VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Minh Duong, Phong Nguyen and Justin Gisz, Asia Counsel Vietnam Law Company Limited
Technology The technology sector remains hot for M&A activity and new foreign investment in Vietnam, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies. In late 2024, NVIDIA completed the acquisition of Vin - Brain, one of Vietnam’s leading AI startups specialising in healthcare technologies. In early 2025, Qualcomm announced the acquisition of MovianAI Artificial Intel - ligence (AI) Application and Research JSC (MovianAI), the former generative AI division of VinAI Application and Research JSC (VinAI) and a part of the Vingroup ecosystem. Tech giants such as Google, Alibaba, and Microsoft are considering investments worth several billion US dollars in Vietnam. The data centre sector has also seen significant developments. In late August 2025, IPTP Networks launched a USD200 million data centre project in Da Nang, scheduled to begin con - struction in March 2026. Recently, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee received a proposal for a USD2 billion hyperscale data centre project dedicated to AI development and data infrastructure. The proposed investment consortium includes G42, FPT Corpora - tion, VinaCapital, and Viet Thai Investment Group. The digital asset market has also become more dynamic, offering promising investment opportunities, as Vietnam has officially introduced a legal framework for digital assets and launched a pilot licensing pro - gramme for digital-asset trading exchanges under Government Resolution No 05/2025/NQ-CP dated 9 September 2025. Recently, a major step in Vietnam’s efforts to build an AI governance framework is the introduction of the draft law on AI which aims to regulate the research, development, deployment, and use of AI systems. A key highlight of the draft is its risk-based classification system, which categorises AI systems into four lev - els of risk (unacceptable, high, medium, and low) and each is subject to corresponding regulatory measures. Real Estate Vietnam continues to revise its land law system to stimulate the real estate market. The government is currently seeking public feedback on the draft amendment to the Land Law 2024. Key proposed changes include restoring the Land Law 2013 provi - sion that allows land users to choose between one-
off or annual land rental payments, with the option to switch between the two, offering greater flexibility for investors. The draft also introduces a mechanism for land recovery, allowing the State to reclaim and lease or allocate land to investors once they have reached agreements covering at least 75% of the land area and 75% of land users within a project site. Over the past year, the government has also worked actively to address legal obstacles in real estate pro - jects. As of September 2025, Ho Chi Minh City has resolved issues for 47 private real estate projects, and the City People’s Committee has pledged to resolve 100% of projects under its jurisdiction and 50% of projects under central authorities within 2025. Some major real estate developments and transac - tions were also seen in 2025. In June, CapitaLand began construction of its first low-rise residential project in Northern Vietnam, with a total investment of USD800 million, located within the Ocean Park 3 township. Malaysian real estate developers have shown significant interest in the Vietnamese market, with SkyWorld Development Berhad signing an MOU to acquire all of the charter capital of Vina An Thuan Phat; Gamuda Land continuing to expand its invest - ment portfolio in both Northern and Southern Vietnam; and United Overseas Australia Ltd (UOA) completing its USD68 million acquisition of a commercial land plot in central Ho Chi Minh City to develop a commercial building project. Renewable Energy The renewable energy sector has been dynamic. On 15 April 2025, the Prime Minister issued Decision No 768/QD-TTg adopting the amended Power Develop - ment Plan 8 to increase renewable energy capacity targets, particularly for solar, wind, and hydropower, demonstrating a determination to prioritise renewable energy in Vietnam’s future power generation struc - ture. 2025 also brought more positive news, with new Decree 57/2025/ND-CP regulating direct electricity trading mechanism and Decree 58/2025/ND-CP on self-generation, self-consumption rooftop solar power helping to address legal gaps under the new national plan on electricity.
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