>Healthcare in Asia Pacific

Healthcare sector comprises of many segments, which include hospitals, medical infrastructure, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, and health insurance. The global economic slowdown has affected many segments of the economy. However, as comparison, the
healthcare sector has outperformed the broader market.

Such phenomena is more significant in Asia Pacific as the meltdown of the economy has not hit the Asia Pacific region as severely as in the developed countries such as the US and Europe. Moreover, amidst the crisis, Asia Pacific was the gainer as healthcare companies in developed countries are under remarkable cost pressures. The recovery of the markets, especially the strong growth in Asia has been identified as the main driver of healthcare industry.

Alongside with the recovery of various markets since the end of 2009, Asia has become an important market for healthcare besides serving as an outsourcing hub. Mergers and acquisitions are falling apart in the West but Asia is expecting restructuring of its markets. In January 2010, Frost & Sullivan had forecasted that the region's healthcare market is set to reach new heights of USD 276 billion this year, from USD 246 billion in 2009, up by 12.2%. Asia Pacific's current contribution of 24% of global healthcare revenue is also expected to grow to 40% by the end of 2015. Strong economic recovery in Asian countries like India and China, rising investment in hospital infrastructure and healthcare facilities by global companies are among the positive factors.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), private per capita expenditures on health increased by more than 15% in the last 5 years in emerging markets such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and India. Moreover, based on medical claims analysis, premium costs in Asia will double in the next five years. Healthcare spending in Asia Pacific have been encouraging. In 2009, majority of healthcare spending was attributed by spending on treatment, which was as high as 85% of the total healthcare spending in Asia Pacific.

The rising number of aging population and the growth of chronic diseases in Asia had changed the trend and growth of healthcare industry. Such trend is more significant in Japan as the aging population (over 60 years old) is expected to mark about 42% of the country population by the end of this year. Japan’s population also tops the list with over 40% of its population having 1 or more chronic diseases in Asia.

To read the full report: HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY