Connecting to promote foreign investment flows into Vietnam's healthcare sector

Currently, the development of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the healthcare sector in Vietnam is facing many challenges in the legal framework. The legal corridor for M&A is not yet complete, administrative procedures are still complicated; regulations on corporate governance and asset valuation in the healthcare sector are not yet synchronized, causing many difficulties for M&A transactions.

The above information was given at the International Conference on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam's Healthcare Industry 2025 (HIMA 2025) held on November 21 in Hanoi .

At the Conference, Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang - Deputy Chief of Office of the Ministry of Health said that in the current era of development and integration, the birth of Resolution 72 is an important resolution of the Politburo on protecting, caring for and improving people's health. The development of a synchronous and modern public and private health system, meeting the people's needs for medical examination and treatment, aims to propose specific solutions to implement the goals, including strengthening international cooperation in the health sector.

The goal of Vietnam's health sector by 2030 is to expand the scope of health care programs to the community, especially developing medical examination and treatment services; ensure health security, promptly respond to climate change and medical emergencies, gradually control disease risk factors, improve the capacity to manage the medical environment and ensure fairness in medical examination and treatment to meet the increasing health care needs of the community.

Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang - Deputy Chief of Office of the Ministry of Health. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

In that context, M&A has become one of the strategic tools to help the healthcare ecosystem develop faster, more sustainably, and approach international standards. However, this is also a field that requires transparency, professionalism, and legal risk management at the highest level. Only when legal processes, auditing, valuation, and operating standards are standardized, will businesses be ready to enter the IPO investment cooperation playground.

According to Mr. Thang, looking back at recent years, the Vietnamese health sector is facing a particularly important time, a new opportunity for integration and development. Diversifying hospital models to improve the efficiency of health care, improving the capacity and effectiveness of state management in the fields of pharmaceuticals, food, medical equipment and improving the production and trading capacity of medical equipment domestically and internationally. Therefore, the forum is an opportunity to help connect domestic and international investors, creating conditions to promote foreign investment flows into Vietnam.

Associate Professor, Doctor Dang Duc Nhu - Senior Advisor of Medicallaw (with many years of experience working at the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management - Ministry of Health) analyzed that globally, the M&A market in healthcare exploded in the period of 2020-2021 with transaction value in the first half of 2021 reaching 330-340 billion USD thanks to many deals over 1 billion USD. While the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector decreased by 33% in transaction value, healthcare services increased by 50%, reflecting the trend of focusing on large-scale deals. Vietnam emerged as a potential market, with the total M&A value in the first 8 months of 2025 reaching 4.8 billion USD, up 21% over the previous year, thanks to a rapidly aging population, an expanding middle class and open investment policies.

Data shows that M&A activity continues to grow strongly, with deal sizes increasingly large, especially in areas such as healthcare, education, retail and technology. Vietnam’s healthcare market is on track for strong growth, from 18.5 billion USD in 2022 to an expected increase of over 25 billion USD by 2025.

Many outstanding deals put Vietnam on the regional healthcare M&A map, typically Thomson Medical Group buying FV Hospital for 381.4 million USD, Livzon (China) owning 65% of Imexpharm shares and Dongwha Pharm (Korea) investing 30 million USD in Trung Son pharmacy chain.

In the context of the strong development of the global and regional healthcare market, M&A activities in the healthcare sector are increasingly vibrant to help businesses expand their scale, improve operational efficiency, innovate technology and expand their service network. Vietnam is considered a potential market for M&A deals thanks to the rapidly developing private healthcare system, the increasing demand for high-quality healthcare services, and the increasingly open State policies, encouraging foreign investment in the healthcare sector.

In addition, the trend of globalization and international integration is promoting a strong transformation of the healthcare sector towards personalization, digitalization and data-based. Strengthening international cooperation not only brings valuable resources and experience to healthcare, but also helps Vietnamese healthcare quickly access advanced techniques, improve professional qualifications and approach international standards.

The M&A Forum is a place to analyze and provide an overview of the mergers and acquisitions market in the healthcare industry, evaluate trends and opportunities in various fields to realize M&A opportunities through specific deals.

The world's leading speakers attending the conference included Mr. Brian K. Langenberg (ONEtoONE Corporate Finance), Dr. Gabriel Stein (Stein Brothers) and Mr. Peter Sørensen (Asia Business Builder) who brought global perspectives on M&A, from macroeconomic and geopolitical analysis to management experience in the healthcare sector./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/ket-noi-de-thuc-day-dong-von-dau-tu-nuoc-ngoai-vao-nganh-y-te-viet-nam-post1078459.vnp