Foreign investors will be allowed to hold a maximum 49 percent stake in shipping companies in Vietnam, according to a government decree on sea transport services.
Under the decree, to be effective from July 1, firms providing international sea transport services must have asset of US$952,380 at least, quadrupling the figure for companies providing domestic services, reported Vietnam News Brief Service.
Vietnam has taken bold measures to restructure the shipping sector, focusing on the biggest shipping firm Vinalines, which owes $3.23 billion.
Among nearly 1,000 logistics firms operating in Vietnam, foreign-invested companies hold most of the market share while Vietnamese firms were mostly small and less competitive in terms of management and finance.
Major global names in logistics such as Singapore-based APL Logistics, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and Japanese shipping firm NYK Line all have a presence in Vietnam.