- It is recommended to add a new regulatory subject to the Telecommunications Act Amendment project.
Through discussions on the amendment of the Telecommunications Law, “Data center” and “Cloud computing” are two subjects recommended to be included in this Law.
Due to the cross-border nature of telecommunications services, this recommendation needs to be thoroughly researched from various aspects. The Telecommunications Law is related to many different laws and international treaties and agreements. There are 05 international commitment groups that need to be reviewed, such as:
- Commitment on market opening;
- Commitment on the institution and environment of telecommunications business;
- Commitments related to international law in general;
- Commitments on procedures at specialized forums and organizations;
- Commitments on concepts in the telecommunications sector.
According to international conventions and free trade agreements that Vietnam has participated in, Vietnam has not committed to opening the telecommunications market. FDI investors in Vietnam in this field will be restricted in terms of investment capital. Accordingly, investors will be limited to 49-65% of the investment capital, depending on the type of telecommunications service and the nationality of the investor.
- Discussion on the proposed addition of an adjustment object.
Article 12 of the Draft Telecommunications Law states as follows:
“The form, conditions for foreign investment, and the proportion of foreign investors’ capital contribution in the telecommunications service business must comply with the regulations of Vietnamese law and international agreements of which Vietnam is a member.”
Therefore, if there are no clear regulations, FDI investors in the Data center and Cloud field will also face limitations in terms of:
- Investment capital ratio;
- Market access conditions…
In addition, companies participating in this field must:
- Apply for a telecommunications service provision license;
- Establish a representative office;
- Have a commercial contract with domestic telecommunications companies…
Therefore, according to businesses, this recommendation will create legal barriers and reduce the attraction of foreign investors.
- Oceanographers believe that the recommendation will reduce foreign investment attraction.
According to the opinions of delegates, Vietnam currently does not have any regulations regarding Data center and Cloud services as conditional business activities. Vietnam’s international commitments also do not impose any restrictions on these services. The recommendation proposes obligations for providers of these two services, which will increase the costs for businesses and negatively impact the economic benefits and the attraction of FDI for the development of these services in Vietnam.
Currently, many businesses in Vietnam use Data center and Cloud services provided by foreign companies. These businesses will be greatly affected when foreign companies are unable to continue providing services to them. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study the impact of the policy on the national and domestic business interests in order to develop appropriate adjustment methods.
(Reference: Investment newspaper, dated June 14, 2023)
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