Vietnam Hanoi Calls for Foreign Investments in Int’l Hospital Projects

Authorities in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi are calling on foreign investors to build international hospitals to better serve local people and ease the severe overload at public hospitals, said a senior official. Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao made the statement at a meeting with former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in Hanoi Oct 29. Mr. Thao proposed the building of Vietnam-Japan Friendship Hospital, which is expected to provide high-quality services for not only Japanese people living in Hanoi but also Vietnamese patients. The projects are expected to reduce the forex drain from local patients who spend an estimated $2 billion in overseas medical treatments each year. According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam now has more than 157 operational private hospitals, including six foreign-invested hospitals with an initial investment capital of $94 million. (Cong An Nhan Dan – People’s Police Oct 30 p1)