Decree No. 15/2015/ND-CP on public-private partnership (“PPP”) (“Decree 15”) when introduced in 2015 was highly praised by legal commentators to be well drafted and make the PPP Laws in Vietnam move closer towards bankable projects.
However, in implementation process, there have been conflicting legal issues that deter investors from choosing PPP as an investment method, leading to a humble number of PPP projects thus far. For example, Decree 15 made a progress in other previous PPP regulations in clearly allowing project contracts to be governed by foreign law, namely contracts involving a foreign party and government agency guarantee contracts. The issue only arises when it comes to real-estate related matters, which are not yet finally decided under the Land Law which law will be the governing law.
Moreover, as PPP laws are only at Decree level, regulatory framework for PPP projects mainly includes the Law on Enterprises, Law on Public Investment, Law on Bidding, etc. most of which regulate public investment instead of private one or investment cooperation between the Government and private investors. The investors are also concerned about the stability of PPP regulations, as they are mainly Decrees. While a PPP project could take years to complete, regulations at Decree level may change and cause investors confusion in implementation of the laws. The state agencies also face certain difficulties in managing these PPP projects. According to a real story shared by an officer at VCCI, after the Government signed a PPP contract with an investor, due to changes in policies, the Government amended its determination of the contract value. As a result, the land price increased by 14 times as much as previously agreed, leading to substantial loss for the investor.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, during 2016-2020, it is expected that there will be 598 registered PPP projects with total investment amount of VND 250,000 billion. Given the shortcomings of Decree 15, it would be hard to achieve these numbers without its replacement by another Decree. In that context, Decree No. 63/2018/ND-CP (“Decree 63”) was issued on 04 May 2018 and takes effect from 19 June 2018 to eliminate bottlenecks in PPP implementation.
Decree 63 – What is new?
Capital contribution responsibility
The investor is responsible for contributing and mobilizing capital for the project implementation, in particular, the ratio of the investor’s capital in the owner’s equity is determined as follows:
– For projects with total investment amount of up to VND1,500 billion, the equity capital that the investor must maintain must be at least 20% of the total investment capital;
– For projects with total investment capital of more than VND1,500 billion:
o For investment portion of up to VND1,500 billion: the equity capital that the investor must maintain must be at least 20% of the total investment capital;
o For investment portion that exceeds VND1,500 billion: the equity capital that the investor must maintain must be at least 10% of the total investment capital.
There is no capital contribution requirement from the Government side.
Project approval authority
Decree 63 makes it clear the following authorities will approve PPP projects:
– The National Assembly decides the investment policy of important national projects;
– The Prime Minister decides the investment policy of the following projects:
o Projects Type A using state budget from 30% or above or below 30% but more than VND300 billion of the total investment capital of the project;
o Projects Type A using BT contracts.
– Ministers of relevant ministries decide investment policy of their own projects not falling within the approval authority of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister.
– Provincial People’s Councils decide investment policy of the following projects:
o Projects Type A not falling under the approval authority of the Prime Minister;
o Projects Type B using public investment budget; and
o Projects Type B using BT contracts.
– The provincial People’s Committee decides the investment policy of projects in their provinces not falling within the approval authority of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister and the provincial People’s Council.
Payment methods in BT projects
Practice shows that investors are very interested in well-located land when implementing BT projects. However, when such land fund gradually becomes exhausted, BT projects seem not to attract investors. Decree 63 has added another method in addition to the exchange of land for infrastructure, so that the investors will have more options in receiving payments. Specifically, the investor may also receive payment in the form of the transfer of right to conduct business, exploit works/ services, etc.
How to take advantage of the CPTPP and the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA) in PPP projects to enhance the functionality of PPP projects in Vietnam
Covered government entities and agencies
According to Decree 63, tenders for the selection of PPP investors will follow the Law on Public Procurement. While the Vietnam’s Law on Public Procurement still shows some shortcomings, Vietnam will be bound by its commitments in the Government Procurement chapter in the CPTPP and the EVFTA, including the procedures to conduct a tender and in specific circumstances that the Government must conduct a public tender. The investors now have the opportunity to participate in procurement by Vietnam’s government entities and challenge the Government if it does not grant the investors the opportunity to do so in qualified circumstances.
The CPTPP and the EVFTA both make a list of government entities and agencies whose procurement of particular̉ goods and services at a particular amount must be subject to public tender. While the CPTPP only allows expansion of the list within 5 years upon the entry into force of the agreement, the EVFTA allows a longer period (i.e., 15 years).
Covered procurement
Government procurement of goods or services or any combination thereof that satisfy the following criteria falls within the scope of the EVFTA and CPTPP Government Procurement rules:
How to appeal Government tender decision?
The CPTPP and the EVFTA make it possible that foreign investors could sue Vietnam Government for its tender decisions according to the dispute settlement by arbitration rules. The violating party must take all necessary measures to promptly comply with the arbitral decision. In case of non-compliance, as in the WTO, the CPTPP and the EVFTA allow temporary remedies (compensation) at the request of the complaining party.
Enforcement of arbitral awards
The final arbitral award is binding and enforceable without any question from the local courts regarding its validity. This is an advantage for investors considering the fact that the percentage of annulled foreign arbitral awards in Vietnam remains relatively high for different reasons.
Conclusion
It is crucial that foreign investors take advantage of the requirements under the CPTPP and the EVFTA to enhance functionality of their PPP projects in Vietnam. Under these agreements, specific Vietnam Government entities and agencies when procuring goods/ services above certain thresholds must conduct public tender. In case these entities make wrongful tender decisions, foreign investors could take recourse to arbitration proceedings and have the arbitral awards fully enforced in Vietnam.
***
Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Oliver Massmann under omassmann@duanemorris.com if you have any questions or want to know more details on the above. Oliver Massmann is the General Director of Duane Morris Vietnam LLC.
THANK YOU !