11 Prohibited acts of public investment under the law in Vietnam

11 Prohibited acts of public investment under the law in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What is public investment?

According to Clause 15, Article 4 of the Law on Public Investment 2019, public investment refers to the State’s investment in programs, projects and others classified as subjects of public investment as prescribed.

2. Prohibited acts of public investment in Vietnam

Specifically, in Article 16 of the Law on Public Investment 2019, prohibited acts of public investment in Vietnam include:

(1) Issuing decisions on investment policies that are not conformable to public investment strategies, plans and programs; in which funding sources and capital balancing capability are not defined; ultra vires or in breach of legally required processes and procedures.

(2)  Issuing decisions on investment in public investment programs or projects without obtaining the competent authority’s decisions on investment policies or in breach of requirements concerning objectives, scope, scale or in excess of total investment specified in investment policies decided by competent authorities.

Issuing decisions on adjustment in the gross investment in public investment programs or projects in violation of regulations enshrined in law on public investment

(3) Abusing assigned titles and powers to appropriate, make personal gain from and commit corrupt acts while managing and using public investment capital.

(4) Program or project owners collude with consulting organizations and contractors in issuing decisions on investment policies and decisions on public investment programs or projects that result in any loss or waste of state capital, property and national resources, and harms or infringement on legitimate interests of single citizens and the public.

(5) Giving, taking bribes and acting as kickback brokers.

(6) Requesting entities and persons to put investment at their own expense when public investment programs or projects have not yet obtained decisions on investment policies, approval or incur debts accruing from capital construction activities.

(7) Using public investment capital for wrongful purposes, to serve incorrect beneficiaries, in excess of standards and limits prescribed in law.

(8) Counterfeiting and falsifying information and documents related to decisions on investment policies, investment decisions and implementation of public investment programs or projects.

(9) Deliberately reporting and providing incorrect, untrue and impartial information that may affect formulation, evaluation of and decision on public investment plans, programs and projects, and monitoring, assessing, examining, inspecting and imposing sanctions for any violation arising from implementation of public investment plans, programs and projects.

(10) Deliberately damaging, lying about, concealing or storing an inadequate number of documents and evidences relating to decisions on investment policies, investment decisions and implementation of public investment programs and projects.

(11) Hindering discovery of any violation against law on public investment.

3. What are the public investment objects? 

Public investment objects in Vietnam include:

- Investment in socio-economic infrastructure construction programs and projects

Where really necessary, compensation, support and residential resettlement activities in investment projects of national significance may be divided into separate projects, subject to the National Assembly’s evaluation and decision;

With respect to those activities in group-A investment projects, subject to the evaluation and decision of the Prime Minister or provincial-level People’s Council under their respective delegated powers.

Projects may be separated when approving investment policies for investment projects of national significance and group-A investment projects.

- Investment in giving support to activities of state regulatory authorities, public service units, political organizations and socio-political organizations.

- Investment in and support given to investments in provision of public utility and social welfare products and services.

- Investment of the State in participation in implementing projects in the public-private partnership form.

- Investment in providing support for formulation, evaluation of and decision on or approval, public disclosure and modification of planning schemes as per law on planning.

- Investment in granting subsidies to offset preferential lending interest rates; making equity contribution to the charter capital of policy banks and state off-budget financial funds; providing investment support for other policy beneficiaries under the Prime Minister’s decisions.

(Article 5 of the Law on Public Investment 2019)

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