New regulations on investment abroad The Government has issued a decree regulating procedures to invest abroad and State management over investments abroad. illustration photo - source ictnews.vn Accordingly, conditions on investment decision, authorization, process and procedures related to projects abroad using State capital must abide by the Law on Investment of State Capital in Enterprises and other legal relevant regulations. The decree clarifies five types of investment projects abroad, including those in energy; agro-forestry-fisheries farming, exploitation and processing; mineral survey, exploration, exploitation and processing; manufacturing, processing and engineering; real estate and infrastructure. Documents validating the site of projects can be one of the followings: investment licences or equivalent valid documents granted by the host countries or territories which specify the location and the projects’ land use scale; land lease or land use certificates by authorized agencies or organizations; land lease contracts or business contracts specifying the location and the land use scale; and agreements on land transfer and lease, and business cooperative agreements with authorized agencies, organizations or individuals in the host countries. The decree also regulates that investors are allowed to transfer their capital abroad for the investment in accordance with Article 64 of the Law on Investment. They are able to transfer abroad foreign currencies, goods and machinery before earning overseas investment certificates to meet expenses for their investment projects such as market and field surveys, international biddings, deposit or other financial guarantees, as well as asset purchase or hiring and other requirements by bid solicitors, the host countries or territories. The process must be in accordance with regulations governing foreign currency, export, customs and technology. Investors in overseas projects are allowed to transfer abroad an amount of foreign currencies not exceeding 5 percent of their total investment capital, or not more than US$300,000, as payment for activities relating to their projects before getting investment licenses from foreign local authorities. VGP