A surgery conducted at the Vinmec Times City General Hospital, a private hospital in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Nipro Pharma Vietnam, invested in by the NiproPharma Corporation - one of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical companies - iscompleting necessary procedures to add 270 million USD to its investment in afactory at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to the Japan External TradeOrganisation (JETRO), a large number of Japanese businesses are seeking the chanceto tap into Vietnam’s healthcare market given its substantial potential.
The sector has attracted new investment inflowsrecently, especially last year, with a number of new projects from bothdomestic and foreign companies.
In late 2020, a group of investors led by theSingaporean Government’s GIC sovereign wealth fund poured more than 203 millionUSD into Vingroup’s VMC, which develops and operates the Vinmec hospitalsystem.
VinaCapital’s Vietnam Opportunity Fund,meanwhile, invested 26.7 million USD in the Thu Cuc International GeneralHospital, while the UK’s Real Capital London debuted the Hong Anh (UK Vietnam)Medical Campus in HCM City, worth about 156 million USD.
Many projects funded by domestic investors werealso licensed or became operational last year, such as the TV.Pharm Hi-techPharmaceutical Complex, Van Phuc - Sai Gon Hospital, and Hoan My WesternHospital.
Such moves show that hospital investment isincreasingly attractive to investors due to growing middle class demand forhigh-quality healthcare, the newspaper said.
Meanwhile, multinational pharmaceutical groups suchas Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, GSK, and AstraZeneca are promoting “socialbusiness” via new programmes.
In late January, AstraZeneca worked with theMinistry of Health (MoH) and three specialised associations to launch acommunications campaign to help raise awareness in Vietnam about asthma.
The MoH’s Department of Medical Examination andTreatment, the UK Embassy in Vietnam, and GSK recently signed a memorandum ofunderstanding on cooperation in antimicrobial resistance prevention and controlfor 2021-2023, the paper reported.
The healthcare sector estimated that it needsabout 176 trillion VND (over 7.6 billion USD at current exchange rates) forinfrastructure development between 2010 and 2015. Since 2010, however, theGovernment has met only two-thirds of this capital demand.
The sector therefore views private investment asan important source of funding.
Despite this, private investment in healthcarestill falls short of expectations, Dau tu noted, adding that the use of public-privatepartnerships (PPPs) remains modest due to the absence of a legal framework for suchinvestment.
The Law on PPP Investment, which took effect onJanuary 1, is expected to address obstacles relating to the legal framework andfacilitate private investment in healthcare. The 2020 Law on Investment and Lawon Enterprises are also set to create momentum for capital flows.
In the face of certain barriers, World Bank analystshave recommended prudence in the selection of PPP models and contracts inhealthcare, suggesting that the MoH build a circular guiding selection,preparation, implementation, monitoring, and assessment of healthcare PPPprojects in a fair and effective manner./.
VNA
