Tran Phu Lu, deputy director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City, speaks at the event. (Photo: hcmcpv.org.vn)

HCM City (VNA) – The medical devices sector is one of Vietnam’s most promising for foreign investment due to its rapid economic development and rising demand for medical care, according to Madan Mohan Sethi, Consul General of India in Ho Chi Minh City.

He made the statement at a webinar entitled “India –Vietnam Business Meet in Medical Devices Sector” organised by the Consultate General of India in HCM City in coordination with the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City (ITPC) on August 24.

The COVID-19 crisis provides an opportunity for both sides to join hands and set up alternative global supply chains in different areas and pharmaceutical products that have been disrupted by the pandemic, he said.

According to Tran Phu Lu, deputy director of ITPC, in Vietnam, domestic medical equipment production only meets 1.5-2 percent of the demand and auxiliary technology is also limited, only meeting about 3 percent of the demand. Currently, most medical equipment is imported from developed countries, reported The Saigon Times. 

Lu highlighted that Vietnam is determined to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, protect people's health and return the country to a new normal soon, adding the country is also determined to implement the vaccine strategy, focusing on technology transfer and research for domestic vaccine development for administering residents to achieve herd immunity. 

Dinh Quang Long, director of APOLAT Legal, said in accordance to Circular No. 43/2021/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, medical equipment are eligible for value added tax (VAT) incentives at the tax rate of 5 percent from August 1 this year.

In addition, Vietnam has issued regulations on special preferential import tax rates to implement the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement under the Framework Agreement on ASEAN-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation in the 2018-2022 period. The tax rate ranging from zero to 8.5 percent is an extremely favourable factor for bilateral trade cooperation between the two countries in the field of medical equipment, he said.

India is the fourth largest market for medical devices in Asia and among the top 20 markets for medical devices in the world.

The virtual India-Vietnam Business Meet was attended by medical device manufacturers and suppli🌌ers from💝 both sides./.