Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Duc Nhu, Senior Advisor of Medicallaw, talks about the situation of mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare industry. Photo: Huong Giang
In the first 8 months of 2025, the total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) reached 4.8 billion USD, an increase of 21% compared to 2024.
Many large deals contribute to putting Vietnam on the regional healthcare M&A map
On November 21, the first International Conference on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in the Healthcare Industry 2025 (HIMA 2025) was held in Vietnam by Vietnam Medical Law Consulting Co., Ltd. (Medicallaw) in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. 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 – said: Vietnam has emerged as a potential market in the general trend of the world’s medical M&A market. In the first 8 months of 2025, the total M&A value reached 4.8 billion USD, an increase of 21% compared to 2024, with the average deal size reaching 42 million USD, an increase of 15% compared to the period 2022-2023.
The market’s attractiveness comes from solid foundations such as the rapid aging of the population, with the elderly accounting for about 20% of the population, a middle class forecast to reach more than 23.3 million people by 2030, and growing demand for high-quality healthcare services.
In addition, the private healthcare sector is growing strongly and the State’s open-door policies continue to facilitate foreign capital flows.
Many large deals in recent times have contributed to putting Vietnam on the regional healthcare M&A map. A typical example is the deal in which Thomson Medical Group acquired FV Hospital for 381.4 million USD. This is one of the largest healthcare deals in Southeast Asia in 2023.
In the pharmaceutical sector, Livzon Group (China) plans to spend about 240 million USD to own nearly 65% of Imexpharm shares, while Dongwha Pharm (Korea) invests about 30 million USD to buy 51% of Trung Son pharmacy chain, a large pharmaceutical distribution system in the Mekong Delta.
Despite the many opportunities, M&A activities in the healthcare sector in Vietnam still face significant legal challenges. Accordingly, due to the lack of a synchronous legal corridor, complicated administrative procedures, and specific requirements of the healthcare sector, the process of appraisal and asset transfer becomes difficult.
Associate Professor Nhu said that M&A appraisal in the healthcare industry is more complicated than many other fields because it involves a series of factors such as practice licenses, professional operating licenses, fire prevention and fighting standards, environment, key personnel, drug lists and health insurance regulations.
In that context, HIMA 2025 is organized to create an open forum for management agencies and businesses to exchange, remove obstacles and promote the completion of the legal framework for healthcare M&A activities.
Many experts attended the discussion on healthcare mergers and acquisitions. Photo: Huong Giang
Improving the production and distribution capacity of domestic medical equipment
Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang, Deputy Chief of Office of the Ministry of Health, said that the goal of the Vietnamese health sector by 2030 is to continue expanding the scope of community health care programs, focusing especially on developing medical examination and treatment services, ensuring health security and improving the ability to respond to climate change as well as emergency situations.
Along with that, the health sector focuses on controlling disease risk factors, improving the capacity to manage the medical environment and aiming to ensure fairness in medical examination and treatment to meet the increasing health care needs of the people.
In parallel with that goal, hospital models, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment are constantly being expanded and diversified to improve the effectiveness of health care.
The health sector also promotes administrative procedure reform and transparency in management, licensing, and drug and equipment procurement.
Improving the domestic production and distribution capacity of medical equipment and promoting international cooperation are considered important solutions to strengthen the capacity of the healthcare ecosystem.
International investment capital in the healthcare sector has recently become increasingly interested in the Vietnamese market. In that context, M&A has become a strategic tool to help the healthcare ecosystem develop faster, more sustainably and approach international standards.
However, this sector requires a high level of transparency, strict legal risk management processes and professionalism in auditing, valuation and operations. Only when these standards are standardized can businesses confidently participate in the investment, cooperation or IPO process.
The event is also an opportunity for domestic and foreign businesses and investors to meet, share experiences and expand cooperation, contributing to the formation of an M&A connection community in the healthcare sector in Vietnam.
