International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is leading a delegation of 25 representatives from 16 Singapore organisations to Doha, Qatar from 16 to 19 March 2009 to explore business and investment opportunities in Qatar’s healthcare sector (the list of organisations can be found in the Annex). This is Singapore’s first official healthcare business mission to Qatar, and follows less than two weeks after signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Qatar Ministry of Public Health and Singapore’s Ministry of Health to foster greater cooperation and facilitate future exchanges in the areas of healthcare and healthcare information technology.

Healthcare demand in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is expected to rise by 240 percent over the next 20 years[1], calling for a corresponding expansion of healthcare facilities and related services and products. In particular, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) healthcare market is undergoing rapid transformation, as domestic per capita GDP increases and the demand for healthcare in the region as a whole continues to grow. The value of the market in the UAE alone is expected to rise to US$11.9 billion in 2015, from US$3.2 billion in 2005. At present, almost US$14 billion worth of healthcare-related projects are underway across the Gulf region. Qatar alone, with its relatively smaller 1.5 million population, accounts for some 20% of this amount in project value (US$3.2 billion)[2].

This opens up many opportunities for foreign healthcare players to partner Qatari companies or healthcare institutions in medical joint ventures, as well as to provide expertise, services and products, including infrastructure development, hospital/integrated facilities management, healthcare IT systems, healthcare training, biomedical research and health promotion. Furthermore, unlike many other industries, the setting up of a foreign healthcare enterprise in Qatar does not require local partnership.

Singapore enjoys an excellent reputation as a premier healthcare destination. In 2007, the country welcomed over 400,000 international patients who travelled to Singapore for an array of medical procedures[3]. With Singapore’s healthcare being highly-regarded by Middle East patients, there is tremendous potential for Singapore healthcare companies to bring their expertise to the Middle East, and especially to Qatar, so that patients from the region can obtain high quality healthcare services and medical treatments from Singapore providers closer to home.

As part of the business mission, the delegation will visit public healthcare hospital group, Hamad Medical Corporation, as well as private healthcare players such as Al Ahli Hospital and Doha Clinic Hospital. The participants can also look forward to meeting officials from the Ministry of Public Health to gain a better understanding of the country’s healthcare developments and requirements, as well as attend networking sessions to meet like-minded Middle Eastern counterparts.

Said Mr Lim Ban Hoe, Regional Director of IE Singapore’s International Operations in the Middle East and Africa, “Qatar is making concerted effort to modernise and enhance its healthcare sector. In particular, we see opportunities for Singapore companies in infrastructure development of healthcare facilities, healthcare related ICT solutions, and even healthcare insurers. Coupled with Singapore’s reputation for our medical excellence, there is strong potential for partnership between Singapore healthcare players and Qatari healthcare companies and institutions. This being the largest business mission that IE Singapore has organised to Doha, we are heartened by the companies’ enthusiastic response and healthy interest, and look forward to seeing the Singapore brand of healthcare flourish in the Middle East.”

To date, Singapore healthcare players such as Asiamedic have seen success in the Middle East through healthcare consultancy and management services.

The Singapore-based companies in the mission are optimistic about the business and investment prospects in Qatar’s healthcare sector. Said Dr Peng Chung Mien, Chief Executive Officer of ST Medical Services, which operates the Singapore Aeromedical Centre, “We see Qatar and the Middle East as having good potential for expansion in the healthcare sector for both civil and military aviation medicine. Such missions by IE Singapore are extremely helpful in terms of opening doors, and to get insights into the business and operating environments of foreign markets. We look forward to working more closely with IE Singapore to further develop business opportunities in the Middle East.”

In 2008, bilateral trade between Singapore and Qatar amounted to S$11.3 billion, a growth of 68% from the previous year. Qatar is Singapore’s third largest trading partner from the Middle East (after Saudi Arabia and UAE) and the 17th largest in the world[4]. IE Singapore has four overseas centres in the Middle East, in Doha, Qatar, as well as Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Annex: List of Singapore organisations in business mission to Qatar.