A Vietnam representative office is an excellent way for international companies to create a presence in the market without the expense of setting up a fully-fledged operation in the country. The following information will help you determine whether it will serve your business needs to set up a representative office in Vietnam:

A representative office license is valid for five years, and this period is renewable.

In Vietnam law, a representative office is not considered a separate legal entity. However, representative offices in Vietnam can sign a commercial contract on behalf of its parent.

To obtain a Vietnam representative office license, a foreign company must have been in operation for at least a year. The company is required to submit a copy of its business registration certificate from its home country. If this certificate has a validity period, the remaining validity period must be at least one year, thus ruling out the opening of a representative office by a Hong Kong company, for example.

Business licenses will be revoked if representative offices fail to submit their annual activity report for two consecutive years.

A representative office cannot open a corporate bank account in Vietnam.

A Vietnam representative office can conduct market research, advertise products and supervise the implementation of contracts between the parent company and local partners. However, a representative office in Vietnam cannot make sales in the country.

Chief representatives are not permitted to act as heads of local branches or companies according to the regulations of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

All representative branches and offices, in addition to the application form and business registration certificate, must submit an audited financial statement of the mother company.

The representative office license application has to be supported by a notarised copy of the foreign company's audited annual report and Articles of Association. The annual report must also be legalised by the nearest Vietnamese embassy or consulate.

A Vietnam representative office has to lease office space in Vietnam.

Representative offices are not allowed to act as representatives for other traders and cannot sublease their offices.

For more information on setting up a Vietnam representative office, email email@healyconsultants.com or call us in Singapore at (+65) 6735 0120.

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