4 July, 2017
At the Mid-Term Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi on 16 June, I was able to engage with government decision-makers on a number of issues, in particular, the ongoing inconsistencies associated with the changes in the Vietnamese Law on Residential Housing.
Key issues discussed at the Forum included:
1. Delays in Issuance of Land Use Right Certificates:
Recently there have been reports of setbacks in issuance of land use right certificates arising from delays in actions from various regulatory bodies. The representative for the Ministry of Construction (MoC) responded that while the implementation has experienced some delays, the intention is certainly to push forward. The representative also confirmed that the relevant authorities have been instructed and are in the process of taking necessary actions to deal with the issue.
2. Sources of Capital:
As a result of a restriction in funding sources set out in the Law on Residential Housing, developers can no longer raise development capital from certain offshore sources. This has severely limited residential developers from exploiting other sources of capital. A request to prioritise a previously proposed amendment to the Law on Residential Housing was made.
3. Overlapping Licensing Procedures:
Another point that was discussed was the issue of overlapping and complicated licensing procedures including the issuance of the investment registration certificate, the investment in-principle approval and investment in-principle decision which are issued under various conditions but subject to similar requirements. A suggestion was made that these overlapping approvals be consolidated, where appropriate.
For more in-depth details about the points above, you may find the full discussion debrief HERE.
