Vietnam Advisory

Vietnam Advisory Services

• Market Entry Strategy: We help you assess the Vietnamese market, identify opportunities, and develop a tailored market entry strategy that aligns with your business goals.
• Investment Advisory: We offer guidance on investment options, legal structures, and regulatory requirements to help you make informed investment decisions in Vietnam.
• Corporate Structuring: We advise on the most appropriate corporate structure for your business in Vietnam, considering factors such as ownership, liability, and tax implications.
• Licensing and Compliance: We assist in obtaining the necessary licenses and permits to operate legally in Vietnam and ensure ongoing compliance with local regulations.
• Due Diligence: We conduct thorough due diligence to assess potential risks and opportunities associated with investments, mergers, and acquisitions in Vietnam.
• Feasibility Studies: We perform detailed feasibility studies to evaluate the viability of your business projects in Vietnam, providing you with critical insights for decision-making.
• Business Process Improvement: We analyze your existing business processes and recommend improvements to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and optimize performance.
• Crisis Management: We provide support and guidance to help your business navigate challenging situations, mitigate risks, and ensure business continuity in Vietnam.

Benefits of our Advisory Services

• Comprehensive Support: We offer end-to-end support throughout the consulting process, from initial assessment to implementation and ongoing guidance.
• Dedicated Account Manager: You’ll have a dedicated account manager for all your business advisory needs in Vietnam and Asia.
• Proactive Approach: We anticipate challenges and opportunities, and provide proactive advice and solutions to help you stay ahead in Vietnam.
• One-Stop Shop: We are your one-stop shop for all your Vietnam business needs, including back office support.

The Importance of Financial Due Diligence in Vietnam

A core part of MSA’s Advisory services is guiding partners through the Vietnam due diligence process. Financial Due Diligence (FDD) is a critical tool for evaluating a transaction and a target company. It means exploring and analyzing a company’s financial position, value drivers, dependencies, internal systems, processes, and existing and potential risks. This is related to, but distinct from, Tax Due Diligence (TDD) which is a separate process focused on tax risks that significantly impact a target company’s market value. Therefore, FDD often includes TDD to analyze the target company’s compliance.

In Vietnam, FDD typically involves obtaining and reviewing extensive information (documents and data) on the target’s key areas, including operations background, finance, accounting, tax, and employment. This process aims to identify key findings, issues, and risks for a potential investor/buyer.

Specific items that an FDD may include are:

• Business background and operations. This includes corporate and ownership structure, organizational structure, key operations, products/services, customers, and suppliers
• Financial analysis. This includes a detailed analysis and commentary on trading results, assets and liabilities, owner’s equity, related party transactions, working capital, and cash flow
• Accounting compliance. This involves looking at the accounting team, system, key processes, procedures, and policies. It also involves looking at tax compliance (VAT, CIT, Foreign Contractor Withholding Tax), and labor & human resources compliance (with a focus on PIT and compulsory insurances).

Related Party Transaction Compliance in Vietnam

In Vietnam, related-party transactions (RPTs), which occur between parties with a related-party relationship during their business activities, are legal. Parties are considered related if one has the ability to directly or indirectly control the other, or exert significant influence over their financial and operational decisions. Related parties can be enterprises or individuals, including close family members. RPTs are common among foreign-invested companies, especially multinational corporations, often occurring between entities within the same group or parent company due to shared or complementary operations.

However, if RPTs are used to artificially reduce profits to avoid tax obligations, they may be classified as transfer pricing, which is strictly regulated by Vietnamese tax authorities. To prevent transfer pricing, taxpayers in Vietnam must comply with transfer pricing documentation requirements, unless they meet specific exemption criteria.

Engage MSA for Vietnam Advisory Services

MSA can assist with most financial and investment challenges for companies operating in Vietnam. For expert support on Financial Due Diligence, Tax Due Diligence, Related Party Transactions, or any other matters, get in touch with our Vietnam financial advisors.