Singapore: Rising wealth, aging and growing population, demand for quality healthcare, and increase in the number of hospitals are factors supporting the growth of the healthcare industry in Indonesia and Vietnam. Healthcare spending has significantly increased in the past decade in these emerging economies, helping the industry expand. Governments in both countries are also encouraging private sector investment.

Analysis from Frost & Sullivan, South East Asian Emerging Markets: Indonesia and Vietnam Healthcare Outlook 2012, finds that Indonesia and Vietnam have drastically increased their healthcare spending and aim to modernize healthcare infrastructure by 2020. The countries are working to expand and invest in all segments of healthcare: medical imaging, medical devices, healthcare information technology (IT), pharmaceutical and biotechnology. The study presents key findings, market revenue forecasts, and mega trends influencing healthcare along with an insightful review of growth opportunities in each healthcare segment.

With increase in communicable and non-communicable diseases, changes in health insurance patterns and favorable investment policies, the healthcare sector presents strong growth opportunities in Indonesia and Vietnam. "The countries are working to reduce outflow of medical tourists from their country to neighbouring Asian countries due to lack of quality and timely services," says Ms Poornima Srinivasan, consultant, Frost & Sullivan. "Hence the governments are revising legislations pertaining to healthcare investment and public-private partnership (PPP) models to attract more private hospitals in the country."

PPP efforts will increase healthcare infrastructure, driving growth of all segments pertaining to healthcare. Both countries are technology-savvy and this provides opportunities for healthcare IT as well. Further, the dramatic increase in mobile phone users in both countries will fuel tele-health as an important tool to enhance and enable healthcare access and monitoring.

The over the counter (OTC) medication market too is expanding. In Indonesia, the uptake is driven by the launch of new retail outlets while the segment is growing in Vietnam due to the self-medicating behaviour of Vietnamese.

"Overall, the total revenue of Indonesia and Vietnam healthcare market will move from $8.20 billion in 2011 to $12.01 billion in 2015, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the period is 10.0 percent," said Ms Srinivasan.