NA approves enterprise law amendments, saving 3,000 FDI firms By Nguyen Hien | dtinews.vn   The Vietnamese National Assembly has approved the revision of the Law on Enterprises, helping to save around 3,000 foreign direct investment (FDI) companies from shutting down.   The revision of the Law on Enterprises helps to save around 3,000 FDI companies from shutting down.  Article 170 of the law stipulates that FDI firms that were licensed before July 1, 2006 must re-register and operate under the 2005 Law on Enterprises. The re-registration term is five years since the law took effect. This means that as of July 1, 2011, FDI firms that have yet to re-register are not allowed to supplement their business spheres nor extend their projects. They are just allowed to operate under the original fields mentioned in their business license. The ministry’s statistics showed that as of May 31, 2013, as many as 2,916 out of total 6,000 FDI enterprises have yet to re-register. At a recent National Assembly session, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh proposed the amendments in order to save FDI firms and the jobs of hundreds of thousands of workers. Under the revised law, the re-registration must be completed before February 1, 2014. The amended law will take effect from August 1, 2013. Earlier, NA deputies expressed concerns that the renewal of business licenses for FDI firms that use backward technologies may turn Vietnam into the dumping ground of the world. Statistic from the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that 80% FDI firms use average technology, 14% use outdated machines and only 5-6% have high-technology equipment. Several firms have taken advantage of loopholes to import outdated machines into Vietnam.