What are regulations on notification of economic concentration in Vietnam? What are regulations on threshold for issuing notification of economic concentration in Vietnam?

What are regulations on notification of economic concentration in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 33 of the Law on Competition in 2018 stipulating notification of economic concentration in Vietnam as follows: 

1. The enterprises engaging in economic concentration must file a dossier of economic concentration notification (hereinafter referred to as notification dossier) to the National Competition Commission as prescribed in Article 34 of this Law before initiating economic concentration if they reach the notification threshold.

2. The notification threshold shall be determined based on one of the following criteria:

a) Total assets of the enterprises engaging in the economic concentration on the Vietnamese market;

b) Total turnover of enterprises engaging in the economic concentration on the Vietnamese market;

c) The transaction value of the economic concentration;

d) Combined market share of enterprises engaging in the economic concentration on the relevant market.

3. The Government shall provide guidelines for this Article in conformity with socio-economic conditions in each period.

What are regulations on threshold for issuing notification of economic concentration in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 13 of the Decree 35/2020/ND-CP stipulating threshold for issuing notification of economic concentration in Vietnam as follows: 

1. Any enterprise intending to participate in the economic concentration program, except for those specified in clause 2 of this Article, according to the provisions of clause 1 of Article 33 of the Competition Law, must notify the National Competition Commission before carrying out the economic concentration regimes if one of the following cases occurs:

a) Total asset available in the Vietnamese market of a company or a group of affiliated companies of which the company is an affiliate must be worth VND 3,000 billion or more in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration;

b) Total sales or purchase volume arising in the Vietnamese market of a company or a group of affiliated companies of which the company is an affiliate must be worth VND 3,000 billion or more in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration;

c) Value of all economic concentration transactions must be worth at least VND 1,000 billion;

d) The joint market share of enterprises intending to participate in the economic concentration program must account for at least 20% of total share of the relevant market in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration.

2. Any enterprise, including credit institutions, insurance companies or securities companies, intending to participate in the economic concentration program as provided in clause 1 of Article 33 in the Competition Law must notify the National Competition Commission before carrying out the economic concentration regimes if one of the following cases occurs:

a) Total asset available in the Vietnamese market of a company or a group of affiliated insurance companies of which the company is an affiliate must be worth VND 15,000 billion or more in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration; total asset available in the Vietnamese market of a credit institution or a group of affiliated credit institutions of which the credit institution is an affiliate must account for at least 20% of total asset of the entire system of credit institutions in the Vietnamese market in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration;

b) Total sales or purchase volume arising in the Vietnamese market of a company or a group of affiliated insurance companies of which the company is an affiliate must be worth VND 10,000 billion or more in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration; Total sales or purchase volume arising in the Vietnamese market of an enterprise or a group of affiliated securities companies of which the enterprise is an affiliate must be worth VND 3,000 billion or more in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration; total sales earned in the Vietnamese market of a credit institution or a group of affiliated credit institution of which the credit institution is an affiliate must account for at least 20% of total sales earned in the entire system of credit institutions in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration;

c) Value of all economic concentration transactions of insurance companies or securities companies must be at least VND 3,000 billion; value of all economic concentration transactions of credit institutions must account for at least 20% of total charter capital in the entire system of credit institutions calculated in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration;

d) The joint market share of enterprises intending to participate in the economic concentration program must account for at least 20% of total share of the relevant market in the fiscal year preceding the planned year of economic concentration.

3. If economic concentration regimes are implemented outside of the Vietnamese territory, the threshold for issuing notification of economic concentration shall conform to provisions laid down in point a, b and d of clause 1; point a and b or d of clause 2 of this Article.

Best regards!