Asian insolvency forum focuses on restoring stability

Co-organised by the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam and the World Bank, the forum attracted more than 100 delegates from international organisations and 18 countries and territories.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Hoa Binh, Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court, said over the past three decades, Vietnam has issued three laws on bankruptcy or a new law on bankruptcy in every 10 years, proving that the law has been updated frequently to meet the economy’s development requirements.

The process aims to ensure that the law on bankruptcy will create a legal corridor for promoting economic development and social stability, he said. 

Binh stressed that insolvency regulations in Vietnamese law are to effectively protect legitimate rights and interests of creditors, debtors and labourers as well as ensure social stability. 

At the same time, the law on bankruptcy is an effective tool for restructuring the economy when it is seen as a mechanism to eliminate weak and loss-making enterprises, creating a healthy business environment for investors and helping maintain the existence of profitable enterprises. 

With those goals, Vietnam’s existing law on bankruptcy clarifies conditions required to open bankruptcy procedures, simplify bankruptcy procedures, promote mechanisms and create conditions for restructuring and restoring businesses, Binh stated. 

The law also increases rights of creditors and introduces the concept of the asset manager and liquidator to assist the court in restructuring and handling bankruptcy. 

Reforms in the mechanism have brought in positive changes for insolvency settlement in Vietnam, which have been recognised by the international community, he affirmed.