L. Joseph
Phone:  (202) 473-7700
Fax:  (202) 974-4384
E-mail:  ljoseph@ifc.org


Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, December 3, 2001—The International Finance Corporation has signed an agreement to invest US$8 million in Far East Medical Vietnam Ltd. to support the establishment of the Franco-Vietnamese Hospital (F-V Hospital)—the first modern, western-style, wholly foreign-owned hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

The 200-bed tertiary care hospital will provide a full range of surgical (inpatient and ambulatory) and diagnostic services for the treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases such as heart problems, cancer, and accidental injuries.  It will offer modern equipment and facilities and help reduce the shortage of high-quality hospital care in Vietnam.

The F-V Hospital has been developed by a group of ten medical entrepreneurs from France, including Dr. Jean-Marcel Guillon, chairman of Far East Medical Vietnam, who is representing the founding partners.  The hospital will introduce an innovative system of rotating doctors who will provide equity financing and medical services.  Gleneagles Management Services (GMS) of Singapore will manage the hospital.  GMS is a subsidiary of Parkway Group, Singapore’s leading provider of healthcare and one of the major players in the area of private healthcare in East Asia.

This is the first hospital project under the government of Vietnam’s new law to promote foreign private investment in the areas of health, education, science, and research.


The $40 million project will be co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV); and Proparco, the private sector arm of AFD (Agence Française de Developpement), the development agency of the French government.


Mr. Peter Woicke—Executive Vice President of IFC and Managing Director of the World Bank Group for private sector development—who is traveling in Vietnam on his first official visit, said, “The project will make a significant contribution by providing the Vietnamese people with access to excellent medical care.  It will also help to transfer know-how from the French doctors to the Vietnamese medical professionals who will practice medicine at the hospital.  The availability of an international standard hospital will also encourage more foreign private investments in Vietnam.”


Dr. Guillon added, “The F-V Hospital, which has been developed as a commercial enterprise, will play a leading role in the modernization of Vietnam’s healthcare system with its commitment to training, technology transfer, and the introduction of state-of-the-art medical methodology.  It will have a crucial social and developmental role and its benefits—especially the availability of affordable medical care—are expected to be far-reaching.”


IFC’s mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives.  IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.  Since its founding in 1956, IFC has committed more than $31 billion of its own funds and arranged $20 billion in syndications for 2,636 companies in 140 developing countries.  IFC’s committed portfolio at the end of FY01 was $14.3 billion.