Foreign interest in Myanmar healthcare runs high

 23-Mar-16, Myanmar Times

Rising disposable income, a budding middle class and opportunities to target a market that currently relies on overseas medical care are enticing foreign companies to do business in the country.

Image: Zarni Phyo / The Myanmar Times

They face “a huge opportunity because we are still in a very primitive stage of healthcare”, said Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry vice president U Maung Maung Lay. Until 2014, foreign investors were restricted from providing backing for medical facilities.

The Ministry of Health has since liberalised the gravely underfunded sector, approving international investment into private hospitals, clinics, diagnostic services, the private production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and private medical and health-related education institutions.

• A major new entrant is Parkway Healthcare Indo-China, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare, which started building a US$70 million hospital in Yangon in January. 
• Indonesia’s Lippo Group signed up for a $420 million joint venture with First Myanmar Investment (FMI) to build 12 hospitals
• Thailand’s Thonburi Hospital Group and Bumrungrad Hospital have both moved into the market

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