Draft Law on E-commerce approved

This presents Vietnam with an opportunity not only to attract more FDI, but also to select high-quality projects that generate greater added value, promote technology transfer and help create new growth drivers.

The Draft Law on Cultural Industry Development aims to establish a unified legal framework to foster a favourable environment for businesses and creators to develop high-quality cultural products that generate economic value while preserving Vietnam’s cultural identity.

The Ministry of Finance has issued circular No. 117/2026/TT-BTC, effective from August 15, 2026 to February 28, 2027, offering incentives to citizens who meet the prescribed conditions.

Under the revised rules, once a document is integrated into the national ID app, agencies handling administrative procedures, public services, or civil transactions must retrieve the information directly from the system rather than requiring people to submit it again.

The Prime Minister has recently approved a scheme to develop national key research and testing centres and laboratories focused on strategic technologies, targeting mastery of at least 10 core technologies to support strategic technology products and tackle major national challenges.

The directive by General Secretary and President Lam reflects a shift in Vietnam’s development mindset, in line with the Politburo’s Resolution 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024 on breakthroughs in sci-tech, innovation and national digital transformation. For the first time, sci-tech has been placed at the very centre as a driver of growth model.

National Assembly deputy Do Duc Hien of Ho Chi Minh City said "The draft Law on Urban Development is designed to grant Ho Chi Minh City greater autonomy in issuing legal documents to detail and implement the powers delegated to it."

A draft revision of the Land Law would codify the principle that people whose land is recovered by the State must enjoy housing and living conditions equal to or better than those before relocation, while proposing greater land-recovery powers for local authorities and a special mechanism to speed up site clearance for important projects.

Foreign enterprises providing cross-border telecommunications and Internet services in Vietnam could face fines of up to 5 per cent of their global revenue for serious violations related to data security, according to a draft Law on Data Security proposed by the Ministry of Public Security.