The draft Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Investment proposes easing market access conditions for foreign investors while expanding the application of special investment procedures under a “green lane” mechanism. The amendments aim to enhance flexibility and proactiveness in management, reduce unnecessary procedures, and address practical obstacles arising in investment activities.
The Ministry of Finance has drafted the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Investment to institutionalize tasks assigned under Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW dated June 8, 2026 of the Politburo on developing the foreign-invested economic sector. Photo: Le Toan
Expanding Market Access Opportunities for Foreign Investors
The Ministry of Finance has drafted the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Investment to institutionalize tasks assigned under Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW dated June 8, 2026 of the Politburo on developing the foreign-invested economic sector. One notable proposal is to further refine regulations on sectors and business lines and market access conditions applicable to foreign investors.
Accordingly, the draft supplements provisions under which, based on socio-economic conditions and state management requirements in each period, the Government may consider and decide to ease market access conditions in sectors and business lines subject to restricted market access for foreign investors.
The easing of conditions is subject to requirements for openness and transparency, consistent application, and non-discrimination among investors. This approach is intended to enhance proactiveness and flexibility in administration while creating a basis for expanding market access in accordance with an appropriate roadmap.
According to the Ministry of Finance's review, the current List of Business Lines with Restricted Market Access for Foreign Investors includes 10 out of 91 sectors and sub-sectors in which investment in the form of establishing a joint venture is required, but without restrictions on the foreign ownership ratio.
In practice, under this regulation, foreign investors may hold up to 99.9% of the charter capital of an economic organization. However, the joint venture requirement may still create additional barriers to market access and increase compliance costs and administrative procedures. In certain sectors, maintaining restrictions on foreign ownership may increase market entry costs and limit access to international capital and technology, thereby affecting the attractiveness of the investment environment.
On this basis, the draft gives the Government greater discretion to consider easing market access conditions in line with socio-economic conditions and state management requirements in each period.
During the process of formulating the decree guiding the Law, the Ministry of Finance is expected to continue coordinating with ministries, sectors, and business associations to review and report to the Government for consideration of easing market access conditions in sectors and fields consistent with the market-opening roadmap and practical management requirements. These include logistics, finance, customs, and trade, which have been identified as areas requiring stronger attraction of foreign investment capital in the new period.
Expanding the “Green Lane” and Addressing Practical Obstacles
Alongside expanding market access, the draft Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Investment also focuses on refining investment procedures to further improve the investment and business environment. One notable proposal concerns amendments and supplements to regulations on special investment procedures.
The Ministry of Finance proposes expanding the scope of application of special investment procedures to investment projects in the sectors and fields specified in Clause 2, Article 17 of the Law on Investment concerning subjects eligible for special investment incentives and support, where the project site is located on land under the management of state agencies or organizations in accordance with land laws and outside industrial parks, export processing zones, hi-tech parks, concentrated digital technology zones, free trade zones, international financial centers, and functional areas within economic zones.
This proposal is aligned with the orientation set out in Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW on establishing preferential mechanisms that are superior and competitive and linked to implementation outcomes; establishing specific and separate investment procedures; and introducing centralized, rapid, and flexible mechanisms for handling difficulties and obstacles.
At the same time, the Resolution calls for special investment procedures and preferential mechanisms to be applied to large-scale strategic technology projects with inter-regional impacts and the potential to lead regional and global supply chains, as well as high-tech projects with commitments to transfer technology to Vietnamese enterprises.
Currently, Article 28 of the Law on Investment allows projects located in industrial parks, export processing zones, hi-tech parks, concentrated digital technology zones, free trade zones, and functional areas within economic zones to follow special investment procedures under a “green lane” mechanism, without restrictions on sectors or business lines, except for projects subject to in-principle investment approval in accordance with Government regulations. This mechanism has received support from investors and management boards of industrial parks and economic zones, contributing to faster completion of investment procedures.
Based on this practical experience, expanding the “green lane” mechanism beyond the areas mentioned above is expected to create additional facilitation for projects in the specified sectors and fields, on the basis of investors’ commitments regarding environmental protection, construction, fire prevention and fighting, and other relevant requirements.
Another proposed amendment concerns investment procedures for projects requesting the State to allocate a marine area. The draft adds cases that are “not subject to auction or bidding in accordance with the law” as a basis for competent authorities to consider and decide on in-principle investment approval concurrently with investor approval for projects requesting the allocation of marine areas.
At the same time, the draft adds an exclusion for certain projects requesting the State to allocate marine areas, under which the Government would be authorized to prescribe other cases. The objective is to provide a basis for excluding small-scale activities conducted by individuals and households, such as aquaculture and small-scale recreational services, from unnecessary investment procedures.
In practice, the application of current regulations to projects requesting the allocation of marine areas continues to face difficulties in determining the method for selecting investors. Regulations on the allocation of marine areas do not currently provide for the selection of investors to implement projects, while the existing provisions of the Law on Investment do not fully cover cases in which in-principle investment approval is granted concurrently with investor approval for such projects.
In addition, certain small-scale aquaculture and coastal recreational service projects carried out by individuals and households previously only required procedures for the allocation of marine areas under specialized legislation. Requiring additional in-principle investment approval procedures without distinguishing based on project scale may create unnecessary administrative procedures and increase the burden on individuals, particularly households and individuals engaged in small-scale aquaculture.
The amendments are also intended to ensure consistency and synchronization with the direction of improving the legal framework on marine and island resources and the environment, while implementing policies to remove institutional barriers and bottlenecks, reform administrative procedures, and promote production and business activities.
The proposals to provide greater flexibility in opening markets, expand the “green lane” mechanism, and address legal gaps arising from practical implementation are expected to contribute to creating a transparent and favorable investment environment, enhancing the ability to attract and effectively utilize domestic and international resources for development.