Vietnam's efforts to attract foreign investment have led the ruling party to seek to improve the business climate for foreign investors. This involves attempts to combat corruption, which is rampant throughout the country and permeates the activities of many state-owned companies that still dominate the economy's strategic sectors. The lack of implementation of anti-corruption measures and weak enforcement allows corruption to remain one of the most problematic factors for doing business in the country.

Positive developments in relation to corruption and investment:

• The National Assembly in Vietnam passed the revised law on anti-corruption in December 2012, which indicates the government's strong will to fight against corruption in the country.
• Corruption has moved up on the political agenda in Vietnam, and the legal framework for curbing corruption is now well developed.
• A new law requires senior government officials and members of the National Assembly to disclose their assets and income. Improvements have also been made to the professionalism of procurement officers, to the judiciary and to budget transparency.
• CoST Vietnam is part of the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST), which aims at enhancing transparency and accountability in the construction sector, focusing specifically on public disclosure of information

Risks of corruption:

• Private providers should be particularly aware of continuing corruption related to public procurement and contracting procedures.
• Several sources indicate that land management is the most corrupt sector in Vietnam. Policies and laws on land are incoherent and have many loopholes, while supervision and enforcement of the law within land administration is fairly lax and paves the way for corruption.
• Despite laws offering some protection for whistleblowers, some observers argue that the inability to report corruption anonymously, coupled with the lack of faith in the system, is preventing many citizens and state officials from reporting corruption.
• Even though Vietnam has one of the most comprehensive anti-corruption legislation in Asia, the lack of implementation and independent anti-corruption agencies still present major hurdles in the fight against corruption.