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Manufacturing investment: from site selection to the first export shipment

We take manufacturers through zone selection, the lease, the permit chain and customs status — dealing with the provincial authority and the zone management board on your behalf.

Summary

A factory project in Vietnam is not one approval but a chain of them, and the order matters. Site and lease decisions constrain the investment certificate; the certificate constrains construction and environmental approval; environmental approval and customs supervision conditions decide when you may actually import materials and export finished goods. We sequence that chain, prepare each filing in Vietnamese, and tell headquarters in its own language what has been secured and what is still open.

What the engagement covers

Industrial zone selection

Legal review of shortlisted parks: infrastructure status, land use rights, remaining lease term and the zone board’s licensing practice.

Land lease negotiation

Lease and infrastructure agreements with the zone operator — term, rent escalation, expansion rights, handback and dispute clauses.

Investment registration

IRC with the zone management board or provincial authority, including capital, technology and environmental particulars of the project.

Construction and environment

Construction permit framework, fire prevention approval and environmental impact assessment or environmental licence, depending on project scale.

EPE and customs status

Export processing enterprise registration, customs supervision conditions, inward material and outward finished goods regimes, VAT and duty exemptions.

Workforce and operations

Labour registrations, internal labour rules, work permits for expatriate management, and sector sub-licences before production starts.

The permit chain, and how long each part usually takes

01

Site and structure review

Product, export share, technology and headcount drive the zone shortlist and the entity structure.

2–3 weeks
02

Lease negotiation and signature

Term sheet with the zone operator, legal review, and signature conditional on the investment certificate.

3–6 weeks
03

IRC and ERC

Investment registration with the zone board, then enterprise registration, seal, tax code and bank accounts.

4–8 weeks
04

Environmental and construction approvals

EIA or environmental licence, construction permit, fire prevention design approval and acceptance.

8–20 weeks
05

EPE registration and production start

Customs supervision conditions confirmed, EPE status recognised, first import of materials and first export shipment.

3–6 weeks

Indicative only. Conditional sectors, land or construction elements, legalisation of foreign corporate documents and provincial practice all change the timeline.

Where factory projects lose months

Lease signed before the licence route is confirmed

Zone leases are routinely signed on the operator’s standard form before anyone checks whether the intended activity and technology fit the zone’s approved sectors. Where they do not, the investor is holding a lease it cannot license against.

EPE status assumed rather than verified

EPE treatment depends on physical customs supervision conditions — fencing, gates, camera coverage, warehouse separation. If those are designed in late, the factory is built and the status is not available on schedule.

Environmental category misjudged

Whether a project needs a full environmental impact assessment or only an environmental licence depends on scale, sector and location. Getting this wrong at the planning stage is the single most common cause of a delayed construction start.

Work permits started after the equipment arrives

Installation engineers and expatriate managers need work permits and, in most cases, criminal record and health documents legalised abroad. Starting this in parallel with construction, not after it, protects the commissioning date.

FAQ

Can a German or European investor own the factory outright?

Yes. Vietnam permits 100% foreign ownership of manufacturing companies in most industrial sectors, and a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is the standard structure for a factory project.

What tax incentives apply to a manufacturing project?

Qualifying projects in industrial zones may access preferential corporate income tax rates of 10% or 17% against the standard 20% under Decree 320/2025/ND-CP (in force 15 December 2025, implementing the 2025 CIT Law), with exemption in the first 2–4 profitable years and a 50% reduction for the following 4–9 years. Eligibility depends on sector, scale, employment and location and must be verified before the project is committed.

What is an EPE and when is it worth it?

An export processing enterprise produces for export and benefits from import duty and VAT relief on materials, but operates under strict customs supervision and inventory control. It is worth it when substantially all output is exported.

How long from decision to first production?

For a standard project on serviced industrial land, 9 to 14 months from structuring to commissioning is realistic. Projects requiring a full environmental impact assessment, ministry-level approval or greenfield infrastructure take longer.

Do you deal with the zone management board directly?

Yes. Filings and follow-up with the zone management board, the provincial Finance Department (the former Department of Planning and Investment function after the 2025–2026 merger of the Ministry of Planning and Investment into the Ministry of Finance), the construction and environmental authorities and customs are handled by our lawyers, not routed through an intermediary.

Choosing between industrial parks this quarter?

Send us the shortlist, the product and the export share — we will tell you which site supports the licence you need and where the timeline risk sits.

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