Regional Round-Up: Vietnam Q4 2023 (Year in Review Edition)

2023 was a year that saw Vietnam weather a challenging global economic climate, and had its resilience tested since the economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic companies faced difficulties accessing capital, while those in the manufacturing sector (including textiles/garments and electronics) faced another year of turmoil as production orders remained stagnant. Despite these challenges, foreign direct investment (“FDI”) inflows remained strong – a testament that foreign investors remain optimistic of the country’s growth potential.

Significant moves were witnessed in the energy sector, as the long-awaited National Power Development Plan VIII was finally announced.

Together with new policies on electricity pricing (e.g. feed-in tariffs for solar and wind projects) set out in Circular 19/2023/TT-BCT. These developments provided certainty to investors in the energy sector. 

Woes in the real estate sector continued in 2023, as a spillover from Vietnam’s long-running anti-graft campaigns against major real estate players (among the most notable being the Van Thinh Phat group). It has also seen developers and other stakeholders face credit crunches, including major players such as No Va Land, Hung Thinh Group and Sun Group. Despite the challenges, reforms to Vietnam’s real estate laws were put in motion in 2023, including the Law on Real Estate Business, the Law on Housing, and the Law on Land, which will be instrumental to provide clarity for existing and prospective real estate players. However, investors will need to wait until 2025 (when the laws take effect) to feel the full impact of these developments. 

In the digital economy space, the Decree on Personal Data Protection was passed and came into effect in 2023. This decree represents the country’s first unified regulation on personal data protection.  Other instrumental developments include the passing of the Law on Telecommunications, the Law on Electronic Transactions and the Law on Consumer Rights Protection – the latter of which made clear the Government’s objectives in ensuring consumers are protected in the online environment (particularly in e-commerce). 

Transactions in the healthcare and pharmaceutical space also flourished in 2023, with the year seeing a spate of investments in hospitals, laboratories and clinics. The new Law on Medical Examination and Treatment was also passed in 2023.