Summary: Signing a factory acquisition in Vietnam is not the end of the risk period — the first 100 days after closing are where diligence findings either get remediated in an orderly way or turn into operational and regulatory problems. This article sets out a structured post-closing compliance plan for the period immediately after acquiring a Vietnamese manufacturing business.
By ECOVIS Vietnam Law | Last reviewed: 17 July 2026
“The deal team’s job ends at signing. The compliance team’s job is only beginning. Every gap flagged in diligence needs an owner, a deadline, and a closing-out process in the first hundred days — otherwise the same issues that were priced into the deal quietly become the new owner’s unmanaged risk.” — Attorney Vu Manh Quynh, Founder & Managing Partner, ECOVIS Vietnam Law
Why This Matters for Foreign Investors / Foreign Companies
The “100 days” in this article is a management framework, not a statutory cure period — Vietnamese law does not set a single fixed deadline for remediating diligence findings generally; actual timelines depend on the specific regulator, licence, and violation involved, and some matters carry their own statutory or administrative deadlines that fall inside or outside 100 days. The 100-day horizon is a governance discipline recommended so that ownership and accountability are assigned early, not a legal requirement in itself.
Diligence findings are only useful if they lead to action. A gap identified before signing — an incomplete construction approval, an unresolved environmental non-conformity, a licence pending re-registration — does not fix itself at closing. Without a structured remediation plan with clear ownership and deadlines, these findings tend to sit unresolved, particularly where the acquired facility’s local management was not directly involved in the diligence process and may not treat the findings with the same urgency as the new parent company.
Key Priorities for the First 100 Days
- Close out licence and permit updates identified during diligence. Confirm which registrations, environmental approvals, and sector-specific permits require post-closing action, and assign clear ownership and deadlines for each rather than leaving this to informal follow-up.
- Remediate construction and fire-safety gaps on a prioritized basis. Not every gap identified in diligence carries the same urgency — prioritize items with active compliance risk or safety implications over cosmetic or low-risk documentation gaps.
- Confirm environmental compliance status and resolve open items. Where diligence flagged pending enforcement or unresolved non-conformities, engage with the environmental gap directly rather than treating it as a legacy issue that predates the new ownership.
- Integrate workforce records and confirm labor compliance. Reconcile social insurance contributions, employment contract terms, and any pending labor disputes identified in diligence; communicate clearly with the workforce about what is and is not changing.
- Review and update governance and signing authority. Confirm the legal representative, internal approval authority matrix, and any changes needed to align the facility’s governance with the new parent company’s own control requirements.
- Reconcile tax and customs positions. Address any historical exposure identified in diligence, and confirm the facility’s ongoing tax and customs compliance processes meet the new parent’s own standards.
- Establish ongoing compliance monitoring. Move from a one-time diligence exercise to a recurring compliance calendar — licence renewal dates, environmental reporting deadlines, and labor compliance reviews should be tracked systematically going forward, not rediscovered at the next audit or transaction.
Practical Risks for Management
- General Counsel risk diligence findings going unaddressed if no formal remediation plan with ownership and deadlines is established at closing.
- Boards risk being unable to report integration progress to headquarters if there is no structured tracking of post-closing compliance items.
- COOs risk operational disruption if construction, environmental, or fire-safety remediation is not prioritized and sequenced correctly against ongoing production needs.
- CFOs risk unbudgeted remediation costs if the compliance plan is not costed and tracked as part of the broader integration budget.
Practical Action — 100-Day Compliance Plan Framework
- Convert every diligence finding into a tracked action item with an assigned owner and deadline within the first two weeks after closing.
- Prioritize items by risk — active compliance or safety exposure first, documentation and administrative gaps second.
- Confirm licence and permit update sequencing against the facility’s ongoing operating needs, avoiding any interim operating gap.
- Reconcile workforce records and communicate clearly with employees about governance and reporting changes.
- Establish a recurring compliance calendar covering licence renewals, environmental reporting, and labor compliance reviews.
- Report progress against the plan to the board or headquarters at a defined cadence (e.g. 30/60/100-day checkpoints) so remediation is visible, not assumed.
How Ecovis Vietnam Law Can Support
Ecovis Vietnam Law helps foreign acquirers build and execute a structured post-acquisition compliance plan for a Vietnamese factory — converting diligence findings into a prioritized, owned, and tracked remediation program, and establishing ongoing compliance monitoring after the initial 100 days.
FAQ
Should remediation of diligence findings start before or after closing?
Planning should start before closing so the plan is ready to execute immediately, but most substantive remediation work happens after closing, once the buyer has operational control.
How should remediation items be prioritized?
By risk — active compliance or safety exposure should be addressed before purely administrative or documentation gaps, even if the latter are easier to resolve quickly.
Does the acquired facility’s local management usually understand the urgency of diligence findings?
Not always — local teams may have operated with certain gaps for years without incident and may not share the new parent company’s risk tolerance; clear communication and ownership assignment help align expectations.
What happens if a compliance gap cannot be fully resolved within 100 days?
Not every item will close within 100 days — the goal is to have every item tracked with a realistic timeline and interim risk-management measures, not to force artificial deadlines that create their own compliance shortcuts.
How often should compliance progress be reported to the board?
A defined cadence — commonly 30/60/100-day checkpoints — helps keep remediation visible and accountable rather than assumed to be progressing without evidence.
Call to Action
Request a Post-Acquisition Compliance Plan. Ecovis Vietnam Law helps foreign acquirers convert diligence findings into a prioritized, tracked remediation program for a newly acquired Vietnamese factory. Contact us to build your 100-day plan.
Disclaimer
This article is for general information only and should not be treated as legal, tax or accounting advice. Specific remediation plans should be tailored to each transaction’s diligence findings.