Continuing the fifth sitting of the 13th National Assembly, deputies on May 25 examined the draft amendments to the Enterprise Law, a proposal asking for NA approval of the State budget balance for 2011 and some other issues.

According to a government’s report presented by Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh, Clause 2 under Article 170 of the 2005 Enterprise Law prescribes that foreign invested firms operating under the Foreign Investment Law in Vietnam can either re-register for operation and management in accordance with the Enterprise Law or not to re-register. Those who say no to re-registration will see their business operation limited to the activities specified in their investment licences.

Statistics show that by July 1, 2011, the deadline of re-registration, about 3,000 out of 6,000 FDI enterprises were yet to re-register. Of which, some now have their licences expired but want to continue operating while others with still valid licences want to extend operation to other business fields.

Therefore, the government proposed amendments to Article 170 of the Enterprise Law in order to allow FDI businesses to maintain their operation, especially those which enjoy stable production, create stable jobs for local workers and contribute to social welfare and state budget.

The amendments will also provide legal ground for those who failed to re-register to be able to broaden activities in Vietnam.

Accordingly, it is suggested that the re-registration deadline defined in the Article 2 should be removed so that enterprises feel free to make the registration or not at their convenience.

A majority of the NA’s Economic Commission agreed with the revision as proposed by the government. They also suggested that extensions on activities should only be allowed to enterprises that do business in line with the government’s policies on foreign investment firms.

Also at the sitting, deputies debated the balance-sheet for the 2011 State budget. They asked to clarify the efficiency of budget spending, especially public investment in capital construction.

Previously, on May 24, the National Assembly approved Nguyen Huu Van, a 57-year-old economist, as the new General Auditor.-VNA