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Tag: Vietnam

  • New international container route goes through Quang Ninh

    New international container route goes through Quang Ninh

    Cái Lân International Container Terminal (CICT) announced the launch of a new route for container vessels ACS Cái Lân connecting India, Malaysia, Singapore, Việt Nam, China and the Republic of Korea on Tuesday.

    The operator of Cái Lân Terminal also welcomed the 5,023 TEU Hyundai Premium container ship from Hyundai Merchant Marine to the port during the launch.

    Founded by an alliance between two leading carriers, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Gold Star Line, the new route goes through Cái Lân Terminal in the northern province of Quảng Ninh of Việt Nam once a week.

    The Cái Lân link to the ACS international route is an opportunity for Quảng Ninh province and other northern localities to utilise their potential in the marine industry.

    Nguyễn Đức Long, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the province would establish a team delivering streamlined public administration services at the port and not collect port infrastructure fees to aid marine-based businesses.

  • Auto Expo 2017 opens in Hanoi

    Auto Expo 2017 opens in Hanoi

    Domestic auto assemblers and parts suppliers are showcasing their latest products at the 14th International Automobile and Supporting Industries Exhibition (Auto Expo 2017), which opened in Hanoi today.

    The four-day event, sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), is being held at theHanoi International Exhibition Centre by the MoIT’s Industry Policy and Strategy Institute (IPSI) and the Vietnam Society of Automotive Engineers (VSAE).

    The expo has around 450 booths that have on display a wide range of vehicles, including passenger cars, buses, trucks, vans, vehicles for special purposes such as those serving construction, mining, agricultural, military, medical and hygiene activities, as well as two-wheelers such as scooters, motorcycles and electric bikes.

    With an exhibition space spanning 10,000sq.m, the expo also showcases spare parts and components for producing, manufacturing and assembling automobiles, motorbikes and other vehicles. On display are technologies in moulding, welding, plating, painting, automobile interior decor and toys; maintenance and repair equipment; measurement and diagnosis systems; as well as transportation rescue vehicles and devices.

    At the event, exhibitors have introduced services such as garage services, banking and insurance services, and consultative and assistance services for activities related to vehicle manufacturing and trading.

    In addition to the participation of local auto firms such as Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation (VEAM), CAMC Việt Nam and Vietnam Machine Investment Development JSC (VIMID), the exhibition has also attracted foreign manufacturers and companies from the US, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan and Malaysia.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Đỗ Thắng Hải said the expo would bring more business opportunities for auto firms, help them connect with the auto market and provide a favourable environment for enterprises looking for clients.

    In 2016, the Vietnamese auto market sold around 300,000 cars, up 24 per cent over the previous year, of which the sales of commercial vehicles and special purpose vehicles increased by 25 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively. In the first quarter of 2017, the auto market sold around 65,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 8 per cent.-

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  • Vietnamese fruits conquer Japanese market

    Vietnamese fruits conquer Japanese market

    Before bananas, white-flesh dragon fruits and mangos were constantly shipped to the Japanese market. Meanwhile, red-flesh dragon fruits reached Japanese consumers in March shortly after they were licensed for export to the East Asian country.

    Hidekatsu Ishikawa, President of Vient Co. Ltd, a Japanese importer, said Vietnamese bananas suit Japanese people’s taste and they are sold at competitive prices.

    To date, besides such key exports as garments, footwear and aquatic products, Vietnamese dragon fruits, mangos, frozen litchis and bananas have been present in Japan. Fresh litchis and star apples also see great potential in this fastidious market.

    According to Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the​ Agency for Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) is entering a new phase, opening opportunities for Vietnamese exports.

    Vietnamese products, especially farm produce and aquatic products, will enjoy preferential tax rates in the Japanese market. Regarding aquaculture, tax will be cut down to 1.31 percent in 2019 from 5.4 percent in 2008. Thus, domestic enterprises should take full advantage to gain benefits, Hai stressed.

    He also recommended that exporters must ensure utmost quality for their products as Japan has put in place numerous technical barriers on agricultural imports.

    Meanwhile, a representative from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) also noted that packing and transportation should be paid special attention, ensuring that origin of agricultural products can be traced easily.

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  • Uber, Grab conquer airport taxi market

    Uber, Grab conquer airport taxi market

    Uber launched a service package at the flat price of VND150,000 to carry passengers from any location in the inner city of Hanoi. In HCM City, Grab sometimes has a promotional fee of VND20,000 for trips to the airport.

    “You will have to pay VND130,000 for every trip to the airport with traditional taxi service, while it’ll take you VND70,000 to go with Grab, and sometimes the fee is just VND20,000 when Grab runs sale promotion campaign,” Tin, a passenger said.

    Uber, Grab cars flood airports

    Quang Huy in Cau Giay district, Hanoi said the service fee of VND150,000 set by Uber is ‘very reasonable’ which is much lower than the fee of VND200,000-250,000 he has to pay to traditional taxis.

    “I wonder if Uber gives any support to taxi drivers, so they can charge so little. However, as a customer, I really like this. And Uber’s services are acceptable,” he said.

    However, some passengers complained that it is difficult to catch Uber taxis. Uber drivers tend to refuse to serve passengers, saying that the VND150,000 service fee set by Uber is too low, which cannot bring profit to them.

    Hieu, a driver, said with the fee, drivers pocket VND40,000-50,000 for every trip to the airport after paying for fuel and other expenses. He would rather serve passengers within the city to get more profit.Uber drivers confirmed that they won’t serve passengers at the service fees set by Uber.

    Reporters also tried to hail Uber taxis and all drivers refused to serve when asked to go to Noi Bai Airport.

    Airport taxi firms complain about income 

    Traditional taxi drivers complained that their income has become unstable, though it is now the high season: children are finishing their academic year and people are beginning to travel.

    Quang Truong from Bac Ninh province, an airport taxi driver, said the appearance of Uber and Grab has badly affected his job. He could serve 10 trips a day on the Hanoi – Noi Bai route, but the number has been cut by half.

    However, Truong doesn’t think Uber and Grab drivers have better income.

    “More taxis in the market means higher competition and lower income,” he said.

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  • Ride-hailing firm Grab says likely to raise funds in near future

    Ride-hailing firm Grab says likely to raise funds in near future

    In five years, Grab’s network has grown from 40 drivers in one country to over 930,000 across 55 cities in seven countries including Vietnam.

    Ride-hailing firm Grab, Uber Technologies Inc’s largest rival in Southeast Asia, is likely to embark on a round of fundraising as it works to develop new offerings such as financial services, its chief executive told us on Tuesday.

    “I can’t specifically give a time line but I can imagine somewhere in the near future, there probably could be more money coming in. That’s probably quite likely,” Anthony Tan, group chief executive officer and co-founder of Grab, said in an interview after an event to mark the firm’s fifth anniversary.

    In five years, Grab’s network has grown from 40 drivers in one country to over 930,000 across 55 cities in seven countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

    The Singapore-based startup raised $750 million in a funding round in September, which sources said valued the firm at over $3 billion.

    Grab’s current investors include Chinese peer Didi Chuxing, China Investment Corp, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp and Vertex Ventures Holdings – a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd.

    Tan also said Grab is spending less on incentives per transaction even as competition with Uber increased after the U.S. firm exited the Chinese market last year.

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  • Japanese banks expand investments in Vietnam

    Japanese banks expand investments in Vietnam

    At a recent working session with the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), President and CEO of Mizuho Financial Group Yasuhiro Sato said Vietcombank is one of its most successful investments.

    He hoped the two sides will expand cooperation to other fields such as stocks and finance after five years of fruitful banking collaboration, aiming to develop Vietcombank into a strong financial group.

    Another Japanese financial group, Sumitomo Mitsui, has invested 225 million USD in the Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank). It has owned 15 percent of Eximbank since 2007.

    While meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue recently, President and CEO of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Ryuji Nishisaki said the group is interested in Vietnamese credit organisations.

    Apart from restructuring Eximbank, Sumitomo Mitsui is ready to help its subsidiary companies join the derivative and bond stock markets in Vietnam, he noted.

    Besides seasoned investors such as Sumitomo Mitsui, Mizuho, Bank of Tokyo, and Mitsubishi UFJ, many other banks from Japan are seeking Vietnamese partners.

    Most recently, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) sold 49 percent of shares in its Financial Leasing Company to Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SMTB)

    It can be said that Japan is the biggest shareholder of the banking system in Vietnam. With the current wave of investments from Japan, capital contribution deals will expand to other fields, experts said.

    Vietnamese banks are also keen to diversify cooperation channels with Japanese partners.

    Last week, the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) signed a cooperation agreement with Yanmar – a leading Japanese group in farming machines.

    Contracts worth 20 billion USD were signed between the two countries’ businesses and localities during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s ongoing visit to Japan.

    This record figure is expected to create a new wave of investments from Japanese firms into Vietnam in the coming years.

    In fact, domestic banks have eyed Japanese customers for five years, as the country’s investment in Vietnam has increased.

    In February 2017, BIDV signed a cooperation agreement with Fukuoka – the 16th largest bank in Japan to serve Japanese customers.

    VietinBank and Vietcombank also struck deals with dozens of Japanese banks.

    Vietcombank, in particular, inked cooperation agreements with nearly 60 banks from Japan.

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  • Vietjet inks strategic aircraft financing agreement with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

    Vietjet inks strategic aircraft financing agreement with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

    Today in Tokyo, Vietjet and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited (MUL), a member of Japan’s leading finance group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), signed a strategic agreement as witnessed by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and high-ranking dignitaries from Vietnam and Japan. The agreement will pave the way for MUL to finance Vietjet’s acquisition of three brand new A321 aircraft, worth US$348 million, according to the manufacturer’s listed price.

    The three aircraft are part of the A320 family aircraft contract signed earlier between Vietjet and European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Vietjet will receive the aircraft within this year to meet expansion plans for the airline’s domestic and international flight network. The airline has so far taken delivery of more than 20 brand new A321s and A320s.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Vietjet and MUL will also work together to share best practices for the operation and management of airlines.

    Last week, in the U.S., Vietjet also signed a series of deals worth a total of US$4.7 billion for engines and components maintenance support and its techical services, auxiliary power unit (APU) supply and APU technical maintenance and aircraft financing and/or purchasing.

  • Japan’s 7-Eleven set to clock in for Vietnam debut in June

    Japan’s 7-Eleven set to clock in for Vietnam debut in June

    The convenience store chain reportedly plans to open 100 stores in Vietnam in the next three years. Seven & i Holdings, which operates Japan’s biggest convenience store chain 7-Eleven, will open its first outlet in Ho Chi Minh City this month, according to information on the company’s official Facebook page.

    A recent post said the first 7-Eleven store in Vietnam could be opened in downtown District 1, District 3 or Binh Thanh. District 2, a popular neighborhood among foreigners and expats, is also a possible location, it said.

    The company has been hiring staff for its Vietnamese entry since early this year, around a year after its U.S. subsidiary signed a license agreement with Seven System Vietnam, a new firm founded by a Vietnamese restaurant chain.

    Seven & i Holdings plans to apply its home business model in Vietnam, and Japanese employees will be dispatched to help local staff develop products like ready meals, and to choose store locations and develop a distribution network.

    The company, which operates more than 61,500 7-Eleven outlets including more than half outside Japan, has opened stores in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

    The chain’s expansion comes as its rival FamilyMart, Japan’s second largest convenience store chain, said last month that it plans to stay focused on the domestic market after reporting losses in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia and Thailand.

    “We cannot continue to pour in more resources,” company president Koji Takayanagi told. FamilyMart first arrived in Vietnam in 2010 but was forced to withdraw before returning in July 2013. It had 150 stores at the end of last year.

    7-Eleven’s launch is expected to add heat to Vietnam’s retail market, which is listed in the top five in Southeast Asia and ranked 11th globally in terms of growth rate, according to the A.T. Kearny 2016 Global Retail Development Index.

    Vietnam’s trade ministry has projected the market to hit $179 billion by 2020, a jump of 52 percent from last year, with foreign convenience store operators already holding a 70-percent market share.

    The sector has a lot room to grow in Vietnam, where more than half of a population of nearly 92 million are young and the annual average income is expected to increase rapidly, the ministry said.

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  • Power consumption hits record high as Vietnam swelters under heat wave

    Power consumption hits record high as Vietnam swelters under heat wave

    Air conditioners and fans have been going at full blast as locals take cover. Vietnamese people have been draining the national power grid in an effort to keep cool over the past few days as temperatures climb to record highs, especially in the north.

    Nationwide power consumption was measured at 630 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) last Friday, up 11.8 percent over the previous week, according to the country’s power monopoly Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

    In the north, electricity output reached 290 million kWh that day, up 10 percent from last year.

    In Hanoi, the hottest part of the country since early June, local residents used up to 70 million kWh of electricity last Saturday, an increase of 8 million kWh from two days before.

    This is a 163-percent rise compared to the average level for May and a 127-percent rise against the same period last year.

    EVN has made preparations and there will be no power shortages, said Nguyen Duc Ninh, an EVN official.

    “This is just the first heat wave to hit this year, and EVN predicts higher power consumption as the temperature rises,” Ninh added.

    But he also calls on local residents to use electricity efficiently and economically to reduce the pressure on the power sector.

    On Saturday the Ministry of Industry and Trade said the government has no immediate plan to hike power prices.

    The demand for cooling devices has also been growing alongside the temperature over the past few days.

    Data from Google Trends revealed that key words for such devices, including air conditioners and steam cooling fans, surged over the weekend in Vietnam.

    “Sales of air conditioners rose 4-5 times to 120 units per day over the past week,” the owner of a store on Ha Dong District told.

    On Saturday afternoon, the temperature in Hanoi hit 41.5 degrees Celsius, the highest since 1971.

    On Monday morning, a 70-year-old woman fainted while driving a motorbike on Xa Dan Street in Hanoi and died just a few minutes later.

    Doctors at Bach Mai Hospital said the intense heat in the city may have been the cause of her sudden death.

    Meteorologists forecast that the heat wave in Hanoi will last until Tuesday.

  • It’s now easier than ever for Vietnamese to travel abroad

    It’s now easier than ever for Vietnamese to travel abroad

    Dao and her husband recently returned to Hanoi from Cambodia. “The way they (Cambodia) promote tourism is really professional, though the infrastructure and utilities are worse than Vietnam,” she said. “There are so many Vietnamese travelers in Cambodia. You can meet them everywhere.”

    Dao enjoyed the trip because she could make friends with other middle-aged women, who also love traveling. Soon after finishing the trip to Cambodia, they began thinking about the destination for next month.

    “We don’t like traveling domestically. The scenes in Vietnam are very beautiful, but the services are bad,” Dao said. Vietnam has seen the trend of traveling abroad rise in the last two to three years. A travel firm in Hanoi said 70 out of 100 clients of the firm book outbound tours.

    In high season, the firm often has to stop bookings sooner than planned because of the higher than expected number of travelers. The tours at VND10 million are especially attractive.

    The travel firm also finds it easier to design outbound tours because of stable and predictable fee services.

    According to Nguyen Cong Hoan, deputy director of Hanoi Redtours, Vietnamese want to visit developed countries and see new, different things not available in Vietnam. administrative procedures are no longer a problem for them now and tour fees are reasonable, while the services are good.

    Having realized the great potential of the Vietnamese market, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Singapore have set up tourism promotion agencies in Vietnam, and airlines have opened new air routes to Vietnam.

    On the Vietnam-Thailand route, for example, five to six airlines now provide direct flights, while the return ticket is just $120-130, or VND3 million, which is even cheaper than the ticket for the Hanoi-Nha Trang flight.

    The high number of Vietnamese people traveling abroad, therefore, is not a surprise at all. South Korea received more than 250,000 Vietnamese travelers in 2016, an increase of 58 percent over 2015.

    From 2012 to 2016, the number of Vietnamese travelers to Japan increased by four times. With the participation of seven air carriers which provide 220 flights between Vietnam and Taiwan, 40,000 Vietnamese traveled to Taiwan in January 2017, an increase of 91 percent over the same period last year.

    Cambodia received 1 million Vietnamese travelers and Thailand 830,000 in 2016.

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  • It’s “Free summer, Fly for free”, enjoy flying with Vietjet

    It’s “Free summer, Fly for free”, enjoy flying with Vietjet

    Hot on the heels of the launch of the sensational promotion campaign of “Free summer, Fly for free”, Vietjet announces a three-golden-day promotion on 06, 07, 08 June 2017, which offers 800,000 promotional tickets priced from only HKD0 within the golden hours 13h-15h at www.vietjetair.com. The promotion is applied for all international routes from Vietnam to Hong Kong, Seoul and Busan (South Korea), Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taichung and Tainan (Taiwan), Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Yangon (Myanmar) and Siem Reap (Cambodia) with travel time being from August 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 (except public holidays).

    Especially, all customers successfully booking tickets at www.vietjetair.com with instant payment within the golden hours from now to June 15, 2017 will also have the chances to join the lucky draw for the gifts of mobile phone top-up cards and air ticket promotion codes at summerwin.vietjetair.com.

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  • Hanoi beer loses in home market despite brief fame from Obama dinner

    Hanoi beer loses in home market despite brief fame from Obama dinner

    Hanoians favor Hanoi beer, Sai Gon beer and Heineken. There are no official statistics about the consumption of beer products, but analysts are sure the three brands dominate the Hanoi market.

    Hanoi Beer Alcohol and Beverage Corp (Habeco) has the Hanoi Beer brand and is located in Hanoi.

    Analysts said that the images of Obama drinking Hanoi beer, which appeared in all local newspapers and international mass media, would help Habeco prosper.

    But Hanoi Beer has lost a large part of the market to its rivals.

    After Obama had dinner at Huong Lien bun cha Shop and drank Bia Ha Noi on May 23, the first day of his visit to Vietnam, both brands appeared many times on mass media. Bia Ha Noi was even mentioned in Obama’s speech the next morning.

    However, while Huong Lien bun cha Shop’s business has been thriving since then, Bia Ha Noi is less lucky.

    Many grocery stores and street shops in Hanoi say that youth now prefer Saigon Special of Sabeco, a brewery headquartered in HCMC. The main customers of Hanoi Beer are aged 50 and more.

    “Hanoi beer now is just for older people,” said Do Hoang Yen, the owner of a grocery store on Khuong Trung street.

    The owner of H.B Shop on Truong Dinh street said five to six years ago, Hanoi beer once dominated the Hanoi market and there was no rival in the bottled beer market.

    “The sales of Sabeco’s products are far higher than Habeco’s,” he said. “We can sell only one Habeco product for every two Sabeco products sold.”

    At large supermarkets, people have begun buying beer in large quantities as the summer has come in Hanoi. And Sabeco’s products are favored.

    Xuan Truong, from Bac Tu Liem district, said he prefers Saigon Beer because it is tastier with a strong flavor, while Hanoi Beer tastes flat.

    However, a branding expert said that tastes are always different. He believes that the problem lies in the marketing strategy.

    While Sabeco offers a wide range of products with different price levels, targeting different groups of customers, Hanoi Beer has stayed the same for many years and cannot attract young people.

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  • Vietna​m urges nearly 13,500 Facebook retailers to declare tax

    Vietna​m urges nearly 13,500 Facebook retailers to declare tax

    Most online transactions in Vietnam involve cash, which is difficult to track and tax. District tax departments in Ho Chi Minh City have sent out tax demands to nearly 13,500 Facebook retailers in a move to target tax avoidance by online businesses.

    Since February, Vietnam’s tax authorities have been looking at ways to collect taxes from online businesses that use Facebook and other social media sites such as Instagram and Youtube.

    Nguyen Nam Binh, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Tax Department, told VnExpress that the law requires online retailers earning over $4,400 a year to declare tax, so authorities are only targeting long-term and unregistered businesses.

    Despite the requests, Binh Thanh District’s tax department said the response had been limited.

    “Most business owners said their business were short-term and their revenue was not high enough to warrant the tax requirements”, said a department representative.

    In February, Facebook representative Huynh Kim Tuoc said at a conference that Vietnam’s e-commerce environment is thriving, with about 50 young people having already earned millions of dollars through online businesses.

    Local businesses in HCMC also told us their revenue rose significantly after they switched online, with some reporting earnings of up to tens of thousands of dollars per month.

    Chairman of Vietnam Tax Consultant Association Nguyen Thi Cuc told us that Vietnam’s tax policy for online businesses is incomplete and therefore not yet compulsory, adding that it’s difficult to collect taxes from online retailers in Vietnam as most transactions are still in cash.

    Vietnam is also struggling to control business activities from transnational corporations like Facebook and Google, she added.

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  • Vietnam rice export back on track

    Vietnam rice export back on track

    Vietnam exported 2.3 million tons of rice worth US$1 billion in the first five months of the year, up 1.6% in volume and 1.2% in value year-on-year.

    China remained Vietnam’s largest rice importer, accounting for 47.5% of the nation’s total rice exports. More than 815,000 tons of rice costing over US$376 million went to the northern neighbor in January-April, up 16.1% and 16.2% against the same period last year respectively.

    Vietnam shipped 4.89 million tons of rice valued at US$2.1 billion in all of 2016, a respective decrease of 25.54%  and 20.57% against 2015.

    China was still Vietnam’s biggest importer of the food staple last year despite a 19.79% decline. It purchased more than 1.8 million tons of rice from Vietnam last year, 36.97% of Vietnam’s total rice shipments.

    The domestic rice price has improved by VND200-300 a kilo, supported by the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding to export one million of rice a year to Bangladesh until 2022. The South Asian country will import 300,000 tons at first.

    In addition, the National Food Authority (NFA) of the Philippines has announced to buy 250,000 tons of rice from Vietnam in June.

    Nguyen Thanh Tho, a rice trader at Ba Dac wholesale market in Tien Giang Province, told the Daily that IR 50404 rice is sold at VND4,350-4,400 a kilo, an increase of VND200-300, helped by the Bangladesh rice deal.

    Besides, IR 50404 material rice is purchased at VND6,350-6,450 a kilo in the Mekong Delta, up VND200.

    Major importing markets, especially Bangladesh and the Philippines, have helped buoy the price. The Free On Board (FOB) price of 5%-broken white rice from Vietnam is US$370-380 a ton, up US$5-10 compared to a week ago.

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  • Vital signs look weak for private hospitals in Saigon

    Vital signs look weak for private hospitals in Saigon

    Some are being forced to offload their assets and close with the weight of massive loans bearing down on them. Major private hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City are struggling to turn a profit despite making massive investments in infrastructure and equipment. Some of them have even called it quits or have sold out to other investors.

    By the time International General Phuc An Khang Hospital in District 2 wrote to health authorities in April to inform them it would be closing after just two years, it had had already racked up accumulated losses of VND60 billion ($2.64 million).

    With 500 beds meeting international standards, Phuc An Khang hospital used to make VND3 billion per month in revenue.

    But that sum was only enough to cover staff salaries, and the hospital had to use its own capital for other expenses such as medicine, director Mai Tien Dung told in an earlier interview.

    “The pressure from the loan we took out in the first place to build the hospital is probably the main reason for our downfall,” he said.

    It’s a similar story for Phu Tho General Hospital in Tan Phu District.The hospital’s investor plans to sell equipment worth VND200 billion and other assets to pay outstanding salaries to staff.

    This hospital closed its doors after its investor failed to pay interest on a total loan of VND120 billion to 30 lenders.

    After the investor jumped ship, the lenders seized the hospital’s equipment and turned it into a parking lot.

    Fallen star

    Once regarded as a bright light in the country’s high-end medical sector, Vu Anh International General Hospital in Go Vap District is now looking for partners to save its business.

    Doctor Vo Xuan Son, director of Exson International Clinic in District 10, said that a number of factors are making it difficult for private hospitals, including unfair policies between public and private facilities.

    “Revenue at private hospitals is fairly stable, but their profits are always low because, unlike public hospitals, they have to bear expenses for hiring premises, equipment depreciation and corporate income tax,” Son said.

    Management is another headache for private hospitals as most directors are doctors with no business experience, he added.

    More than 170 private hospitals with 45,000 beds are operating in Vietnam, according to data from the Vietnam Private Hospital Association, and the country has been calling for more private investments in public hospitals to improve service quality in the public sector.

    Total expenditure for healthcare service in Vietnam makes up 5.8 percent of the country’s economy, the highest in the region, said the Vietnam 2035 report released last year by the World Bank and Ministry of Planning and Investment.