What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

With over 5,500 staff across 14 hospitals and five clinics, it is never a dull moment at Hoan My, and we are looking into expanding and diversifying our business. We work on the acquisition of existing hospitals and clinics, and explore Greenfield options, navigating the legal obstacles of licensing and regulatory aspects of medical services in Vietnam.

Hoan My takes pride in building and enhancing the healthcare industry in Vietnam, and this has led the legal team in taking steps in structuring partnerships with Siemens Healthineers, as well as the prestigious ACHS International. The legal team also looks into group structuring matters to ensure full efficiency of the business and advises on digitalisation of the business.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

I would not say it is an innovation, but at times, we tend to forget the basics of communication, and common sense is thrown out of the window. The role of the legal in-house team for the longest time has been about bridging the legal and commercial needs of the company, finding that sweet spot. To do that effectively is by aligning the back office with the front office.

At Hoan My, we have structured our team by region, with a dedicated legal counsel for the relevant assets. There is also an emphasis for legal counsels to visit our assets, understand the ground game, listen with empathy, and, finally, devise applicable options and solutions. This has translated into greater efficiency in terms of time spent when it comes to reviewing agreements, and addressing legal concerns raised by our assets, as well as greater proficiency in project and business development.

How do you see the general counsel role evolving in Vietnam over the next five-ten years?

With the introduction of AI, and business diversification into further or full digitalisation, grey areas are on the rise. Legislation is not passed at the same speed as technology, which necessitates general counsel to (more so than before) pre-empt, establish policies, educate, and implement actions to mitigate any undesirable non-compliances or breach of the legislation.

There is an increasing need to not over-analyse and make bold decisions, especially in a market like Vietnam where legislation can be incredibly vague. In that regard, it is imperative for general counsel to have regular discussions with other heads of department to anticipate legal concerns that may arise which may also affect business decisions and strategy to be made.

What are some of the main trends impacting your industry in Vietnam?

The healthcare industry has gone through a major evolution, accelerated by Covid-19. This has increased interest and consumerism in healthcare products and services, further evidenced by the numerous M&A Vietnam healthcare buy-outs and investments by foreign investors. By that extension, there is also more scrutiny by authorities in this regard concerning licensing, and ensuring gold standard is being provided by healthcare providers.

There is also a preference for convenience and simplicity in using healthcare services, and we will certainly see the rise of digital health companies, as well as the evolvement of legislation relating to medical, digitalisation and data collection matters. Implementation in Vietnam has always been a challenge; two-steps forward, and one-step backward, is still a one-step forward.