MEDICAL equipment and solutions provider GE Healthcare Technologies, a unit of GE Electric Inc, expects the Malaysian market to contribute a revenue of about RM102 million out of the total RM302.5 million for the company's healthcare business in South-East Asia this year.
Its regional general manager Arun Sharma said the target is based on the increase in orders and sales for its medical equipment and technologies in the country.
He said Malaysia is by far the company's biggest market and largest revenue contributor in the region at the moment followed by Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
"In terms of growth, I am happy to say that the value of orders we received in the first half of this year exceeded the figures recorded for the entire year of 2004 which stood at a total of RM84.8 million," he told Business Times in Kuala Lumpur.
He said the company also hopes to increase its market share in the country from the current 23 per cent to 40 per cent this year, making it the clear leader in the healthcare industry.
GE Healthcare has unique expertise in bioscience and technologies such as information technology (IT), information and intervention, molecular diagnostics and pharmaceutical solutions. About 70 per cent of its technical team is currently based in the country.
"The potential for us to further tap the Malaysian market is big with customers from the private and public hospitals in the country aiming to offer the latest technology in healthcare for their patients.
"For instance, in November last year we introduced five new applications to improve clinical practices, namely the Propeller, Tricks, Vibrant, Lava and MR Echo to the market. We received positive feedback for the products," he said.
One of its trademark products, the Computer Tomography (CT) scanner called the 5-Beat Cardiac, could examine the condition of the heart in five seconds compared to normal treatments, which take up to three hours.
"We expect to see several deals closed for our products within the next two to three months," he said.
Arun said Malaysia's role as a leader in the region's healthcare tourism will also be among the contributing factors for its revenue jump this year with many foreign tourists coming from countries such as China, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and many more.
"Of course to attract these kind of tourists, hospitals will need to offer the latest medical technology available in the market," he said, adding that other attractions will be the five-star hotel accommodation and touring package.
Among the company's customers in the country are Penang General Hospital, Putrajaya Hospital, University Hospital in Petaling Jaya, Penang Adventist Hospital and Lifecare Diagnostics in Petaling Jaya.
It also includes Universiti Sains Hospital in Kelantan, Mahkota Medical Centre in Malacca, Temerloh Hospital in Pahang, Sultanah Aminah Hospital and Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor and Gleneagles Intan Hospital in Perak
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