New policies taking effect from July 2026

From July 2026, a raft of new policies covering banking and finance, tax, wages, social welfare, investment, construction, education and information management officially take effect.

A series of new policies take effect from July 2026

Interest rate compensation mechanism for commercial banks

The government has issued Decree No. 157/2026/ND-CP, effective July 1, 2026, governing the payment and settlement of state budget funds used to compensate commercial banks for interest rates under state preferential credit policies.

The decree establishes a unified mechanism for planning, payment, settlement and recovery of budget funds used for interest rate compensation, aimed at ensuring openness, transparency and correct targeting while limiting policy abuse.

Under the decree, the State Bank is responsible for consolidating funding needs, allocating public investment plans, preparing payment requests to send to the State Treasury and reviewing annual settlements for commercial banks.

Commercial banks must take responsibility for the accuracy of their files and interest support figures, and must recover and repay budget funds for loans granted to ineligible borrowers or used for improper purposes. Total annual interest compensation must not exceed the assigned public investment capital plan.

Ratio of short-term funds for medium and long-term lending raised to 40%

The State Bank has issued Circular No. 25/2026/TT-NHNN, effective July 1, 2026, raising the maximum share of short-term funds that may be used for medium and long-term lending from 30% to 40%.

According to the State Bank, short-term deposits account for 80-90% of total mobilised funds. Total deposits across the system currently stand at about 17 quadrillion dong, implying short-term funding of roughly 13-15 quadrillion dong. Under Circular 25/2026/TT-NHNN, additional medium and long-term credit headroom amounts to 1.3-1.5 quadrillion dong.

Credit growth quota exemption for 18 key projects

The State Bank has issued Official Letter No. 5386/NHNN-TD, effective July 1, 2026, guiding commercial banks on extending credit to 18 key projects proposed by Vingroup, Sun Group and Masterise.

Outstanding loans to these projects are excluded from credit growth quotas. Banks may also consider raising credit limits for a single customer or group of related customers under Decision No. 09/2024/QD-TTg.

The project list covers strategic transport infrastructure in aviation and high-speed rail, along with works serving APEC, with total funding of about 752.1 trillion dong over the 2026-2033 period.

Amendments to foreign exchange management rules

The State Bank has issued Circular No. 17/2026/TT-NHNN, effective July 25, 2026, amending and supplementing a number of circulars on foreign exchange management.

The circular amends five legal documents covering 11 administrative procedures. Notably, it devolves further authority to regional State Bank branches to confirm registration of foreign loans and government-guaranteed international bond issues, license the opening of foreign currency accounts abroad and handle certain other foreign exchange procedures.

The regulator has also amended and supplemented the procedure for confirming registration of foreign loans and government-guaranteed international bond issues. Within five working days of receiving a complete and valid file, the State Bank must send written confirmation of registration to the borrower or international bond issuer.

Base salary raised to 2.53 million dong a month

The government has issued Decree No. 161/2026/ND-CP, effective July 1, 2026, setting the base salary and bonus regime for cadres, civil servants, public employees and the armed forces.

Under the decree, the base salary rises from 2.34 million dong to 2.53 million dong a month. It applies to cadres, civil servants, public employees, the armed forces and certain other groups of public sector workers.

Pensions and social insurance allowances up 8%

The government has issued Decree No. 162/2026/ND-CP, effective July 1, 2026, adjusting pensions, social insurance allowances and monthly benefits.

Recipients of pensions, social insurance allowances and monthly benefits receive an 8% increase over their June 2026 entitlements.

For those who retired or began receiving benefits before January 1, 1995, entitlements that remain below 3.8 million dong a month after the adjustment will receive a further top-up.

Tighter controls on public sector assets and income

The government has issued Decree No. 164/2026/ND-CP, effective July 1, 2026, on controlling the assets and income of people holding positions and powers in agencies, organisations and units.

Under the rules, those required to file declarations must fully report land use rights, housing, cash, gold, securities, digital assets, overseas assets, debts and total income between two declarations. The declaration threshold for many asset types is set at 150 million dong or more.

The decree calls for stronger verification of assets and income under annual plans, with subjects selected publicly by lottery or software, ensuring at least 10% of those required to declare at each agency are verified. The national database on asset and income control will be linked to specialised databases to support monitoring.

Dishonest declarations or explanations may result in disciplinary action ranging from reprimand and warning to dismissal, depending on the value of the assets involved.

Restructuring of the State Bank

The government has issued Decree No. 198/2026/ND-CP, effective July 1, 2026, amending and supplementing Decree No. 26/2025/ND-CP on the functions, duties, powers and organisational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Under the new rules, the State Bank comprises 20 units, including key departments and agencies covering monetary policy, credit, payments, foreign exchange management, credit institution management and supervision, credit institution system safety and regional State Bank offices. The Vietnam National Credit Information Center and Banking Times remain public non-business units.

Fines of up to 50 million dong for sharing false information

The government has issued Decree No. 174/2026/ND-CP, effective July 1, 2026, on administrative penalties in the fields of post, telecommunications, radio frequencies, electronic transactions and information technology.

The decree sets fines of 30-50 million dong for providing or sharing information that distorts history, denies revolutionary achievements, undermines national unity, insults religion, or involves gender discrimination or racial discrimination, where the conduct does not warrant criminal prosecution; and for disclosing state secrets, individuals' private information and other secrets where the conduct does not warrant criminal prosecution;

The same penalties apply to providing or sharing false information that causes public alarm, harms socio-economic activity, obstructs the work of state agencies or officials on duty, or infringes the lawful rights and interests of other agencies, organisations or individuals, where the conduct does not warrant criminal prosecution.

In addition to fines, offenders are required to remove false, misleading or unlawful information resulting from the violation, and to lock the accounts, community pages, community groups or content channels used to commit it.

Shorter processing times for construction permits

The government has issued Resolution No. 66.18/2026/NQ-CP, effective from July 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027, on shortening the time taken to issue and adjust construction permits.

The deadline for issuing a construction permit falls from 20 days to 10 working days, while the deadline for adjusting a permit falls from 20 days to nine working days.

For individual houses, the deadline for issuing or adjusting a construction permit falls from 15 days to seven working days.

Tighter rules on project investment settlement

The government has issued Decree No. 193/2026/ND-CP, effective July 1, 2026, detailing the settlement of project investment capital.

The decree clarifies that investment capital eligible for settlement covers all lawful costs incurred to bring a project into operation or to halt it, but must remain within the approved total investment. Notably, independent audit costs together with the costs of appraising and approving settlements are booked directly under other costs within the project's total investment.

To optimise public capital flows, the decree sets maximum cost norms for auditing and appraisal based on project value. For example, for projects worth 5 billion dong or less, the maximum independent audit cost ratio is 0.96% and the appraisal cost 0.57%. Where equipment accounts for 50% or more of costs, these ratios fall to 70% of the general norm.

The decree also imposes strict deadlines to avoid capital being tied up: investors in group A, B and C projects must complete settlement files within four to nine months of handover.

Cuts to conditional business lines

The government has issued Resolution No. 66.17/2026/NQ-CP, effective from July 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027, on cutting and amending conditional business lines.

The resolution focuses on abolishing business lines that are not genuinely necessary for security, defence and social safety; shifting from pre-checks to post-checks; and eliminating business conditions that are vague, overlapping or already covered by other management tools.

Faster procedures for opening bank branches

The State Bank has issued Circular No. 13/2026/TT-NHNN, effective July 25, 2026, amending the approval process for establishing branches, representative offices and non-business units of credit institutions.

Under the new rules, applications are submitted directly to the State Bank or its branches instead of going through the banking inspection and supervision agency as before. The deadline for credit institutions to complete files on request is also cut from 30 days to 21 days.

The approval period for establishing a branch falls from 40 days to 21 days, while processing times for representative offices and non-business units fall from 20 days to 11 days.

Planning for telecom numbering and internet resources

The Ministry of Science and Technology has issued Circular No. 34/2026/TT-BKHCN, effective July 1, 2026, on the content and procedures for approving plans for telecom numbering resources and internet resources.

The circular provides the legal basis for drafting, appraising, approving, publishing and implementing plans for telecom numbering, the national ".vn" domain, IP addresses and autonomous system numbers.

Seven months of maternity leave for a second child

The Population Law takes effect on July 1, 2026, setting out policies to maintain the replacement fertility rate, reduce the gender imbalance at birth, adapt to population ageing and improve population quality.

One notable provision gives female workers seven months of maternity leave for a second child. Male workers receive 10 working days of leave when their wife gives birth.

The law also adds financial support for certain groups of women giving birth, and gives priority in buying, hire-purchasing or renting social housing to people with two or more biological children, in line with housing legislation.

The law further bans foetal sex selection in all forms and prohibits announcing or disclosing the sex of a foetus.

Personal income tax allowance raised to 15.5 million dong a month

The Personal Income Tax Law takes effect on July 1, 2026, raising the personal allowance for taxpayers themselves to 15.5 million dong a month.

The allowance for each dependant is 6.2 million dong a month.

The law also raises the revenue threshold below which household and individual businesses are exempt from tax, from 200 million dong a year to 500 million dong a year.

Professional allowances of 20-80% for teachers

The government has issued Decree No. 182/2026/ND-CP, effective July 7, 2026, on professional preferential allowances for teachers, education institution managers and education support staff at public education institutions.

Allowance rates range from 20% to 80%, depending on the recipient, education level, type of institution, nature of the work and location conditions.

Notably, for the first time education support staff at public institutions are eligible for a professional allowance, set at 20%.

Health insurance policy expands entitlements

From July 1, 2026, new health insurance provisions take effect under the Health Insurance Law, Decree No. 188/2025/ND-CP and Decree No. 161/2026/ND-CP.

According to Vietnam Social Security, the most notable change expands entitlements for insured people who seek outpatient treatment on their own initiative in certain cases.

Specifically, from July 1, 2026, outpatients treated at certain basic and specialised medical facilities, depending on the type of facility as determined by competent authorities, will have 50% of the covered entitlement paid by the Health Insurance Fund for diseases and disease groups outside the list in Circular No. 01/2025/TT-BYT, which previously received no reimbursement.

29 new laws take effect on July 1

From July 1, 2026, 29 important laws take effect, including the 2025 Press Law; the 2026 Capital Law; the 2025 E-commerce Law; the 2025 Personal Income Tax Law; the 2025 Tax Administration Law; the 2025 Digital Transformation Law; the 2025 National Reserves Law; the 2025 Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Prevention; the 2025 Vietnam Civil Aviation Law; the 2026 Law on Overseas Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The 2025 Cybersecurity Law; the 2025 High Technology Law; the 2025 Disease Prevention Law; the 2025 State of Emergency Law; the 2025 Construction Law; the 2025 Law on Public Employees; the 2025 Population Law; the law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Citizen Reception, the Law on Complaints and the Law on Denunciations; the 2025 Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Matters;

The 2025 Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters; the law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Anti-Corruption Law; the law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 10 laws related to security and order; the 2025 Law on Custody, Temporary Detention and Bans on Leaving Residence; the 2025 Law on Drug Prevention and Control;

The 2025 Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments; the law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Judicial Records; the 2025 Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement; the 2025 Extradition Law; and the 2025 Law on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

This wave of legislation has broad implications for state administration, the business environment, social welfare, digital transformation and everyday life.

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Source: TheLeader — theleader.vn. Republished to share knowledge with founders and investors in the HCM VIF ecosystem.