Thailand’s internationally admired performance in the pandemic of the COVID-19 virus has showed the exceptional strengths of the country’s health care system and medical industry to further justify its drive towards becoming one of the world’s top medical hubs. A sophisticated healthcare system, universal healthcare coverage and robust public health consciousness have all contributed to Thailand’s success in containing the pandemic of COVID-19 virus and reporting one of the world’s lowest mortality rates from the disease.
A Global Health Security Index ranked Thailand as the world’s 6th best prepared country for confronting the pandemic, reflecting the country’s public health care system’s preparedness for coping with major public health emergencies such as the pandemic of the Covid-19 virus. YouGov in partnership with the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London released results from a survey in May which showed that Thais are the most likely to wear facemasks in public and use hand sanitizer as hygienic routines, across six countries in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This strong local medical environment, together with growing demand for health care locally and from abroad and the Thai government’s commitment to further develop the medical industry have enabled Thailand to be the most lucrative market for medical device manufacturing in Asia.
Placing Thailand’s health care and wellness service and its comprehensive medical industry among 13 key industries that represent the country’s new engines of growth over the next decade in line with the Thailand 4.0 policy, the Thai government has established a plan to develop the country’s medical sector as the global “Medical Hub”. This policy is a national strategy aiming of creating sustainable human development through the leverage of Thailand’s strengths in the manufacturing supply chain, the medical industry and biotechnology to build economic competitiveness over the long-term. This position is reiterated in the Ministry of Public Health 2016-2025 plan for Thailand to become the world’s foremost destination for medical industry in four key areas of wellness, medical services, academic activities and medical products.
Cost advantage, high-quality medical services, attentive care of medical staff and unique wellness services have spurred demand for Thailand’s medical and wellness from abroad. The Ministry of Tourism & Sports is promoting Thailand’s medical and wellness tourism at the global level. Thailand’s large healthcare industry is currently supported by 370 private hospitals, 50 of which are accredited by the Joint Commission International global standard, while there were also 18 medical clinics as of September 2019. This number is greater than any other countries in ten membered ASEAN and fourth highest in the world.
These positive factors and Thailand’s strategic location as the gateway to growing economies of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam enable Thailand to offer an ideal investment destination for a wide range of medical device manufacturers and healthcare service providers. Thailand’s economic competitiveness, rising demand from aging population, expanding middle class and more tourists seeking affordable high-quality health care services have supported growing future prospect for medical device industry. On top of that, the pandemic of the COVID-19 virus adds an impetus to the demand for a wide range of medical devices from frontline medical practitioners to general populations and accelerates the medical system’s adoption of more advanced medical devices.
Thailand boasts a strong industrial manufacturing supply chain and agricultural businesses to support the pharmaceuticals, medical food production and medical device manufacturing.
As a testament to the growing medical industry and importance of export base, Thailand’s outbound shipment of medical devices grew to US$ 843 million in 2018 from US$ 554 million in 2011. The value of imports grew to US$ 962 million from US$ 557 million, over the same period Electromechanical devices, in vitro diagnostic devices, single-use devices, ophthalmic devices, optical devices, and hospital hardware represented Thailand’s top medical device imports in 2018. The reliance on the import of sophisticated medical devices underscores the significant potential for investment opportunities in Thailand.
Thailand Board of Investment offers a wide range of incentives for investments that meet the national development objectives. The available tax incentives include the exemption of both corporate income tax and import duty on machinery and raw or essential materials used in manufacturing products for the export.
As for non-tax incentives, the BOI also grants the permission for foreign investors to hold up to 100 % ownership in most targeted businesses. Additionally, the BOI enhances the coverage and benefits of its Smart Visa program to attract the high-skilled experts, investors, and foreign start ups in targeted high technology industries under the Thailand 4.0 policy.
The BOI also introduces additional incentives to promote new investment by medical device manufacturers and industrial manufacturers who wish to adjust their production to meet the surge in the use of medical devices to cope with the epidemic of the Covid-19 virus.
Thailand’s health care system and medical industry is looking a bright future ahead…