After July 1, 2026: Policy Changes to Watch for in Viet Nam

Policy View

Key points

July 1, 2026 marks a notable point in Viet Nam’s current policy reform cycle. A series of new regulations in investment, taxation, labour, e-commerce, construction and data security either take effect or enter a clearer implementation phase. For foreign businesses and investors, this is not merely a legal update to monitor. It is also a signal of how Viet Nam is reshaping its investment environment: more open to high-quality capital, but at the same time more demanding in terms of compliance, transparency and practical operating capacity.

The first major point is the direction of FDI attraction. Instead of focusing only on the number of projects or the scale of registered capital, Viet Nam is placing greater emphasis on projects with technological content, supply-chain linkages and long-term contributions to domestic production capacity. Electronics, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, big data, biotechnology, renewable energy and supporting industries remain priority areas. This shows that investment policy is moving from “market opening” toward “ecosystem selection”, where project quality, technological capability and connection with the local economy become more important factors.

From procedural simplification to practical implementation readiness

One change with practical significance for market entry is the reduction of conditional business lines from 198 to 142. In practice, this may help some services, trade, logistics and technical sectors reduce pre-licensing barriers. However, fewer entry conditions do not mean fewer compliance obligations. The regulatory direction is gradually shifting toward post-inspection management, specialized technical standards and accountability during operation. For investors, this is a positive change, but it only becomes valuable when the business prepares the right documents, the right business lines and the right operating model from the beginning.

From a project implementation perspective, new rules on project adjustment, operating duration, licensing and related procedures also reflect a more flexible approach. Allowing enterprises to handle certain changes during project implementation without restarting the entire approval process may help reduce administrative delay. Even so, time savings only become meaningful when investors have a clear implementation plan: legal structure, site, capital flow, construction schedule, key personnel and legal documentation must be prepared in coordination. In the new environment, speed does not come only from shorter procedures, but from making fewer corrections along the way.

Labour costs and workforce planning in production regions

Adjustments related to base salary, personal income tax and labour obligations are changes that manufacturing businesses should watch carefully. The increase of the base salary to VND 2,530,000 per month should not be understood simply as a direct increase in factory worker wages. However, it may affect certain salary-based calculations, insurance obligations, welfare structures and labour expectations. As industrial zones continue to expand, recruitment competition among factories in the same locality will become more visible, especially for technicians, production supervisors, maintenance personnel, warehouse and logistics workers, and shift managers.

For this reason, investment location should not be selected only based on land rental rates, local incentives or distance to ports. Businesses need to seriously assess access to labour supply, commuting costs, worker housing, vocational training quality, competition among nearby factories and the ability to maintain stable production shifts. For projects that need fast implementation, workforce strategy should be placed alongside legal and site strategy. A project may have all required permits but still face delayed operation if it cannot recruit the right team. This is a risk that should not be left until the final stage.

Tax, data and digital governance become new operating standards

Changes in tax administration show that the State is moving strongly toward data-based management. The linkage between personal tax codes and personal identification numbers, the classification of taxpayers by risk level and the shortened period for supplementary tax declarations all create higher requirements for the quality of accounting, payroll and internal transaction data. For FDI enterprises, this is an important reminder: tax, accounting, invoicing, contracts and payment flows should be designed consistently from the early stage, rather than handled separately after operations have already generated multiple layers of data.

At the same time, new regulations on e-commerce and cybersecurity expand corporate responsibility in the digital space. Online platforms must manage livestream sales, product information and violating content more closely. Businesses operating data systems, sales platforms or digital services need to pay greater attention to system classification, information security, data storage and response procedures when receiving requests from competent authorities. For technology investors, this is not only a legal obligation, but also part of operating capability in the Vietnamese market.

Project operation: construction, trade and cash flow

In construction and project operation, regulations related to licensing, construction insurance, periodic safety assessment and the application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) show that implementation standards are being raised. For factories, warehouses, logistics centers or infrastructure projects, this may help make the design and construction process more transparent, but also requires closer coordination among investors, consultants, contractors and regulators. In addition, policies extending certain tax and land-rent payment deadlines in 2026 may create additional cash-flow room, especially for enterprises in the investment, expansion or peak production preparation stage.

Overall, the changes after July 1, 2026 reflect an investment environment being rebalanced. On the one hand, Viet Nam continues to create more space for high-quality FDI, procedural reform and digitalization. On the other hand, businesses will have to meet higher standards in labour, taxation, data, information security and project operation. For foreign investors, this is an appropriate time to review market entry or expansion plans in Viet Nam: whether the business line remains conditional, whether the workforce structure is suitable, whether tax data is sufficiently clean, whether the location can secure labour supply and whether the implementation schedule reflects local realities. Opportunities remain available, but in the new phase, they will belong to businesses that prepare deeply enough before moving fast enough.

Compiled sources: THƯ VIỆN PHÁP LUẬT, LuatVietnam, Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV), Vietnam Trade and Industry Review, Vietnam.v, Government News, Nhan Dan Online, Vietnam News Agency (VNA), and other relevant legal and press sources.