Policies Effective from Mid-March 2017 in Vietnam

1. Only individuals and legal entities in Vietnam are allowed to borrow capital from credit institutions

This important provision is stipulated in Circular 39/2016/TT-NHNN on lending activities of credit institutions and branches of foreign banks to customers, issued by the State Bank of Vietnam on December 30, 2016.

Customers borrowing capital from credit institutions include:

- Legal entities established and operating in Vietnam, legal entities established abroad and legally operating in Vietnam;

- Individuals with Vietnamese nationality, individuals with foreign nationality.

Thus, households, cooperative groups, private enterprises, and partnerships are no longer permitted to borrow capital from credit institutions according to current regulations.

Additionally, the lending methods are more diverse, with some new methods such as off-season loans, revolving loans, and cyclic loans being supplemented.

See details in Circular 39/2016/TT-NHNN effective from March 15, 2017, replacing the Lending Regulation of credit institutions issued with Decision 1627/2001/QD-NHNN.

2. The purpose of using the loan in Vietnam must be stated in the consumer loan contract

Circular 43/2016/TT-NHNN on consumer loans by finance companies was issued by the State Bank of Vietnam on December 30, 2016, which stipulates:

The consumer loan contract must be made in writing and include at least the following contents:

- Name, address, business code of the finance company;

- Name, address, ID card/citizen identification card/passport number of the customer;

- Loan amount;

- Purpose of using the loan capital;

- Loan method;

- Loan term;

- Consumer loan interest rate;

- The validity of the consumer loan contract.

- …

Before signing the contract, the finance company must provide customers with a draft of the consumer loan contract for their review.

Circular 43/2016/TT-NHNN takes effect from March 15, 2017.

3. Vietnamese must be 21 years old to play at casinos

Decree 03/2017/ND-CP on casino business issued by the Government of Vietnam on January 16, 2017, allows Vietnamese individuals to enter and play at casinos if they meet the following conditions:

- Must be 21 years old or older and have full civil act capacity;

- Must have sufficient financial capacity. Players must prove a regular income of ≥ 10 million VND/month or be subjected to taxation from level 3 or higher.

- Must purchase a ticket to participate in playing at the Casino Business Point. The ticket price is 1 million VND/24 consecutive hours per person or 25 million VND/month per person;

- Must not be among the subjects whose family members with full civil act capacity or they themselves have requested not to be allowed to play at the Casino Business Point;

- When entering to play at the Casino Business Point, only Vietnamese currency is used to exchange for conventional currency and this conventional currency can be exchanged back to Vietnamese currency in case of not using it all or winning.

See more rights and obligations of players in Decree 03/2017/ND-CP effective from March 15, 2017.

4. No dog racing and horse racing betting after 11 PM in Vietnam

This content is mentioned in Decree 06/2017/ND-CP on the business of horse racing, dog racing, and international football betting effective from March 31, 2017.

Organizing horse racing and dog racing betting must comply with the following regulations:

- The frequency of organizing horse racing and dog racing betting is limited to a maximum of 3 days/week;

- The end time of horse racing and dog racing events, for the purpose of betting business, must be before 11 PM on the betting day;

Additionally, the start and end times for accepting bets must ensure the following conditions:

- Horse racing and dog racing betting: The start time for accepting bets from players for each race must not exceed 12 hours before the race begins and the end time for accepting bets is at least 1 minute before the race starts;

- International football betting: The start time for accepting bets is from the moment the event organizer announces the schedule, venue and the end time for accepting bets is at least 5 minutes before the betting event ends.

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