Vietnam’s health sector has to date attracted 70 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects totaling $908 million, the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency said. In the first four months, the Southeast Asian country’s total FDI for health projects was $200,000, the agency noted. Vietnam has opened an additional 27 private hospitals since 2008, raising the total number to 97, which helped ease the overload at state-owned hospitals, the Ministry of Health’s check-up and treatment department said. The numbers of private and foreign-invested hospitals are likely to rise sharply in the coming years as the government is offering incentives, said the MoH. Under Vietnam’s WTO commitments, foreign investors can establish 100% foreign-invested hospitals or set up business cooperation contracts with Vietnamese partners. The minimum capital for hospital construction is $20 million. This year Vietnam will spend VND50 trillion ($2.62 billion) or 8.6% of the total state budget for the health sector.
