One more company allowed to import Sinopharm vaccine

Vietnam received 500,000 doses of Sinopharm Vero Cell vaccine donated by the Chinese government on June 20

Sinopharm is responsible for the origin and quality of the imported vaccines, as well as ensure the preservation and vaccination needs under the direction of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.

This is the second company allowed to import COVID-19 vaccines after Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) with 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. The remaining vaccine sources in Vietnam so far are the supply mechanism of Covax and aid from Japan, the US, and Russia.

Previously, on June 20, Vietnam received 500,000 doses of Sinopharm's Vero-Cell vaccine donated by the Chinese government.

The vaccine has given priority to three specific subjects such as citizens of the People's Republic of China working in Vietnam; Vietnamese people wishing to study, work, and do business in the People's Republic of China; and people in localities near the border with China.

Sapharco is a wholly-owned enterprise of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.

In 2020, Sapharco recorded a sales and service revenue of VND2.7 trillion ($117.4 million), with after-tax profit of VND28.3 billion ($1.23 million), respectively down 39 and 8 per cent compared to 2019.

Gross profit margin increased to 8.17 per cent, compared to 5 per cent last year. Due to the cost of goods sold significantly dropping to VND2.49 trillion ($108.26 million), down 40.6 per cent on-year, the company's gross profit remained level at VND221 billion ($9.6 million).

Notably, compared to the previous year, financial charges dropped to VND12.6 billion ($547,830), down 31.6 per cent, selling expenses also dropped to VND173.8 billion ($7.56 million), down 10.2 per cent, while general and administrative expenses increased to VND45.7 billion ($1.99 million), up 69.4 per cent.