The MoST is elaborating a decree on foreign cooperation and investment in science and technology as a legal basis to boost the development of the sector.
Cooperation with foreign parties in science and technology, under the 34-article draft decree, may be carried out in such forms as receipt of foreign aid or donations for science and technology activities; cooperation with foreign parties on the basis of science and technology contracts; and association with foreign parties in science and technology activities.
The draft paper lists five forms of foreign investment in science and technology: (i) wholly-foreign owned science and technology organizations or enterprises established by new investors; (ii) wholly foreign-owned science and technology organizations or enterprises established by foreign-owned enterprises already set up in Vietnam in association with other foreign entities; (iii) joint-venture science and technology organizations or enterprises established by foreign-owned enterprises already set up in Vietnam and Vietnamese or other foreign entities; (iv) foreign direct investment projects in which foreign investors contribute technology and intellectual property rights as capital; and (iv) business cooperation contracts in science and technology between foreign and Vietnamese parties.
It also stipulates that the Minister of Science and Technology would decide on the establishment of all foreign-invested science and technology organizations, except wholly foreign-owned independent ones which would be subject to permission of the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the establishment of foreign-invested science and technology enterprises would comply with the Enterprise Law, the Investment Law and Government Decree No. 80/2007/ND-CP of May 19, 2007, on science and technology enterprises.