law on E-Commerce 2025, effective from July 1st, 2026, introduces clearer platform classification and defined responsibilities. Foreign founders who want to start an e-commerce business in Vietnam must understand how their operational model fits within this framework before they scale.
This article explains how to structure correctly, avoid common mistakes, and align growth with compliance from the beginning.
How to Start an E-Commerce Business in Vietnam: A Strategic Guide for Foreign Investors
Vietnam’s M&A market continues to mature. Private equity, strategic investors, and regional conglomerates are increasingly active across manufacturing, logistics,technology, and consumer sectors. Yet alongside deal growth, equity transfer disputes are appearing with greater frequency in both court judgments andarbitrationproceedings.
For investors and general counsels, the pattern is not accidental. Most equity transfer disputes in Vietnam are not caused by sophisticated fraud. They arise from structural ownership weaknesses that were overlooked during due diligence.
This analysis identifies nine recurring red flags behind equity transfer disputes, explains why they persist, and outlines practical steps to mitigate risk before capital is deployed.
9 Red Flags of Equity Transfer Disputes Investors Miss During Due Diligence in Vietnam
E-Commerce Law 2025 marks a structural shift in how online commerce is regulated.
The E-Commerce Law, adopted by the National Assembly in 2025 and effective from July 1st, 2026, replaces earlier decree-based regulation and establishes a unified statutory framework for digital commerce.
For foreign startups, marketplace operators, and cross-border sellers, the key issue is not whether Vietnam allows foreign participation, it does. The key issue is how the E-Commerce Law classifies platform activity and what responsibilities follow from that classification.
This alert outlines the main regulatory shifts relevant to foreign online businesses.
Vietnam E-Commerce Law 2025: What Foreign Online Businesses Should Review Before July 2026
Moving to Vietnam might be an interesting experience. But before you get too comfortable, there’s something crucial you need to tackle: understanding Vietnam’s legal and regulatory landscape through learning Vietnam expat guide.
If you’re planning to live and work in Vietnam, you need to navigate a maze of rules, from visas and work permits to property laws and taxes. Messing up even a small step can lead to frustrating delays, unexpected fines, or even deportation.
But overall, culture matters most. Be patient and be adaptive.
Our experienced lawyers in Vietnam have assisted many expats make a smooth transition. In this Vietnam expat guide, we will explain how of every key regulatory matter, offering clear problem statements and practical solutions to ensure your move is as smooth as possible.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) compliance is a growing concern in Vietnam, where the labor force plays a pivotal role in economic growth. As Vietnam continues to develop into a manufacturing hub, investors have drawn more attention to adhering to the nation’s labor laws, particularly OHS regulations. The following aims to provide a guide to understanding the complexities of OHS compliance in Vietnam, helping employers ensure the safety and well-being of their workers while avoiding legal complications.
Opening a bank account in Vietnam for foreigners is somewhat more complicated in terms of conditions and documents.
Navigating the financial landscape in Vietnam can be a challenge, especially for foreigners and businesses unfamiliar with the local banking system.
Understanding the requirements for opening a bank account in Vietnam is crucial for anyone looking to establish a financial foothold in the country. Whether you are an expatriate planning to live in Vietnam, a foreign investor, or a business entity, this guide provides essential insights into the process of opening a bank account in Vietnam.
New Direction and Why Starting a Business in Vietnam Looks Different Today
From 2026, Vietnam is no longer positioning itself solely as a cost efficient manufacturing destination. Increasingly, policy signals point toward a more technology driven, digitally regulated, and compliance conscious economy.
Foreign investors today encounter a different operating environment than even a few years ago. Projects involving technology, digital services, data processing, logistics platforms, fin-tech, e-commerce, and cross-border services now receive closer regulatory monitoring. This is not to restrict investment, but to ensure alignment with national development priorities and risk controls.
Further, Vietnam’s business environment is evolving rapidly as the government digitalizes administrative processes, enhances foreign investment facilitation, and streamlines business licensing through platforms like the National Business Registration Portal. The investors must balance strategic planning and legal compliance when they establish businesses in Vietnam, rather than relying solely on procedural checklists.
This shift matters for anyone planning to start a business in Vietnam.
Business models that once relied on informal flexibility are now expected to demonstrate clearer structure, licensing readiness, and compliance capacity from the outset.
Why and How to Start a Business in Vietnam: 5 Strategic Steps
The country is moving from a cost-driven growth model to a more rules based, globally integrated economy. Regulatory institutions are being refined. Compliance expectations are rising. Cross-border scrutiny through trade, tax, data, ESG, and governance is no longer theoretical.
The need for speed has not disappeared.
But the real question is whether your organization can form sound legal judgment when facts are incomplete, policy direction is still settling, and execution depends on understanding culture as much as technical knowledge.
This is where the human dimension of legal work in Vietnam becomes decisive.
Businesses operating in Vietnam still face tight timelines, competitive pressure, and internal demands to act quickly. The tension today is not between law and business, but between moving quickly and remaining defensible in a more accountable environment.
In this context, law firms in Vietnam increasingly would need to help businesses translate how decisions are shaped, explained, and carried forward inside organizations. The challenge is rarely the absence of legal rules. It is how legal judgment is formed when facts are incomplete, policy is evolving, and business realities are complex.
What matters is not rushing to conclusions, but navigating competing interests methodically, understanding what each party needs, where trade-offs exist, and how solutions can be structured to preserve relationships while advancing objectives.
7 Challenges Businesses Face Balancing Speed and Legal Safety and How Law Firms in Vietnam Shape the Outcome
