On December 10, 2025, Vietnam’s National Assembly enacted Law No. 139/2025/QH15 amending the Law on Insurance Business. The amendment, effective from January 1, 2026, introduces various changes in an effort to lift restrictions and hurdles for insurance businesses. Key points that may impact the activities of stakeholders in Vietnam’s insurance market are highlighted below. Management Personnel Qualifications To broaden the talent pool while ensuring competency standards, the amended law opens up the positions of director or general director to more candidates. Previously, candidates were required to hold either (i) a university degree or higher in insurance or (ii) a university degree in another discipline and an insurance certificate issued by a qualified insurance training institution. Now, candidates holding a university degree or higher in economics, finance, banking, law, business administration, accounting, or auditing, with at least one insurance‑related module, are also accepted. These changes are expected to mitigate the ongoing challenges faced by insurers in recruiting suitably qualified candidates for key executive positions, while still maintaining appropriate professional standards. Fewer Registrations for Insurance Businesses As part of the legislature’s broader initiative to reduce administrative burdens across all business sectors, the amended Law on Insurance Business relaxes registration requirements for the insurance industry, notably: Insurance enterprises and foreign non‑life insurance branches are no longer required to register and obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) for their methodologies and bases for calculating premiums for motor vehicle insurance products (excluding compulsory civil liability insurance for motor vehicle owners). Instead, insurance enterprises are now only required to notify the MOF before applying or amending these methodologies. While life insurers must continue to register with the MOF their principles for separating owners’ equity from insurance premium funds, non‑life insurance enterprises and foreign non‑life insurance branches are now only required to notify

Thailand’s Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has opened a public hearing period on its amendments of notifications concerning the timeframe for an insurance company to submit its annual financial statements and financial and operating reports (called “XML reports”). The amended notifications also require insurance companies to submit some data sets from the quarterly capital maintenance reports and XML reports to the OIC in advance, before the full reports are submitted. Key changes in these amended notifications are summarized below. Financial Statements Audited annual financial statements will need to be submitted to the OIC within two months from the last day of each calendar year (i.e., by the end of February of the following year), instead of within four months as currently required. Capital Maintenance Reports While the deadline for submitting quarterly capital maintenance reports is still 45 days from the last day of the quarter, the OIC will now require life and non-life insurance companies to submit a set of data from the report in advance, within 21 days from the last day of each quarter. This data set includes the following information from the capital maintenance report: Form 1 – Calculation of Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) Form 2 – Calculation of Total Capital Available (TCA) Form 4 – Calculation of Capital for Insurance Risk (Table 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, and 4.5 for life insurance companies; Table 4.1 and 4.2 for non-life insurance companies) Financial and Operating Reports (XML Reports) Similar to the audited annual financial statement, the annual XML report will need to be submitted to the OIC within two months from the last day of each calendar year, instead of within the current four-month timeframe. For quarterly XML reports, which must still be submitted within 45 days from the last day of each quarter, there is a new

Insurance specialists from Tilleke & Gibbins in Bangkok have contributed the Thailand chapter to the newly released 2025 edition of Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law guide to insurance and reinsurance. The Thailand chapter offers a comprehensive Q&A-style overview of the legal and regulatory framework governing insurance and reinsurance in the country. It provides key insights for businesses, insurers, reinsurers, and intermediaries operating in or entering the Thai market. Key topics covered include: Market structure and common types of insurance; Regulatory framework and oversight by the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC); Authorisation requirements for insurers, reinsurers, and intermediaries; Ownership restrictions and foreign investment rules; Corporate governance, capital requirements, and solvency obligations; Reinsurance arrangements, including fronting, risk transfer, and common contractual clauses; Policy content requirements, standard clauses, and consumer protections; Claims procedures, statutory time limits, and subrogation rights; Dispute resolution mechanisms, including OIC arbitration and court proceedings; Insolvency protections for policyholders; Tax treatment of insurance and reinsurance businesses in Thailand; Recent legal developments, including pending amendments to the Life and Non-Life Insurance Acts and updated OIC regulations on reinsurance and investment activities. The 2025 edition reflects Thailand’s evolving regulatory environment, including proposed legislative reforms to strengthen corporate governance, risk-based capital requirements, and financial stability in the insurance sector. It also highlights practical considerations for foreign insurers, reinsurers, and intermediaries seeking to participate in Thailand’s insurance market. Tilleke & Gibbins contributes regularly to the Practical Law series of guides for various jurisdictions in Southeast Asia, providing trusted legal insight for multinational companies. To access the latest Thailand chapter of the insurance and reinsurance guide, please visit the Practical Law website and enroll in the free Practical Law trial to gain full access.

Tilleke & Gibbins attorneys in Vietnam have contributed the 2025 edition of Doing Business in Vietnam, a comprehensive Q&A-style resource from Thomson Reuters Practical Law that provides essential insights for companies navigating business operations in Vietnam. The guide presents a detailed overview of the country’s legal framework and regulatory environment, reflecting recent updates in Vietnamese legislation and practice. This annually updated guide offers key information on the following areas: Legal system: Structure of the Vietnamese judiciary and the role of codified law. Foreign investment: Conditions for market access, licensing requirements, foreign ownership restrictions, and investment incentives. Business vehicles: Formation and operation of legal entities, including limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and representative offices. Employment: Employment contracts, social insurance, labor rights, and procedures for hiring foreign nationals. Tax: Overview of corporate income tax, personal income tax, value-added tax, and other tax obligations. Intellectual property: Procedures for protecting and enforcing patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other IP rights. Data protection: Compliance requirements under Vietnam’s data privacy laws, including the Personal Data Protection Decree. Competition law: Antitrust rules and regulatory oversight under the Law on Competition. Anti-bribery and corruption: Legal framework and enforcement practices aimed at curbing corrupt activities. E-commerce and digital business: Regulations governing online platforms, digital content, and cross-border services. Marketing and advertising: Laws and guidelines on advertising standards and consumer protection. Product regulation and liability: Safety requirements, product liability issues, and roles of relevant authorities. Doing Business in Vietnam is part of Practical Law’s global series of legal guides designed to support international practitioners and businesses. To access the most recent edition of the Vietnam guide, visit the Practical Law website and sign up for a free trial.