HCMC aims to have 100MW of renewable energy by 2020

HCMC expects to generate 100MW of electricity from renewable resources by 2020 as many investors have expressed their keen interest in this field in the city, according to the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade.

At a meeting with HCMC Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan at Go Cat waste-to-energy plant on July 19, an official of the department said that the city holds high potential to produce energy from sunlight, waste and wind. The World Bank, after conducting a survey of one million households in the city, has concluded that about 50% of roofs of houses can be fitted with solar panels.

Many enterprises also want to invest in solar power projects in HCMC after new policies on the the price of solar power were issued.

A financial investor in HCMC told the Daily that it will inject US$40 million into Hydraulic-Machine Co Ltd to develop the 20-MW Go Cat waste-to-energy plant in Binh Tan District.

The plant is expected to bring about great economic benefits as the investor can recoup investment within five years from both industrial waste treatment fees and electricity generation.

The amount of garbage discharged in the city increases 5% a year and many landfills have been full and closed.

In addition, the city can also develop a wind power plant in Can Gio District.

According to data of the Department of Industry and Trade, capacity of renewable energy in the city remains modest with 2.4MW from Go Cat plant, 1.5MW of solar power from buildings, households and enterprises and 2MW from a trial waste-to-energy plant in the Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex.

Source The Saigon Time

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Why Client Should Retain Real Estate Lawyers in Vietnam?

Due to changes in law attracting foreigners to come to live, and invest in Vietnam, foreigners have growing interest in investment and acquiring real estate.  However, as real estate is valuable assets, the law on real estate ownership and real estate transactions are complicated, especially for foreigners.

Under the land ownership regime in Vietnam, land belongs to the entire people with the State acting as the owner’s representative and uniformly managing land.  Hence, in Vietnam, the land users will have the land use right without the private ownership of the land.  Land law 2013 does not allow foreigner to have land use rights in Vietnam. It only allows foreign invested enterprises to be permitted to use land through the form of land allocation or lease.

Although foreigner do not have land use rights in Vietnam, they are allowed to own houses in Vietnam under the Law on Housing. In addition, the Law on Real Estate Business has certain limitations for foreign investors to conduct real estate business in Vietnam and must meet the legal requirements.

Foreign investors investing in Vietnam wish to use the land to conduct business activities, or intend to conduct real estate business in Vietnam, or simply a foreigner wishing to purchase and own real estate in Vietnam should be aware of the legal provisions on conditions of implementation, orders and procedures to of the transactions to minimize risks.  The assistance of the lawyers on real estate in Vietnam shall be worthwhile.

Real estate lawyers in Vietnam would have in-depth knowledge of the Land Law, Law on Housing, Law on Real Estate Business and related regulations. In addition, they would have practical experience in implementing legal procedures, handling disputes, and supporting real estate transactions in Vietnam. The real estate lawyers could explain the restrictions on land use rights of foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam and the conditions for conducting business in real estate in Vietnam.  The lawyers at request could assist the foreigners with the process and procedures to work with state agencies to obtain land use rights for enterprise and home ownership rights for individual more effectively.

When conducting transactions related to real estate such as buying, selling, transferring, renting, leasing, real estate lawyers could also provide assistance in in legal due diligence of the real estate to minimize legal risk to clients. It is important to evaluate the legal status of the property, the owner of property, whether property is in dispute, or subject to additional requirements of government before being sold by the developer and the people eligible for entering into the transaction. In addition, the lawyers in Vietnam can advise clients to draft or review the agreements, sales contract as well as the process to legalize the process to comply with the law in Vietnam.

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Signals of Copyright Infringement

Authors might find their copyright are infringed in Vietnam and would need legal services from a local legal and intellectual property firm to advise.

A literary, artistic or scientific work is an achievement from hard intellectual labor of the author. However, after publishing works, many authors find others use, print or trade their works without their prior written permission. The copyright infringement action can cause many material damages for authors when their intellectual labor achievements are used by others without prior asking and annual royalties. To ensure the rights of authors, the law strictly forbids from infringing and stipulates particularly as follows:

Appropriating copyright in a literary, artistic or scientific work.

Impersonating an author.

Publishing or distributing a work without permission from the author.

Publishing or distributing a work of joint authors without permission from the co-authors.

Modifying, editing or distorting a work in any way which prejudices the honour and reputation of the author.

Copying a work without permission from the author or copyright holder, except in the cases allowed by the Law

Making a derivative work without permission from the author or copyright holder of the work used for making such derivative work, except in the case allowed by the Law.

Using a work without permission from the copyright holder and without paying royalties, remuneration or other material benefits in accordance with law, except in the cases allowed by the Law.

Leasing out a work without paying royalties, remuneration or other material benefits to the author or copyright holder.

Duplicating, producing copies of, distributing, displaying or communicating a work to the public via a communications network or digital means without permission from the copyright holder.

Publishing a work without permission from the copyright holder.

Deliberately destroying or de-activating the technical solutions applied by the copyright holder to protect copyright in his or her work.

Deliberately deleting or modifying electronic information in a work regarding management of the rights to such work.

Manufacturing, assembling, transforming, distributing, importing, exporting, selling or leasing out equipment when knowing, or having grounds to know, that such equipment may de-activate technical solutions applied by the copyright holder to protect copyright in his or her work.

Making and selling a work with a forged signature of the author of such work.

Importing, exporting or distributing copies of a work without permission from the copyright holder.

With highly professional staff and great experience in Copyright and Related right aspect in Vietnam and other countries in the world , ANT Lawyers would like to support and represent the clients in protecting copyright and related right.

ANT Lawyers is a Law firm in HaNoi with English speaking lawyers whom understand the laws of Vietnam within the business and the local culture context.

For Vietnam legal matters or services, the clients could reach ANT Lawyers, the exclusive Vietnam law firm members via email at ant@antlawyers.vn or call the telephone at (+84) 24 32 23 27 71.

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Attention in Drafting Registration Application for Invention

Inventions are created with purpose to people’s life convenience and consequently bring economic benefits to the inventor. As a result, protecting the intellectual property of inventions through patent registration in Vietnam is essential.

However, applicant of invention may find it difficult in declaring some of the information i.e. name of invention, field of use, technical status of field of use, technical nature and brief description while drafting an invention description that meets legal regulations in Vietnam.

To overcome this difficulty, applicant should take note the followings:

Name of the invention: name of inventions and name of inventor should be brief without promotion.

Filed of use: the invention registration application shall demonstrate the filed in which the invention is applied or related.

Technical status of field of use: the technical shall include information of prior known technical solutions until the priority date of the same application.

Technical nature of invention: the technical nature of the invention is the purpose that the invention need to get or technical problem that the invention shall solve to overcome disadvantage or shortage of the same technical solutions declared in “Technical status of field of use” part.

The description of constitutive signs of invention: The description shall declare new signs of the invention.

Brief description with enclosed images (if any): Applicant shall declare and submit clearly the scope of protection invention request in the description. The scope shall be presented briefly, clearly and fix with the description and images as stipulation of law on intellectual property.

With professional staff and vast experience in Intellectual Property aspect in Vietnam, ANT Lawyers could support inventor in advising and drafting dossier to request patent protection in Vietnam.

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HCMC chooses PPP as key fund-raising vehicle

The HCMC People’s Council on July 6 opted for public-private partnership (PPP) as a key fund-raising vehicle given the lack of capital for vital infrastructure development projects.

The council on July 6 allocated VND171.8 trillion (US$7.5 billion) for urgent infrastructure projects to be carried out in 2016-2020. Of the total amount, around VND22 trillion will come from the central State budget, and VND150 billion from the city’s budget.

The city will use around VND11.2 trillion as reciprocal capital for projects funded by official development assistance (ODA) loans, and another VND9.2 trillion for funding public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

According to a council resolution on the city’s socio-economic development tasks in the second half of this year, the local government will have to take measures to disburse State capital and prop up private investment.

PPP is a viable vehicle to lure private capital to meet the growing demand for infrastructure development. Private finances will be used for numerous projects, including traffic infrastructure, flood control, rehabilitation of major canals, and construction of new residential blocks.

According to the resolution, the city aims for gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 8.4-8.7% this year, with total factor productivity contributing 36% or higher to GDP and development investments 35%.

The city will have to make effort to realize the budget collection target. The central Government has assigned the city a budget collection target of VND 347.88 trillion this year, up 16% over last year.

However, the above targets are hard to obtain in the current circumstances. During the previous session of the city council, many voiced concerns that the city is facing a slew of difficulties.

In particular, the city has seen slow growth in supporting industries. Its tourism sector has yet to reach its full potential. The business environment and competitiveness of the city have improved at a slower pace than expected.

Source The Saigon Times

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What a Law Firm Could Assist in an M&A Deal?

M&A, abbreviated by Mergers and Acquisitions is expanding in both quantity and volume in Vietnam in many sectors. Successful M&A deals depend on various factors and legal due diligence, and drafting agreements are important processes in Vietnam.

For investors whom are interested in M&A deal in Vietnam as buyer or seller,it is important to hire a law firm that will assist in the process. The law firm in Vietnam could provide assessment of the target company through a legal due diligence, a legal background directly related to M&A deal, all of which are necessary to the completion of a successful deal.

The attorney could then draft the letter of intent, and legal contracts, including the final purchase agreement, which will include a lot of stipulations that will need to be done correctly in order for the business transaction to be beneficial to both parties and in compliance with Vietnam regulations.

A law firm with expertise of Vietnam regulations, with the lawyers having experience and legal knowledge will be able to provide the clients with the right check-list of the documents to review.  In addition, the presence of lawyers contributes to strengthening the trust of the parties. In recent years, foreign businesses have often made acquisitions of all or part of a Vietnamese enterprise, and they often require the seller to engage law firms specializing in M&A. And now, not only the foreign businesses but also the Vietnamese parties are in need of conducting M&A deals with the participation of lawyers to ensure the success.

Lawyers shall conduct legal due diligence of enterprises, check reports and explanations with prudence, honesty and efficiency. They help the buyer and/or seller to understand their legal status, legal rights and obligations, legal regulations for assets, labor contracts, land records, construction and investment registration, certificates, and licenses and other matters. This is the basis for determining the status of enterprise and possible legal risks may cause. Lawyers will conduct and produce the most comprehensive, accurate, legal and objective information and legal documents by their professional, knowledgeable and ethical.

Lawyers shall advise the structure of an M&A to ensure the commercial intent that the parties are aiming and shorten the execution time and costs. In addition, it ensures the legality of procedures, safety and minimizes the legal and financial risks for the parties.

There is no common contract template for all M&A deals. Lawyers shall actualize the trade agreements, the will of the parties to the legally binding terms of the contract as well as clearly defines the rights and obligations of the parties to ensure the enforceability, minimize unlawful agreements or unclear terms that may cause the subsequent disputes.

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Two power projects worth US$4.8 billion approved

HANOI– Two large thermo-power projects capitalized at US$4.863 billion have been approved, contributing to boosting foreign direct investment approvals in the first half of 2017.

A report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment says Nghi Son 2 thermo-power plant project involving a Japanese investor will cost over US$2.79 billion and have a capacity of about 1,200 MW.

The investor of this build-operate-transfer (BOT) project is not known but in November last year, Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed an agreement with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade to develop Nghi Son 2 thermo-power plant.

The plant will have two generators, with each having a capacity of 600 MV, and be located in Nghi Son Economic Zone in the northern province of Thanh Hoa. The facility will be fueled by coal to be imported from abroad.

With a total investment of nearly US$2.8 billion, this is one of a few BOT thermo-power plant projects approved in Vietnam. Nghi Son 2 thermo-power plant is also the largest foreign-invested project in the first six months, helping Thanh Hoa attract the most foreign investment capital in Vietnam, at US$3.06 billion, accounting for 15.9% of the country’s total.

Another large thermo-power project approved is Nam Dinh 1 thermo-power plant which costs an estimated US$2.07 billion. It will also run on coal and have a capacity of about 1,100 MW.

According to an investment certificate issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment in mid-June, the project will be developed under the BOT format on 242 hectares in Hai Chau and Hai Ninh wards, Hai Hau District, Nam Dinh Province.

The project made Nam Dinh the third largest recipient of foreign capital in the first half with US$2.19 billion, accounting for 11.4% of the country’s total.

There are some BOT power projects in Vietnam already put into operation, including Phu My 1, 2 and 3 thermo-power plants in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

However, experts have called for the Government to take greater caution when approving thermo-power projects as they are potential environmental polluters.

Source: The Saigon Times

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