Authorities in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi are calling on foreign investors to build international hospitals to better serve local people and ease the severe overload at public hospitals, said a senior official. Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao made the statement at a meeting with former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Hanoi Oct 29. Mr. Thao proposed the building of Vietnam-Japan Friendship Hospital, which is expected to provide high-quality services for not only Japanese people living in Hanoi but also Vietnamese patients. The projects are expected to reduce the forex drain from local patients who spend an estimated $2 billion in overseas medical treatments each year. According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam now has more than 157 operational private hospitals, including six foreign-invested hospitals with an initial investment capital of $94 million. (Cong An Nhan Dan – People’s Police Oct 30 p1)
