Students learn how to start up business

HCMC - Corporate executives pointed out at a business seminar in HCMC on Monday that feasible ideas and the daring will be among the important factors students should possess if they want to set up their own businesses and develop their personal brands after graduation.

Duong Thu Huong, director of public relations and operations at IDG Ventures Vietnam, asked more than 200 students at the seminar to identify what they would want based on their ideas and then try their best to make it a reality.

Nguyen Minh Triet, chief executive officer of Strategy Asia Group, shared Huong’s view, saying that business start-up was to start a journey. “You must select a direction and make every effort to achieve the targets you set for the journey,” Triet told participating students at the “Building a Corporate Career: Developing Personal Brand and Leadership in a Big Game” session of the “Re-Invest Yourself” seminar.

Triet said a company should have a clear development strategy and targets. “Different approaches are needed to reach different goals,” he said and advised young people to set up businesses in the fields where they have experience and know-how to gain a certain advantage.

Huong of IDG Ventures Vietnam warned business start-up was not an easy job because young people were required to have practical ideas appropriate for their personal capacities.

However, she said that many opportunities were awaiting youths to set up new businesses and investment funds were also ready to help translate their business ideas into reality.

Huong told the Daily that IDG Ventures Vietnam would invest in new feasible business ideas and the investment capital would depend on the scale of the project.

Triet of Strategy Asia Group said failure was common when doing business but stressed the lessons from this failure was what that mattered most for successful business people. “Failure is necessary for us to achieve success.”

Nguyen Cong Ai, director of tax and corporate services at KPMG Vietnam, said failure drew people to reality and helped them work harder to get more success. “The biggest failure in life is that we do nothing when we fail,” Ai told the seminar.

Triet of Strategy Asia Group said personal brand development was like building a company. “We must have a proper strategy and set the target to achieve.”

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Subject Matters of Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property subject matter is divided into three groups included: subject matter of copyright, subject matter of industrial property rights, subject matter of rights to plant varieties. In details:

-The subject matter of copyright shall comprise literary, artistic and scientific works; the subject matter of copyright related rights shall comprise performances, audio and visual fixation, broadcasts and satellite signals carrying coded programmes.

-The subject matter of industrial property rights shall comprise inventions, industrial designs, designs of semi-conducting closed circuits, trade secrets, marks, trade names and geographical indications.

-The subject matter of rights to plant varieties shall comprise plant varieties and harvested materials.

Pursuant to Intellectual Property right 2005 (amended in 2009), Intellectual property rights means rights of an organization or individual to intellectual assets comprising copyright and copyright related rights, industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties. For example, software computer program can be protected under Copyright, or name of a product can be protected under Industrial property right that is Trademark or the outward appearance of a car can be protected as Industrial design.

However, intellectual property rights are generated and established based on certain grounds:

Firstly, copyright shall arise at the moment a work is created and fixed in a certain material form, irrespective of its content, quality, form, mode and language and irrespective of whether or not such work has been published or registered. For instance, a musician is about to write a song, however, the idea of the song still bears in mind of the musician and have not written down yet. At that time, copyright of the musician still does not generate.

Secondly, related rights shall arise at the moment a performance, audio and visual fixation, broadcast or satellite signal carrying coded programmes is fixed or displayed without causing loss or damage to copyright. Related right is the right related to copyright. Proceeding to above example, when the musician has finished writing his song and is sung by the singer on stage, the right of the singer to sing the song of the musician is related right.

Thirdly, different grounds for the generation and establishment of industrial property right. As said above, industrial property rights include 7 subject matters: inventions, industrial designs, designs of semi-conducting closed circuits, trade secrets, marks, trade names and geographical indications. These subjects have different grounds for generating and establishing right:

-Industrial property rights to an invention, industrial design, layout design, mark or geographical indication shall be established on the basis of a decision of the competent State body to grant a protection title in accordance with the registration procedures;

-Industrial property rights to a trade name shall be established on the basis of lawful use thereof;

-Industrial property rights to a trade secret shall be established on the basis of lawful acquirement of the trade secret and maintaining confidentiality thereof.

Fourthly, rights to a plant variety shall be established on the basis of a decision of the competent State body to grant a plant variety protection title in accordance with the registration procedures

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Swedish firms look to spur investment in Vietnam

HCMC – Several leading Swedish businesses expressed their intentions to expand investment in Vietnam during a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Stockholm on May 27.

Most of the participating companies, including Electrolux, Oriflame, Scania, ABB, Ericsson, Tetra Pak, and Volvo, have already been investing in Vietnam for many years, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

In his opening speech, the Vietnamese leader spoke highly of the Swedish firms’ prestige in the global market, including Vietnam.

Phuc said that the Swedish government and its people have offered considerable assistance to the Vietnamese people during the fight for national independence in the past, as well as its course of development.

He expressed his hope that Swedish businesses will further invest and apply new, cutting-edge technologies in Vietnam, as well as engage in the country’s social and economic development process.

Leaders of Swedish companies expected the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to be signed soon, thereby facilitating Swedish trade with Vietnam.

Jonas Samuelsson, president and chief executive officer of Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer Electrolux, said that Vietnam is the most important market of the group in the Association of Southeast Asian Association, bringing in annual revenue of US$150 million.

He said Electrolux is seeking opportunities to boost its business in Vietnam since the country is showing its support for an open and free trade system, which is also a general trend in Asia.

Håkan Buskhe, president and CEO of Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab Group active all over the country, said that Saab spends a quarter of its revenue into the research and development sector on a yearly basis.

He added the group has partnered with Vietnamese firms in airspace and seaport management, so it stands ready to transfer its technologies to them.

Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications giant Ericsson has established its foothold in Vietnam since 1993, according to the company’s executive vice president Fredrik Jejdling.

Jejdling revealed that the company would coordinate with Vietnamese military-run telecom firm Viettel to develop the fifth-generation (5G) network service. This would help upgrade G5 infrastructure, enabling the country to adopt Internet of Things solutions.

He pledged to support Vietnam in developing the innovative network through software and technological solutions.

Johan Söderström, managing director for ABB in Sweden that has been operating in the Southeast Asian nation since 1993, expressed his desire to boost solutions about innovation and sustainable development, including robot technology.

He also showed a strong commitment to bolstering cooperation with Vietnam, especially in developing the electricity grid network.

PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam’s competent agencies would provide the best possible support for Swedish businesses to expand investment. He also promised to canvass their opinions and remove obstacles so that these major companies can help bring advanced technologies to Vietnam.

As a gateway of ASEAN markets and with many new-generation free trade agreements already or about to be signed, Vietnam is an open market for Swedish enterprises, the PM added.

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Tax Obligations for Foreign Entity Doing Business in Vietnam

The applicable taxes include value added tax (VAT), corporate income tax (CIT) and personal income tax (PIT).

On August 6th 2014, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 103/2014/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of tax obligations that are applicable to foreign organizations and individuals doing business in Vietnam or having incomes generated in Vietnam.

Taxpayers: foreign contractors, foreign subcontractors; organizations established and operated under the law of Vietnam, organizations registered to operate under the law of Vietnam, other organizations, individuals producing and trading.

The applicable taxes include value added tax (VAT), corporate income tax (CIT) and personal income tax (PIT).

Taxable income of foreign contractors and foreign subcontractors is income derived from the provision and distribution of goods; provision of service, service in association with goods in Vietnam on the basis of the contractor contract and subcontractor contract. 

CIT Payable = Revenue subject to CIT x CIT rate calculated on taxable turnover

Subjects liable for VAT: services or services associated with goods provided by foreign contractors, foreign subcontractors on the basis of the contractor contract, subcontractor contract to use for manufacturing, trading and consumption in Vietnam.

Incomes arising in Vietnam of foreign contractors and foreign subcontractors are earnings received in any forms on the basis of the contractor contract, subcontractor contract (except for cases specified in Article 2, Chapter I of this Circular), regardless of the place conducting business operations of foreign contractors and foreign subcontractors.

Circular specifically instruct the following cases:

1. Pay VAT by deduction method; pay CIT on the basis of cost and revenue declaration to determine taxable income.

2. Pay VAT and CIT by percentage on turnover.

3. Pay VAT by deduction method; pay VAT by percentage on turnover.

Issued together with Circular 103 is the tax declaration form for foreign contractors.

This Circular takes effect from October 1st 2014, replaces Circular No. 60/2012/TT-BTC dated April 12th 2012 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of tax obligation applicable to the foreign organizations and individuals doing business in Vietnam or having income in Vietnam.

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Temporary residence card for foreigner in Vietnam

If the foreign investor, the employee needs to reside in Vietnam to be able to facilitate the implementation of investment, labor contract, the investor and the employee needs to have the company sponsored and proceed to apply Temporary residence card in accordance with the purpose of residence in Vietnam.

Temporary residence card is a document issued by an immigration authority or a competent authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreigner who is permitted to reside for a limited period of time in Vietnam and is valid for visa replacement. When a temporary residence card is available, the foreign investor or worker will present a temporary residence card instead of a visa when entering, leaving Vietnam and is legally residing in Vietnam.

To avoid administrative fines or deportation for violations of the law on residence in Vietnam, foreign investors and employees need to follow procedures for applying for a temporary residence card suitable for the purpose of entry (symbol visa). Investors, employees who have appropriate entry visas (DT or LD visa) will be considered by the Immigration Authority to grant a temporary residence card.

For the application for a temporary residence card that requires the investor, the employee needs to have all business documents, proving that it is eligible to sponsor a foreigner and enter the country for the right purpose. Request a Certification of exemption from a work permit, work permit, entry visa for the right purpose, legal residence address in Vietnam.

When all of the above conditions are met, investors and employees shall carry out the procedures for applying for temporary residence cards in Vietnam so that they can reside, leave and enter in accordance with law. The duration of the temporary residence card is issued pursuant to the purpose of entry and the proposal of agencies, organizations and individuals. The temporary residence card is from 1 to 5 years but shorter than the passport duration by at least 30 days, specifically:

– Temporary residence cards with symbols NG3, LV1, LV2, ĐT and DH are valid for no more than 05 years.

– Temporary residence cards with symbols NN1, NN2, TT are valid for not more than 03 years.

– Temporary residence cards with the symbol LD and PV1 are valid for no more than 02 years.

When the temporary residence card expires, the foreign individual will be considered to request the sponsored company to apply for a new temporary rresidence card.

How ANT Lawyers Could Help Your Business?

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