Cut 25 conditional business sectors, narrow down projects that must accept investment policies

The draft Investment Law (amended) has cut 25 conditional investment and business sectors and narrowed and revised the scope of 20 other conditional business sectors and business sectors.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang

Only apply investment approval procedures to important and sensitive fields.

On November 11, continuing the 10th session, the National Assembly listened to Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang present the Government's report on the draft Investment Law (amended).

According to the Government 's submission, the purpose of promulgating the Investment Law (amended) is to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles in institutions and laws; reduce and simplify procedures in investment and business, creating favorable conditions for people and businesses. Complete regulations on conditional investment and business sectors and conditions for investment and business, while cutting down some unnecessary and unreasonable sectors and professions. At the same time, complete the management decentralization mechanism between central and local agencies on the basis of ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of state management, promptly handle practical problems, and remove institutional "bottlenecks".

The Draft Investment Law (amended) has narrowed and clarified the scope of projects that must undergo investment policy approval. Accordingly, investment policy approval procedures are not required for: commercial housing projects, urban areas that have selected investors through auction or bidding, projects that have won the auction for mineral exploitation rights; technical infrastructure projects for industrial clusters; investment projects that are subject to land allocation and land lease through auction of land use rights, bidding to select investors (except for important projects that have a great impact on the socio-economy such as airport projects, seaports, industrial parks, etc.).

At the same time, continue to promote decentralization and delegation of authority to approve investment policies to the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. For important projects, there should be special mechanisms and policies, different from the provisions of laws, ordinances, and resolutions of the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee, and the Government to approve investment policies after receiving the consent of the National Assembly Standing Committee. At the same time, continue to simplify investment policy approval procedures by eliminating some appraisal contents that are not really necessary to be considered at the stage of approving investment policies...

Explaining the decision not to abolish the investment policy approval procedure to reduce investment barriers as some opinions, the Government said that in Conclusion No. 194-KL/TW dated September 20, 2025, the Politburo directed to continue to regulate the investment policy approval procedure in the direction of narrowing the scope of projects that must carry out this procedure.

In fact, the approval of investment policy is also the basis and legal document that recognizes and guarantees the legitimate rights and interests of investors in implementing investment projects, ensuring the implementation of the State's commitments to investors on investment incentives and special policies approved by competent State agencies.

Second, investment policy approval is a tool to screen sensitive projects that have impacts and influences on socio-economic development, national defense - security, and the environment, and is a tool to control, ensure safety, and sustainable development.

Third, the procedures for approving investment policies are related to planning, land, environment, etc. The State management agency for investment simultaneously reviews these contents right from the project preparation stage to reduce time and costs compared to carrying out each independent procedure on land, planning, construction, etc.

Failure to specify procedures for approving investment policies will result in investors not knowing which procedures to start with to implement a project.

In addition, the abolition of investment policy approval procedures will lead to a situation where specialized laws will have to prescribe additional procedures to review investment projects when implementing land allocation, land lease, land use purpose conversion, sea area allocation, construction and environmental licensing, etc., making administrative procedures more cumbersome and losing tools to control, inspect, monitor and evaluate overall investment projects.

Examining this content, the Economic and Financial Committee recommends that the Government carefully review and only stipulate the implementation of the investment policy approval process in cases of real necessity. Carefully argue the basis and rationale for removing the entire authority of the National Assembly in approving investment policies. At the same time, the content of investment policy approval must be further simplified and simplified...

Expanding the "green channel" mechanism, cutting dozens of conditional business lines and occupations

The draft Investment Law (amended) allows investment projects in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech parks, concentrated digital technology parks, free trade zones, international financial centers and functional areas in economic zones to choose to register for investment according to special investment procedures (green channel) in Article 28 of the draft Law, except for a number of projects that have a major impact on socio-economic development and national security and defense such as airport and seaport projects... in economic zones, free trade zones, international financial centers and investment projects under the Prime Minister's authority to approve investment policies.

This regulation is already in the 2020 Investment Law. Expanding the subjects eligible for the green channel mechanism will create maximum convenience for administrative procedures in these areas.

Another new point of the draft Investment Law (amended) is to cut 25 conditional investment and business sectors; narrow and amend the scope of 20 conditional business sectors; stipulate principles for determining investment and business conditions, as a basis for implementing "pre-inspection" and switching to a "post-inspection" mechanism.

Regarding this content, the review agency proposed to continue streamlining and further reducing conditional investment and business sectors and professions, substantially reducing investment and business conditions, only retaining truly necessary conditions for constitutional reasons of ensuring national defense, security, order, ethics, public health, etc.

At the same time, there needs to be a clear distinction between the practice conditions of individuals and the investment and business conditions of business investors when investing and doing business in the form of a business organization or legal entity.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/cat-giam-25-nganh-kinh-doanh-co-dieu-kien-thu-hep-cac-du-an-phai-chap-nhan-chu-truong-dau-tu-d432107.html