HÀ NỘI — It is necessary to issue a decree on the foundation, management and use of the investment support fund to attract strategic investors and multinational corporations to Việt Nam, in the context of the global minimum tax adoption.

The view was agreed by members of the National Assembly Standing Committee at a meeting on Wednesday afternoon. 

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Thị Bích Ngọc said that the investment support fund aims to specify investment policies, reinforce Việt Nam’s competitiveness in the rapid changing international context and increase the efficiency of the investment incentive policies.

Since Việt Nam adopted the global minimum tax of 15 per cent since the beginning of the year, standard incentives in taxes and fees are no longer working in attracting strategic investment, so the country needs new investment support policies to attract large-scale investments.

The global minimum tax is applied to multinational corporations with a revenue of 750 million euro (US$800 million) or higher in two years of the most four recent years. Around 122 foreign investors are subject to the global minimum tax in Việt Nam, according to the tax management agency.

Under the Government’s proposal, the fund will be managed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and sourced from the State budget or other sources.

It will provide support to hi-tech enterprises, companies with projects applying high technologies in production and operation, and research and development (R&D) centres.

For enterprises applying technologies in production and operation, the projects must have minimum capital of VNĐ12 trillion or revenue of at least VNĐ20 trillion a year to be eligible for support from the fund.

For semiconductor projects and AI data centres, the minimum capital is VNĐ6 trillion, or revenue of at least VNĐ10 trillion per year.

“The fund is expected to contribute to enhancing Việt Nam’s position in the international supply chain, especially in emerging hi-tech industries such as semiconductor and artificial intelligence, as well as promoting the shift of R&D centres to Việt Nam. In addition, resources will be concentrated on prioritised sectors to create breakthrough developments,” she said.

The foundation of the investment support fund is critical to maintain the attractiveness of Việt Nam’s investment environment, Lê Quang Mạnh, chairman of the NA’s Finance and Budget Committee said. However, draft regulations mainly focus on hi-tech industries, which means that the beneficiaries will mainly be foreign investors and multinational corporations.

The support to domestic companies remains vague, he said, urging the Government to consider support to domestic companies as well.

Mạnh added that the rates of support for each project must be clarified while the caps on support levels must be raised for specific types of businesses to ensure the fund’s balance.

It is also important to ensure transparency in the operation of the fund and prevent an 'ask – give mechanism'.

NA Deputy Chairman Nguyễn Đức Hải said that the NA Standing Committee basically agreed with the draft decree. However, more reviews must be conducted to ensure the consistency with the established regulations and the harmonising of benefits between the Government and companies, between domestic and foreign investors, and between foreign investors coming from different countries. — VNS