This report profiles Malaysia’s healthcare industry, discussing market trends through 2014 and outlook for 2015 and beyond. The report also highlights leading players in the sector including KPJ Healthcare, IHH Healthcare and Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care.

In 2014, the demand for Malaysian healthcare services increased in line with the population growth, better life expectancy, medical tourism, rapid aging and rising middle income group. It is anticipated that this rising trend will continue in 2015. Malaysia now has 13 Joint Commission International (JCI) and 78 Malaysia Society for Quality in Health (MSQH) accredited hospitals, aiming to play a part in the growing health tourism business.

Malaysia is fast becoming the destination of choice for medical tourists behind Thailand and Singapore, driven by affordable costs, specialised hospitals, high-quality medical care and short waiting times. According to the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), the number of foreign patients seeking medical treatment in Malaysia would expand from 770,000 in 2013 to 2 million by 2020. Most medical tourists to Malaysia are from Indonesia, followed by India, Japan and China. Future growth is expected from the wealthy Middle East.

According to the World Bank health statistics, Malaysia’s spending on healthcare was estimated at 4% of its GDP, with government expenditure accounting for 55% of total health expenditure. Private sector services mainly dominate the healthcare industry in Malaysia. Frost & Sullivan estimated the private healthcare sector to generate revenue of MYR 13.8bn in 2015, almost double from 2010.

In line with the continuous demand, expansion of existing hospitals and building of new hospitals will remain the players’ core strategies, as this will enhance the capacity and improve the service delivery of patients. Hence, it is expected that the new start up hospitals will contribute towards their revenue growth in 2015, along with higher operating expenses.

Key Points:

• With rapid population growth and rising per capita incomes, Frost & Sullivan predicted Malaysia’s private healthcare revenue to grow at a CAGR of 17% from 2012-2018.

• Despite low spending on healthcare at 4.4% of its GDP, Malaysia had the second-highest health expenditure per capita in the ASEAN region in 2013 at USD 423.

• According to the MHTC, around 800,000 foreign patients seek medical treatment in Malaysia, generating revenue of MYR 680mn in 2013 and MYR 820 in 2014. Indonesian patients remain as one of its major source, representing almost 50% of the revenue and 60% of the arrivals.