The January–March 2023 issue of Asia Franchise & Business Opportunities magazine features an article by two franchising specialists in Tilleke & Gibbins’ Bangkok office. Written by Alan Adcock, partner, and Sher Hann Chua, consultant, the article provides a summary of the legislative developments of 2022 most relevant to franchisors and franchisees. The update looks especially at amendments to Thailand’s unfair trade practices in franchising, as well as the far-reaching Personal Data Protection Act, which is reshaping the way businesses—including franchises—are handling the personal data of customers, partners, and employees. The article is accompanied by a Chinese-language summary of the developments. The full article can be read online in the January–March 2023 issue of Asia Franchise & Business Opportunities.

Experts from Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial team have written the Vietnam chapter of Practical Law’s Insurance and Reinsurance Global Guide, a Q&A-style overview of insurance and reinsurance law in dozens of jurisdictions worldwide. The guide covers: Market trends Regulatory framework and relevant legislation Authorization for insurers, reinsurers, and intermediaries, and ownership restrictions Ongoing requirements and penalties for non-compliance Sales and marketing Transfer of risk Reinsurance contracts and risks Contracts and policies Claims Dispute resolution Insolvency Tax InsurTech Reform To read the Vietnam chapter, please visit the Practical Law website or click on the link below.

The year 2022 witnessed a dynamic environment in the development of information and communications technology (ICT) policy in Vietnam. The following are some highlights of remarkable legislative developments in the ICT space from the past year, and some notes on key draft laws and regulations that are in the pipeline for 2023. 1. Telecommunications Although it has helped Vietnam develop modern telecommunications network infrastructure and a diversified and competitive telecom market with a variety of services, Vietnam’s Telecom Law, which has been in effect since 2010, has posed problems and inadequacies in meeting today’s more complex evolution of new service types and new business models as well as the trend of convergence of telecom, information technology, and automation. Accordingly, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has been working to replace the existing Telecom Law, with a Draft Telecom Law made available for public consultation from October 27 to December 27, 2022 (the Vietnamese version can be accessed here). The primary amendment of the Telecom Law focuses on widening the scope of application to regulate data center and cloud computing services. Data center services include data center space rental services, server rental services, and data storage space rental services. Cloud computing services include services providing server resources, storage capacity, and networks (IaaS services); services that provide the ability to create, develop, manage, and operate software, including applications (PaaS services); and software delivery services, including applications (SaaS services). According to the Draft Telecom Law, it could be interpreted that all providers of data center services and IaaS cloud computing services, whether onshore or offshore, must obtain a permit to provide the services by registration with the MIC via its online portal; while PaaS and SaaS cloud computing services are exempted from this requirement. In addition, the Draft Telecom Law adds

The National Assembly of Vietnam promulgated a new Law on Cinema in June 2022 with an effective date of January 1, 2023. To guide the implementation of the new law and the sanctioning of administrative violations thereof, the government of Vietnam issued two related decrees in the final days of 2022. Cinema Decree On December 31, 2022, the government issued Decree No. 131/2022/ND-CP elaborating a number of articles of the Cinema Law (“Cinema Decree”), which took effect with the new law on January 1, 2023. Among the many issues under the Cinema Law guided by the Cinema Decree, one that is critical to over-the-top (OTT) media service providers is the set of conditions for performing the mandatory self-rating of films to be disseminated in cyberspace. According to the Cinema Law, meeting the film self-rating conditions is one of the prerequisites for online dissemination of films. If a film disseminator does not meet these conditions, it would be required to request the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) to perform the rating. The conditions for online disseminators to self-rate their films have now been set out under Article 12 of the Cinema Decree. Accordingly, these conditions include: Having a film rating council or technical software or a mechanism to rate the films according to Vietnamese regulations on film rating and taking responsibility for the results of film rating. Having a plan to amend and update film rating results at the request of the cinematography authority (for most providers, this is the Cinematography Department under the MOCST). Having an administrative tool to support the rating of films according to each of the rating criteria and to flexibly display the updated rating immediately after the rating is changed. Having a technical plan and process for suspending and removing films at the