Private sector business

A surgery conducted at the Vinmec Times City General Hospital, a private hospital in Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Private investment is forecast to keep flowing into the healthcare sector in the time ahead with the appearance of many new drivers, according to the Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper. Nipro Pharma Vietnam , invested in by the Nipro Pharma Corporation - one of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical companies - is completing necessary procedures to add 270 million USD to its investment in a factory at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the Japan External Trade Organisation ( JETRO ), a large number of Japanese businesses are seeking the chance to tap into Vietnam’s healthcare market given its substantial potential. The sector has attracted new investment inflows recently, especially last year, with a number of new projects from both domestic and foreign companies. In late 2020, a group of investors led by the Singaporean Government’s GIC sovereign wealth fund poured more than 203 million USD into Vingroup’s VMC, which develops and operates the Vinmec hospital system. VinaCapital’s Vietnam Opportunity Fund, meanwhile, invested 26.7 million USD in the Thu Cuc International General Hospital, while the UK’s Real Capital London debuted the Hong Anh (UK Vietnam) Medical Campus in HCM City, worth about 156 million USD. Many projects funded by domestic investors were also licensed or became operational last year, such as the TV.Pharm Hi-tech Pharmaceutical Complex, Van Phuc - Sai Gon Hospital, and Hoan My Western Hospital. Such moves show that hospital investment is increasingly attractive to investors due to growing middle class demand for high-quality healthcare, the newspaper said. Meanwhile, multinational pharmaceutical groups such as Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, GSK, and AstraZeneca are promoting “social business” via new programmes. In late January, AstraZeneca worked with the Ministry of …

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The Hanoitimes - Many businesses are in shortage of workforce after a long-break Tet holiday, as travel remains restricted between different localities. A prolonged Covid-19 in a number of provinces and cities is putting local businesses under serious stress to avoid disruption of operations. A Covid-19 checkpoint at An Duong district, Hai Phong city. Source: Phapluatxahoi.vn The Private Economic Development Research Board (Board IV) revealed the information following its quick survey with 12 business associations from February 19-22. In the survey, the majority of respondents said they forecast the Covid-19 pandemic to stay in long-term and have adjusted their operations to better cope with the situation. However, businesses are facing some common problems, including shortage of workers after a long-break Tet holiday as travel remains restricted between different localities. The Covid-19 pandemic also causes severe impacts on the transportation sector, in which many transport companies are operating at 20-30% of their capacity. In recent days, movements of goods from and out of Hai Duong province, the country’s pandemic hotspot, to other localities have been stalled, impacting supply and production chains of various industrial parks. This came at the fact that drivers from Hai Duong are not allowed to leave the province, while those from outside do not want to enter on fear of Covid-19, or some Covid-19 checkpoints stop drivers from Hai Duong to go through. Strict anti-Covid-19 measures adopted by Hai Duong’s neighboring cities/provinces, especially in Hai Phong, have led to a stagnation of sale and distribution of farm produce from Hai Duong, including the transportation of such products to Hai Phong port for exports. A report from Hai Duong Automobile Transportation Association noted in case hurdles for transportation of Hai Duong farm produce are not removed until early March 2021, the financial damage would be around …

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Vietnam logs no new COVID-19 infections on March 1 morning Vietnam documented zero COVID-19 infections in the past 12 hours as of 6:00 am on March 1, leaving the national tally unchanged at 2,448 patients, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Earlier, Vietnam reported 16 COVID-19 cases at 6pm on February 28, including 12 locally infected cases in the northern province of Hai Duong, the country's largest COVID-19 hotspot, and four imported cases in the southern provinces of Tay Ninh and Dong Thap. Of the total infections, there were 1,542 domestically-transmitted cases, including 849 recorded since the latest outbreak hit the northern province of Hai Duong on January 27. Ten cities and provinces nationwide have gone through 16 consecutive days without any locally-infected cases of COVID-19, including Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Binh Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Gia Lai, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, and Ho Chi Minh City. Meanwhile, Hanoi has recorded 14 straight days of no coronavirus cases. A total 60,693 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine nationwide, including 560 at hospitals, 12,298 at other quarantine sites, and 47,835 at home. Among patients under treatment, 62 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 53 twice, and 95 thrice. Report from the Treatment Sub-committee showed that Vietnam has seen 1,876 recoveries so far. In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering), and khai bao y te (health declaration)./. Hai Duong dissolves COVID-19 treatment hospital No.1 Chairman of the Hai Duong provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duong Thai, who is also head of the provincial Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, on February 27 decided to …

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