Workers at DHG Pharmaceutical Company. The pharmaceutical industry is expected to recover and grow by 15 percent this year (Photo: taichingplus.vn)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The pharmaceutical industry grew by just 2.8 percentlast year, much lower than its average 11.8 percent growth in the last fiveyears.
It is expected to recover and grow by 15 percent this year, mainly due to arapidly ageing population and increasing incomes, analysts at SSI SecuritiesCorporation said.
According to a report by the company, social distancing and strict control athospitals last year meant people with minor ailments did not go for treatmentdue, resulting in lower sales of both prescription and non-prescription drugs.
The incidence of health checks was 10-15 percent down until the fourth quarter.
Then, in the final quarter, after the pandemic was controlled, people againbegan going to hospitals that the number visiting hospitals went up by 5 percentyear-on-year.
Last year there was a short supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)from China and India due to social distancing and lockdowns and higher demandfor them globally, causing drug prices to rise.
India and China account for 55 percent of the global API supply and nearly 70 percentof Vietnam’s requirements.
The prices of most APIs increased by 5-8 percent and pharmaceutical companies’gross profit margin decreased by 1-3 percentage points in 2020 since they couldnot increase prices to compensate for this.
Construction of new pharmaceutical plants fell behind schedule.
According to the Ministry of Health, domestic drug production grew at 13.8 percentper year in 2015 - 19 backed by Government policies and construction of newplants.
SSI Research said however the industry was recovering.
M&A
Last year was notable for mergers and acquisitions in the industry. Accordingto SSI Research, the total value of M&A deals was 1.68 trillion VND (73million USD) and they involved a number of foreign investors.
German generic drugmaker Stada paid 400 billion VND to increase its stake inPymepharco JSC from 70 percent to 76 percent.
Japan’s Aska Pharmaceutical paid 350 billion VND to acquire a 25 percent stakein Ha Tay Pharmaceutical JS Company./.
On September 7, AZothBio (CEO Shin Jae-min) and Autotelic Bio (CEO Kim Tae-hoon) agreed to jointly develop an immune anticancer drug. It is a follow-up contract signed about five months after the contract for joint development of targeted cancer drugs in April.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an eight million USD loan with Imexpharm Corporation to help the company sustain its production of generic medicines despite global supply disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Party General Secretary To Lam’s upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) is expected to mark a new milestone in the bilateral relationship, creating fresh momentum for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
In the context of the growing global digital economy, digital transformation and the promotion of e-commerce are key drivers helping Vietnam boost integration, enhance competitiveness, and expand export markets, according to the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency
Tilapia is considered highly competitive in export markets thanks to its affordability, ease of processing, and appeal across both high-end and mass-market segments.
In the first seven months of the year, Phu Tho attracted an impressive 651.7 million USD in foreign direct investment, including 35 newly licensed projects totaling 119 million USD in registered capital and 45 existing projects with an additional capital of 533 million USD.
Under the agreements, VinEnergo will invest in, install, and operate 43 MWp of rooftop solar power capacity and 45 MWh of BESS capacity across the three plants.
Under a draft to amend and supplement the Government's Decree 125/2020/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for violations of tax and invoice regulations, the Ministry of Finance has proposed classifying the failure to issue invoices into five different levels. Infraction levels will correspond to fines of 1 million VND to 80 million VND, depending on the nature and number of invoicing violations.
A new airline developed and invested by Sun Group — has officially announced a strategic partnership with Amadeus IT Group (Amadeus), one of the world’s leading travel technology companies. This agreement not only lays the foundation for a modern digital infrastructure but also marks a pivotal step in SPA’s global expansion strategy, enabling the airline to access international distribution networks and reach customers worldwide.
Of the total, 107,700 were new firms, with combined registered capital of 928.4 trillion VND (35.4 billion USD), up 10.6% in number and 5.5% in capital compared with the same period last year.
Experts agree that a combination of technology, enforcement, education and cross-border cooperation is essential to protect copyrighted content in Vietnam’s growing digital ecosystem.
Poland is Vietnam’s largest export market in Central and Eastern Europe, with key staples including seafood, textiles, footwear, coffee, and cashew nuts.
Cashless payments are growing at an impressive rate, averaging 30–40% annually. Vietnam’s per capita cashless transaction volume now trails only China, with total value of 295.2 quadrillion VND (11.26 trillion USD), or 26 times of its GDP.
A draft resolution on piloting a digital asset and cryptocurrency market is being developed, aiming to create a broad-enough regulatory sandbox that enables investor participation and provides practical grounds for policy refinement in areas such as risk management and anti-money laundering.
Viettel was ranked third for overall mobile performance with a score of 82.56 just behind UEA’s e& (88.05) and Quatar’s Ooredoo (87.05) and ahead of Singapore’s Singtel (82.53). Vinaphone took second in 5G speed with a score of 78.11, trailing only behind e&.
PM Chinh proposed MUFG work closely with the Ministry of Finance to improve legal frameworks and support the establishment and operation of the international financial centre in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.
Workers at DHG Pharmaceutical Company. The pharmaceutical industry is expected to recover and grow by 15 percent this year (Photo: taichingplus.vn) 
