Foreign lending institutions and foreign bank branches will be forbidden from using amounts in excess of 50 percent of their charter capital to acquire or invest in fixed assets, pursuant to Government Decree No 57/2012/ND-CP which takes effect on September 15.

Under the decree, foreign lending institutions are only entitled to use their charter capital or reserve funds to buy stakes in other lending institutions or enterprises. These institutions are also required to place an amount equal to 5 percent of their net, after-tax profits into reserve funds, although the total amount held in reserve funds cannot exceed the institution's charter capital.

Foreing lenders and foreign bank branches are also required to allocate 10 percent of their profits to provisionary funds, although the total value of these funds cannot exceed 25 percent of charter capital.