Foreign currency account opening regulated

The State Bank of Vietnam has recently issued a circular, which will be effective on February 14, 2014, to regulate the opening and usage of foreign currency accounts to serve direct investment activities in other countries.

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has recently issued a circular, which will be effective on February 14, 2014, to regulate the opening and usage of foreign currency accounts to serve direct investment activities in other countries.

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Accordingly, after getting a certificate for abroad investment, the investor must open an account, which is used for all transactions related to the investment in foreign currencies, at an authorized credit institution and conduct registration with the SBV or its branches in provinces and cities.

An investor who has many investment projects abroad must open an account for each project. If a project is invested by multiple investors, each of the investors must open an account for the investment at the same authorized credit institutions within the registered capital in accordance with their investment certificate issued by authorized agencies of Vietnam.

The SBV’s Department of Foreign Currency Management is authorized to certify the registration of abroad investment, account changes, and capital transferred to investors who are credit institutions.

The SBV's branches in provinces and cities, where the investor is headquartered or the investor registers for permanent residence, will certify the registration of abroad investment, account changes and capital transferred to other investors who are not credit institutions.

The investor must repatriate profits and investment capital after the liquidation, dissolution, capital downsizing or transferring the investment project in accordance with the current regulations on investment.

If an investor wants to reinvest his or her benefits from a project in that one or another, he or she must conduct procedures to adjust the investment certificate or apply for a new certificate for the new investment project, as well as report the investment to the SBV as regulated.