The hospitals and clinics market was the fastest growing in Asia Pacific region in the historic period between 2014-2018, at an annual growth rate of 12.1%. The market will continue to be the fastest growing up to 2022, at an annual rate of 14.5%. The market growth is supported by large ageing population, high disposable incomes that help individuals seek healthcare services, high accessibility of healthcare services, and high prevalence of lifestyle-based diseases. Asia Pacific’s hospitals and clinics market is also supported by the major countries in the region, China and India, which will be the fastest growing countries up to 2022, at annual rates of 20.4% and 18.1% respectively.

Government initiatives to subsidize healthcare, expand medical insurance coverage, and increase awareness on medical conditions such as diabetes and cancer drove Asia Pacific’s hospitals and clinics market in the historic period. In 2015, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan, launched the ‘Japan 2035’ healthcare vision which aims to deliver advanced healthcare services in the country by 2035. The plan encompasses public health insurance, tax reforms, medical research and development, healthcare funding and medical professionals. In 2018, the Government of India launched ‘Ayushman Bharat,’ aiming at providing healthcare facilities to over 100 million families. This initiative offers an insurance coverage of INR 500,000 to 500 million people.

Healthcare is considered a mandatory budget expenditure by almost all countries across the globe, which is a benefit to the global hospitals and clinics market. Countries favoring healthcare expansion tend to allocate a significant portion of their budgets to healthcare. In Australia’s 2016 federal budget, the government quoted an additional funding of $3.9 billion over the next four years to hospitals in the country. In 2016, China’s health budget totaled 1.24 trillion yuan. According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the average annual growth rate of medical input crossed 20% since 2010.

Countries in Asia Pacific are emerging markets. Developing countries such as China and India are expected to attract investments into their healthcare systems. Increased disposable incomes and growth in awareness of chronic diseases, led to increased use of healthcare services in these countries. The Indian healthcare market has become one of India’s largest markets by revenue and employment. The industry is experiencing changes in business models, reductions in bureaucracy and corruption, promotion of private sector partnerships and the emergence of mobile healthcare.

In China, the government has been taking steps to ease regulations for private and foreign investments. For instance, in 2011, it allowed 100% foreign ownership of hospitals as a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise. In 2014, the government allowed private investors to acquire and manage existing public hospitals.