European med-tech firms eye the Philippine market — BoI

A delegation of mostly healthcare and medical technology companies from the European Union (EU) is seeking to bring in new technologies in the country through a business mission, the Board of Investments (BoI) said.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sept. 5, the Department of Trade and Industry’s investment promotions arm said that around 50 companies from 15 EU states participated in the EU Business Avenues in South East Asia program this week.
The program, which seeks to develop partnerships between Philippine and EU firms, showcased new technologies in medical equipment such as in medical waste management, dental products and supplies, cosmetic equipment, IT solutions, assistive technologies, and rehabilitation equipment.
BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said that the business mission “complements the effort of the local health services industry to develop and promote the country as a medical travel, wellness tourism, and as a retirement destination in Asia”.
“The government supports the manufacturing medical devices and supplies as the country presents great opportunities in the field with the presence of over 2,000 government and private hospitals and over 23,000 health units and stations all over the country,” he added.
Citing data from Med Tech Europe, BoI said that the bloc is one of the largest sources of medical devices with almost 25,000 medical device manufacturers and distributors of various fields under medicine.
EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said that “[t]he EU remains committed in supporting the Philippines in its healthcare agenda through various programmes, trade and investment”.
BoI said that total healthcare trade in 2017 reached more than €1.1 billion. With the country’s population of elderly aboe 65 years old expected to reach 4.9% by 2020, trade between the Philippines and EU is expected to grow further, Med Tech Europe noted. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato