Notable new policies of Vietnam effective as of the middle of August 2024

1. Vietnam’s regulation on authentication services for digital signatures for official work from August 15, 2024 

On June 25, 2024, the Government of Vietnam promulgated Decree No. 68/2024/ND-CP on digital signatures for official work.

According to Decree No. 68/2024/ND-CP: 

Authentication services for digital signatures for official work provided by providers of authentication services for digital signatures for official work include: 

- Generation and distribution of key pairs. 

- Issuance of certificates of digital signatures for official work. 

- Renewal of certificates of digital signatures for official work. 

- Change of the information of certificates of digital signatures for official work. 

- Revocation of certificates of digital signatures for official work. 

- Restoration of secret key storages. 

- Online disclosure and maintenance of databases on certificates of digital signatures for official work. 

- Online inspection of certificates of digital signatures for official work. 

- Issuance of timestamps. 

2. Periodic classification of debts of credit institutions that are cooperatives in Vietnam from August 15, 2024 

On June 30, 2024, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam promulgated Circular No. 36/2024/TT-NHNN on the classification of the property of credit institutions that are cooperatives. 

Specifically, in Article 4 of Circular No. 36/2024/TT-NHNN, the periodic classification of debts of credit institutions that are cooperatives shall be implemented as follows: 

- At least once a month, within the first 7 days of the month, credit institutions that are cooperatives shall, based on Clause 6 Article 1, Article 8, Article 9, and Article 10 of Circular No. 36/2024/TT-NHNN, carry out the debt classification and off-balance sheet commitments until the last day of the preceding month. 

Aside from the classification period prescribed above, credit institutions that are cooperatives shall carry out the debt classification and off-balance sheet commitments according to intramural regulations. 

- According to the results of inspections, examinations, supervisions, and relevant credit information: 

+ The State Bank of Vietnam (Banking Inspection and Supervision Agency) may request cooperative banks to carry out the reassessment and reclassification of debts in conformity with the risk levels of such debts; 

+ Branches of the State Bank of Vietnam in provinces and centrally affiliated cities may request affiliates of cooperative banks and people’s credit funds to carry out the reassessment and reclassification of debts in conformity with the risk levels of such debts.

3. Conditions for establishing transaction offices of commercial banks in Vietnam from August 15, 2024 

On June 30, 2024, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam promulgated Circular No. 32/2024/TT-NHNN on the operational network of commercial banks. 

According to Article 11 of Circular No. 32/2024/TT-NHNN, a commercial bank shall meet the following conditions to establish transaction offices: 

- It meets the conditions prescribed in Points a, b, c, d, dd, e, g, h, i, and m Clause 1 Article 6 of Circular No. 32/2024/TT-NHNN.

- In case of requesting the establishment of transaction offices in areas that are not rural areas, it must be classified as grade A or B according to the latest ranking result notified by SBV at the time of the request and the time of the approval (excluding commercial banks not subject to ranking according to regulations of the Governor of SBV on the ranking of credit institutions and foreign bank branches); 

- Any expected supervisory branch of transaction offices shall meet the following conditions: 

+ It has operated for at least 12 months from its opening date to the time of the request;

+ Its bad debt ratio, according to regulations of SBV on the classification of assets on December 31 of the year preceding the requesting year and on the last day of the month preceding the time of the request, does not exceed 3% or another ratio according to decisions of the Governor of SBV in each period; 

+ It does not incur any fine for administrative violations in monetary and banking for 12 months before the time of the request;  

+ Its difference in revenues and expenses of the year preceding the requesting year is positive. 

- The establishment of new transaction offices does not cause the limit specified in Article 7 and Article 12 of Circular No. 32/2024/TT-NHNN to be exceeded. 

4. Approval for revision, addition, and correction of names of districts, communes, and hamlets with extremely difficult circumstances in Vietnam during 2021-2025

On July 30, 2024, the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs promulgated Decision No. 497/QD-UBDT on approval for the revision, addition, and correction of names of districts, communes, and hamlets with extremely difficult circumstances; hamlets in ethnic group areas and mountainous areas during 2021-2025. 

According to Decision No. 497/QD-UBDT 2024, the approval for the revision, recognition, and addition of the list of hamlets with extremely difficult circumstances approved in Decision No. 612/QĐ-UBDT dated September 16, 2021 of the Minister, Head of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, is specifically as follows:    

- Revision to 440 hamlets of 163 communes no longer facing extremely difficult circumstances due to the merger of all areas or population or dissolution under Resolutions and Decisions of competent authorities. 

(The list of hamlets is prescribed in Appendix I enclosed with Decision No. 497/QD-UBDT 2024). 

- Addition of 141 hamlets of 98 communes facing extremely difficult circumstances due to full or partial division, consolidation, or establishment under Resolutions and Decisions of competent authorities. 

 (The list of hamlets is prescribed in Appendix II enclosed with Decision No. 497/QD-UBDT 2024). 

- Correction of names of districts, communes, and hamlets approved in Decision No. 612/QĐ-UBDT

(The list of districts, communes, and hamlets is prescribed in Appendix III enclosed with Decision No. 497/QD-UBDT 2024). 

- Approval for 755 hamlets of 460 communes of ethnic group areas and mountainous areas during 2021-2025 

(The list of hamlets is prescribed in Appendix IV enclosed with Decision No. 497/QD-UBDT 2024). 

- The application of regulations and policies to hamlets subject to approval for revision and addition of this Decision shall comply with Resolution No. 35/2023/UBTVQH15 dated July 12, 2023 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of Vietnam. In case of an increase in the funding for the implementation of social security policies promulgated by central authorities (if any), comply with Decision No. 127/QĐ-TTg dated January 24, 2022 of the Prime Minister of Vietnam on the principle of targeted support from the central budgets to local budgets for the implementation of social security policies promulgated by central authorities during 2022-2025.

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