Telecommunication sector in Vietnam is generally regulated by the below legal documents:
- WTO commitment on telecommunication services
- Law on Telecommunication No. 41/2009/QH12 of the National Assembly
- Law on Information Technology No. 67/2006/QH11 of the National Assembly
- Law on Electronic Transactions No. 51/2005/QH11of the National Assembly
- Decree 25/2011/ND-CP of the Government guiding Law on Telecommunication
Under Vietnam’s WTO commitments, telecommunication services are classified into Basic telecommunication services (e.g. Voice telephone services; Packet-switched data transmission services; Circuit-switched data transmission services) and Value-added services (e.g. Electronic mail; Voice mail; On-line information and database retrieval; Electronic data interchange (EDI))
The foreign ownership ratio limitation is basically determined by which service the foreign investor would operate: Non facilities-based services or Facilities-based services.
- With respect to Basic telecommunication but Non facilities-based services: Foreign capital contribution shall not exceed 65% of legal capital of the joint ventures while with Facilities-based services: Foreign capital contribution shall not exceed 49% of legal capital of the joint ventures and 51% gives management control of the joint venture.
- With respect to Value-added but Non facilities-based services: Foreign capital contribution shall not exceed 65% of legal capital of the joint ventures while with Facilities-based services: Foreign capital contribution shall not exceed 50% of legal capital of the joint ventures and 51 % gives management control of the joint venture.