Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers
Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers
Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers
Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers
Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers
Trade disputes between countries used to feel like politics but that lead to many issues to be felt by companies, by consumers i.e. price changes, duty changes, blocked shipments, and sudden compliance costs.
When that happens, the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is one of the few global systems designed to turn trade conflict back into rules and process, not just escalation.
For foreign investors who have been following Vietnam’s development and considering Vietnam as one of the choices for their investment decision, they usually ask one practical question before entering, especially from the year 2026, that if the Vietnam investment Law 2025 makes this easier, or more complicated for investing and doing business here.
The Vietnamese lawyers’ answer is as ironic and interestingly the same: both.
Let us explain why.
The Vietnam investment Law 2025, effective in 2026, aims to make the entry path more workable, but it also makes the compliance more strict and less forgiving.
For our positive thinking mindset, that is good news if your scope of business is clear, and your setup is realistic.
It will be challenging if you start with vague activities, minimal capital, and a fix later mindset plan.
When goods cross borders, risks follow. A late shipment, an unpaid invoice, or a disagreement over product quality can quickly turn into a costly conflict. This is why dispute settlement in international trade is a central part of doing business globally.
International trade involves multiple countries, different legal systems, and diverse business cultures. When disputes arise, they can disrupt supply chains, damage reputations, and result in financial losses. Knowing how disputes are resolved is essential not only for lawyers, but also for CEOs, business owners, and future lawyers preparing for careers in global trade.
There are four main mechanisms for dispute settlement in international trade: Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration, and Litigation. Each has its advantages and challenges. Understanding them helps businesses choose wisely and students grasp the foundations of international commerce.
Why Arbitration Matters More Than Ever
When business relationships collapse, companies often discover too late that their contract’s dispute resolution clause is important. Arbitration, trusted for neutrality, speed, and cross border enforceability has become a core part of global commerce.
As a practising arbitration counsel advising clients before domestic and international tribunals, we have seen how a clause can protect and one can lead to procedural delay.
In here, we draw on eight lessons every company and every team of arbitration counsel should know before a dispute begins.
Introduction: Contract Disputes in the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Vietnam
When you discuss about contract disputes in Vietnam, most of the time, you might think about what happens when a deal goes wrong. You could go on and discuss breaches, delays, non payment, termination, or damages.
We now take a different starting point.
We talk about what happens after a dispute has already been decided, often by arbitration, and one party believes it has won and now proceed to recognition and enforcement stages in Vietnam.
Introduction
Vietnam Intellectual Property Law amendments have long been expected.
Why?
For sometime, we have seen clients’ feedback on the delay of the procedures i.e. registration of IP rights, refusal to possible IP violations. Many times, we come across clients feeling hopeless seeking solutions to enforcement of violations of IP rights.
Now, it seems Vietnam is moving into a critical reform period, and one of the most consequential developments is the upcoming Vietnam Intellectual Property Law amendments. This revision cycle is broader than the amendments of 2009, 2019, and 2022. It reflects Vietnam’s economic transformation and the State’s intention to strengthen innovation capacity, align with international commitments, and respond to rapid changes in the digital economy.
Anti-dumping investigations in Vietnam almost never happen in isolation. By the time a case is opened, the exporter is usually already working with a law firm in its home country on trade strategy, previous investigations elsewhere, and broader market risks.
When Vietnam initiates proceedings, one more piece is added to that possible arrangement. We have seen that, the client turns to their existing advisers in their home country and asks what this new investigation means in practice. Then, the foreign counsel turns to their affiliate anti dumping law firms in Vietnam, dealing with a different set of procedures, short deadlines, and data that is not always ready for scrutiny.
Choosing the Right Tool for Dispute Resolution
For foreign companies doing business in Vietnam, disputes can arise even when contracts are carefully drafted and relationships are strong.
When that happens, the key question is not only who is right, but what is the best way forward?
Litigation and growing arbitration are familiar tools, but they are not always the most efficient or relationship friendly. An increasingly relevant alternative is commercial mediation in Vietnam, a voluntary, confidential process that allows parties to seek practical solutions with the assistance of a neutral mediator.
From our experience advising foreign clients, mediation is not a cure all, but it is often a valuable step worth trying before entering lengthy litigation or arbitration if contract agrees.
Joint-stock company is a type of enterprise recognized by Vietnam law, besides other types being limited liability company, partnership and private enterprise. A joint-stock company has legal status from the date of issuance of the Certificate of Business Registration by Vietnam authority. It is not suitable for all investors to set up a joint-stock company in Vietnam. Therefore, it is important to consult with corporate lawyers in Vietnam to learn the advantage of different forms of companies to be set up in Vietnam for the efficient management and purpose of the owner.
According to the definition of the Law on Enterprises, a joint-stock company is an enterprise whose charter capital is divided into equal parts called shares. Shareholders of a joint-stock company can be organizations or individuals, and the minimum number of shareholders of the company is 03 people.
There is no limit on the maximum number of shareholders, so it will be convenient for the company when it wishes to expand its business on a larger scale. In addition, shareholders will only be liable for debts and other property obligations of the enterprise to the extent of the amount of capital contributed to the enterprise.
This is an advantage of this type of business because the level of risk that shareholders have to bear. In particular, joint-stock companies have the right to issue shares, bonds and other securities to raise capital, which is a feature that other types of businesses do not have.
The business owner can submit by himself or authorize another individual/organization or a law firm in Vietnam to submit a set of documents to the Business Registration Office where the head office is intended, including:
1.An application for enterprise registration;
2.The company’s charter;
3.List of founding shareholders and list of shareholders being foreign investors;
4.Copies of the following papers:
a) Legal papers of the individual for the legal representative of the enterprise;
b) Personal legal papers for company members, founding shareholders, shareholders being foreign investors who are individuals; Legal papers of the organization for members, founding shareholders, shareholders being foreign investors being organizations; Legal documents of individuals for authorized representatives of members, founding shareholders, shareholders being foreign investors being organizations and documents on appointment of authorized representatives.
For members and shareholders being foreign organizations, copies of legal papers of the organization must be notarized and consularly legalized in Vietnam;
c) Investment registration certificate, in case the enterprise is established or participated in the establishment by a foreign investor or a foreign-invested economic organization in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law and other legal documents; implementation manual.
The processing time will be 03 working days from the date the Business Registration Office receives the valid application.
Source ANT Lawyers: How to Set up a Joint-Stock Company in Vietnam?
Feel Challenging to Set up Company in Vietnam?
For a foreigner to a country like Vietnam which opportunities avail for business, it is attempting to create a business to operate and snatch the chance. But after the first eagerness feeling of potential business to generate, after settling in, the entrepreneur might wonder, how difficult it is to set up company in Vietnam or how challenging the business environment in Vietnam for operating and doing business when dealing with administrative procedures from registering investment, setting up the company, complying with periodical reporting and tax declarations… If you are reading this and feeling so, you are not alone.
As a place with a favorable geographical position and plentiful labor resources, and growing consumer market, Vietnam is increasingly developing strongly, becoming a country attracting global investment among Southeast Asia countries. In order to carry out effective investment activities, foreign investors need to undertake research about the policies, investment incentives, legal requirements as well as the process and procedures for establishing a business in Vietnam. This will provide some quick tips for the fundamental considerations that international investors should consider if they have any ideas to chose Vietnam to make investment.
An individual with foreign nationality or an organization established under foreign law could register investment and conduct business activities in Vietnam. Foreign investors are permitted to engage in any legal business, however, there are some specific industries that investors must meet the required conditions to be able to register investment. Some few areas that foreign investors are not permitted to conduct business in Vietnam for the reason for national security or state monopoly.
According to Vietnam law, an investor whom wishes to establish a company in Vietnam must obtain an investment registration certificate from an authorization agency.
The normal time limit for issuance of the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) will be 15 days from the date of submission of valid dossier for an investment project. But it is important to build in the time for preparing the proper documents i.e. application, financial report, bank balance, personal documents and many of such documents require apostille, or notarization and legalization and translation into Vietnamese before being submitted.
Vietnam law does not require a minimum capital to set up a business, except for conditional investment or business lines. But investors are obliged to contribute capital according to the schedule stated in the IRC and that the government authority has the right to request the investor to explain the business plan to their satisfaction based on the proposed investment capital.
In case the investor cannot contribute enough capital according to the committed time limit, the competent authority may apply sanctions, including revocation of the IRC or the investor has to adjust the IRC to reflect the actual contribution of investment. Once having the IRC, the investor then request to obtain Enterprise Registration Certificate (IRC) which takes 5 days from the date of submission of valid dossier for business establishment to complete the business setting up process.
Now, after have a business set up in Vietnam, the enterprise starts to conduct business i.e. sign contract to lease space officially, hire people, enter into business transactions to buy and sell services or products.
To make it legally bound, the documents needs to be signed and sealed. Then the question is how to have a seal? Back in the past, it was more challenging to have the seal made for an enterprise after being established because it was managed by the Public Security authority.
There has been a discussion between legislators and business experts about totally removing the seal being stamped on the legal documents in Vietnam because the signature of the legal representative is most important. Over the time, the once strict law governing the seal issuance has been loosen up. But in Vietnam the seal is still very important that together with the legal representative signature it show the official notice i.e. a decision by the legal representative of the business to terminate a labour contract; or an obvious approval of an entity to a transaction it enters to hire a construction company for building a factory.
Depending on the terms in the company’s charter, the investor has the right to make more than one seal to use. The enterprise must send a notice to the business registration office where its head office is located for publication on the National Business Registration Portal before using, altering, destroying, or changing the number of seals. The seal can be used starting on the day the notification process has been finished and the seal sample has been uploaded on the National Business Registration Portal for verification purpose.
During the operation of the business after being started, the investor needs to pay attention to tax obligations, which is very important in most jurisdictions except in tax heaven countries. But Vietnam is not on the exemption list. Every company needs to submit tax declaration. Every year, the business will need to pay a number of different taxes and fees such as license fees (based on registered charter capital); Corporate Income Tax (CIT) when the company makes profit; declare and pay Value Added Tax (VAT) for sold goods or services, on behalf of individual declare and pay Personal Income Tax (PIT), or in some cases export tax and import tax, tax on lands.
In addition, foreign investor also needs to fully comply with the investment project reporting regime in accordance with the law. These reports will be made periodically (monthly, quarterly or annually) on such contents as: implemented investment capital, business investment results, information on labor, employed foreign workers, reports on environmental protection… Complying with the implementation of tax payment obligations and periodically reporting to ensure timely implementation as prescribed will help the company avoid unnecessary risks such as administrative sanctions, business suspension, penalties that could impact the business.
Source ANT Lawyers: Quick Tips for Foreigners to Set up Company in Vietnam and Comply?
