The Government would encourage and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese organizations and individuals to invest in offshore oil and gas projects, according to a draft decree recently released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
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| Vietnamese organizations and individuals would be created favorable conditions to make offshore investment in oil and gas activities__Photo: Internet |
However, outward investment in the field of oil and gas must guarantee the interests of both investors and the State, the draft underlines.
The draft, available in Vietnamese at www.moit.gov.vn, allows investors to transfer abroad money from their principal foreign-currency accounts as well as bring overseas goods, machinery and equipment even when they have not yet obtained an offshore investment registration certificate, so that they would be able to probe into the foreign markets, seek opportunities and prepare for investment activities.
An investor may transfer abroad a foreign-currency amount neither exceeding five percent of its/his/her offshore investment capital nor valued at more than USD 0.5 million. The investor would also have to comply with the laws on export, customs and technology.
In case a bid solicitator or host country asks investors to pay a deposit or provide financial guarantee in other forms in order to participate in international bidding for a project, investors may conduct transactions as required but such transactions must not exceed USD 2 million. Exceptions would be granted on a case-by-case basis by the agencies acting as the representive of the state ownership at enteprises, for wholly state-owned enterprises, or the State Bank of Vietnam, for other enterprises.
Investors being wholly state-owned enterprises would also have to report their offshore investment intentions to the Prime Minister for decision before making deposits or providing financial guarantee as requested by bid solicitators or host countries, which are related to conditions for participation in bidding, signing of oil and gas contracts, or purchase and sale of oil and gas contracts overseas.- (VLLF)
