Vietnam investment glossary: English and Vietnamese

The terms foreign investors meet in Vietnamese licences, filings and contracts, each with the Vietnamese legal term you will see on the official documents.

BCCHợp đồng hợp tác kinh doanh: Business Cooperation Contract: investment by contract without forming a company.
Beneficial ownerChủ sở hữu hưởng lợi: The individual who ultimately owns or controls the company, to be identified and filed.
BranchChi nhánh: Dependent unit of a foreign trader licensed to trade in Vietnam in permitted sectors.
Business Licence (trading)Giấy phép kinh doanh: Licence for foreign-invested companies carrying out listed trading activities such as retail.
Business Registration OfficeCơ quan đăng ký kinh doanh: The provincial office that issues ERCs and records corporate changes.
Charter capitalVốn điều lệ: The equity the owners commit to contribute, recorded in the ERC.
Conditional business lineNgành, nghề đầu tư kinh doanh có điều kiện: An activity that any company (foreign or domestic) may carry out only after meeting legal conditions, often including a licence.
DICATài khoản vốn đầu tư trực tiếp: Direct Investment Capital Account: the bank account through which an FDI enterprise receives capital and offshore loans and remits profit.
Economic concentrationTập trung kinh tế: Merger control under the Competition Law. A separate filing from M&A registration.
Economic needs test (ENT)Kiểm tra nhu cầu kinh tế: Assessment applied to additional retail outlets in defined cases.
EIAĐánh giá tác động môi trường: Environmental impact assessment: a report approved before key project decisions for listed project types.
Environmental licenceGiấy phép môi trường: Licence covering a facility's emissions and waste, required before operation above thresholds.
ERCGiấy chứng nhận đăng ký doanh nghiệp: Enterprise Registration Certificate: legal registration of the Vietnamese company. It proves the company exists. It does not by itself allow a regulated business to start.
FIETổ chức kinh tế có vốn đầu tư nước ngoài: Foreign-invested enterprise: a Vietnam company with foreign members or shareholders.
Foreign ownership roomTỷ lệ sở hữu nước ngoài tối đa: The ceiling on total foreign ownership of a public company and the part of it still unused.
Foreign-investor treatment threshold: The level of foreign ownership above which a Vietnam company must follow foreign-investor procedures for its own investments. Confirm under the 2025 Investment Law with counsel.
Indirect investment accountTài khoản vốn đầu tư gián tiếp: VND account used by a foreign investor for portfolio-type investments.
Investment Policy ApprovalChấp thuận chủ trương đầu tư: Government-level approval required for certain categories of projects before implementation. Comes before the IRC.
Investment registration authorityCơ quan đăng ký đầu tư: The body that issues IRCs and handles M&A registration: the provincial finance department, or the zone management board for projects inside zones. Names after the 2025 restructuring (confirm with counsel).
IRCGiấy chứng nhận đăng ký đầu tư: Investment Registration Certificate: registration of the investment project. It records the investor, the project, its capital, location and schedule. It is not a company and not an operating licence.
Land-use right certificateGiấy chứng nhận quyền sử dụng đất: The title document evidencing a land-use right and ownership of assets on the land.
Legal representativeNgười đại diện theo pháp luật: The individual who represents the company in law and signs on its behalf.
LegalisationHợp pháp hóa lãnh sự: Authentication of foreign documents by the Vietnamese consular authority (after local notarisation / certification) so they can be used in Vietnam.
M&A RegistrationĐăng ký góp vốn, mua cổ phần, mua phần vốn góp: Prior investment-law registration required when an Art. 21(3) trigger is met, for example a conditional sector together with an increase in total foreign ownership. It is not an IRC.
Market accessTiếp cận thị trường: Whether, and on what conditions, foreign investors may invest in a sector: ownership caps, form of investment, scope, partner and qualification requirements.
People's CommitteeỦy ban nhân dân: The executive body of a province or commune.
PPPĐầu tư theo phương thức đối tác công tư: Public-private partnership under the PPP Law.
Public companyCông ty đại chúng: A company meeting the Securities Law tests for public status, listed or not. Acquisitions bring foreign-ownership-room, tender-offer and disclosure rules.
Representative office (RO)Văn phòng đại diện: Non-trading liaison office of a foreign trader.
Retail Outlet LicenceGiấy phép lập cơ sở bán lẻ: Licence for each retail outlet of a foreign-invested company.
SBVNgân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam: State Bank of Vietnam: the central bank and foreign-exchange regulator.
SPA / SSA: Share (or capital) Purchase Agreement / Share Subscription Agreement.
Special Investment ProcedureThủ tục đầu tư đặc biệt: An optional procedure (Investment Law 143/2025/QH15, Art. 28) for projects in eligible zones that are outside the excluded categories. Several prior approvals are not carried out separately; the investor gives undertakings and is inspected afterwards.
Temporary residence cardThẻ tạm trú: Multi-entry residence document for foreigners, replacing a visa for its term.
Tender offerChào mua công khai: A mandatory public offer to all shareholders when ownership thresholds in a public company are reached.
Total investment capitalTổng vốn đầu tư: Charter capital plus loan capital for the project, recorded in the IRC.
VSIC / CPC: Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification (used for business lines) / UN Central Product Classification (used in treaty commitments).
Work permitGiấy phép lao động: Authorisation for a foreign national to work in Vietnam.
Zone Management BoardBan quản lý khu công nghiệp, khu chế xuất, khu công nghệ cao, khu kinh tế: Provincial body administering industrial, export processing, high-tech and economic zones, with delegated licensing powers.