Who has the right to establish businesses, contribute capital, acquire capital contributions?
The following organizations and individuals do not have the right to establish and manage enterprises in Vietnam: (i) State authorities, People’s armed forces using state-owned assets to establish enterprises to serve their own interests; (ii) Officials and public employees defined by the Law on Officials and the Law on Public Employees; (iii)...
According to Article 17 of 2020 The Law on Enterprise:
"1. Organizations and individuals have the right to establish and manage enterprises in Vietnam in accordance with this Law, except for the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article.
2. The following organizations and individuals do not have the right to establish and manage enterprises in Vietnam:
a) State authorities, People’s armed forces using state-owned assets to establish enterprises to serve their own interests;
b) Officials and public employees defined by the Law on Officials and the Law on Public Employees;
c) Commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, career military personnel, military workers and public employees in agencies and units of Vietnam People’s Army; commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers and police workers in police authorities and units, except for those designated and authorized representatives to manage state-owned stakes in enterprises or to manage state-owned enterprises;
d) Executive officers and managers of state-owned enterprises prescribed in Point a Clause 1 Article 88 of this Law, except those who are designated as authorized representatives to manage state-owned stakes in other enterprises;
dd) Minors; people with limited legal capacity; incapacitated people; people having difficulties controlling their behaviors; organizations that are not juridical persons;
e) People who are facing criminal prosecution, kept in temporary detention, serving an imprisonment sentence, serving an administrative penalty in a correctional institution or rehabilitation center, has limited legal capacity or is incapacitated, is not able to control his/her own behaviors, is banned by the court from holding certain positions or doing certain works; other cases prescribed by the Law on Bankruptcy and the Anti-corruption Law.
If requested by the business registration authority, the applicant shall submit the judicial records;
g) Juridical persons that are banned from business operation or banned from certain fields as prescribed by the Criminal Code.
3. Organizations and individuals have the right to contribute capital, buy shares and stakes of joint stock companies, limited liability companies and partnerships in accordance with this Law, except:
a) State authorities, People’s armed forces contributing state-owned assets to enterprises to serve their own interests;
b) The entities that are not allowed to contribute capital to enterprises prescribed by the Law on Officials, the Law on Public Employees, and Anti-corruption Law.
4. The act of serving one’s own interests mentioned in Point a Clause 2 and Point a Clause 3 of this Article means the use of incomes from business operation, capital contribution, acquisition of shares/stakes for any of the following purposes:
a) Any kind of distribution to some or all of the persons specified in Point b and Point c Clause 2 of this Article;
b) Inclusion in the operating budget of the organization/unit against state budget laws;
c) Establishment or contribution to an internal fund of the organization/unit."