Procedures for changing the name of a company/enterprise with foreign investment capital

See immediately the procedures for changing the name of a foreign-invested company/enterprise and the procedures to be performed after changing the company name in this article of fdiinvietnam.com.

Legal basis

• Investment Law 2020 (Law No. 61/2020/QH14 issued on June 17, 2020, referred to as Investment Law);
• Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP takes effect from March 26, 2021;
• Enterprise Law No. 59/2020/QH14 issued on June 17, 2020 (referred to as Enterprise Law);
• Decree No. 01/2021/ND-CP takes effect from January 4, 2021.

During the process of business investment activities, if the enterprise needs to change the company name to suit new business purposes and orientations, or simply the business owner wants to change to a more professional and better name, the enterprise needs to carry out name change procedures at the business registration agency according to the provisions of the current Enterprise Law and Investment Law.

Notes before changing the name of a foreign invested company

Note on the new name of the foreign invested company:

• The new name of the company must meet the legal conditions such as registering a business name when newly established (the new Vietnamese, English, and abbreviated name of the business must not be the same or confusing with the names of Vietnamese and foreign-invested enterprises previously registered nationwide);
• Enterprises also need to agree to change the company name written in a foreign language and the abbreviated company name to match the new name.

Note that the procedure for changing the name of a foreign-invested company depends on whether the company has an investment registration certificate or not. Specifically:

• If there is no investment certificate, the name change of a foreign-invested company is the same as that of a normal 100% Vietnamese-owned enterprise. Enterprises can refer to the article: Documents and procedures for changing the name of a company or enterprise of fdiinvietnam.com;
• If there is an investment certificate, when changing the name of a foreign-invested company, the business owner must change the company name on both the investment registration certificate and the business registration certificate. 

In this article, fdiinvietnam.com will guide you in detail on the procedure for changing the name of a foreign-invested company with an investment certificate. See details below.

Procedures for changing the name of a company or enterprise with foreign investment capital

For enterprises with investment certificates, the process of changing the name of a foreign-invested company includes the following 3 steps:

➤ Step 1: Procedures for changing the company name on the business registration certificate

For this step, the drafting and preparation of documents will be similar to the procedure for changing the company name of 100% Vietnamese-owned enterprises.

Enterprises submit their applications directly to the Business Registration Office – Department of Planning and Investment of the province/city that is managing the foreign-invested enterprise or submit them online at the National Business Registration Information Portal.

Processing time of the procedure: Within 3 – 5 working days from the date of submission of complete documents, the Business Registration Office will issue a new business registration certificate.

➤ Step 2: Re-engrave the company’s round seal

Proceed to engrave the company’s round seal according to the new name information that has been published on the National Business Registration Portal.

Completion time: 1 – 2 working days.

➤ Step 3: Procedures for changing the company name on the investment certificate

After completing the procedure to change the company name at the Business Registration Office and being granted a new business registration certificate, the enterprise can continue to carry out the procedure to change the company name (project name) on the investment certificate.

Note:

At the time of name change, foreign invested enterprises must submit the following additional reports if they have not already been submitted:

• Report on monitoring the implementation of investment projects up to the time of change;
• Periodic investment monitoring and evaluation reports.

Enterprises submit their applications directly to the Investment Department – Department of Planning and Investment of the province/city that manages the enterprise.

Time to process the application: Within 10 – 15 working days from the date of submission of complete application, the Department of Planning and Investment will issue a new investment certificate to the foreign invested company.

 >> See more: Service of changing name of foreign-invested company.

Procedures to be followed after changing the name of a foreign-invested company

1. Adjust and update new information on VAT invoices that have been announced for issuance;
2. Notify the bank to adjust transaction account information;
3. Notify new information to relevant parties such as insurance agencies, partners, etc.;
4. Carry out procedures for changes and adjustments to documents and materials related to intellectual property rights;
5. Adjust documents, internal documents, signs, labels… according to new information.

Frequently asked questions when changing the name of a foreign invested company