Legal Updates & Publications

The Ministry of Home Affairs has released a draft decree intended to replace Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP (as amended), which currently regulates the employment of foreign nationals in Vietnam. The proposed changes aim to streamline administrative procedures and bring greater clarity to the regulatory framework governing foreign workers. In doing so, the draft seeks to address persistent ambiguities and procedural bottlenecks that employers and expatriate professionals have faced in practice.

On 15 April 2025, the Prime Minister of Vietnam issued Decision No. 768/QD-TTg, which replaces and introduces significant amendments to Decision No. 500/QD-TTg and its associated implementation plans (PDP8) concerning the National Power Development Plan for the period 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050 (Revised PDP8). The new Decision marks an important shift in the Government’s approach to national power planning, particularly in light of evolving energy transition goals and Vietnam’s commitment to sustainable development.

On 19 March 2025, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 69/2025/ND-CP (Decree 69), which amends and supplements certain provisions of Decree No. 01/2014/ND-CP dated 3 January 2014 concerning the purchase of shares by foreign investors in Vietnamese credit institutions. The new regulations apply to both joint-stock credit institutions and those that have been converted into joint-stock credit institutions, marking an important step in aligning the regulatory framework with recent legal and economic developments.

On 3 March 2025, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 58/2025/ND-CP (Decree 58), providing detailed implementation guidance under the Electricity Law 2024 in relation to the development of renewable energy and new-energy electricity projects, with a particular focus on offshore wind power and rooftop solar power systems (RTS). Decree 58 introduces important regulatory clarifications concerning project eligibility, investor incentives, ownership restrictions, and compliance obligations for self-consumption systems. It also establishes a preferential regime to encourage early-stage investment in large-scale offshore wind projects. 

On 3 March 2025, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 57/2025/ND-CP (Decree 57), establishing a formal legal framework for Direct Power Purchase Agreements (DPPAs) under the Electricity Law 2024. Decree 57 replaces the pilot mechanism introduced under Decree 80/2024/ND-CP (Decree 80) and introduces clearer regulatory pathways for renewable energy generators (RE GENCOs) and large electricity consumers to transact electricity directly, either through private infrastructure (Off-Grid) or the national transmission system (Grid-Connected).

On 3 March 2025, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 56/2025/ND-CP (Decree 56) to implement key provisions of the Electricity Law 2024. Decree 56 marks a significant evolution in Vietnam’s regulatory architecture for the power sector. It provides the legal scaffolding to support transparent project planning, predictable power pricing for LNG-based generation, and competitive investor participation in electricity infrastructure. The auction framework in particular represents a step-change from prior ad hoc project approvals and is expected to attract strategic investment by reducing legal uncertainty and enhancing project bankability

On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced a comprehensive tariff policy aimed at reshaping America’s trade relationships, notably through the introduction of country-specific reciprocal tariffs with its major international trading partners, including Vietnam. This policy shift presents significant implications for trade, investment, and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Vietnam, as well as potential impacts on the Vietnamese currency.

We are pleased to share two significant legal developments that reflect ongoing progress in Vietnam’s energy regulatory framework in 2025.

On 30 November 2024, the National Assembly of Vietnam officially enacted the Law No. 60/2024/QH15, entitled the Law on Data (the Law on Data), which will come into force on 1 July 2025. Following the issuance of the Law on Data, in January 2025, the Government released key draft instruments to ensure the effective implementation of the Law on Data, including the Draft Decree guiding the implementation of the Law on Data (Draft Decree) and the Draft Decision on important and core data classification (Draft Decision). We highlight the key provisions introduced by the Draft Decree and the Draft Decision in our Legal Update.

In November 2024, the National Assembly enacted Law No. 57/2024/QH15 (the "Amending Law"), introducing significant revisions to several key laws. These include the Law on Planning, the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment, and the Law on Bidding—critical frameworks governing major investment projects in Vietnam, particularly in the infrastructure sector. The Amending Law aims to enhance clarity, improve state management efficiency, and foster investment, especially in public-private partnership projects. It also seeks to strengthen transparency and competitiveness in the bidding process. Our legal update outlines the key amendments introduced by the Amending Law.

The Vietnamese National Assembly adopted Electricity Law No. 61/2024/QH15 on 30 November 2024, effective 1 February 2025, replacing the 2004 Electricity Law. This new law marks a significant milestone for Vietnam's power industry, expanding its scope to include renewable energy, offshore wind power, two-component electricity pricing, emergency power projects, and nuclear power development as a government monopoly. New regulations are expected to guide its implementation. Our legal update highlights the key advancements in the legislative framework for power generation projects across diverse energy sources.

On November 30, 2024, Vietnam's National Assembly issued its first Data Law, set to take effect on July 1, 2025. The Data Law regulates digital data, data products, and services, applying to both domestic and foreign entities in Vietnam, as well as offshore entities involved in Vietnam's digital data activities. With its wide scope, the law is expected to significantly impact businesses handling digital data. In this legal update, we highlight the key points under the Data Law.

Following the issuance of the National Power Development Plan for the period 2021 to 2030, with a vision extending to 2050 (PDP VIII), and its Implementation Plan, the Government of Vietnam and the relevant authorities have been actively speeding up the development and finalisation of the regulatory framework for the energy sector. 

On 24 September 2024, the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam (MPS) released a Draft Personal Data Protection Law (Draft PDPL) for public consultation. While the Draft PDPL shares many similarities with Decree No.13/2023/ND-CP of the Government dated 17 April 2023 on personal data protection (Decree 13), the Draft PDPL introduces more stringent requirements to strengthen the legal framework for personal data protection. In this legal update, we will highlight notable new provisions under the Draft PDPL.  

The Government has recently adopted and issued Decree 115/2024/ND-CP regarding the detailed regulations on a number of articles and measures for implementing the Law on Bidding 2023 on the selection of investors to implement investment projects using land (Decree 115). 

On 3 July 2024, the Government has issued Decree No. 80/2024/ND-CP on the mechanism for direct power purchase agreements (DPPA) (Decree 80), after several delays from the scheduled issuance date in May 2024. Decree 80 takes effect from its issuance date, i.e. 3 July 2024. Since June 2019, there have been several drafts circulated for public consultation and discussion between Ministries and the relevant parties with various changes in both substance and form (which changed from being a Prime Minister’s Decision to a Government Decree). This Legal Update seeks to present notable provisions under Decree 80 and its implications on the development of renewable energy in Vietnam. Decree 80 introduces two DPPA models which are (i) private transmission lines line/off-the-grid model (Private Line Model) and (ii) national grid connected model (Grid Connected Model). The notable provisions of each model will be explained below.