Focus on high-tech sector

Concerns about who is eligible for support

Accordingly, the support objects of the Investment Support Fund are enterprises with investment projects in the field of high-tech product manufacturing; high-tech enterprises; enterprises with high-tech application projects; enterprises with investment projects in research and development centers. Along with that, these enterprises must also meet one of the criteria such as achieving an investment capital scale of over 12,000 billion VND, achieving revenue of over 20,000 billion VND/year, or must complete the disbursement of at least 12,000 billion VND within 3 years...

Mr. Pham Minh Cao - Deputy Director of External Relations of Hyosung is concerned about the regulation that the project must be disbursed within 3 years. According to Mr. Cao, companies like Hyosung need a long time to meet the disbursement requirements, "We invest in the field of biotechnology, so we may not be able to disburse within 3 years, but it may take 5-10 years to disburse all the resources of 12,000 billion VND, because we have to invest and research at the same time," Mr. Cao said.

From there, Mr. Cao also proposed investment support on the overall scale of the entire group. Because if calculating each project separately, it may not meet the criteria of 12,000 billion VND, so it will not receive support from the Investment Support Fund according to the draft.

Meanwhile, Ms. Dong Hong Hanh, representative of Samsung Vietnam, is concerned about the time to receive support from the fund. Investors can receive support from the end of 2025, early 2026. According to Ms. Hanh, a clear and immediate support roadmap should be studied to stabilize the investment environment, because Vietnam has never applied a monetary support policy.

Previously, a representative of Canon Vietnam also commented that the draft only stipulates that the supported subjects are enterprises in the high-tech sector. However, the enterprises affected by the global minimum tax rule are enterprises in many different fields, large in scale, and at the same time have great contributions to the economic and social development of Vietnam. From there, Canon Vietnam proposed to add more supported subjects to ensure investment incentives of the Investment Law and the Corporate Income Tax Law, harmonizing the interests of investors and the state, many enterprises can benefit from this support policy.

Creating stability for the investment environment

According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, the draft was not designed to compensate investors affected by the global minimum tax, without discrimination, regardless of whether the enterprise is domestic or foreign, operating or newly invested, if it meets the set criteria, it will be supported. Therefore, all will be regulated transparently, clearly, in accordance with international practices, in accordance with the regulations of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development); processes and procedures will also be built in a way that creates convenience for investors and state agencies. At the same time, when developing the Draft Decree, it was necessary to review international practices and OECD regulations, because the OECD has issued global minimum tax rules, but has not yet provided specific instructions, countries must both develop policies and consult the OECD. The ultimate principle is to follow the OECD principles. “Vietnam is establishing an Investment Support Fund not to support businesses affected by the global minimum tax, but to create stability for the investment environment, as well as to target investment attraction sectors that Vietnam is encouraging. Specifically, in the immediate future, resources will be focused on supporting the high-tech sector, these policies are stable and long-term,” Ms. Ngoc affirmed.

According to economic expert Vu Vinh Phu, the establishment, management and use of the Investment Support Fund to encourage and attract strategic investors, multinational corporations and support domestic enterprises in a number of fields that need investment encouragement is very necessary, especially in the high-tech and green technology fields, which is in line with the development trend. However, it is necessary to choose the right and right subjects for investment, it needs to be fair, clear, transparent and have close management and supervision" - Mr. Phu said.

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