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Dr. Balaji Sadasivan, Singapore’s Minister of State for Health and Environment at the official launch of HOSPIMedia ASIA 2002.
Asia still holds many opportunities for foreign medical companies...
MALAYSIA places a great deal of emphasis on improving healthcare. Available figures indicate that under the 8th 5-year Malaysia Economic Plan (2001-06), US$ 1.5 billion has been allocated to further develop health services which includes research and development, establishing
tele-medicine and IT system and developing a national healthcare financing scheme. 33 new hospital projects as well as outpatient clinics and speciality healthcare centres are being planned and this will result in a surge in domestic demand for healthcare products. Malaysia Imports between 80-90% of its medical device needs. Its healthcare sector is expected to growth to US$1.2 billion in 2005.
SINGAPORE spends about 3% of its GDP on healthcare. The market for medical devices in Singapore will continue to grow as the country further strengthen its role as a regional medical and research hub and the government’s strong emphasis of healthcare. Approximately US$ 520 million worth of medical devices are imported with a large percentage being re-distributed to other parts of Asia. As a centre of medical excellence, Singapore has access to a population of over 520 million in Southeast Asia alone and over 2.8 billion within a flying radius of 8 hours.
THAILAND relies heavily on imported medical devices and almost all high-tech equipment is imported. Total sales of medical devices in Thailand in 2002 were estimated to be about US$ 380 million. Thailand is a relatively liberal market for medical devices imposing few restrictions on their importation and sale. The Thai government also offers various tax incentives to companies that are willing to produce medical devices in this country either for local demand or exports. The disposable income of the population is steadily increasing, life expectancy is improving bringing with it an increasing percentage of older people and the population now has access to affordable healthcare services implemented by the government.
VIETNAM is an emerging market with a population of 80 million. In 2000, the government issued a five-year plan to encourage the upgrading of medical equipment, use of technology in the healthcare industry and investing in the training of more skilled healthcare personnel. Vietnam is regarded as an important potential market for health services and products given its population size. The market for imported pharmaceuticals and medical equipment is growing at an impressive rate and will continue to grow as the country seeks to improve the healthcare facilities and the health of its population. As it is, Vietnam imports almost all its medical equipment and devices used domestically.
PHILIPPINES has recently allocated US$ 245 million of its budget to healthcare and further set aside US$ 28 million to the
anti-SARS fund for contingency measures.
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