Presenting the draft, Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang said the bill comprises seven chapters and 53 articles governing business and investment activities inside Vietnam and outbound investments by Vietnamese entities. The draft narrows and clarifies the scope of projects that require prior approval of investment policy. Under the proposed text, prior approval would be reserved for infrastructure development projects in certain fields such as seaports, airports, telecommunications, publishing and press; projects involving land allocation or use of maritime areas; projects with major environmental impacts or those that could affect national defence and security. The draft also lists specific cases exempt from the in-principle approval requirement.

To simplify procedures further, the bill proposes amending Article 22 of the 2020 Investment Law to allow foreign investors to establish economic organisations in Vietnam without presenting a project at the time of incorporation. Such entities would, however, remain subject to foreign-investor market-access conditions set out in Article 9 when completing registration procedures. “This change will make the business environment more open and attractive for foreign investors, boost investment attraction and ensure equal treatment between domestic and foreign investors when carrying out these procedures,” Thang said.

The draft redefines sectors for investment incentives, prioritising activities that promote science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, digital and semiconductor industries; green, circular and sharing economies; new economic models; linked industrial clusters and value chains; renewable and clean energy to ensure national energy security; and modern governance models with high added value and strong spillover effects.

As part of regulatory streamlining, the draft proposes removing 25 conditional business lines that no longer meet legal criteria and adjusting the scope of 22 others.

Delivering the verficiation report, Chairman of the NA’s Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs Phan Van Mai said that the committee supported the bill’s objectives and expedited procedure but urged careful review.

He recommended strict criteria for projects requiring in-principle approval and asked lawmakers to thoroughly examine the legal rationale for removing the NA’s authority in approving investment policies, ensuring clear principles of decentralisation and delegation.

Also November 11 morning, NA deputies heard the proposals and verification reports on the draft law amending some artciles of the Laws on Citizen Reception, Complaints and Denunciations, and the amended Law on Drug Prevention and Control.

NA debates draft revised Public Investment Law

National Assembly (NA) deputies debated the draft Public Investment Law (revised) on October 29, as part of their ongoing eighth session.