Along with the development of the healthcare and healthcare industry, the medical equipment market in Vietnam is increasingly attracting businesses and investors.
Vietnam Medical Equipment Corporation (Vinamed JSC), Hanoi IEC Co. Ltd, and Metech Equipment Joint Stock Company are among the names that appear in lists of top medical equipment companies and factories in Vietnam. While also manufacture medical equipment, the medical equipment companies in Vietnam serve mainly as distributors for foreign medical equipment.
For example, Metech is a distributor of different medical devices originated from countries in Europe, Asia, and the US. While Metech also makes medical equipment, these equipment are simple tools, such as medical bed, medical instrument tray, medical trolley, etc.
The Hanoi IEC Co. Ltd imports and distributes German hi-tech products in the field of medical equipment.
Vinamed JSC manufacture syringes, infusion sets, and needles. They also distribute other types of medical equipment.
According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam is currently only able to produce medical instruments such as medical cotton, bandages, gauze, masks, medical gloves, pumps, disposable needles, infusion lines, surgical threads, surgical costumes, hospital furniture, etc.
In 2019, it was calculated that 90% of medical equipment in Vietnam were imported goods. Of which, 30% of the total value of imported medical equipment is diagnostic imaging equipment, including magnetic resonators MRI, CT scans, ultrasound, and X-ray equipment. The main suppliers of medical equipment to Vietnam are Japan, the US, Singapore, China, and Germany, which accounted for about 55% of Vietnam's import value of medical equipment.
In terms of production capacity, most Vietnam medical equipment companies are small and medium-sized with 100% domestic capital. Among these, there are very small enterprises, weak in research and development, the level of technology is generally low, slow in innovation, low competitiveness, which put the business in quite a distance behind other countries in the region and the world. The ability of Vietnamese enterprises to participate in regional and global value chains is still very limited, mainly participating in the outsourcing and assembly stage. The localization rate is at a low level. The number of projects investing in high technology is not much.
There is also a shortage of personnel specialized in the field of medical equipment. Biomedical engineering (BME) education in Vietnam has yet to meet the need for labor usage in the field of medical equipment. The current lack of hi-tech medical devices domestically requires biomedical engineers at a higher and more professional level.
The prospect for the medical equipment business in Vietnam is very positive. Experts predict that the Vietnamese medical equipment industry will keep improving from 2020 to 2025. As a result, foreign investors will have excellent opportunities to invest in Vietnam, especially in the field of medical equipment.
Some factors affect the healthcare sector in general, thus also impact the medical equipment business. First is the aging of the population. From 2019-2029 there will be an increase of 20 million people over the age of 60. The middle class has also increased rapidly, helping to push the average expenditure of the people and lead to an increase in private health facilities in big cities. In general, there will be a rise in the demand for healthcare services, both in quantity and quality.
The Government also implements policies to promote the development of healthcare infrastructure. The Government plans to mobilize trillions of VND investment capital in medical equipment, set up satellite hospitals, and encourage private healthcare services.
Although there is a rising demand for better equipment quality, healthcare facilities still lack modern medical equipment. 70% of hospitals do not have CT scanners, 35% of medical equipment was in use for more than 20, and nearly 40% was in use for 10 to 20 years. As the domestic companies can yet provide these hi-tech devices, the demand for imports is still very high.
The private healthcare service is predicted to develop in the coming years. Private hospitals will mostly be located in big cities such as Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, aiming for the high-end segment of customers. These facilities will require hi-tech medical machines and simple medical tools of a higher quality. While Vietnam can provide simple medical instruments, the hi-tech machines will still need to be imported.
Compiled by VietnamCredit
