Ho Chi Minh City, 5 January 2026
Indochine Counsel is pleased to share that Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Duong, Senior Associate and Head of Taxation, has been featured in an exclusive interview with TheLEADER Vietnam. The article, titled “Tax Policy Amidst the Challenges of Attracting High-Tech FDI”, examines Vietnam’s strategic pivot as global minimum tax (GMT) rules reshape international investment.
As traditional tax incentives become less effective under the global minimum effective tax rate of 15 percent, Ms. Duong explains that Vietnam is proactively transitioning from tax-based incentives toward more substantive support mechanisms. Central to this shift is the establishment of the Investment Support Fund, which enables the government to provide targeted assistance to strategic investors in areas such as infrastructure development, human resource training, and research and development activities. This approach reflects Vietnam’s efforts to sustain its competitiveness in attracting high-tech investors, often referred to as global “eagles,” in a changing global tax environment.
The interview also highlights Vietnam’s strategic use of personal income tax incentives to support its technology ambitions. Ms. Duong notes that the five-year personal income tax exemption for personnel working in the semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors serves a dual purpose. In addition to reducing operational costs for high-tech enterprises, the policy is designed to attract top-tier international talent and encourage overseas Vietnamese professionals to return and contribute to the domestic innovation ecosystem.
Addressing the evolving digital economy, Ms. Duong discusses the modernization of tax concepts, particularly the treatment of digital platforms as permanent establishments. She explains that this approach helps safeguard Vietnam’s tax sovereignty while ensuring a level playing field between traditional businesses and cross-border e-commerce and technology companies such as Google, Meta, and Amazon.
Looking ahead, Ms. Duong emphasizes that Vietnam’s ambition to become a regional technology hub will require continued alignment with OECD standards. She underscores the importance of further digitalization of tax administration, including the adoption of AI-driven risk management tools and enhanced data integration across government agencies. These measures, she notes, would help reduce compliance burdens for transparent enterprises while improving regulatory efficiency.
Drawing on her extensive experience in tax structuring and investment advisory, Ms. Duong’s commentary provides foreign investors with a clear and practical roadmap for navigating Vietnam’s evolving fiscal and regulatory landscape. Her insights reflect Indochine Counsel’s ongoing commitment to delivering pragmatic guidance on complex regulatory developments that directly impact the stability and growth of multinational enterprises operating in Vietnam.
Read the full article here: TheLEADER Vietnam
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