Decree No. 15/2011/NĐ-CP on Issuing and Managing Government Guarantees

DECREE

On the issuance and management of government guarantees

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THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on State Budget dated December 16, 2002;

Pursuant to the Law on Public Debt Management dated June 17, 2009;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Finance,

DECREE:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree stipulates on the issuance of government guarantees; the management of government guarantees and the responsibilities of agencies in issuing and managing government guarantees for domestic and foreign loans, including domestic bond issuances and international bonds.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In this Decree, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Beneficiary of guarantee is the person who owns a part or all of the loan, the issued bonds guaranteed. The beneficiary of guarantee includes the lender, the bond buyer, and those who have legally transferred the rights from the lender, and is understood as the lender in loan agreements and bond issuance agreements.

2. Assignee of the guaranteed party or the beneficiary of guarantee is the person who receives all or part of the rights and obligations of the guaranteed party or the beneficiary of guarantee in the assignment.

3. Transferee of the guaranteed party or the beneficiary of guarantee is the person who receives all or part of the rights and obligations of the guaranteed party or the beneficiary of guarantee in the transfer.

4. Payment obligation includes principal debt, interest payable under the contract, late payment interest, fees and expenses, compensation for losses (if any) as specified in the loan agreement or specific bond issuance agreement and accepted in the guarantee letter.

5. Legal representative to receive litigation documents is the Vietnamese agency abroad or an organization authorized to receive and confirm receipt of litigation documents related to government guarantees and transfer all such documents to the Ministry of Finance.

6. Legal opinion is a document issued by the Ministry of Justice in accordance with Vietnamese law at the time of issuance; consistent with international treaties to which Vietnam is a member and consistent with international financial, credit, trade, and investment practices.

Article 3. Form of Guarantee

1. Government guarantee is the highest form of legal guarantee in Vietnam. The commitment of a government guarantee is implemented in the form of a guarantee letter, a guarantee contract, or a guarantee decision (hereinafter referred to collectively as "guarantee letter").

2. The Government only issues guarantees, not re-guarantees.

Article 4. Responsibilities of Coordinating Agencies

1. Ministry of Justice:

a) Participate in negotiations and provide opinions on legal issues in foreign loan agreements, international bond issuance agreements, and guarantee letters before submitting them to the Prime Minister for decision; provide opinions on legal issues in foreign borrowing and repayment documents of domestic enterprises and economic organizations upon request of the borrower, lender, and the Ministry of Finance;

b) Lead negotiations and issue legal opinions on foreign loan agreements, international bond issuance agreements, guarantee letters, guarantors, and beneficiaries;

c) Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to handle legal disputes arising in connection with the implementation of guarantee letters.

2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to designate an appropriate Vietnamese agency abroad authorized to act as the Legal Representative to Receive Litigation Documents related to government guarantees in cases where the litigation procedure is agreed upon in foreign loan agreements and guarantee letters that specify the Legal Representative to Receive Litigation Documents as an appropriate Vietnamese agency abroad.

Article 5. Implementation of the Government's loan guarantee limit

1. The Ministry of Finance shall issue government guarantees according to the Prime Minister’s decision for each loan or bond issuance within the approved foreign borrowing limit and government guarantee limit.

2. In cases where the government guarantee limit approved for the year has been fully utilized but there are still requests for government guarantees for important projects and key works with urgent and special significance for national socio-economic development, which have been decided on investment orientation by the National Assembly and the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for reporting to the Prime Minister to adjust the government guarantee limit for that year, while ensuring compliance with requirements for national debt safety.

Article 6. Programs and Projects Eligible for Government Guarantee Consideration

1. Programs and projects eligible for government guarantee consideration shall be implemented in accordance with Article 33 of the Law on Public Debt Management.

2. The Prime Minister shall specify programs and projects applying high technology, projects in the energy sector, mineral exploitation and processing, or production goods and service export projects; programs and projects in fields and areas encouraged for investment by the State as stipulated in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 33 of the Law on Public Debt Management.

Article 7. Conditions for Issuing Government Guarantees

In addition to the conditions specified in Article 34 of the Law on Public Debt Management, detailed provisions regarding the conditions for issuing government guarantees are as follows:

1. For programs and projects:

a) Must be included in the list of programs and projects guaranteed by the Government as decided by the Prime Minister during each period;

b) Special programs and projects not included in the list must be decided upon individually by the Prime Minister.

2. For borrowers and bond issuers:

a) Must be enterprises implementing programs and projects established and operating in Vietnam in accordance with the law. Enterprises must comply with regulations on operations, financial management, accounting, and auditing as prescribed by law;

b) For state policy banks and financial credit organizations assigned by the Prime Minister to implement policy credit programs and national goal-oriented credit programs;

Financial and credit organizations must meet the minimum capital adequacy ratio as prescribed by the Government or the State Bank of Vietnam.

3. For loans and bond issuances:

a) Must fall within the government guarantee limit approved by the Prime Minister as stipulated in Article 5 of this Decree;

b) For foreign loans and international bond issuances:

- Must be within the registered foreign trade finance borrowing limit with the State Bank of Vietnam;

- The currency borrowed must be freely convertible foreign currency;

- Must meet the conditions for international bond issuance as prescribed by the law on international bond issuance.

c) For domestic loans and bond issuances:

- Must meet the conditions for domestic bond issuance as prescribed by the law on domestic bond issuance;

- Bonds issued by state policy banks (Vietnam Development Bank, Vietnam Social Policy Bank) guaranteed by the Government under the plan for raising funds and providing policy loans approved by the Prime Minister;

- Bonds issued by enterprises to raise funds for investment projects assigned by the Prime Minister and guaranteed by the Government.

Article 8. Guarantee Amount

The guarantee amount shall not exceed 80% of the total investment value of the program or project, including all related borrowing costs, except in cases stipulated in point e, Clause 2, Article 34 of the Public Debt Management Law.

For cases where enterprises have foreign investors' participation in capital contribution to implement projects eligible for government guarantees as specified in Article 32 of the Public Debt Management Law, the guarantee shall only be provided for the portion of borrowed funds corresponding to the responsibility of the Vietnamese side in the enterprise.

Article 9. Documents for Requesting Guarantee Issuance

1. Loan request documents requesting government guarantee sent by the lender to the borrower; loan application documents requesting government guarantee sent by the borrower or bond issuer.

2. Legal status documents comprising the Decision on Establishment of the enterprise or Business Registration Certificate of the enterprise acting as the main investor in the program or project.

3. Investment decision accompanied by the project dossier in accordance with current regulations.

4. Borrowing plan, bond issuance plan, fund utilization plan, repayment plan, clearly identifying:

a) Sources of investment capital (including equity capital and borrowed capital);

b) Feasibility of the loan and bond issuance regarding borrowing conditions;

c) Repayment capacity of the program or project.

5. Loan offer documents accompanying draft loan agreements, plans, and bond issuance dossiers.

6. Audited financial reports of the last three years. In cases where the enterprise has been newly established or has not yet operated for three years, there must be a commitment letter from the representative of the owner, the owner, or the parent company ensuring debt repayment capability.

The commitment content from the representative of the owner, the owner, or the parent company aimed at ensuring readiness to repay debts on behalf of the enterprise in case the guaranteed enterprise encounters difficulties in debt repayment.

7. Commitment document as prescribed in Appendix II of this Decree.

Article 10. Procedures for Review and Issuance of Guarantees

1. Financial Plan Review of Investment Programs and Projects

Within thirty working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid application documents for government guarantee from the borrower or bond issuer as stipulated in Article 9 of this Decree, the Ministry of Finance will review the financial plan and the application documents for government guarantee with the following contents:

a) Review the subject and type of program or project to ensure compliance with the conditions set forth in Articles 32 and 33 of the Public Debt Management Law and meet the conditions of Articles 6 and 7 of this Decree;

b) Review the financial plan of the program or project using borrowed funds and bond issuance funds. The method of review is detailed in Appendix I attached to this Decree;

c) For key projects, large-scale projects with urgency and special importance for national socio-economic development that have been decided on investment policy by the National Assembly or the Prime Minister, commercial loans accompanying non-repayable aid or ODA loans to form mixed credit sources (projects designated according to accompanying sources of funding), the Ministry of Finance will submit to the Prime Minister for approval of government guarantee based on the financial plan of the program or project already approved by the competent authority.

2. After review, the Ministry of Finance will report the review content to the Prime Minister for a decision on the policy of issuing guarantees.

3. Negotiation of Loan Agreement Terms, Bond Issuance Agreement Terms, Guarantee Letter Content, and Legal Opinion Content.

a) After receiving the Prime Minister's decision approving the government guarantee policy, the guaranteed party will negotiate loan agreements and bond issuance agreements with the participation of the Ministry of Finance. In cases of foreign loans or international bond issuance, the Ministry of Justice must also participate.

At least three working days before commencing negotiations on relevant legal documents relating to loans or bond issuance, the guaranteed party must provide the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice with the following documents: draft loan agreement, draft bond issuance agreement; signed trade contracts; draft guarantee letter.

In cases of domestic loans or bond issuance, the guarantee letter will be issued according to the model of the Ministry of Finance. In cases of foreign loans or international bond issuance, these documents must also be submitted to the Ministry of Justice along with the draft legal opinion; the Ministry of Finance will lead the negotiation of the guarantee letter content, and the Ministry of Justice will lead the negotiation of the legal opinion content (if applicable) for the loan or bond issuance. The content of the guarantee letter, once agreed upon, must be submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the Prime Minister for approval.

b) Signing of Agreements: After negotiating and reaching consensus on the terms of the loan agreement and bond issuance agreement, the guaranteed party will submit for approval by the competent authority and proceed to sign the loan agreements and bond issuance agreements;

c) Completing the Guarantee Application Dossier: After signing the loan agreement and bond issuance agreement, the guaranteed party will provide the Ministry of Finance with the signed loan agreement, bond issuance agreement, and commitment letter with confirmation from the superior supervisory agency (if any) according to the model in Appendix II attached to this Decree to complete the guarantee application dossier.

4. Approval by the Prime Minister

Based on the report of the Ministry of Finance, the Prime Minister will consider and decide:

a) Approving the content of the guarantee letter and instructing the Ministry of Finance to issue the guarantee;

b) Assigning the Ministry of Justice to issue legal opinions on foreign loan agreements, international bond issuance agreements, guarantee letters, guarantors, and beneficiaries in cases of foreign loans and international bond issuance;

c) Assigning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to designate appropriate Vietnamese agencies abroad authorized or approve organizations to act as Receivers of Proceedings in cases where the foreign loan agreement or international bond issuance agreement requires a Receiver of Proceedings;

d) Approving the guarantee fee rate applicable to domestic or foreign loans and bond issuances.

5. Issuing the Guarantee Letter

a) Issuing a guarantee letter: after completing all the guarantee issuance files, based on the Prime Minister's Decision approving the issuance of the guarantee, the Ministry of Finance will issue the guarantee letter.

The guarantee letter shall be issued once for the entire loan amount or bond issuance of the program/project, or it may be issued separately for each loan or bond issuance according to the Prime Minister's Decision but not exceeding the total loan or issuance amount approved by the Prime Minister for that program/project.

In the case of foreign loans or international bond issuances, the guarantee letter shall be issued in four (04) original copies, including: the Ministry of Finance retains one (01) copy, the beneficiary retains one (01) copy, the Ministry of Justice retains one (01) copy, and one (01) copy is transferred to the lender or the principal guarantor; in the case of domestic loans or bond issuances, the guarantee letter shall be issued in three (03) original copies, including: the Ministry of Finance retains one (01) copy, the beneficiary retains one (01) copy, and one (01) copy is transferred to the lender or the principal guarantor;

b) In the case of foreign loans or international bond issuances, the beneficiary sends a formal letter along with the signed original guarantee letter to the Ministry of Justice for the Ministry of Justice to issue a legal opinion on the foreign loan or international bond issuance concerning the contents decided by the Prime Minister.

6. Legal opinions and registration of foreign loans and international bond issuances.

a) Loan registration: for foreign loans and international bond issuances, after the issuance of the guarantee letter, the beneficiary registers the foreign loan or international bond issuance at the State Bank of Vietnam in accordance with Clause 1, Article 35 of the Public Debt Management Law and the regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam on managing foreign borrowing and repayment by enterprises;

b) Confirmation of the Representative for Receiving Litigation Documents: if litigation procedures are stipulated in the foreign loan agreement, international bond issuance agreement, and the guarantee letter requires a Representative for Receiving Litigation Documents, the Ministry of Finance will coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to designate an appropriate Vietnamese representative office abroad or select an authorized organization to act as the Representative for Receiving Litigation Documents for the beneficiary and the Ministry of Finance.

Based on the attached authorization document model from the Ministry of Finance, the authorized representative office or selected organization signs and confirms the document agreeing to act as the Representative for Receiving Litigation Documents to transfer to the guarantor and send a copy to the Ministry of Finance;

c) Issuing a legal opinion on guarantees and foreign loan agreements, international bond issuance agreements: within ten working days, based on the beneficiary's request, the Ministry of Justice issues a legal opinion in two (02) original copies, one (01) copy sent to the guarantor and one (01) copy retained by the Ministry of Justice.

Article 11. Contents of the Guarantee Letter

1. Mandatory contents in the guarantee letter include:

a) Guarantor;

b) Beneficiary;

c) References to related commercial contracts and loan agreements;

d) Guarantee amount and currency of the loan;

đ) Commitment of the Ministry of Finance to the guarantor regarding the obligations of the beneficiary and the Ministry of Finance;

e) Rights and responsibilities of the guarantor;

g) Validity period and recovery of the guarantee letter;

h) Governing law and jurisdiction, place, and language used in resolving disputes;

i) Place, date, month, year of issuing the guarantee letter.

2. Other contents agreed upon by the parties but not contrary to Vietnamese laws.

3. The guarantee letter shall be recovered when all guaranteed debt obligations have been fulfilled or the guarantor sends a document to the Ministry of Finance confirming that the relevant guarantee letter has expired.

Article 12. Guarantee Fee

1. The Ministry of Finance shall determine specific guarantee fee levels for each program and project based on the financial plan assessment results of the program and project, as well as the financial situation of the enterprise, according to the level of risk, but not exceeding a maximum of 1.5% per year on the guaranteed debt balance. The specific guarantee fee levels are detailed in Appendix III of this Decree.

2. The collection of guarantee fees shall be carried out as follows:

a) The guarantee fee shall be calculated in the currency of the loan, starting from the first day of capital withdrawal and paid into the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund in accordance with the guidance of the Ministry of Finance;

b) The guarantee fee shall be collected at the same time as the interest payment date of the guaranteed loan. At the request of the guaranteed party, the guarantee fee during the grace period of the loan may be collected when the project commences operation, but must bear interest at the same rate as the guaranteed loan;

c) The guarantee fee can be collected in the currency of the loan or converted into Vietnamese Dong at the selling exchange rate officially announced by the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade at the time of paying the guarantee fee;

d) In case of late payment of the guarantee fee, the guaranteed party must pay overdue interest on the amount of the late-paid guarantee fee for each day of delay. The applicable interest rate shall be equal to the interest rate of the guaranteed loan or bond issuance.

3. The Ministry of Finance is entitled to deduct 1.5% of the total actual guarantee fees collected to cover costs related to the issuance and management of government guarantees and other expenses approved by the Prime Minister.

Article 13. Collateral Assets

1. Except for loans and bond issuances of state policy banks guaranteed by the Government, assets formed from government-guaranteed loans shall be used as collateral to secure the borrower's obligations to the Ministry of Finance in proportion to the loan amount forming such assets.

2. Such assets formed from government-guaranteed loans shall not be used to secure the performance of other civil obligations.

3. Collateral assets may not be sold or exchanged without the consent of the Ministry of Finance. If collateral assets are sold, the proceeds or assets formed from such proceeds shall become substitute collateral for the sold assets.

4. Collateral Registration: After the Ministry of Finance issues a guarantee letter and no later than six months after the assets have been officially accepted, the guaranteed party shall register the collateral assets to secure the government guarantee in accordance with the laws governing secured transactions.

Article 14. Disposal of Collateral Assets

1. In cases where the guaranteed party fails to perform or fully perform their repayment obligations and the Ministry of Finance has fully performed its repayment obligations on behalf of the guaranteed party, and if the guaranteed party is unable to repay the Ministry of Finance, the collateral assets shall be disposed of to ensure recovery of the debt for the Ministry of Finance.

2. The methods of disposing of collateral assets and releasing collateral from these assets shall be carried out in accordance with the laws governing secured transactions.

3. Proceeds from the disposal of collateral assets shall be deposited into the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund as a source of repayment for the guarantee.

Article 15. Obligations of the Guaranteed Party

1. Fulfill the obligations of the borrower or bond issuer under the loan agreement or bond issuance agreement signed.

2. Register the collateral property according to the provisions of the law on secured transactions.

3. At the time when the Ministry of Finance considers granting the guarantee, the guaranteed party must commit during the period that the government guarantee is effective:

a) The guaranteed party may only transfer part or all of the shares or capital contribution of domestic organizations or individuals to foreign investors after fully settling all remaining debt obligations to the lender (the guarantor recipient) corresponding to the proportion of shares intended for transfer, and notify the Ministry of Finance in writing. Within fifteen working days from receipt of the notification letter, the Ministry of Finance will respond in writing to the guaranteed party.

b) Organizations and individuals holding shares or capital contributions of five percent or more of the subscribed capital must jointly commit in writing to hold at least sixty-five percent of the subscribed capital throughout the duration of the guarantee's effectiveness. The enterprise (the guaranteed party) must register the list of shareholders and individual contributors mentioned above with the Stock Exchange or Securities Trading Center in accordance with the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.

In case investors listed in the registration have the need to transfer shares or capital contributions to investors outside the registered list, the new shareholder receiving the transfer must meet the financial capability criteria approved by the Ministry of Finance.

In case the enterprise issues additional shares or calls for additional capital contributions, the enterprise must register additional investors to ensure the maintenance of the committed capital ratio.

c) In special cases, the Ministry of Finance shall submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision not to apply the commitments set forth in points a and b of this clause.

4. Facilitate the Ministry of Finance to inspect the implementation of programs and projects when necessary.

5. When the debt repayment deadline arrives, if the guaranteed party fails to fulfill or does not fully fulfill the debt repayment obligation, it must notify the Ministry of Finance in writing at least forty-five days before the due date, clearly stating the reasons for inability to fulfill the debt obligation and committing to repay the amount that the Ministry of Finance will pay on behalf of them plus all actual costs incurred related to the payment on their behalf. If the guaranteed party does not inform the Ministry of Finance about difficulties in fulfilling the debt obligation causing direct damage to the State Budget, the guaranteed party is responsible for compensating all material losses to the State Budget.

6. Before being granted a substitute repayment, the guaranteed party must sign a mandatory loan agreement subject to the following specific conditions:

a) Regarding interest rate: the interest rate is as stipulated in the loan agreement or bond issuance agreement. Interest accrual is calculated from the date the Ministry of Finance pays on behalf of the guaranteed party until the date the Ministry of Finance recovers the amount.

b) Regarding term: the mandatory term is determined by the Minister of Finance based on the ability to repay each project, but not exceeding five years at most;

c) The source of the loan is taken from the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund as provided in point d, Clause 1, Article 36 of the Public Debt Management Law.

7. In the event that the guaranteed party breaches the commitments in the mandatory loan agreement for three consecutive periods, in addition to the collateral provisions stipulated in this Decree, the guaranteed party must open a "special account" and all revenue of the guaranteed party must be transferred to this account to ensure priority repayment of the guaranteed loan. The minimum balance in the special account must equal one hundred percent of the amount due for the next installment period and must be maintained for a continuous one-year period. After this period, if the guaranteed party fulfills its commitments, the application of this account will be terminated.

Article 16. Transfer and Assignment of Guaranteed Obligations

Clause 1. The transfer and assignment of government-guaranteed loans or bond issuances must be approved by the Ministry of Finance.

Clause 2. The transferee or assignee of the guaranteed party shall assume obligations corresponding to the scope of the transferred or assigned loan or bond issuance from the guaranteed party.

Article 17. Amendment and Modification of Guarantee Letters

Clause 1. During the implementation of the guarantee, the guaranteed party shall have the responsibility to report in writing to the Ministry of Finance any changes related to the conditions of the loan contract immediately upon occurrence of such changes.

Clause 2. If the content of the amendment to the loan contract does not increase the total value of the guaranteed loan, the Prime Minister authorizes the Minister of Finance to decide and issue an amended letter or appendix to the guarantee letter.

Clause 3. If the content of the amendment to the loan contract increases the total value of the guaranteed loan, the Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for submitting to the Prime Minister for decision before issuing an amended letter or appendix to the guarantee letter.

Article 18. Handling Cases of Default by the Guaranteed Party

In cases where the guaranteed party is unable to timely and fully fulfill its repayment obligation to the lender, leading to the Ministry of Finance having to repay on their behalf:

Clause 1. If the guaranteed party encounters temporary difficulties in repaying interest:

Point a. Within three payment periods, the Ministry of Finance requests the representative of the owner or the parent company of the guaranteed party to repay on their behalf. If the representative of the owner or the parent company is unable to repay, the Ministry of Finance may temporarily advance funds from the Debt Repayment Reserve Fund to repay.

Point b. After three payment periods, the Ministry of Finance requests the representative of the owner or the parent company (if any) of the guaranteed party to repay on their behalf. If the representative of the owner or the parent company still cannot repay or if the guaranteed party does not have a representative of the owner or a parent company, the Ministry of Finance requests the superior management agency of the guaranteed party to inspect, propose measures for handling, and report to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister for decision on handling measures.

Clause 2. If the guaranteed party encounters serious difficulties leading to inability to repay principal and accrued interest, and after applying the measures prescribed in Clause 6, Article 15 of this Decree, the Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the ownership agency or the superior management agency of the guaranteed party to conduct inspections, determine causes, and develop handling plans to report to the Prime Minister for decision in each specific case.

Clause 3. In cases where the guaranteed party completely loses the ability to repay, the Ministry of Finance reports to the Prime Minister for decision to handle collateral assets according to Article 14 of this Decree. If the disposal of collateral assets is insufficient to recover the loan, the Ministry of Finance reports to the Prime Minister for handling according to the provisions of the law.

Clause 4. In all cases of non-repayment mentioned above, if it is determined that the cause is subjective, the Ministry of Finance proposes to the Prime Minister to entrust competent agencies to handle individuals who violate the law and lead to the situation of non-repayment according to the provisions of the law.

Article 19. Reporting System

Clause 1. Quarterly and annually, the guaranteed party has the responsibility to submit financial reports to the Ministry of Finance. For annual reports, they need to be confirmed by the State Audit Agency or independent auditors. In necessary cases, the Ministry of Finance may request the guaranteed party to report on relevant contents.

Clause 2. Report on the withdrawal of capital (date and amount of each withdrawal), repayment, and outstanding balance every six months according to the guaranteed loan or bond issuance, following the model specified in Appendix IV attached to this Decree.

Clause 3. Report on the implementation of programs and projects every six months during the capital withdrawal period until the construction phase ends.

Clause 4. Report at the end of the construction phase.

Clause 5. Project evaluation report after the project ends.

Article 20. Inspection and Supervision

1. The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for regularly supervising the performance of obligations by the guaranteed party.

2. In cases where the guaranteed party shows signs of financial difficulties or experiences a situation where it cannot repay debts as stipulated in Article 15 of this Decree, the Ministry of Finance shall conduct a financial review of the project, determine the causes of insolvency, and report to the Prime Minister on measures to address the situation.

Article 21. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect from April 5, 2011.

2. The Decision No. 272/2006/QD-TTg dated November 28, 2006 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Regulations on the issuance and management of government guarantees for foreign loans is hereby repealed.

3. For government guarantees issued prior to the issuance of this Decree and still in force, any issues arising under the guarantee letters shall continue to be implemented in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

Article 22. Responsibility for enforcement

The Minister, Heads of Ministries equivalent to ministries, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities, enterprises, organizations, and individuals concerned shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.