Skip to main content

Indonesia’s healthcare sector ripe for investments

Indonesia has emerged as an attractive healthcare market. The industry has surged by 300% since 2005, with national healthcare expenditure reaching USD26 billion in 2014. Recognizing the investment potential, the South East Asia (SEA) Hospital Expansion Summit 2015 gathered industry leaders and government officials to discuss opportunities and challenges in this sector.

Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, was invited as a guest speaker at the South East Asia Hospital Expansion Summit 2015. In his presentation, Bahar gave a brief overview of Indonesia’s healthcare sector, focusing on investment prospects for private firms.

Bahar mentioned that in 2012, Indonesians spent around USD11.5 billion (yearly) for healthcare services abroad. Wealthy Indonesians still opt for medical treatment overseas to treat complicated conditions, preferring medical tourism destinations like India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

To promote a better distribution of hospitals across Indonesia’s many provinces and cities, the government has allowed a maximum of 67% foreign ownership for new investors. This, together with other liberalization measures, has excited the investor community.

Nonetheless, roadblocks remain. Low health expenditure (USD106.63), a shortage of doctors and medical professionals as well as an inequitable healthcare financing system – leading to unequal distribution of hospitals across geographic areas – continue to hold back the industry’s growth.

Bahar’s presentation deck on “Healthcare in Indonesia: Future Growth Opportunities” can be found here.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

FIFA World Cup 2018 holds lessons for successful team building

The FIFA World Cup 2018 is widely seen as one of the best World Cups in recent memory, with many surprises and goals aplenty. One talking point was the role of teamwork as opposed to just superstar talent. What lessons can businesses learn from the beautiful game? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 23 July 2018. As World Cup fever draws to an end, the game lived up to its hype with breath-taking goals and outstanding performances. Perera highlighted the role of 'team effort' over mere individual talent, which was evident in the early failure of teams with world-class superstars like Argentina and Portugal. Perera also pointed out the importance of investing in new talent pipeline development, which paid rich dividends for France, the winning team and also one of the youngest teams in the World Cup. The game also highlighted the role of risk-taking. A relentless approach t...

Raising a glass to India’s wine market

India is not famous for its wine, but the nation does have a viticultural industry that has been producing wine for centuries. This industry suffered a major setback only in the 19th century when phylloxera – a wild pest – destroyed countless vineyards. Nonetheless, a few entrepreneurs in India are now taking great pains to restore the Indian wine industry, setting their sights on the massive vineyard spreads across Nashik, Maharashtra. This is where Rajeev Samant founded Sula Vineyards in 2002 – making a noteworthy entry into the global wine market. Amongst the first in India to be featured in Wine Spectator – a renowned industry magazine – his company currently holds 65% of the country’s wine market, making him the top wine producer in India. Will India’s entrepreneurs succeed in placing India on the world wine map? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/raising-a-glass-to-indias-wine-market/

Side Click: Are you under the surveillance camera?

Identifying VIPs with strong purchasing power is crucial to retail success. More often than not, retail staff fail to do this in time. Facial recognition technology can help prevent this. But does it put our privacy at risk? With high-spending customers making out-sized contributions to retail profitability, it is increasingly crucial for retailers to provide personalized customer service the minute a VIP customer sets foot in the store. For instance, Katie Holmes reportedly spent USD100,000 on a fashion makeover and USD14,200 on lingerie alone in 2012! This is where identification technology can play a role. NEC, a Japan-based ICT vendor, has developed an identification application based on a facial recognition system – comparing the individual’s facial features against its database, and sending prompts when a match is identified. The initial purpose of the application was to help identify terrorists and criminals , but it was subsequently adapted to the retail setting....

The Indonesian Elections – Will it change the business landscape?

Since 1998, Indonesia has become one of the most dynamic and successful democracies in Southeast Asia today. Though it has navigated the global financial crises of the past five years relatively unscathed, infrastructure bottlenecks and regulatory hurdles have held back the country’s economic potential. How will the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections impact the Indonesian economy and the companies operating in it? Indonesia may become the world’s 7th largest economy by 2030. A growing young population, bountiful natural resources along with an expanding consumer base will help sustain growth. Indonesia’s 2014 elections have been touted by some observers as the country’s most important since 1955. What is at stake? 1. Economic growth Elections do have the ability to kick-start growth by boosting business and consumer confidence in ways that defy normal economic calculations. Witness the surge in confidence that accompanied the election victory of Japan...

China: The quest for clean air

Global air pollution costs add up to more than USD160 billion in lost productivity every year, China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the cost to China of carbon emissions is estimated at USD7.6 billion. As China implements countermeasures to ensure clean air, what does that mean for its economy? Will there be a clean-tech silver lining? China’s air pollution chokes its economy More than 80 per cent of Chinese people face regular exposure to dangerous levels of air pollution, which is the cause of death for more than 4,000 people per day on average. The country’s economy grew by approximately 10 per cent year-on-year from 1980 to 2010, but the phenomenal pace of growth came at a big cost to the environment. China’s environmental crisis first became a discussion point during the 1970s with widespread concern over the black smoke emanating from its industrial cities. The primary causes of pollution are the burning of coal in factories and power plants...