Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - HCM City authorities have granted registration certificates for religious activities to 25 local Protestant organisations and sects.
The certificates were granted to Protestant organisations and sects as per the Prime Minister’s Directive 01/2005/CT-TTg on Protestantism-related affairs.
Nguyen Ngoc San, head of the HCM City Department for Religious Affairs, said the granting of certificates was in response to the wishes of Protestants to organise religious activities under the motto "Living according to the Gospel and serving God, the Fatherland and the Nation."
The department had previously granted similar certificates to three major Protestant factions, namely the Viet Nam Mennonite Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Grace Baptist Church.
HCM City is now home to nearly 90 Protestant organisations, sects and groups with a large number of followers.