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In order to promote investment and trade relations between India and Vietnam, on January 21, 2021, at the Sheraton Hanoi Hotel, the Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises VAFIE, the Center for Investment Information and Consulting. - The Invest Global International Investment Promotion Alliance has coordinated with the Embassy of India, the Indian Chamber of Commerce to organize the Vietnam - India Trade and Investment Promotion Seminar in the field of Pharmaceuticals.
The event was attended by 190 delegates, including leaders of the Drug Administration of Vietnam, Ministry of Health, Chamber of Commerce of India, Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises, General Department of Taxation, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Nam and represents Indian and Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies.
India is one of the largest manufacturers of generic drugs in the world. The size of India's pharmaceutical industry is approximately $43 billion in 2019-2020 and is expected to be 55 billion in 2022. India exports drugs to 200 countries around the world, providing over 50% of global vaccine products. , 80% of antiretroviral drugs in the fight against the HIV-AIDS pandemic. India is a country that produces a wide range of pharmaceutical ingredients, has a skilled and well-rounded workforce, and invests heavily in research and development.
Indian Ambassador Pranay Verma
Speaking to welcome the Workshop, Indian Ambassador Pranay Verma called on the business communities of the two countries to actively seek new cooperation opportunities in the pharmaceutical field in the spirit of the "Vietnam - India Joint Vision Statement" for Peace, Prosperity and People” approved by the Prime Ministers of India and Vietnam on December 21, 2020. The Indian Ambassador also emphasized the capacity of Indian enterprises to produce high-quality, low-cost drugs and vaccines and the announcement of India's largest vaccination program in human history against the COVID-19 Pandemic. 19 on 16.01.2021 using two vaccines produced by India itself. The ambassador added, “Vietnam is India's main pharmaceutical consumer with an annual trade turnover of $225 million. Vietnam currently ranks 19th among the top 25 destinations for Indian pharmaceutical products”.
Professor Dr. Nguyen Mai, Chairman of the Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises (VAFIE)
At the opening session, Professor Dr. Nguyen Mai, Chairman of the Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises (VAFIE) cited BMI Research, in 2018 the size of the pharmaceutical industry in Vietnam reached $5.9 billion, becoming pharmaceutical market is the second largest in Southeast Asia, in the group of 17 countries with the highest growth in the pharmaceutical industry in the world. The domestic pharmaceutical industry has grown strongly, currently there are about 180 pharmaceutical enterprises and 224 domestic factories that meet GMP standards, but only meet about 53% of the domestic market demand, the rest must be imported. password. In the first 10 months of 2020, pharmaceutical import turnover reached US$2.7 billion, up 6.7% over the same period last year. In the next 5 years, it is forecast that Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry will grow by 11% per year, one of the most stable in the world, reaching 7.7 billion USD in 2021 and 16.1 billion USD in 2026. New regulations on pharmaceuticals The EVFTA and other FTAs will create an important legal framework for trade relations between the signatories, benefiting Vietnamese citizens when they have access to high-quality pharmaceuticals, and at the same time bring benefits to Vietnamese citizens. opportunities to export, import and trade this item more favorably in the Vietnamese market.
Professor Nguyen Mai added: “Vietnamese and Indian pharmaceutical enterprises can establish long-term relationships, proceed to sign and implement import-export and investment contracts, both sides have mutual benefits. benefit”.
Professor Nguyen Mai and Dr. Doan Duy Khuong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Professor Nguyen Mai and Dr. Doan Duy Khuong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry both emphasized the need to strengthen investment and trade cooperation between Vietnam and India, especially in the field of trade and investment. in the pharmaceutical sector in which India has strengths, at the same time affirming that the Vietnamese Government is accelerating the process of perfecting the law and enforcement to meet the requirements of Vietnam's international commitments in the Free Trade Agreements. by the new generation, including pharmaceuticals.
Indronil Sengupta, President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi, said: “India has a large pool of scientists and engineers with the potential to take the pharmaceutical industry to new heights.” , Vietnam's market size of nearly 100 million people, has a total pharmaceutical consumption value of about $7 billion in 2019 and will grow 8% annually until 2024. At the same time, drug manufacturers The domestic market can only meet half of the total drug market demand, about 60% of finished pharmaceutical products, 90% of active pharmaceutical ingredients while most of the production materials are currently imported from India and China. and other countries.
Discussion session I titled “Investment opportunities for Indian companies in the pharmaceutical sector in Vietnam”
In two discussion sessions titled "Investment opportunities for Indian companies in the pharmaceutical sector in Vietnam" and "Promoting trade in Indian pharmaceutical products in Vietnam", the companies discussed The two sides' businesses gave their views, suggestions and recommendations related to legal procedures and regulations and emphasized the need for the presence of Indian investors in the pharmaceutical sector in Vietnam. Male. Businesses of the two countries also exchanged information on the market, production and trade capacity, and wished to establish a long-term relationship, towards signing and implementing import-export and investment contracts, contributing to contributing actively in expanding economic cooperation and technology exchange between the two countries.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phung, Director of Tax Administration Department of Large Enterprises, Ministry of Finance and Mr. Ta Minh Hung, Deputy Director of Drug Administration Department, Ministry of Health informed about business management mechanisms and policies. pharmaceuticals, tax incentives, investment encouragement policies of the Government of Vietnam, especially for high-tech pharmaceutical production projects, and acknowledge comments to amend and promulgate Circulars of the Government of Vietnam. The Ministry of Health creates favorable conditions for pharmaceutical business in Vietnam.
Session II titled “Promoting Trade in Indian Pharmaceutical Products in Vietnam”
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, factory director of Sao Kim Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, which manufactures and exports raw materials for anti-malarial drugs to Africa and some Southeast Asian countries, said his company hopes to wants to cooperate more with Indian companies to have more projects in Vietnam to serve the potential pharmaceutical market with high growth rate. He also said: “With the advantage of medicinal herbs and natural active ingredients to meet domestic and export demand, we are oriented to develop high-tech pharmaceutical factories to compete better. on the market". Mr. Anh added that FTA agreements will bring both opportunities and challenges for Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies as well as multinational pharmaceutical groups to invest and acquire private businesses. Since most domestic pharmaceutical companies mainly produce cheap and common drugs, while high-value drugs still have to be imported, Mr. Anh said that Sao Kim Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company is looking for new solutions. Indian partners can combine and transfer technology so that his company can soon be proactive in input materials in pharmaceutical production.
Also at the seminar, Ms. Pham Thi Thu, owner of Green Pharma 24 pharmacy chain in Thanh Hoa, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, said that 50% of the revenue is from Indian products with prices much lower than those of other brands. other imported drugs. “Vietnamese consumers love foreign brands, and they easily recommend that they buy Indian products at the same price as domestic products instead of paying two or three times the price,” said Thu. for European imported drugs”.
After the seminar, a number of Indian and Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies directly contacted the Investment Information and Consulting Center (Invest Global) by connecting and looking for partners to cooperate in investment and trade. .
