In recent years, Vietnam has attracted attention from Japanese companies as a business expansion destination in light of its stable government, favorable sentiment toward Japan, young workforce, high literacy rate and so on. Vietnam had long been considered as a production base primarily because of its low wage level. However, the country is now drawing attention also as a market due to its population of more than 90 million, which is expected to grow even further. The regulations on the inflow of foreign capital into the service industries targeting consumers have been relaxed, as can be seen in the easing and/or removal of restrictions on the establishment of local subsidiaries of foreign companies in the retail industry in 2009, and in the catering industry in 2015, which has also contributed to Vietnam's gaining attention as a market.

Although there is a trend to ease regulations on foreign capital, as can be seen in the retail industry and catering industry as stated above, still, in Vietnam, foreign companies can neither establish their local subsidiaries nor enter the market entirely freely. In Vietnam, there are restrictions on the inward investment by foreigners and/or foreign companies, and, with respect to some service industries, there are certain fields of business where foreign companies cannot establish wholly owned subsidiaries. Also, regardless of the type of business, foreign companies are required to obtain an "Investment Certificate" from the Vietnamese government if they intend to establish a base of their business in Vietnam.

We have assisted our clients in various cases, such as drafting of contracts for the acquisition of Vietnamese companies, establishment of local subsidiaries and joint venture businesses in Vietnam, preparation of office regulations and employment contracts of Vietnamese companies, drafting of transaction agreements, license agreements, lease agreements and other agreements with Vietnamese companies, providing support in Vietnamese litigation proceedings, cases concerning import regulations, distributing agents and issuance of corporate bonds, convertible bonds and loans, as well as research on a variety of Vietnamese laws including the law on the protection of personal information.
Also, our firm has a lawyer trained in a law firm in Vietnam, a lawyer who has experience lecturing at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, and a lawyer who engaged in a Japanese legal technical assistance program for Vietnam.