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Going along with the development of science and technology and industrial revolution 4.0, the National Assembly and Government have promulgated by many policies to support the development of Information Technology (“IT”) industry in Vietnam in order to enhance the competitiveness of IT enterprises as well as the investment attraction strategy, in which the Corporate Income Tax (“CIT”) incentives policy stands out to further promote the development and application IT in Vietnam.

At the start of the New Year it is both time to reflect and look to see what we can expect in the year ahead. We are all well aware of the Government’s excellent response to unexpected Covid 19 pandemic, having one of the lowest number of cases, as a percentage of population, and one of the lowest fatalities per number of cases. I believe Vietnamese and foreigners alike are grateful to the authorities for the contact tracing and quarantine requirements, which have been instrumental in containing community spread.

His Excellency Nguyen Xuan Phuc opened the meeting with the World Bank, IFC, VCCI, Consortium members of the VBF and the Chairs of the various working groups. He welcomed all attendees and commented that Vietnam was enjoying relatively strong economic growth, some of the strongest trade flows in 2020, improved ratings by Fitch and a higher rating in the Global Competitiveness Index.

The RCEP was signed last week in Hanoi, via phone call, by 15 countries (ASEAN and 5 non-ASEAN members being Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea). Negotiations started in 2012, and needs further ratification by each country and RCEP will not become effective until this is done by at least 6 ASEAN and 3 Non ASEAN member countries.

Vietnam has announced its ambition to be a high income country by 2045, which some may consider to be a major challenge. It is true that Vietnam has shown remarkable growth in per capita income from around US$ 100 per year at the end of the 1980’s to almost US$ 2,800 last year, but to achieve high income status we are talking about a figure of over US$ 12,000 (World Bank 2018 figures).

Vietnam has demonstrated strong and stable growth in attracting foreign direct investment. Kenneth Atkinson, founder and senior board adviser at Grant Thornton Vietnam, explains how the country can push ahead even further

The Tax Administration Law in Vietnam has brought notable changes to improve tax collection and to keep abreast of changes to the digital economy. Valerie Teo and Nguyen Tan Tai, of Grant Thornton, consider the impact of the new law, effective from July 1, 2020, on e-commerce business in Vietnam.

Companies need to prepare survival plans to navigate the choppy waters ahead with the current situation of COVID-19 outbreak. In the article published on Vietnam Investment Review, Ken Atkinson, founder and senior board advisor at Grant Thornton Vietnam, discussed the impact of on-going pandemic on the business community of Vietnam.

"The domestic sector will be dependent on the timely disbursement of the committed US$ 30 billion4 in public investment, as this will have a multiplier effect on growth. In fact July saw a positive move in this regard with disbursed public investment of US$ 1.97 billion up 51.8% from July 2019.5 All in all, as well as being a leader in the containment of Covid 19, Vietnam is also showing itself a leader in resilience and should end 2020 with one of the highest GDP growth figures, if not the highest, globally. In H1 2020 Vietnam ranked no 5 in terms of % GDP growth" - Founder and Senior Board Adviser, Kenneth M Atkinson shared his professional perspectives and comprehensive insights towards Vietnam's Economy and FDI in H1 2020

Lac Boi Tho and Nguyen Hung Du, of Grant Thornton Vietnam, discuss the tax implications on the income derived from an indirect offshore capital transfer in Vietnam.

Domestic Tourism and the Tourism Sector

Vietnam’s shift from a centrally planned to a market economy has transformed the country from one of the poorest in the world into a lower middle-income country. Vietnam is now considered one of the most dynamic emerging countries in East Asia.1 Vietnam is one of the greatest development success stories of our time.

20 April 2020 What the future impact is of the current pandemic, which is ravaging western developed countries, is yet to be seen, but I am sure that the recovery in Vietnam will be better and faster, than in much of the developed world, if we look at Vietnam’s performance so far.

How is the second-home segment of Vietnam attractive to international visitors? Why Vietnam should be chosen for expats to live in? Vietnam has been one of the top performing inbound tourism markets over the last few years rising from 7.6 million in 2013 and rising to 18.5 million in 2019 with a forecast 20.5 million in 2020 (prior to COVID 19). I In January 2020 we received just under 2 million foreign visitors in one month alone. Much of this raid increase in inbound tourists has come from China, South Korea and Japan who together have contributed more than 50% of the inbound market.

Planning for coronavirus impact

There have been more than 18,000 deaths in the USA alone so far this year from Influenza (CDC) far less than deaths from Covid-19. The Government has been working hard and in addition to efforts on the medical front they are also evaluating on how to help support business. Directive no 11/CT-TTg is a move in this direction and covers abroad range of measures.