The revised law was adopted with 425 out of 436 lawmakers in favour, accounting for 97.47% of those present.

Under the amendments, the number of conditional business lines, activities requiring special licences will fall to 196, a reduction of 38 sectors after a review found they did not meet the criteria set out in Article 7 of the Investment Law. The scope of 20 other sectors will also be adjusted.

Lawmakers said the cuts affect fields including finance-accounting, agriculture, fisheries, construction and transport. The National Assembly’s Economic and Financial Committee earlier urged the government to retain only sectors related to national defence, security, ethics and public health, and to develop clearer criteria for measuring business compliance costs.

The government said it would instruct ministries to shift management of the affected sectors to standards- and norms-based regulation, replacing many licensing procedures with registration or notification mechanisms. The move aims to shift strongly from pre-check to post-check, from licensing to registration, according to the explanatory report.

The amended law also tightens foreign exchange management for large-scale overseas investment projects or those seeking special policy incentives. In such cases, the Ministry of Finance must seek the Prime Minister’s approval before investment certificates are issued or adjusted.

Overseas investment projects below a threshold to be set by the government, except in banking, insurance, securities, media and real estate, will no longer require approval from the National Assembly or the Prime Minister. Instead, investors will only need to register foreign-exchange transactions with the State Bank of Vietnam.

As of the end of June, Vietnam had 1,916 valid outward investment projects worth more than US$23 billion. Although projects under VND20 billion account for 67% of the total number, larger projects represent 98% of total capital, prompting the government to set an appropriate capital threshold for approval.

The amended Investment Law will take effect on March 1, 2026, while new rules on conditional business sectors will apply from July 1, 2026.

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