A healthcare market that is hard to ignore
Vietnam's healthcare sector has been growing quietly but consistently for years. While the country attracted global attention for electronics manufacturing and textile exports, its domestic healthcare market was building momentum underneath. Today, that momentum is impossible to miss.
The pharmaceutical market alone is valued at roughly $7 to $8 billion and growing at 8-10% per year. Total healthcare spending is rising even faster when you factor in hospital construction, medical devices, diagnostics, and the growing private healthcare sector. For a country that was considered a frontier market not long ago, these are serious numbers.
The numbers behind the growth
Vietnam has over 100 million people. GDP per capita has been rising steadily and crossed $4,000 in recent years. That is a threshold where healthcare spending tends to accelerate in developing economies. People with more disposable income spend more on health, and they demand better quality care. They also start buying health insurance, visiting specialists, and choosing private hospitals over overcrowded public ones.
Government healthcare expenditure has been increasing too. Vietnam spends around 5-6% of GDP on health, and the government has set targets to expand universal health insurance coverage, which already reaches over 90% of the population. That combination of public insurance coverage and rising private spending creates a large and growing addressable market for pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
According to World Bank data, Vietnam's health expenditure per capita has more than doubled over the past decade. This is not a temporary spike. It reflects structural changes in income, demographics, and public expectations about healthcare quality.
An aging population changes everything
Vietnam is often described as a young country, and it is, for now. The median age is around 31. But the demographic trajectory is clear: Vietnam is aging faster than almost any country in the region. The World Bank projects that Vietnam will become an "aged society" by 2035, with the share of people over 65 rising sharply in the coming decade.
This matters enormously for healthcare demand. Older populations need more chronic disease management, more diagnostics, more specialty care, more rehabilitation services, and more pharmaceutical products. Countries that have gone through this transition before, such as Japan and South Korea, saw healthcare spending surge as their populations aged. Vietnam is on the same path, just earlier in the curve.
For foreign healthcare companies, this demographic shift is not a distant future scenario. It is already influencing government policy, hospital investment, and consumer behaviour. The demand for better healthcare is here today, and it will only grow.
Where the big opportunities are
Pharmaceuticals and regulated products
Vietnam imports a large share of its pharmaceutical products. Domestic manufacturing covers generics and basic formulations, but for innovative medicines, biologics, vaccines, and specialty drugs, the country depends heavily on imports. This creates a clear opportunity for foreign pharmaceutical companies.
The regulatory environment has historically been a bottleneck. Drug registration could take years, and the process was not always transparent. But that is changing. The Vietnamese government has been working to streamline approvals, particularly for medicines already approved by stringent regulatory authorities like the EMA, FDA, or MHRA. The goal is to get effective treatments to patients faster without duplicating reviews that have already been completed elsewhere.
Oncology, cardiovascular, diabetes, and respiratory medicines are areas of particular demand. Vietnam's disease burden is shifting from infectious diseases toward non-communicable diseases as the population ages, which aligns closely with the product portfolios of most European pharmaceutical companies.
Medical devices and diagnostics
The medical device market in Vietnam is growing at roughly 15-18% annually. The country imports the vast majority of its diagnostic equipment, surgical instruments, imaging systems, and laboratory supplies. As hospitals expand and upgrade, demand for quality medical technology is increasing across the board.
Diagnostics is a particularly strong segment. The COVID pandemic accelerated investment in laboratory infrastructure, and that investment has continued. Hospitals are upgrading their imaging capabilities, expanding point-of-care testing, and investing in laboratory automation. Companies like Abbott and Roche have established significant presences in Vietnam's diagnostics market, but there is room for more specialised players.
For international medtech companies, Vietnam offers a combination of strong demand and relatively low competitive intensity compared to more established markets in the region. The key is understanding the procurement processes, which differ between public hospitals (tender-based) and private hospitals (often relationship-driven).
Private hospitals and specialty care
Private healthcare is booming in Vietnam. Public hospitals are overcrowded, with some facilities seeing two or three patients per bed. The quality gap between the best private hospitals and the public system is significant, and Vietnamese families with the means to choose are increasingly opting for private care.
This has created a wave of private hospital construction and expansion. Vinmec, the healthcare arm of Vingroup, operates a growing network of international-standard hospitals across Vietnam. FV Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, backed by French investment, has become a benchmark for quality private healthcare in the south. Japanese and Korean hospital groups have also entered or are evaluating the market.
For foreign companies, private hospitals represent both a customer base and a potential partner. These hospitals need pharmaceutical products, medical devices, diagnostic equipment, training programmes, and management expertise. Many are actively looking for international partnerships to raise their standards and attract patients who would otherwise travel abroad for treatment.
Elder care and rehabilitation
Elder care is an almost entirely undeveloped sector in Vietnam. Traditionally, elderly family members are cared for at home by younger generations. But urbanisation and changing family structures are making that model harder to sustain. Young people move to cities for work, families live in smaller apartments, and the burden of caring for aging parents falls on a shrinking number of children.
The gap between demand and supply in elder care is enormous. There are very few professional elder care facilities in Vietnam, and even fewer that meet international standards. Rehabilitation services are similarly underdeveloped. For companies with expertise in senior living, home care services, rehabilitation technology, or geriatric training, Vietnam represents a market where the need is clear and the competition is almost nonexistent. It is early, but the demographic trends make it inevitable.
Digital health and telemedicine
Vietnam's high smartphone penetration and young, tech-savvy population make it a natural market for digital health solutions. Telemedicine adoption accelerated during COVID and has not gone away. Patients in rural areas, who previously had to travel hours to see a specialist, can now access consultations remotely. Health apps, online pharmacy platforms, and digital health records are all gaining traction.
The government has signalled support for digital health as part of its broader digitalisation agenda. For companies building telehealth platforms, remote monitoring tools, health data analytics, or digital therapeutics, Vietnam offers a large addressable market with fewer established competitors than in more developed Asian markets.
Real investments already happening
Global pharma players moving in
The presence of major international pharmaceutical companies in Vietnam has grown significantly. AstraZeneca has established a growing footprint in the country, working on both commercial operations and clinical trials. Sanofi has had a manufacturing presence in Vietnam for decades through its Sanofi Pasteur vaccine facility and continues to expand. Abbott has built a strong position in nutrition and diagnostics.
These are not companies that invest on speculation. Their continued expansion in Vietnam reflects real commercial returns and confidence in the growth trajectory. When AstraZeneca runs clinical trials in Vietnam, it signals that the country has the medical infrastructure and patient populations to support serious pharmaceutical research, not just sales.
South Korean pharmaceutical companies have also been increasing their presence. Samsung Biologics has expressed interest in expanding its contract manufacturing relationships in Southeast Asia, and Vietnam is frequently mentioned as a potential location. The pattern is clear: global pharma is treating Vietnam as a strategic market, not a secondary one.
Hospital groups expanding fast
The private hospital sector is attracting serious capital. Vinmec has expanded from a single hospital in Hanoi to a network spanning multiple cities, with plans for further growth. FV Hospital completed a major expansion in Ho Chi Minh City and is considered one of the best private hospitals in Southeast Asia. Hoan My Medical Corporation, one of the largest private hospital groups in the country, has attracted investment from international private equity firms.
Japanese healthcare groups are evaluating Vietnam as a growth market, attracted by the aging demographics that mirror Japan's own experience decades earlier. Thai hospital chains, which have successfully built medical tourism businesses at home, are looking at Vietnam as their next expansion frontier. The capital flowing into Vietnamese private healthcare is real and accelerating.
The Vingroup health machine
It is impossible to discuss Vietnamese business without mentioning Vingroup, and its healthcare story is worth understanding. Most people know Vingroup through VinFast, the electric vehicle manufacturer that went from concept to Nasdaq listing in a remarkably short time. VinFast's rapid growth demonstrated something important about the Vingroup model: the willingness to invest at enormous scale, move fast, and build entire ecosystems rather than single products.
That same approach is playing out in healthcare. Vinmec, Vingroup's hospital division, has built international-standard hospitals equipped with modern imaging systems, robotic surgery capabilities, and partnerships with international medical institutions. Vinmec is not building basic clinics. It is building hospitals that compete with the best in the region, staffed with internationally trained doctors and equipped with technology from leading global suppliers.
What makes this significant for foreign companies is that Vingroup's healthcare expansion signals where domestic capital is flowing. When Vietnam's largest private conglomerate commits billions to hospitals and healthcare, it validates the sector in a way that government statistics alone cannot. It also creates a major customer for pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and healthcare technology from international suppliers.
Why the regulatory environment is shifting in your favour
The UK-Vietnam pharmaceutical agreement
In July 2025, Reuters reported that Vietnam and the United Kingdom agreed on steps to remove pharmaceutical trade barriers and speed up the registration of medicines and vaccines from recognised regulators. This is a significant development. It means that medicines already approved by the MHRA could face a shorter and simpler registration process in Vietnam.
The practical impact goes beyond UK companies. This type of agreement signals Vietnam's broader direction of travel: moving toward mutual recognition of regulatory approvals from stringent authorities. If Vietnam accepts MHRA approvals on a faster track, similar arrangements with the EMA and other European regulatory bodies become more likely over time.
For pharmaceutical companies that have already invested in obtaining EMA or MHRA approval for their products, this trend reduces one of the biggest barriers to entering the Vietnamese market: the time and cost of local registration.
Trade agreements opening doors
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has already reduced tariffs on many pharmaceutical and medical device products entering Vietnam. This gives European companies a price advantage over competitors from countries without similar agreements. The EVFTA also includes provisions on intellectual property protection that are particularly relevant for pharmaceutical companies concerned about patent enforcement.
Vietnam is also a member of CPTPP and RCEP, creating a web of trade agreements that facilitate the movement of healthcare products across the region. A company that establishes a presence in Vietnam can potentially use it as a base to serve neighbouring markets as well. The trade architecture supports treating Vietnam not just as a standalone market but as a gateway to broader Southeast Asian healthcare demand.
What makes Vietnam different from other emerging pharma markets
Scale, urbanisation, and concentration
Vietnam combines 100 million people with geographic concentration along a single coastal corridor. Unlike Indonesia, which is fragmented across thousands of islands, Vietnam's population is accessible through two major urban centres: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Together, these cities and their surrounding areas account for a large share of the country's healthcare spending.
Urbanisation is running at one of the highest rates in the region. As people move to cities, they gain access to hospitals, pharmacies, and health services that were unavailable in rural areas. They also earn higher incomes and develop higher expectations for healthcare quality. This urbanisation-driven demand concentration makes Vietnam a more efficient market to serve than many countries of comparable size.
A government that actively wants foreign healthcare investment
The Vietnamese government has identified healthcare as a priority sector for foreign investment. This is not rhetoric. It is reflected in policy: streamlined registration for priority medicines, incentives for pharmaceutical manufacturing investment, and encouragement of public-private partnerships in hospital development.
The government understands that its public healthcare system cannot meet growing demand alone. It needs foreign capital, foreign technology, and foreign expertise. That creates a receptive environment for companies willing to invest seriously, whether in pharmaceutical distribution, hospital partnerships, medical device supply, or healthcare technology. The door is open in a way that it is not in many other emerging markets where healthcare sectors are more protected or more bureaucratic.
The window is open, but it will not stay open forever
Vietnam's healthcare market is at a point where the fundamentals are strong, the regulatory direction is favourable, and competitive intensity is still manageable. That will not last indefinitely. As more international companies recognise the opportunity and as Vietnamese domestic companies grow in capability, the ease of entering and establishing a position will diminish.
The companies that tend to succeed in Vietnam are the ones that commit early and build real presence. They find local partners, understand the procurement environment, invest in relationships with hospitals and regulators, and adapt their products and approaches to the local context. This is not a market you can serve from a regional office in Singapore and expect results.
We have watched several sectors in Vietnam go from "interesting opportunity" to "highly competitive" in the space of a few years. Consumer goods, electronics, and manufacturing all followed that pattern. Healthcare is earlier in the curve, but the trajectory is the same. The question for foreign pharmaceutical, medtech, and healthcare companies is not whether Vietnam will become a major market. It is whether you will be positioned when it does.
