Can private university lecturers participate in managing enterprises in Vietnam?

Can private university lecturers participate in managing enterprises in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Article 18 of the Enterprise Law 2014 regulates cases where individuals do not have the right to establish enterprises, contribute capital, purchase shares/stakes, and manage enterprises as follows:

- The following entities are not permitted to establish and manage enterprises in Vietnam:

+ Government agencies, armed force units using state-owned property to establish enterprises for self-seeking purposes.

+ Officials and civil servants defined by regulations of law on officials and civil servants;

+ Commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, workers and civil servants working at units of the army; commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers working at police units, except for those appointed as authorized representatives to manage state capital contributed to other enterprises;

+ Executive officers of state-owned companies, except for those appointed as authorized representatives to manage state capital contributed to other enterprises;

+ Minors; people that are legally incompetent; organizations without legal status;

+ Any person facing criminal prosecution, serving a prison sentence, undergoing drug rehabilitation, sent to a reform school; or banned from doing business, holding a certain title or doing a certain job by the court; and other cases prescribed by regulations of law on bankruptcy and anti-corruption.

The applicant for enterprise registration must submit the criminal record to the business registration authority at its request.

Regulations on public employees in Article 2 of the Law on Public Employees 2010 are as follows:

Public employees are Vietnamese citizens recruited according to working positions, working in public non-business units under working contracts and salaried from salary funds of public non-business units in accordance with law.

Comparing the regulations with the case of private university lecturers, you are not a public employee according to the law. Thus, if you do not fall into the remaining cases as prescribed in Article 18 of the 2014 Enterprise Law, you can contribute capital and manage the enterprise as desired.

Best regards!