Business Development Asia LLC
South East Asian Health News
ISSUE 2, AUGUST 1997
MALAYSIA
DBS Land Group of Singapore will complete the construction of two more PremierCare Medical Centers by late 1998. The specialist hospitals cost RM35m (US$13m) each and will be located in Johor Baru and Sungai Petani, Kedah. Other new hospitals are being planned with possible locations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Australia. Penang Development Corp. holds a 35% share of the Johor Baru project, which will be the largest hospital in the area. The center will specialize in anesthesiology, cardiology, neurology, obstetrics & gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, pediatric medicine, and radiology. (June 26th 1997)
Hospital Pantai is finalizing plans to build a 350-bed medical center in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. It is also likely to open a center in Klang, near Kuala Lumpur. Executive Director Mokhzani Mahathir, son of the Prime Minister, said that Group revenues for the year ending January 1997 rose 17% to RM75.4m (US$29m) while profit before tax increased 15% to RM12.1m (US$4.6m). Pantai and Cheras, two of the group's medical centers, are performing strongly. (July 31st 1997)
The Johor Corporation, an investment company with interests in healthcare, plantations, industrial land and property, has set up a department to identify businesses undertaken by its subsidiaries which could be expanded into a franchise system. Included in Johor's list of business investments, ranging from vehicle services to sports cafes, are its medical clinics. Johor became involved in the franchise business in 1993 by managing two franchise businesses via Pharmacare Medicine Shoppe Sdn Bhd and Rely-On-Us (M) Sdn Bhd.(June 27th 1997)
Nathill Track (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has entered into a technology transfer agreement with Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital. MGH will focus on nurses' training, emergency treatment, telemedicine and the transfer of medical technology. Nathill Track will begin the construction of the US$100 million Larkin Specialist Hospital in Johor, in September 1997. Nathill Track will have a 70% equity stake in the project while the balance will be held by Balestier Hospital of Singapore. The project involves a 350-bed specialist hospital and a 14-story office tower block for medical specialty companies. The buildings will be developed simultaneously for completion by early 1999. (July 3rd 1997)
Sarawak MediChem Pharmaceuticals, a JV formed by Illinois-based MediChem Research and the state government of Sarawak, Malaysia, is currently testing a new drug, Calanolide A. The drug, made of a substance derived from a tree found in a Malaysian rain forest, could provide a new treatment for AIDS. Prior laboratory experiments have shown that Calanolide A halts the replication of the AIDS virus in a test tube. If the tests, currently on healthy humans, are successful, testing on HIV positive patients will start in November 1997. (June 21st 1997)
Tiger Balm (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd plans to dominate the Malaysian plaster market through the introduction of the Tiger Medicated Plaster. Tiger Balm expects to capture 25% of the market in 1997, and a 40% share by 1998. Tiger Balm, based in Singapore, claims a 27% Malaysian market share for ointment and balm products. The company is planning to expand its factory at Tebrau Industrial Estate in Johor, by investing US$400,000. The group's main competitors in the plaster segment are Tunkuhan and Salonpas, both based in Japan. Tiger Balm says that it will launch the Medicated Plaster in Thailand, Indonesia and China in 1997. (July 2nd 1997)
Indofarma, an Indonesian state-run pharmaceutical company, will increase its export of generic medical drugs to Malaysia. Malaysian Health Minister Dato Chua Jui Meng announced that Malaysia would buy more of such drugs, especially from Indofarma. The Health Minister said Indonesia's generic medications were of good quality and cheaper than those from Europe and the US. Malaysia spends US$270m per annum on medicine, 70% of which is imported, mainly generics from Europe and the US. The cooperation agreement signed by Indonesian Health Minister Sujudi and Dato Chua also covers research and medicinal herbs, hospital services, medical sciences and technology and joint capital investment in pharmaceutical development. (July 10th 1997)
Recent News: Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Regional Focus: Thailand: A growing private health sector
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