Legal Requirements for Opening a Cement Business Company in Vietnam

In the current period of industrialization and modernization, the industrial and construction sector is one of the leading sectors and makes a significant contribution to the development of the country. Cement is one of the essential construction materials, core in creating housing works and other construction works. Therefore, cement business activities are becoming increasingly popular, opening up many development opportunities for enterprises. To ensure that individuals and organizations conduct cement business legally and effectively, it is necessary to clearly understand the legal conditions as well as the company set up procedures according to current regulations. Below, Viet An Law sends to customers an article related to the issue of legal requirements for opening a cement business company in Vietnam.

Legal requirements for opening a cement business company in Vietnam for foreign investors

According to Vietnam’s commitments in the WTO, to access the Vietnamese market in the field of cement business, foreign investors need to note a number of conditions:

• For distribution (wholesale, retail) of cement, the scope of business is cement products produced in Vietnam. The set up of retail establishments (beyond the first establishment) will be considered on the basis of the Economic Needs Test (ENT).
• For cement production, there are no restrictions on foreign investors regarding market access conditions.

Based on the List of conditional business investment lines prescribed in Appendix IV issued with the Law on Investment 2020, the field of construction materials business in general and cement business in particular does not belong to conditional business investment lines. Therefore, cement business establishments or other products related to construction materials only need to ensure the conditions when setting up according to each type.

Types of cement business company in Vietnam

Based on the needs and conditions regarding capital, scale, and number of members, in Vietnam, organizations and individuals wishing to set up a cement business company can choose the following types of enterprises:

• Single-member Limited Liability Company;
• Multi-member Limited Liability Company;
• Partnership;
• Joint Stock Company.

Types of cement business companies

Overview of procedures to Set up a cement business company in Vietnam

Implementing agency

Based on Article 39 of the Law on Investment 2020, Decree 239/2025/ND-CP, the authority to grant Investment Registration Certificates to foreign investors belongs to the following agencies:

• Management Board of industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, economic zones (For investment projects in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, economic zones);
• Department of Finance (For investment projects outside industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech zones, economic zones).

Based on Article 20 of Decree 168/2025/ND-CP, the authority to grant Enterprise Registration Certificates belongs to the following agencies:

• Business Registration Authority under the Department of Finance of the province or centrally run city where the enterprise intends to place its headquarters;
• Management Board of high-tech zones if the enterprise intends to place its headquarters in a high-tech zone.

Documents customers need to provide

For the dossier applying for an Investment Registration Certificate, it includes the following documents:

• Written request for implementation of the investment project;
• Documents on the legal status of the investor;
• Documents proving financial capacity (Financial statements of the last 02 years of the investor; commitment of financial support from the parent company; commitment of financial support from a financial institution; guarantee of financial capacity of the investor…);
• Investment project proposal;
• Explanation of technology used in the investment project for projects subject to appraisal and consultation on technology.

For the dossier applying for an Enterprise Registration Certificate, it includes the following documents:

• Application for enterprise registration;
• Company charter;
• List of members (Partnership, Multi-member Limited Liability Company);
• List of founding shareholders; list of shareholders being foreign investors (Joint Stock Company);
• List of beneficial owners of the enterprise (if any);
• Copy of personal legal papers for members, shareholders, owners, legal representatives, authorized representatives of members, shareholders being organizations (In case of declaring personal identification numbers, the dossier does not include copies of legal papers of these individuals);
• Copy of legal papers of the organization for members, shareholders being organizations and document appointing authorized representative;
• Copy of Investment Registration Certificate for foreign investors.

Implementation procedure

• Step 1: Apply for an Investment Registration Certificate (only applicable to enterprises established with capital from foreign investors) at the investment registration authority or apply for investment policy approval for projects subject to approval according to authority;
• Step 2: Apply for an Enterprise Registration Certificate at the business registration authority where the enterprise places its headquarters (Processing time: 03 working days from the date of receiving a valid dossier);
• Step 3: Perform post-establishment services such as carving the company seal, making the company sign and hanging it at the headquarters, purchasing digital signatures, opening a bank account and notifying the bank account number to the tax authority, submitting the initial tax declaration dossier, announcing the issuance of electronic invoices, hiring an accountant or accounting service.

Conditions for opening a cement business company in Vietnam

Headquarters address of the company

Based on the Enterprise Law 2020 and the Housing Law 2023, the company headquarters must be a real address determined by boundaries and must not be located in a collective house or apartment building (locations without commercial business functions). When performing enterprise registration, the enterprise must simultaneously prepare documents proving the headquarters lease address by lease contract, certificate of land use rights and assets attached to land (factory, warehouse) in case the processing officer requests.

In case the cement business store is also the headquarters address, the company needs to note:

• Should rent a spacious premise with a wide road surface convenient for vehicles to enter and exit for transportation and space for displaying goods;
• The company’s cement storage area needs to be dry, avoid moisture, and ensure regulations on occupational safety and fire and explosion prevention.

Charter capital of the company

To date, the law does not specify a specific minimum charter capital level when setting up a construction materials business company. However, investment capital reflects the actual capital flow that the enterprise uses to set up the company. Cement business, especially with the production industry, requires equipment, materials, and factories with quite large investment costs. Therefore, the registered investment capital and charter capital of the company must be large enough to explain licensing to the registration authority.

Cement business lines

Based on Decision 36/2025/QD-TTg, the cement business company being set up must register the following business lines:

• 2394: Manufacture of cement, lime and plaster;
• 2395: Manufacture of articles of concrete, cement and plaster;
• 4673: Wholesale of other construction materials and installation equipment (Detail: Wholesale of cement);
• 4752: Retail sale of hardware, paint, glass and other construction materials and installation equipment (Detail: Retail sale of cement).

Conditions to set up a cement business company

Some cement business companies in Vietnam

Currently, cement business companies are largely concentrated in concentrated industrial parks in Vietnam, such as Gian Khau Industrial Park (Ninh Binh) which is a multi-industry Industrial Park, concentrating on main industries including mechanical engineering, cement, light industry, food, garment and is also the headquarters address of Vissai Ninh Binh Cement Company.

In addition, some prominent companies in the field of cement production and business in Vietnam can be mentioned as:

• Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem);
• Vicem But Son Cement Joint Stock Company;
• Hoang Thach Cement Joint Stock Company;
• Cam Pha Cement Joint Stock Company;
• Thai Binh Cement Joint Stock Company;
• Bim Son Cement Joint Stock Company;
• Chinfon Cement Company;
• FiCO Tay Ninh Cement Joint Stock Company.

Customers wishing for advice on legal requirements for opening a cement business company in Vietnam, please contact Viet An Law Firm for the best support!