Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) organized a two-day seminar on “Advanced Seminar on International Sales Contract, Payment and Security Tools in Foreign Trade 2025, ESG, Compliance” in cooperation with CACCI on 13-14 May 2025 in Hanoi and on 15–16 May 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The well-attended training sessions were conducted by Pavel Andrle, an international trainer and consultant, long-time member of ICC Banking Commission and Commission on Commercial Law and Practice,  in conjunction with local Vietnamese lecturers.

DAY ONE

Mr. Andrle started the session by explaining the key conditions of international contract of sale, i.e. delivery conditions and payment conditions. He described the risks from the exporter´s and importer´s perspectives and importance of proper use of Incoterms 2020 and specification of relevant documentation. The discussion that followed on force majeure and hardship events in international trade was very relevant in the context of the current rise of geopolitical risks and trade wars. ICC model force majeure and hardship clauses were then presented and further elaborated.

The second lecture of the day was devoted to the payment terms of international contracts, above all from the exporter´s point of view. Use of documentary collections and documentary credits was explained with emphasis on practical aspects, risks involved, main problems and how to avoid them. The lecturer used many examples and case studies to demonstrate the importance of proper conditions in the underlying contracts and then in documentary collections and documentary credits themselves. Incorrect and conflicting delivery terms, improper choice and specification of requested documents and conditions in documentary credits often lead to delays, increase of costs and sometimes even to refusals of payment.

Participants of the VCCI course in Hanoi

Contract parties often agree on open account payment terms, i.e. payment after delivery. This arrangement is also true for the most of exports from Vietnam. However, exporters frequently experience payment delays and sometimes even payment defaults. Participants were very interested in various mitigation options, for instance use of payment security instruments such as payment demand guarantees or standby letters of credit. Considerable time was also devoted to trade (credit) insurance and receivable finance such as factoring, invoice discounting and other forms of supply chain finance.

DAY TWO

Mr. Andrle informed participants about the recent developments in the area of digitalization of trade finance, above all increasing use of electronic bills of lading and the relevant impactful UN Model law on electronic transferable records. ESG trends and (EU) regulation have significant impact on international supply chains. Vietnamese exporters to EU and other markets need to be fully aware about the current and incoming requirements of their buyers to remain competitive. The lecturer also briefly familiarized the participants with practices of banks in the area of compliance (AML, KYC, sanctions, etc.) and touched on sanction clauses which often appear in documentary credits and bank guarantees.

Participants of the VCCI course in Ho Chi Minh City