Vibrant M&A deals cure medical service market

The medical service market has attracted broad business attention

Vibrant deals

Major M&A deals in 2018 include the acquisition of the American Dental Systems by Sun Medical Center; the acquisition of Euvipharm by the Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company; the acquisition of 70 percent of Davipharm’s stocks by Adamed Group (Poland); the acquisition of the Hanh Phuc International Hospital by the Hoan My Group. Other deals include the acquisition of the Long Chau drugstore chain by FPT; and the acquisition of 49 percent of the An Khang drugstore chain’s stocks by the retail giant The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World).

In the first quarter of 2019, the FLC Group invested in an international general hospital with 1,000 beds in Thai Binh Province. VinFa, a member of Vingroup, and DKSH, a leading Switzerland-based market expansion services provider, recently signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in drug import, export and distribution. VinFa and DKSH will look for hi-tech pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide to enable the production of modern medicines in Vietnam. The two companies also look forward exporting Vietnamese drugs, especially traditional medicines made with advanced technology.

The Vietnamese medical service market has attracted not only European businesses but also Asian companies, especially from India and China.

Room for development

According to Deputy Minister of Health Duong Quoc Cuong, the Vietnamese medical service market has great potential for investors, manufacturers, traders and distributors to seek partners and cooperation opportunities. The 26th Vietnam International Medical and Pharmaceutical Exhibition took place in Hanoi recently, consisting of 550 booths and bringing together 450 domestic and foreign companies. Many companies from Chinese Taipei, China, the US, Hong Kong (China) and Thailand participated in the exhibition, not for the first time. “This reflects the expectations of manufacturers and traders for the development of the Vietnamese medical product, equipment and services market,” Cuong said.

Experts believe that with more than 93 million consumers, the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market is very attractive to foreign investors. It is estimated that about 40,000 Vietnamese people go abroad annually for medical examination and treatment, which cost them more than US$1 billion. This reflects great potential of the domestic medical service market.

However, the growing presence of foreign pharmaceutical firms in the Vietnamese market has created pressure on domestic companies. To meet the demand for high-quality medical examination and treatment, in the opinion of experts, Vietnam needs to upgrade the infrastructure and improve the quality of human resources. An effective integrated service system meeting international clinical standards is also required.