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In the context of digital transformation and globalization, enterprises are facing new challenges in managing legal risk. Changes in the structure of investment and business activities have increased the complexity of legal risks, requiring companies to adopt new approaches to manage these risks from the design stage of transactions.
On 17 April 2026, the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC), in collaboration with the Central–West region branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Intellectual Property One Member Limited liability company, organized a forum in Da Nang on “Legal risk management and prevention, dispute resolution in investment and business activities in the digital era.” The event drew more than 100 delegates representing state management agencies, legal experts, the business community and industry associations.
In opening remarks, Ho Quang Buu, Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee, said that rapid global digital transformation is changing the investment and business environment in profound ways. While it brings opportunities for innovation, market expansion and productivity gains, legal risks and disputes in investment and business activities are also becoming more diverse and complex.
Buu noted that Da Nang’s development goals—including becoming a major economic and social center of the Central region, building a green smart livable city, and developing infrastructure for transport, logistics, urban development and modern technology—require special mechanisms such as an innovation center and an international financial and commercial hub. In this context, establishing a transparent and stable investment environment that can prevent and effectively handle legal risks is described as a pressing requirement.
He also said the city has been improving the investment climate, accelerating administrative reform, strengthening the application of digital technology in state governance, and refining policies to support business development. “Da Nang always regards the business community and investors as the driving force of development,” Buu said, adding that the city government will continue to accompany businesses, remove difficulties promptly, and improve institutions and governance quality to build a safe, transparent and competitive investment environment.
The forum included panel discussions. Professor and Doctor Le Hong Hanh, President of VIAC, said that digital transformation and globalization are fundamentally changing the structure of investment and business activities, increasing the complexity of legal risks—particularly in contracts, data and intellectual property. He emphasized that legal risk should be treated as an intrinsic factor of a transaction and managed from the design stage.
From the business community perspective, Nguyen Tien Quang, Director of VCCI Central–Southwest region, said that for Da Nang—a center of economy, innovation and logistics in the Central–West region—building a transparent, safe and stable investment environment with risk control is a prerequisite for enhancing competitiveness and attracting high-quality investment flows.
The discussions highlighted that, alongside rapid digitalization of investment, production and business activities, enterprises face new challenges. These include legal risk in contracting and contract execution, commercial disputes, and conflicts of interest in investment. They also extend to digital-environment issues such as data, information security, intellectual property and cross-border transactions.
The forum noted that the cost of a dispute tends to exceed the cost of early prevention by a large margin, making legal risk management an increasingly core capability for enterprises in the digital era.
Speakers said digital transformation is both a development driver and a source of new opportunities and challenges. In investment and business activities, enterprises are increasingly relying on technology and data to optimize operations, which in turn makes legal risks related to contracts, data and intellectual property more complex.
Accordingly, legal risk management should be integrated into every business transaction. Enterprises are encouraged to embed legal risk management into transaction design—starting from identifying potential risks, building preventive measures, and establishing effective dispute resolution mechanisms. This is described as helping reduce risk while improving the ability to forecast and respond to changes in the business environment.
To implement this, enterprises should strengthen legal risk management capabilities through staff training, building effective risk-management processes, and collaborating closely with legal experts. The forum also pointed to the use of technological tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to identify and manage legal risks more effectively.
In the context of digital transformation and globalization, managing legal risk was framed not only as a challenge but also as an opportunity for enterprises to enhance competitiveness by protecting themselves from legal risks and seizing opportunities in the digital business environment.
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