Private equity firm Mekong Capital has invested US$8.8 million in LiveSpo Global, a Vietnamese innovative company exporting its consumer health products to more than 20 markets in the world.

The LiveSpo Global's showroom at a healthcare fair in Hanoi. Photo: LiveSpo Global

LiveSpo Global is established by a group of three founders, specializing in Spores Probiotics Technology. The technology produces spore-based probiotics in liquid form, multi-strains, and high concentration that was developed by Dr. Nguyen Hoa Anh.

Anh returned to Vietnam in 2010 after 15 years of studying and working in molecular biology at Tohoku University in Japan. The healthcare company aims to become a digitalized pharmaceutical company that revolutionizes the way consumers care for health with spore probiotics.

In earlier July, Mekong Enterprise Fund IV (MEF) also completed an investment into HSV Group, the largest cosmetics retailer in Vietnam in terms of the number of stores. The company owns 69 The Face Shop, 11 Beauty Box and seven South Korean-style Club Clio cosmetics outlets, six Adidas and 12 Reebook sportswear stores. 

Healthcare is among the most attractive industries for investors according to the latest survey on the Vietnam private equity outlook conducted by Grant Thornton Vietnam, an auditing and consulting firm. 

Nguyen Thi Vinh Ha, Head of Advisory at Grant Thornton Vietnam, cited the firm’s survey showing that the growth prospects in healthcare come from the higher healthcare spending per capita with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% from $194 in 2019 to an expected $309 in 2024. 

The shortage of qualified personnel and inadequate healthcare infrastructure results in a huge supply gap and the increasing aging speed of the Vietnamese population will further boost healthcare demand, she noted.