04-Mar-17 Philippine conglomerate Ayala is planning 500-bed general hospitals in suburbs of Manila, aiming to streamline healthcare services by integrating large facilities with a network of small clinics. QualiMed's first flagship hospital will open no later than 2019. A second large hospital will be added around 2021. QualiMed eventually aims to deploy the hospital-clinic business model in the Visayas and Mindanao. [image: Nikkei Asian Review]

08-Feb-17 Vietnam plans to issue electronic health security cards to its citizens verifying their right to medical services. The push to digitize the system is aimed at seamless healthcare delivery and insurance across the country. Electronic healthcare registries in all 63 cities and provinces will be synced together so that insurance plans will have to accept all cardholders. [image: VN Express / Dang Phuong Lan]

23-Feb-17 Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wants to make Penang into a medical city with excellent hospitals, highly trained doctors and affordable care. The government seeks to bring in foreign and local investment to enhance healthcare facilities. Lim explains: "medical tourism is booming in Malaysia... Investment is important to reinforce Malaysia’s position as the number one medical tourism destination." [image: Investvine]

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Chinese citizens are leaving their homes in search of the best care available, or care that they desperately need. Some 483,000 people travelled outbound from China for healthcare in 2015. These medical travellers spent USD6.3 billion on treatment and a further USD3.4 billion on travel and accommodation.

27-Feb-17 With an economic potential still largely untapped, the Greater Mekong Region should be front and center in the plans of any pharma, medical device or biotech organization looking to expand in Asia. Among the volatile and unpredictable emerging markets throughout Asia, Vietnam and Myanmar have shown strong growth in their economies and appetite for pharma and medical devices. [image: Life Science Leader]