Stay up to date with legal developments in Vietnam.
What's New
Power Development Plan VIII
On 15 May 2023, the Prime Minister of Vietnam issued Decision No. 500/QD-TTg approving the National power development plan for the period between 2021 and 2030, and setting out the vision for 2050 ("PDP VIII"). PDP VIII takes effect from the issuing date and serves as the national master plan for the development not only of the energy sector but also the country's economy in general. It creates the framework for investments and introduces significant changes to the existing regulations for the energy industry in Vietnam. PDP VIII sets out the issues to take note of in relation to green energy transition, clean energy and reduction of CO2 emitting power sources while aiming for a total power capacity to remain at about 400,000 MW.
This Update summarises the key features of PDP VIII.
Managing Greenwashing Risks: A Southeast Asian Lens
As governments, corporates and individuals double down on efforts on their sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda, there are emerging concerns of "greenwashing" and whether products and services labelled as "green" or "sustainable" are indeed so. What exactly is "greenwashing" and are there legal and regulatory frameworks in place to deal with this?
In this Guide, we aim to provide you with the state of play in the greenwashing legal landscape from a Southeast Asian perspective. Each Country Chapter provides a summary of the existing laws and regulations in each of the nine Southeast Asia jurisdictions that are available for enforcing against greenwashing, as well as some of their key regulators' approaches and initiatives to set clear and enforceable standards on green claims, green credentials, green products or green investments.
Decree on Personal Data Protection Issued
On 17 April 2023, the Government issued the long-awaited Decree 13/2023/ND-CP on personal data protection ("PDP Decree").
The PDP Decree represents the first consolidated data protection regulation in Vietnam, and introduces significant changes to the existing (fragmented) regulatory environment for data protection in the country. Many of the provisions and concepts introduced by the PDP Decree were influenced by the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
This Update summarises the key features of the PDP Decree.