Investor's blog

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Start your business

Step 1.
Choose your legal entity type

There are several types of business structures you could choose from. Some are more limited than others. To keep it simple: if you do not plan to have an income generating activities in Vietnam, opt for a Representative Office (RO). Otherwise the Limited Liability Company will be the most common “legal entity”. It is simpler to manage, cheaper to maintain and known to be the most flexible legal entity for small, medium as well as larger businesses!

TIPS: The choice of the LLC is a clear choice for many investors as it is straightforward, and the level of capital can be defined ex ante. The Limited Liability Company does not require many legal procedures once incorporated (notably in terms of corporate compliance) and will allow all types of changes later on, such as address, business activities, names, capital, etc. Its advantages will be described shortly in the steps below!

Step 2.
Choose what will be your main (and 2d) activities

Business activities in Vietnam will be classified into 4 different groups :
  2. 1. The activities that are allowed to be carried out by foreign investment freely and without any constraints in term of ownership or minimum capital. This concern activities such as Management advisory (including marketing, management, strategy, HR, design, F&B, trading, etc.).
  6. 2. The activities that are allowed to be carried out by foreign investors but under certain conditions such as ownership (Vietnamese ownership required) or minimum capital. For instance, industries such as tourism, real estate development will typically be subject to certain conditions on either capital, ownership or both.
  10. 3. The activities that are not yet listed in the Central Product Classification after the adhesion of Vietnam to the World Trade Organization in 2006 are subject to “sublicensing”. That basically means that you will need to get your ERC (enterprise registration certificate) first then apply for the appropriate sublicense. For instance, if you wish to do e-commerce at the platform level (i.e. providing the platform for sellers) in Vietnam, it will be necessary to obtain a e-commerce license once you  start operating not before.
4. The activities that are totally forbidden for foreign ownership. For instance, trading books or become a notary.
TIPS: Invoicing in Vietnam works differently than in other country, it is  possible in order to avoid much trouble (and if your client permits it) to invoice for a matter that is slightly different than what you are actually performing. For instance, event organization will be invoiced as marketing advisory. Vietnam is a country that is opening and where laws tend to be more in favor of foreign investment. We would advise you to choose the most general business activity to keep things legal and compliant. Do not hesitate to talk to us!  See also: What is a VAT red invoice ? What subject may I use when issuing an official VAT invoice ?

More: https://www.epcaconsulting.com/2020/04/15/what-is-a-vat-red-invoice/
More: https://www.epcaconsulting.com/2020/04/19/what-subject-may-i-use-when-issuing-an-official-vat-invoice/

Step 3.
Choose your shareholder(s) and legal representative(s)

Who will be investing with you?

Shareholders will typically share the profits and the losses but no legal responsibilities.

Who will take care of the daily management and represent the company?

That would be your Director(s)/Legal representative(s). Vietnam Law will allow up to an infinite number of Directors in a limited liability company and up to 50 shareholders. If you are shareholder and wish to work, nothing easier, investors are eligible for an exemption of work permit. Shareholders are also eligible for a Temporary Resident Card from 1 to 5 years. ePCA will take care of both for you if you wish so! Since 2021, the immigration and labor rules have been amended and the minimum capital per shareholder in an LLC to receive an investor visa and a work permit exemption has risen to VND3.000.000.000, roughly US130.000.

 

TIPS:  Once the company is incorporated, it will come with a standard approved-by-law shareholders’ agreement and company charter. It is advised for our investors to work on an agreement that will suit best their needs. It is often key to settle the terms of exit of shareholders before it actually happens.

Step 4.
Choose your capital

If your business activities do not require you to invest a mandatory amount of minimum capital, you may invest just VND1.000. However, in order for your company to have a certain credibility towards stakeholders (authorities, clients, suppliers, banks, etc.), it has to be registered with a certain amount of capital. It is dependent on the industry and the type of activity. A construction company will typically not have the same amount of capital than a small design studio. It is therefore necessary for the shareholders to assess the amount of cash needed to run their business (rent, salaries, etc.) plus the eventual liability of their activities to calculate the optimum amount of capital. You do not want to invest a huge capital when creating your company? Please hold on with us, we will go through the capital contribution options later in Step 6.

TIPS: Although often a minimum capital is not imposed, the market currently (2021) considers that a reasonable capital to enter the Vietnamese market will be around 10.000USD (ten thousands US dollar) or 250.000.000VND (two hundred million Vietnamese Dong). Below that amount, the credibility of the company will not only be at stake with the stakeholders but as well, the company may be suspected of being a shelf company. Furthermore, if the shareholders need to apply for a Temporary Resident Card with a very limited capital, the price of TRC processing will be very high.

Step 5.
Choose your address

You will need an address! Not necessarily to run your business but to receive mails, notifications from the government and other notices. There are 4 commonly accepted types of locations allowed to register a business.

 

1. Town house / villa

2. Office building

3. Ground floor of a real estate development (i.e. shop houses)

4. Office-tel in a condominium



TIPS: Please note that apartments in condos are not allowed (unless specified otherwise by a written notice from the building management) to host a company or any kind of commercial activities. According to  , a company that is not properly registered will receive a fine ranging from VND5.000.000 to VND10.000.000 with a company suspension. You do not have a suitable address for the moment? Don’t worry! If you do not have an address PCA will be happy to provide our office address for you. Contact us for a quote! 

Step 6.
Choose your incorporation method

There are two ways to enter the Vietnamese market either by ways of direct investment (FDI) or via a Mergers&Acquisitions (M&A).

1. FDI Method (direct incorporation)

You will apply for an Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) after having shown enough financial resources abroad. Once the IRC is granted for the chosen capital and business activities, we will file for the Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) also called Business License (BL). Please note that the capital will need to be contribution from the same account as the previous proof of funds to the direct investment capital account (DICA) of your company here in Vietnam. Kindly note that any other method or “shortcut” is going to create long term liability and is against the law according to Circular No 06/2019/TT-NNN (“Circular 6”) replacing the Circular 19/2014/TT-NHNN defining the rules of engagement for foreign investors in Vietnam.

 

2. M&A Method (indirect incorporation)

We will incorporate a brand new company with Vietnamese ownership at first, then foreign investor(s) will purchase the shares of that company. In this case, there is no IRC required and there is no need to wire any capital for low capital companies. You will just have to bear the incorporation fee and that is pretty it! Do not hesitate to contact us to clarify the ways of capital contributions. 

TIPS: Sometimes funds to contribute the capital are not immediately available. That is why many investors will opt for the M&A method because it is faster, easier and requires nothing more than a notarized copy of their passport to start the process. It is acknowledged that the FDI method is more constraining and fastidious but for international group or companies with holding structures with the intention to repatriate dividends back home, it would be the right choice. FDI take between one and two months when M&A takes just one month!

Just a few clicks away,

Step 7.
Get your business license!

There are basically three ways to enter the Vietnamese market and start your ambitious projects. The FDI method (direct incorporation), described above for business activities that do not require a sublicense, is the first one. Then comes the M&A method (also called the indirect incorporation), that is by far the most commonly chosen incorporation method, still for businesses that do not require a sublicense or any special authorization from the Government. Third, comes the incorporation with conditions of either capital or sublicensing for which a deeper analysis will be required.

FDI Method

$ 2299
per LLC
  • Investment Registration Certificate (IRC)
  • Filing the articles of organization
  • Business Registration Certificate (BRC)
  • Official company stamp
  • Assistance in opening the bank accounts
  • Initial tax registration
  • Work Permit Exemption (if possible)
  • ____________________________________________
  • Timing: 1-2 months
  • Charged 53.500.000VND
  • Documents: proof of funds + passport
Order now

M&A Method

$ 2099
per LLC
  • Foreign Investment Certificate
  • Filing the articles of organization
  • Business Registration Certificate (BRC)
  • Official Company Stamp
  • Assistance in opening the bank accounts
  • Initial tax registration
  • Work Permit Exemption (if possible)
  • ____________________________________________
  • Timing: 1 month
  • Charged 49.500.000VND
  • Documents: passport or notarized copies
ORDER NOW
You will not believe how easy it is!
Best Seller

Sub-licensing

TBC
  • IRC or equivalent
  • Filing the articles of organization
  • Business Registration Certificate (BRC)
  • ...
  • Work Permit Exemption (if possible)
  • Start of the sub-licensing process
  • Official application at the Ministries
  • ____________________________________________
  • Timing: to be defined
  • Price of the procedure to be defined
  • Documents: to be defined
order now

Step 8.
Post licensing

After getting your brand new business license you may need these to jump start your business…

1st year fee*

$1110
$ 1025
/year
  • License tax: 2.000.000 VND / 85 USD (WAIVED in 2020)
  • Government token for eTax: 2.500.000 VND / 110 USD
  • 300 e-Invoices package + design: 1.500.000 VND / 65 USD
  • Accounting Fee: 10.000.000 VND / 425 USD (Top Saver Pack)
  • Mandatory Annual audit: 10.000.000 VND / 425 USD
  • * Fee calculated on the lowest activity
order now

Extras

TBD
  • Immigration Services
  • Payroll Services
  • Work Permit
  • Trademark Registration
  • Corporate Address
  • ...

Step 9.
After the first year

Years after years! All costs are under control. No hidden fees…

2d year, ...

$1110
$ 1045
/year
  • License tax: 2.000.000 VND / 85 USD
  • Government token for eTax: 2.500.000 VND / 110 USD
  • Accounting Fee: 10.000.000 VND / 425 USD (Top Saver Pack)
  • Mandatory Annual audit: 10.000.000 VND / 425 USD
  • (if the license tax is back: $1110/year)
order now

Extras

TBD
  • Immigration Services
  • Payroll Services
  • Work Permit
  • Trademark Registration
  • Corporate Address
  • ...

What Clients say ?

Why would anyone hire the average accountant in your company who will never have any kind of responsibility in case of malpractice, when you can hire a professional firm with a dedicated team of professionals for a fraction of the price of having the same people in-house. The choice to go with PCA was no brainer. On top of that, they have been immensely helpful and patient since the first day.
Sebastian Grasco
COUNTRY HEAD, WINDHAM INSURANCE GROUP
We gave the tax token of our company to PCA and their teams over a year ago and since then, we have been helped and advised like never before. Consultancy sessions are short, straight to the point and truly actionable. As a business owner I cannot recommend PCA more because of their deep market knowledge and insightful recommendations that translate into considerable resources savings.
Tom N. Farley
AREA MANAGER, MINUT'CUT
It is very difficult to work with local partners as most Vietnamese accountants cannot communicate properly/natively in either French or English with our teams. Having the PCA team really helps us to understand the Vietnamese generally accepted accounting principles. In the long run, they helped us achieved substantial savings by making us understand the rules of deductibility.
Miss Duyen Cung
GENERAL MANAGER, PRIVE SPA
Questions in mind
Let us help you

PCA Company Services address in Ho Chi Minh City

22 Street 16, Tan Hung Ward, District 7
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Call us

+84 (0) 90909 1140, +84(0) 90909 1141

Whatsapp

+84 (0) 90909 1140, +84(0) 90909 0415

Viber

+84 (0) 90909 1140, +84(0) 90909 0415

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