Pursuant to Point b, Clause 2, Article 17 of the Law on Enterprises 2020, as amended by Point a, Clause 6, Article 1 of the Amended Law on Enterprises 2025, which provides for the right to establish, contribute capital to, purchase shares, purchase capital contributions, and manage enterprises, the provisions are as follows:
Article 17. Right to establish, contribute capital to, purchase shares, purchase capital contributions, and manage enterprises
- Organizations and individuals have the right to establish and manage enterprises in Vietnam in accordance with this Law, except for the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article.
- The following organizations and individuals do not have the right to establish and manage enterprises in Vietnam:
a) State agencies and units of the People’s Armed Forces that use state assets to establish enterprises for the purpose of generating private profits for their own agencies or units;
b) Cadres, civil servants, and public employees as prescribed by the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees, except in cases where such activities are permitted in accordance with the laws on science and technology, innovation, and national digital transformation;
c) Commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, professional soldiers, workers, and defense officials in agencies and units of the Vietnam People’s Army; commissioned officers, professional non-commissioned officers, and police workers in agencies and units of the Vietnam People’s Public Security, except for those assigned to act as authorized representatives to manage the State’s contributed capital in enterprises or to participate in the management of state-owned enterprises;
d) Managerial and professional executives in state-owned enterprises as prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 88 of this Law, except for those assigned to act as authorized representatives to manage the State’s contributed capital in other enterprises;
đ) Minors; persons with limited civil act capacity; persons who have lost civil act capacity; persons with difficulties in awareness or behavioral control; and organizations without legal personality;
e) Persons who are subject to criminal prosecution, are held in temporary detention, are serving imprisonment sentences, are subject to administrative handling measures at compulsory detoxification establishments or compulsory education institutions, or are prohibited by a court from holding certain positions, practicing certain professions, or performing certain jobs; and other cases as prescribed by the Law on Bankruptcy and the Law on Anti-Corruption;
Where requested by the business registration authority, the applicant for enterprise establishment must submit a criminal record certificate to the business registration authority;
g) Organizations that are commercial legal entities prohibited from conducting business or from operating in certain sectors as prescribed by the Criminal Code.
[…]
From the above provisions, cadres, civil servants, and public employees as prescribed by the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants 2025 and the Law on Public Employees 2010 do not have the right to establish and manage enterprises in Vietnam, except where such activities are permitted under the laws on science and technology, innovation, and national digital transformation.
Accordingly, cadres, civil servants, and public employees are not permitted to establish enterprises in Vietnam, except in cases permitted by the laws on science and technology, innovation, and national digital transformation.
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