Key Amendments to Vietnam’s Law on Investment
Vietnam National Assembly adopted the revised Law on Investment on 11 December 2025. The revised Law on Investment will come into effect on 1 March 2026, except for the provisions related to the adjustment of conditional investment sectors which will be implemented from 1 July 2026.
The revised Law on Investment has added the following prohibited industry and activities: investment and business operations in e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Accordingly, neither foreign investors nor Vietnam domestic investors is allowed to invest in or operate e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products from 1 March 2026.
According to the revised Law on Investment, 38 conditional investment sectors will cancel the requirement of obtaining operation licenses before operation and switch to post supervision starting from 1 July 2026. The 38 sectors that have had their pre-operation licenses cancelled mainly include finance and accounting, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, construction and transportation, information technology and data services, service trade, logistics and supply chain, and other fields. Subsequently, the Vietnam government is expected to release two lists: one specifying the sectors that still require pre-operation license or certification, and the other one specifying the sectors where enterprises only have to meet publicly available operation conditions, no pre-operation license or certification is required.
The revised Law on Investment has also adjusted the establishment procedures for foreign invested enterprises, allowing eligible foreign investors to establish enterprises before obtaining the Investment Registration Certificate. They may apply for the Enterprise Registration Certificate first and then apply for the Investment Registration Certificate later. The specific applicability and conditions of this adjustment still need to be clarified in the subsequent implementation rules. Prior to this, the establishment of foreign invested enterprises in Vietnam must first apply for and obtain the Investment Registration Certificate in order to apply for and obtain the Enterprise Registration Certificate.
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