Malaysia Still Has Room To Grow In Health Tourism, Says Liow

The Asian health tourism market, which includes India, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, is projected to rise from RM7.7 billion (US$2.5 billion) in 2006 to RM13.7 billion (US$4.4 billion) in 2012. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said Malaysia is estimated to rake in RM342 million (US$110 million) this year and this showed that the country still has room to grow and be at the forefront of health tourism in the region.

"The gross national income per capita is expected to be lifted from about RM23,700 (US$6,700) in 2009 to more than RM48,000 (US$15,000) in 2020," Liow said at the joint-venture signing ceremony between AriyaDana Equities Sdn Bhd and Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya Private Ltd here Thursday. "And the healthcare industry has been identified as one of the key areas to achieving this (high-income nation) status," he said.

AriyaDana Equities is signing a joint-venture agreement with Narayana Hrudayalaya India to establish the Narayana International Medical Centre (NIMC) in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. At the signing ceremony, AriyaDana Equities was represented by its director Nathan Mahalingam and Narayana Hrudayalaya by its chairman and founder, Dr Devi Prasad Shetty.

Liow said this joint venture was moving in the right direction in planning to promote health tourism, creating a hub to attract foreigners while being beneficial to Malaysians. According to him, the merger will also become a good option for patients from other parts of the region and a source of foreign revenue which will help to speed up Malaysia's transformation into high-income nation.

NIMC will provide the full suite of specialist medical services with centres of excellence in disciplines such as cardiology, oncology, paediatrics and orthopaedics. Its business model is designed to provide quality healthcare which can be accessible to all, regardless of economic status.

Sourced=bernama