Vietnam runs a centralized national e-procurement network (Vietnam National Electronic Procurement System, VNEPS) at muasamcong.mpi.gov.vn, built and administered under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (with procurement functions moving under the Ministry of Finance in the 2025 government reorganization). Contractor selection is governed by the Law on Bidding No. 22/2023/QH15 (effective 1 January 2024, replacing Law No. 43/2013/QH13) and its implementing Decrees 23/2024/ND-CP and 24/2024/ND-CP and MPI circulars. A foreign company faces a two-part reality. First, most government contracts run as DOMESTIC (national) bidding, which is by law open only to Vietnamese contractors; INTERNATIONAL bidding - the only route in which foreign contractors may participate - is permitted only in defined cases (e.g., donor/treaty requirement, domestic contractors unable to meet the requirements or no domestic bidder participated, goods not domestically produced, or the authority deems foreign involvement necessary for quality). Second, even in international bidding a foreign contractor that intends to win generally must form a joint venture (consortium) with a Vietnamese contractor or use Vietnamese subcontractors (unless no domestic contractor is capable of the work), must register on the national e-procurement network to submit bids, and if awarded construction work must obtain a foreign-contractor construction operation licence and (for multi-province execution/supervision) establish a local project management office. Because direct, unrestricted foreign participation does not exist, Vietnam is RESTRICTED in practice.
National e-procurement network / Vietnam National Electronic Procurement System (VNEPS) - He thong mang dau thau quoc gia
Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) / Public Procurement Agency (Cuc Quan ly dau thau). Note: procurement functions have been consolidated under the Ministry of Finance following 2025 government restructuring.
Foreign companies eligibleLocal entity / agent required
Foreign firms are eligible only for INTERNATIONAL tenders, and a Vietnamese partner is effectively required to win. No Vietnamese incorporation is needed merely to register on VNEPS and submit a bid, but local teaming (a Vietnamese joint venture/consortium or Vietnamese subcontractors) is as-a-rule mandatory to be a winning bidder, and a construction award additionally requires a foreign-contractor construction operation licence plus local presence — so a local entity/agent/partner is effectively required in practice. Its participation is heavily conditioned and it cannot bid freely like a domestic contractor. (1) ELIGIBILITY IS CASE-LIMITED: Under the Law on Bidding 22/2023/QH15, DOMESTIC (national) bidding is open only to Vietnamese contractors, while INTERNATIONAL bidding - the only mode open to foreign contractors - may be organized only in defined circumstances: the donor/treaty requires it; domestic contractors are unable to meet the requirements or a prior national tender drew no bidder; the goods cannot be produced domestically or do not meet technical/quality/price standards; or the competent authority deems foreign participation necessary to improve quality. Everyday, below-those-conditions procurement is effectively reserved for Vietnamese contractors. (2) MANDATORY LOCAL TEAMING TO WIN: A foreign contractor participating in international bidding must, as a rule, form a joint venture (consortium) with a Vietnamese contractor OR use Vietnamese subcontractors, except where no domestic contractor is capable of performing any part of the package. The joint-venture/subcontract must define the scope, volume, and value of the Vietnamese contractor's work. (3) OPERATING LICENCE / PRESENCE: A foreign contractor awarded CONSTRUCTION-related work must obtain a foreign-contractor construction operation licence (Operating Licence for Construction, OLC), which is issued per-contract only after the contractor wins the bid; for execution/supervision spanning multiple provinces the contractor must also set up a local project management office (or, in practice, establish a branch/representative office or local entity). So while no local entity is required simply to register and submit a bid, a local partner is effectively required to win, and a licence plus some local presence is required to perform construction contracts. Because of this, some foreign firms choose to establish a Vietnamese subsidiary anyway for sustained market access.
Before investing effort, verify that the specific opportunity is organized as international bidding (dau thau quoc te). Under the Law on Bidding 22/2023/QH15, domestic (national) bidding is restricted to Vietnamese contractors; only international bidding admits foreign contractors, and only in defined cases (donor/treaty requirement; domestic contractors unable to meet requirements or a prior national tender drew no bidder; goods not domestically produced or not meeting technical/quality/price standards; or the authority deems foreign participation necessary to improve quality). The tender notice on the national e-procurement network states whether it is national or international. Do not assume eligibility for a package advertised as domestic.
Participation in the national e-procurement network requires a digital certificate / digital signature (per Decree 130/2018/ND-CP on digital signatures under the Law on E-Transactions). Foreign nationals/organizations use a digital signature or accepted electronic authentication recognized by the system when signing the registration form and bid documents. Arrange this before registering, as it is needed to sign the online registration and later to submit bids.
Go to muasamcong.mpi.gov.vn (or via the National Public Service Portal), select the contractor/bidder registration, and complete the online registration form. Enter organization or individual data and submit the dossier through the system. For organizations the form is signed by the legal representative (digital signature) or electronically authenticated; a power of attorney is used if an authorized individual files. For foreign parties a passport copy or equivalent valid document is accepted, and establishment/business-registration documents are provided where the entity is not in the Vietnamese national enterprise registry.
The system processes the registration request within about 2 working days; login credentials and confirmation are sent to the registered email. Fees under the current circulars: an annual fee to maintain the bidder's name/capacity profile on VNEPS is VND 330,000/year (incl. VAT), payable from the second year after the registration year; e-bid submission is VND 330,000 per package (incl. VAT) for open/limited/online competitive procedures under ordinary procedures (VND 220,000 for the shopping method). Amounts and applicability should be reconfirmed on the current fee schedule.
To be a winning bidder in international bidding, a foreign contractor must, as a rule, join a consortium with a Vietnamese contractor or use Vietnamese subcontractors - except where no domestic contractor is capable of any part of the package. The joint-venture agreement or subcontract must clearly define the scope, volume, and value of work performed by the Vietnamese party, and support cooperation, technology transfer, and use of domestic resources. A foreign contractor partnering with a domestic contractor for 25% or more of the package value is one of the categories eligible for evaluation preferences.
Prepare the bid strictly to the bidding documents (technical, financial, eligibility, and capacity criteria) and submit electronically through the national e-procurement network within the deadline, signed with the digital signature. In international bidding, bidding documents may be issued in English/Vietnamese and evaluation applies domestic preference categories. Ensure eligibility conditions (independence between bidder and consultant/investor; consortium ownership rules) are met.
A foreign contractor awarded construction, consulting-for-construction, or related work must obtain a foreign-contractor construction operation licence (Operating Licence for Construction, OLC) - a per-contract licence issued by the competent construction authority (Department/Ministry of Construction) only AFTER winning the specific package. The application requires the winning-bid decision/selection and the joint-venture or subcontract with a Vietnamese contractor. For execution or supervision spanning multiple provinces, the foreign contractor must establish a local project management office in the locality where the licence is issued; the office exists only for the duration of the contract. Statutory issuance target is about 20 days from a complete application, though it can take longer.
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Create free accountVNEPS registration itself is low-cost: annual profile maintenance ~VND 330,000/year (incl. VAT) from the second year, plus ~VND 330,000 per e-bid submission (open/limited/online competitive; VND 220,000 for shopping method). A digital signature certificate has a separate vendor cost. The larger, unavoidable costs are commercial/legal: structuring a required Vietnamese joint venture or subcontract, and (for construction awards) obtaining the construction operation licence and standing up a local project management office/branch. These are contract- and case-specific and are not fixed published figures.
~2 days
Law on Bidding No. 22/2023/QH15 (passed 23 June 2023, effective 1 January 2024, replacing Law on Bidding No. 43/2013/QH13). Implementing decrees: Decree No. 24/2024/ND-CP (dated 27 February 2024, detailing the Law on Bidding regarding contractor selection) and Decree No. 23/2024/ND-CP (contractor/investor selection for cases under specialized laws). E-procurement operational rules: Circular No. 06/2024/TT-BKHDT (guidance on bidding via the National Bidding Network System) and Circular No. 05/2024/TT-BKHDT (costs). Foreign-contractor construction operation licence: construction law and its guiding decree (formerly Decree 15/2021/ND-CP; superseded by Decree No. 175/2024/ND-CP, which defines the Operating Licence for Construction for foreign contractors). Digital signatures under Decree 130/2018/ND-CP (Law on E-Transactions).
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This guide is grounded in official sources, last verified 2026-07-21.