A medical worker operates testing equipment (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – The rising demand for healthcare has
made Vietnam a promising destination for domestic and foreign investors.
According to the Finance Ministry’s Department
of Public Expenditure, society’s total spending on healthcare compared to gross
domestic product has been increasing. Since 2008, the State budget’s spending
on healthcare has risen at a faster pace than the budget’s overall spending
growth rate, reaching about 7 – 8 percent of total State expenditure.
In Vietnam, have
been developing strongly in recent years. While there were no private hospitals
before 1993, the number of such facilities has reached 206 at present. More
than 35,000 private clinics have also been opened nationwide.
Dilshaad Ali, an advisor of DG Medical – a
healthcare solution providing company, noted several important factors making
attractive to investors, including an aging
population, fast economic growth, changing lifestyles, and rising demand for
health insurance.
He added as the middle class is flourishing,
people have also increased their spending, leading to the mushrooming of
private medical establishments in big cities.
More than 80 percent of Vietnam’s population is
covered by health insurance and five percent have private health insurance.
Meanwhile, 73 percent of the population pay hospital fees in cash. Notably, the
model is still in the initial stages.
These factors contribute to investors’ interest
in Vietnam’s healthcare market, Ali said.
Other experts said apart from soaring demand for
high-end services, the State’s plan to divest capital from many big
pharmaceutical firms has also encouraged private investment.
The recent wave of private investment in the
healthcare sector began in 2015 with several mergers and acquisitions
(M&As). Recently, the Hoan My Medical Corporation has performed multiple
M&As to expand its network, the Nha khoa My group has merged into the Sun
Medical Centre, and Japan’s Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd has spent an
additional 3.4 trillion VND (145.8 million USD) to buy almost 67 percent of DHG
Pharmaceutical JSC – the biggest pharmaceutical company in Vietnam.
Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Department
of Health Tang Chi Thuong admitted that the State-owned system hasn’t been able
to meet rising demand for healthcare.
He noted in 2018, there were more than 45.3
million outpatient visits and 2.5 million inpatient stays in medical facilities
in HCM City, and these figures are still growing, worsening overloading at
central hospitals.
Echoing the view, Secretary General of the HCM
City Society for Reproductive Medicine Ho Manh Tuong said the ongoing outflow
of Vietnamese people to other countries to receive treatment shows the local
healthcare system hasn’t kept up with demand.
As the city lacks funds for public medical
services, it is necessary to issues policies encouraging private investment, he
added.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
