Establishment of a Korean-owned company in Vietnam

The cooperation between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea in recent years has reached new heights, affirming its position as one of the most comprehensive and effective economic partnerships in the region. Bilateral trade turnover is constantly growing, reaching a new record level, clearly demonstrating the vibrant trade and unlimited cooperation potential between the two countries. Thousands of Korean businesses have chosen Vietnam as an attractive investment destination, bringing capital and modern technology and creating hundreds of thousands of high-quality jobs, significantly contributing to Vietnam’s socio-economic development. Therefore, there are more and more Korean investors in Vietnam, Viet An Law would like to guide customers through the procedures for establishing a Korean-owned company in Vietnam through the article below.

Some Korean sectors that can be invested in Vietnam

Processing and manufacturing industry

• Electronics, semiconductors: Continue to expand factories for components, mobile phones, and other electronic devices.
• Automotive: Develop automotive component assembly and manufacturing plants, leveraging the existing supply chain and growing market demand.
• Ships: Investing in shipbuilding, ship repair, and related services, taking advantage of long coastlines and a skilled workforce.

Information Technology

• Software: Develop software, mobile applications, and other information technology solutions.
• Data centers: Build data centers, serving the increasing demand for data storage and processing.

Service

• Tourism: Invest in hotels, resorts, and other tourism services, taking advantage of Vietnam’s great tourism potential.
• Health: Invest in hospitals, medical centers, and other medical services, meeting the increasing health care needs of the people.
• Education: Invest in schools, training centers, and other educational services, improve the quality of human resources.

Factors attracting Korean investment in Vietnam

• Young, large and skilled workforce: Vietnam has abundant human resources, competitive labor costs, and a willingness to learn new technologies.
• Large and growing domestic market: With a young population and rising incomes, Vietnam is an attractive consumer market.
• Investment incentives: Vietnam has many attractive preferential policies for foreign investors, creating favorable conditions for Korean businesses to operate in Vietnam.
• Close cooperative relationship: The cooperation between Vietnam and Korea is increasingly extensive in many fields, creating a solid basis for investment activities.

Korean investors apply for investment certificates in Vietnam

Dossier of application for an investment certificate

• Written request for implementation of the investment project;
• An investment project proposal includes the following contents: the investor implementing the project, investment objectives, investment scale, investment capital and capital mobilization plan, location, duration, investment schedule, labor demand, proposal for investment incentives, impact assessment, etc socio-economic efficiency of the project;
• Dossier proving the company’s head office: Lease contract, Notarized copy of real estate documents of the lessor: Land use right certificate, Construction permit; if the lessor is a company: It is necessary to provide a copy of the enterprise registration certificate with the function of real estate business;
• Confirmation of account balance corresponding to the capital intended to establish an FDI company is consular legalized and notarized

Depending on whether the investor is an individual or a legal entity, it will be necessary to provide the following additional documents:

Place of application: Department of Planning and Investment where the head office is expected to be located.

Processing order: Within 15 days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Department of Planning and Investment will issue an Investment Registration Certificate to the foreign investor. In case of refusal, the Department of Planning and Investment will reply in writing and clearly state the reason.

Korean investors apply for business registration certificates in Vietnam

Application for Certificate of Registration of Korean-Owned Enterprises

• Application for enterprise registration;
• Charter of the enterprise;
• List of members of a limited liability company with two or more members or a list of general partners;
• A notarized copy of the identity card or valid passport of the individual member; a notarized copy of the enterprise registration certificate of the member being an organization; a notarized copy of the valid identity card or passport of the legal representative of that organization;
• The investment registration certificate of the Korean investor has been completed above.

Place of application: Department of Planning and Investment where the enterprise is headquartered.

Duration: 03 – 06 working days.

Korean investors carry out post-establishment procedures to conduct business activities in Vietnam

Engraving the legal entity seal after having a tax identification number

After the business has a tax identification number, engraving the legal entity seal is an important step to complete the establishment procedure. The legal entity seal is an official identification sign of the business, used in transactions and legal documents.

Making company signs hanging at the head office

Hanging company signs at the head office is an important step to affirm the existence and image of the business. However, to ensure compliance with legal regulations and make a good impression, you need to pay attention to the legal regulations on signboards:

• Location: Signboards must only be placed close to the gate or front of the head office or place of business.
• Dimension:
• Content: The signboard must clearly state the name of the enterprise, the address of the company’s head office, tax identification number, contact phone number and sub-license number if any.

Open an account with 100% Korean investment capital in Vietnam and contribute capital

Preparation of dossiers for opening investment capital accounts includes:

• Enterprise establishment license or investment registration certificate.
• Investor’s identity document (passport, visa).
• Documents proving the legal origin of the investment capital.

Place to apply: Submit the application at the selected bank.

The bank will conduct the appraisal of the dossier and open an investment capital account for the investor.

After having an investment capital account, the company with Thai capital contributed capital. Note that enterprises need to fully contribute the registered capital within 90 days from the date of issuance of the business registration certificate.

• Money transfer: Investors transfer money from an overseas account to an investment capital account opened in Vietnam.
• Confirmation: The bank will confirm the transfer of capital contribution.