06-Dec-16 With promotion and publicity focused on China, Thailand has strong potential to lure very-rich Chinese. Singapore has the edge over Thailand by way of its Mandarin-speaking skills. Some 483,000 people travelled from China for medical tourism in 2015. They spent USD6.3 bn on treatment and USD3.4 bn on travel and accommodation, making outbound Chinese medical tourism a USD9.7 bn business. [image: Bangkok Post]

28-Nov-16 Logistics, manufacturing and healthcare sectors are likely to be early adopters of digital transformation strategies in Thailand. "Thailand's economy has experienced dramatic increases in growth over the past three decades, but is seeing no massive, visible growth like during the glory days before," said Yoshikuni Takashige, vice-president for marketing strategy at Fujitsu. [image: Bangkok Post]

26-Nov-16 Thailand has come up with a new visa scheme in a bid to boost its medical tourism sector. The long-stay visa for foreigners aged 50 or older has been extended to 10 years, from one. It requires eligible foreigners to have a monthly income of at least THB100,000 (USD2,800) or a bank deposit of at least THB3 mn (USD84,000). [image: Golden Emperor]

16-Nov-16 "Even though positioning Thailand as a medical hub of ASEAN has brought about rising income from medical tourism, the internationalisation of private hospitals means higher fees for medical treatment, care and services. Unfortunately, the trend has triggered a wave of copycat hikes among most private hospitals, the majority of whose customers are Thais." [image: Weerawong Wongpreedee / Bangkok Post]

16-Nov-16 Taking inspiration from Thailand, a sound information technology platform could enable effective universal health coverage in India. Thailand has leveraged technology extensively. Its national registration database forms the backbone of all health schemes in the country, ensuring that a beneficiary cannot enrol in two schemes - something India could learn from as the National Health Protection Scheme launch approaches. [image: AFP]