On May 14^th, 2014 the Government issued Decree No. 42/2014/ND-CP on the management of multi-level marketing activities (Decree 42) to replace the previous Decree No. 110/2005/ND-CP, dated August 24^th, 2005, governing the same matter (Decree 110).

Decree No. 44/2013/ND-CP dated May 10^th, 2013, (Decree 44) addresses a number of issues in last year’s Labor Code.

The Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 16/2013/TT-BTC, dated 8 February 2013, guiding implementation of Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP, dated 7 January 2013, of the Government on several remedies for solving the business difficulties, assisting the market and resolving bad debts ("Circular 16"). Remedies addressed by Circular 16 are optional incentives regarding  corporate income tax (CIT), value added tax (VAT), land rent and land use fees.

Law 36/2009/QH 12 dated June 29, 2009, amends and supplements a number of Articles of Law on Intellectual Property 2005 (Law on Intellectual Property) and provides some new amended regulations on establishment of industrial property rights, including, inter alia, regulations on rights to registration of a collective mark, certification mark in respect of the geographical name or other signs indicating the geographical origin of special products from Viet Nam, the first-to-file principle, time limits for examination of the applications for registration of IP objects.

Food poisoning nearly happens every day throughout Vietnam, and there have been some serious cases with large numbers of poisoned persons. Per official statistics published by the Vietnam Food Safety Authority, for the period of 2010 to mid 2012 there were more than 371 food poisoning cases with 91 dead people recorded.

The Government has recently launched various measures to strengthen weak credit institutions. One of these measures is a draft decree regulating how many shares foreign investors can purchase in Vietnamese credit institutions, listed and non-listed shareholding banks, financial companies and financial leasing companies (collectively VCIs). The new decree replaces Decree 69/2007/ND-CP.

On 20 November 2012 the National Assembly passed Law No. 20/2012/QH13 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Lawyers No. 65/2006/QH11(the "Law"). The Law takes effect on 1 July 2013. By enacting the Law, the Government has increased the administrative burden for foreign law firms and other legal practicing organizations.

On 20 November 2012 the National Assembly promulgated the Law on amendment and implementation of a number of articles of the 2006 Law on Lawyers (the Amended Law).

The forms in which an investor can contribute capital to an enterprise have evolved to include intangible assets such as intellectual property rights that are often of greater value than the tangible assets of an enterprise.

Gaming is one of the most attractive sectors drawing the attention of foreign investors in recent years. And among Asian countries, one of the more attractive targets for gaming development is Vietnam.

To strengthen the management of import/export rights of foreign traders without a presence ("FTWP") in Vietnam, on 27 September 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Trade enacted Circular 28/2012/TT-BCT (Circular 28).

The State has issued a number of policies and incentives to encourage the development of low-cost housing to meet the housing needs of the disadvantaged. Yet few public housing projects are underway and little inventory has been added to the low-cost housing market. 

Under Viet Nam's commitments when it acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2007, foreign organizations must receive a right to set up a 100-per-cent foreign-owned securities company.

On 21 June 2012 the National Assembly of Vietnam passed a new Law on Advertising No 16/2012/QH13. The Law on Advertising takes effect from 1 January 2013 and repeals the current Ordinance on Advertising No 39/2001/PL-UBTVQH10 dated 16 November 2001 ("Ordinance 2001") and the Decree of the Government providing detailed aregulations for implementation on Ordinance 2001 dated 13 March 2003.

The Ministry of Finance has issued Circular No. 125/2012/TT-BTC ("Circular 125"), dated 30 July 2012, providing detailed guidelines on the financial regime applicable to insurers, re-insurers, insurance brokers ("Insurers") and branches of foreign non-life insurers ("FBNI") duly established and operating in Vietnam.

Viet Nam has licensed 102 internet enterprises as from April this year, of which 60 have begun providing services, according to statistics from the Ministry of Information and Communications. Another 850 websites and 130 social networks have been granted operating licences. The increase in internet services and use has led the Government to prepare new regulations to address growing issues related to internet use.

On 5 April 2012, Vietnam's Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 52/2012/TT-BTC on information disclosure in the stock market ("Circular 52"), which became effective on 1 June 2012 and replaces Circular No. 09/2010/TT-BTC dated 15 January 2010 ("Circular 09").

The new Law on Advertising, passed by the National Assembly last June, takes effect on January 1, replacing the 2001 Ordinance on Advertising and subsequent regulations.

The State Bank of Vietnam has issued Circular No. 19/2012/TT-NHNN on 08 June 2012 amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 30/2011/TT-NHNN dated 28 September 2011 of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing the ceiling interest rate for Vietnam-dong capital mobilizations of institutions, individuals at some credit institutions, branches of foreign banks ("Circular 19").

The charter capital of an enterprise is made up by contributions from shareholders. Each shareholder makes a capital contribution by transferring cash or assets to the company. The receiving company becomes the owner of the assets contributed, and the contributing shareholder becomes the owner of shares representing part ownership in the company.