Tips

The Ultimate Guide to Investment Project Approval Procedures

Introducing our comprehensive project investment approval procedure, a meticulously crafted process designed to guide you seamlessly through your investment journey. Our expert team provides detailed instructions and personalized assistance, ensuring your experience is both efficient and rewarding. With our meticulous approach, we aim to empower you to make informed decisions and achieve your investment goals. This is your path to success, and we're here to illuminate every step.

Administrator

21 July, 2024

To smoothly carry out investment approval procedures, you need to be well-versed in the legal basis, approval authority for investment policies, and procedures as stipulated by laws and regulations.

1Legal Basis

Investment Law 2020 No. 61/2020/QH14 dated June 17, 2020

Urban Planning Law No. 30/2009/QH12 dated June 17, 2009

Government Decree No. 11/2013/ND-CP dated January 14, 2013, on urban development investment management

Government Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, detailing a number of articles of the Land Law

Government Decree No. 76/2015/ND-CP dated September 10, 2015, detailing a number of articles of the Real Estate Business Law

Inter-ministerial Circular No. 20/2013/TTLT-BXD-BNV dated November 21, 2013, of the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Home Affairs guiding a number of contents of Government Decree No. 11/2013/ND-CP dated January 14, 2013, on urban development investment management

Circular No. 209/2016/TT-BTC dated November 10, 2016, of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the collection, payment, management, and use of fees for appraisal of investment projects, appraisal of basic designs, and feasibility reports of construction projects

Understanding the legal basis is essential for investment project approval procedures

2Approval Authority for Investment Policies and Issuance of Investment Registration Certificates

Approval Authority of the National Assembly

According to Articles 30, 31, and 32 of the Investment Law/Law No. 61/2020/QH14, the National Assembly approves investment policies for the following investment projects:

Investment projects that have significant impacts on the environment or potentially serious environmental consequences, including:

Nuclear power plants

Projects that require a change of land use purpose from special-use forests, protective forests, and protective coastal forests of 50 hectares or more; protective forests against wind erosion, sand dunes, and protective forests against waves and sea encroachment of 500 hectares or more; and production forests of 1,000 hectares or more

Projects that require a change of land use purpose from two-crop rice fields of 500 hectares or more

Projects that involve resettlement of 20,000 people or more in mountainous areas or 50,000 people or more in other areas

Projects that require special mechanisms and policies to be decided by the National Assembly

National Assembly of Vietnam

Approval Authority of the Prime Minister

Except for investment projects under the approval authority of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister approves investment policies for the following investment projects:

Projects, regardless of capital sources, that fall into one of the following cases:

Projects that involve resettlement of 10,000 people or more in mountainous areas or 20,000 people or more in other areas

New construction projects: airports, runways, passenger terminals for international airports, and cargo terminals for airports and seaports with a capacity of 1 million tons or more per year

Projects on new business in passenger transportation by air

New construction projects: wharves, wharf complexes of special seaports; wharves and wharf complexes with an investment scale of VND 2,300 billion or more in seaports of type I

Projects on oil and gas processing

Projects on gambling and casino business, excluding electronic game business with prizes for foreigners

Projects on construction of houses (for sale, lease, or lease-purchase) and urban areas in the following cases: projects with a land use scale of 50 hectares or more or with a population scale of 15,000 people or more in urban areas; projects with a land use scale of 100 hectares or more or with a population scale of 10,000 people or more in non-urban areas; projects, regardless of land area and population scale, within the protection scope of national relics or national special relics as recognized by competent authorities

Projects on construction and business of infrastructure of industrial parks and export processing zones

Projects by foreign investors in the field of telecommunications business with infrastructure, forestry, publishing, and journalism

Projects that are simultaneously under the approval authority of two or more Provincial People’s Committees

Other projects under the approval authority of the Prime Minister as stipulated by laws and regulations

Government of Vietnam

Approval Authority of Provincial People’s Committees

Except for investment projects under the approval authority of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister as stipulated in the Investment Law 2020, the Provincial People’s Committees approve investment policies for the following investment projects:

Projects that request the State to allocate or lease land or permit a change of land use purpose, except for cases of land allocation, land lease, or land use purpose change by households and individuals that do not require the approval of the Provincial People’s Committees as stipulated by land laws

Projects on construction of houses (for sale, lease, or lease-purchase) and urban areas in the following cases: projects with a land use scale of less than 50 hectares and a population scale of less than 15,000 people in urban areas; projects with a land use scale of less than 100 hectares and a population scale of less than 10,000 people in non-urban areas; projects, regardless of land area and population scale, in restricted development areas or historical inner cities (as defined in urban planning schemes) of special-class cities

Projects on construction and business of golf courses

Projects by foreign investors or economic organizations with foreign investment capital implemented on islands, communes, wards, and townships along the border or coast, or in other areas that affect national defense and security

Note: For projects specified in points a, b, and d above implemented in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech parks, and economic zones that are in line with approved planning schemes, the Management Boards of these zones shall approve the investment policies.

People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City

3Investment Project Dossier

The investment project dossier includes:

Written proposal for project implementation

Identity card, passport, or citizenship card (for individual investors)

Certificate of establishment with confirmed legal status (for organizational investors)

Project proposal covering objectives, scale, capital, capital mobilization methods, location, duration, progress, etc.

Financial reports for the latest two years of the investor

Proposal for land use demand; in case the project does not request the State to allocate or lease land or permit a change of land use purpose, the investor shall submit a copy of the land lease agreement or other documents confirming the investor’s right to use the land for project implementation

Explanation of technology use for projects as specified: technology name, technology origin, technology process diagram, etc.

BCC contract for investment projects in the form of BCC contracts

Some necessary documents

4Procedures for Investment Project Approval

Step 1: Prepare the dossier and submit it to the competent authority

The investor shall prepare a valid dossier and submit it to the competent authority for a decision on investment approval. The investment approval decision by the competent authority serves as the legal basis for appraisal, approval, and implementation of the project.

Prepare a valid dossier

Step 2: The competent authority receives the dossier

The competent authority receives, checks, and issues a receipt with a date for result retrieval to the applicant. In case the dossier is incomplete or invalid, the applicant will be guided to complete or validate the dossier.

Competent authority receives the dossier

Step 3: Wait for the appraisal result

Within a maximum period of 45 working days from the date of receiving a valid dossier, the competent authority shall organize an appraisal and consider the investment project for approval. In case of refusal, a written response stating the reasons shall be provided to the investor.

Wait for the appraisal result

Step 4: Receive the appraisal result

Based on the date stated on the receipt, the investor shall go to the competent authority to receive the appraisal result.

Receive the appraisal result

Thank you for referring to our detailed guide on investment project approval procedures.

Frequently asked questions

An investment project is a business initiative that requires a significant amount of capital to undertake and is expected to yield financial returns over a period of time.

The key steps in the investment project approval process typically include: Strategy and initiative alignment, where the project idea is conceived and aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives; Feasibility study, which involves evaluating the technical, economic, and financial viability of the project; Internal approval, where the project proposal is reviewed and approved by the relevant departments and stakeholders within the organization; External approval and compliance, ensuring that the project adheres to legal and regulatory requirements, and obtaining any necessary permits and licenses; Funding and resource allocation, securing the financial resources and allocating the required assets and personnel to execute the project; Risk assessment and management, identifying and addressing potential risks that may impact the project’s success; Performance monitoring and control, establishing key performance indicators and implementing processes to track and manage the project’s progress and outcomes.

Conducting a thorough feasibility study is crucial for assessing the viability of an investment project. This involves analyzing market demand and competitive landscape, evaluating technical requirements and constraints, conducting financial analysis including cost-benefit assessments, and identifying potential risks and challenges.

Key factors for a successful investment project include a well-defined and aligned strategy, thorough feasibility study and due diligence, effective risk management, efficient resource allocation and utilization, regular performance monitoring and course correction, and strong project management capabilities.

Risk management is an important aspect of investment projects. Identify and assess potential risks, develop risk mitigation strategies, regularly monitor and review risks, ensure adequate insurance coverage, and establish contingency plans to minimize the impact of risks on the project.