1.Corporate, M&A, investment policy, public procurement, customs, tax
Lead authority: Ministry of Finance (MOF)
This is one of the biggest changes in 2025. The new MOF now covers not only classic finance and tax, but also development investment, business investment in Vietnam, outbound investment, investment promotion, bidding/procurement, customs, securities, insurance, pricing, economic zones, statistics, and state capital in enterprises. In practice, for many foreign investors, MOF is now the first central ministry to check for FDI structuring, investment incentives, procurement, customs, and tax.
Use MOF for:
- FDI policy and investment incentives
- tax, customs, transfer pricing interface
- public procurement / bidding
- securities / listed company issues
- insurance and pricing matters
- economic zones and some enterprise-state capital interfaces.
- Employment, labor compliance, work permits, social insurance
Lead authority: Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA)
After the 2025 merger, MOHA absorbed the former MOLISA portfolio. MOHA now manages labor, wages, employment, social insurance, occupational safety, and employment of foreign workers. For foreign investors, this means labor questions that previously sat with MOLISA should now be analyzed through the MOHA structure.
Use MOHA for:
- labor law policy and labor administration
- work permits and foreign employee compliance
- wages, working time, internal labor rules
- occupational safety and labor reporting
- social insurance administration/policy.
- Land, environment, natural resources, agriculture
Lead authority: Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE)
Another major merger in 2025 combined the old agriculture ministry and the old natural resources/environment ministry. The new MAE now covers land, environment, water resources, minerals, geology, hydrometeorology, climate change, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, animal health, plant protection, rural development, disaster prevention, and food safety in its sectoral areas. For projects, this ministry is now central for land access and environmental approvals, alongside sector-specific approvals.
Use MAE for:
- land law and land-use policy
- EIA and environmental compliance
- water, waste, emissions, climate matters
- agriculture, food, forestry, fisheries
- natural resources licensing.
- Construction, real estate, infrastructure, transport
Lead authority: Ministry of Construction (MOC)
The Ministry of Construction now also covers the former transport portfolio. It manages construction planning, architecture, construction investment, urban development, technical infrastructure, housing, real estate market, building materials, and nationwide road, railway, inland waterway, maritime, and civil aviation transport. For infrastructure investors, this is a critical post-2025 change.
Use MOC for:
- construction permits and project development framework
- real estate and housing policy
- transport infrastructure and transport-sector regulation
- PPP/infrastructure technical interfaces
- urban development and logistics assets.
- Trade, import/export controls, manufacturing, energy, competition, consumer matters
Lead authority: Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT)
MOIT remains the central authority for industry, trade, import/export administration, domestic market management, energy, electricity, oil and gas sector policy, chemicals, trade remedies, e-commerce/trade interfaces, and competition/consumer protection architecture. The Vietnam Competition Commission remains under MOIT.
Use MOIT for:
- import/export licensing and product circulation issues
- energy and power regulatory matters
- chemicals and industrial compliance
- antitrust / merger control interface
- consumer protection and unfair competition
- trade promotion and market access barriers.
- Pharmaceuticals, healthcare, medical devices, hospitals
Lead authority: Ministry of Health (MOH)
MOH remains the key ministry for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, healthcare establishments, public health, and drug circulation. The 2025 decree on MOH confirms its current role and structure. For pharma investors, the operational regulator remains the Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) under MOH for drug registration/marketing authorization matters.
Use MOH for:
- pharmaceuticals and marketing authorizations
- medical devices
- healthcare licensing and hospitals
- product classification in health sector
- public health compliance and specialized circulars.
- Technology, telecoms, digital infrastructure, science, innovation
Lead authority: Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)
A key 2025 merger combined the former science ministry with the former information and communications ministry. MOST now sits at the center of science and technology policy plus major communications/digital portfolios, making it highly relevant for investors in telecoms, digital platforms, innovation, semiconductors, standards, and tech regulation.
Use MOST for:
- telecoms / communications policy interfaces
- digital economy and technology regulation
- science, innovation, standards, metrology
- IP administration interface (with other authorities depending on issue)
- emerging tech and industrial innovation policy.
- Data, cybersecurity, national security, police approvals
Lead authority: Ministry of Public Security (MPS)
For foreign investors, MPS is the key authority on cybersecurity, personal data/state-data security architecture, and national security-sensitive compliance. Recent implementing rules under the Law on Data also assign important roles to MPS in data safety incident response and supervision.
Use MPS for:
- cybersecurity and data localization/security exposure
- police clearance / security-related licensing issues
- national security review aspects
- sensitive sectors, especially digital infrastructure and cross-border data.
- Banking, foreign exchange, offshore loans
Lead authority: State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)
(ministerial-level agency, not a ministry)
SBV remains the central bank and the lead authority for monetary policy, banking regulation, and foreign exchange control. For foreign investors this is critical for capital accounts, foreign loans, FX remittances, offshore lending registration, and banking licensing.
Use SBV for:
- foreign exchange compliance
- foreign loans and registration
- profit remittance banking mechanics
- banking and payment-sector regulation
- capital account issues.
- International treaties, diplomatic legalization, sanctions-sensitive international interface
Lead authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
MOFA handles foreign affairs, international treaties and agreements, diplomatic missions, and overseas-Vietnamese affairs. In deal practice, MOFA becomes relevant more for treaty positioning, consular/legalization matters, and diplomatic interfaces than for ordinary licensing.
Use MOFA for:
- treaty and diplomatic interface issues
- legalization / consular channels
- cross-border state-to-state and public international law questions.
- Courts, arbitration framework, legal system, civil enforcement
Lead authority: Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
(but disputes are decided by courts/arbitral institutions, not MOJ)
MOJ manages law making, law enforcement organization, civil judgment enforcement, judicial administration, judicial support, and legal affairs. MOJ matters for investors where legalization, enforcement, registration of secured transactions, and civil enforcement policy arise. It is important institutionally, though it is not the adjudicator of commercial disputes.
Use MOJ for:
- enforcement architecture
- legal framework development
- judicial administration and legal support matters
- some legalization / legal affairs interfaces.
- “Who should I go to?” — sector quick guide
For a foreign investor, the quickest way to map jurisdiction in 2025 is:
- FDI approval / incentives / procurement / customs / tax → MOF
- Labor / work permits / social insurance → MOHA
- Land / environment / natural resources / agriculture → MAE
- Construction / real estate / transport infrastructure → MOC
- Trade / import-export / energy / competition → MOIT
- Pharma / healthcare / medical devices → MOH
- Telecom / digital / science / tech policy → MOST
- Cybersecurity / data security / police clearance → MPS
- Banking / FX / foreign loans → SBV
- Treaties / diplomacy / legalization abroad → MOFA
- Civil enforcement / legal framework support → MOJ
- Practical cautions for foreign investors
First, central ministry ≠ sole authority. In Vietnam, licensing and compliance often sit at a combination of central ministry + provincial People’s Committee + local department + specialized authority. So this map is the central-regulator map, not a substitute for transaction-specific licensing analysis.
Second, the 2025 merger architecture is new. In practice, some websites, circular references, and administrative workflows may still reflect legacy ministry names for a period, even though the new decrees and government structure are already effective from 1 March 2025.
Third, foreign investors should re-check sector overlap early. A single project can trigger several authorities at once—for example, a data center may involve MOF, MOC, MOST, MPS, MAE, and SBV depending on structure, land, tech, security, and financing. That overlap is often where delay risk arises. This is an inference from the ministries’ current functions after the 2025 consolidation.
- Best-practice investor takeaway
For 2025 Vietnam deal planning, the biggest mindset shift is this:
- MOF is now much broader than just finance/tax
- MOHA now owns labor administration
- MAE is the key land/environment gateway
- MOC now covers transport as well as construction
- MOST is now much more relevant for digital/telecom/tech deals
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Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Oliver Massmann under [email protected] if you have any questions or want to know more details on the above. Dr. Oliver Massmann is the General Director of Duane Morris Vietnam LLC.