Last week, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) decided to suspend the drafting process for a controversial new decree that had been proposed on the development and management of the distribution sector (the “Draft Decree”). It was anticipated that the drafting process would be completed this summer and the Draft Decree would be submitted to the government for adoption in the fall.

On May 22, 2018, the government of Vietnam promulgated Decree No. 82/2018/ND-CP on industrial and economic zones (Decree 82) replacing Decree No. 29/2008/ND-CP dated March 14, 2008, as amended by Decree No. 164/2013/ND-CP and Decree No. 114/2015/ND-CP (Decree 29). Decree 82 will come into effect from July 10, 2018. Below are some key changes of Decree 82 in comparison to Decree 29:Export-processing enterprises are allowed to conduct the purchase and sale of goods and related activities in Vietnam

The new Myanmar Companies Law 2017 will come into force on August 1, 2018, substantially reforming how companies—both domestic and foreign—do business in Myanmar. Our recent summary of the new Myanmar Companies Law provides an overview of these reforms.

On June 15, 2018, Vietnam’s government issued Decree No. 87 on Business in Gases, which governs various aspects of doing business in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), and others.