MALAYSIAN RUBBER EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL ARAB HEALTH 2017 DUBAI, UAE 30 JANUARY 2 FEBRUARY 2017 1
1. Introduction The 42nd edition of Arab Health was held from 30 January 2 February 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Arab Health is the largest gathering of healthcare and trade professionals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This year features an additional 400 exhibitors, to a total of 4,400 companies showcasing their latest innovations to over 110,000 attendees from 70 countries. The trade show provides a holistic and engaging platform for business as well as information exchange on latest developments in the Middle East healthcare industry. Majority of the visitors who attended the event were dealers, importers, distributors and representatives from hospitals and laboratories from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Organizer Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions Date 30 January 2 February 2017 Venue Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre Time 10am 6pm (30th Jan 1st Feb 2017) 10am 5pm (2nd Feb 2017) Table 1: Arab Health 2017 Show Information Figure 1. Arab Health 2017 Exhibition Floor 2
1.1 MREPC Pavilion MREPC, together with 11 Malaysian rubber medical device manufacturers participated at Arab Health 2017, to showcase and promote high quality made-in-malaysia rubber medical devices. This year, MREPC pavilion is located at Hall 7 which is a different location compare to Hall 6 in previous year. The single deck MREPC pavilion was strategically located near the entry and exit points in Hall 7. MREPC occupied a 6 sqm small booth space in order to accommodate more manufacturers. The following table shows the list of participating exhibitors under MREPC pavilion for Arab Health 2017:- No Exhibitors Booth Number Products 1 MREPC H7. B10 Rubber Medical Devices 2 Adventa Health Sdn Bhd H7. B17 Latex & Nitrile Examination and Surgical Gloves 3 Biomax Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd H7. B16 Latex & Nitrile Examination Gloves 4 Glove Resources Sdn H7. B12 Latex & Nitrile Examination Gloves Bhd 5 Hartalega Sdn Bhd H7. B20 Latex & Nitrile Examination Gloves 6 Karex Industries Sdn Bhd H7. B14 Condoms, Probe Covers and rubber catheters 7 Kossan Latex Industries (M) Sdn Bhd H7. B18 Latex & Nitrile Examination, High Risk, Chemotherapy and Surgical Gloves 8 Multisafe Sdn Bhd H7. B13 Latex & Nitrile Examination Gloves 9 Qube Medical Products H7. B21 Latex Examination Gloves Sdn Bhd 10 Supermax Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd 11 Takaso Rubber Products Sdn Bhd H7. A01 Latex & Nitrile Examination and Surgical Gloves H7. B15 Condoms, Pacifiers and Teats 12 YTY Industry Sdn Bhd H7. B19 Latex & Nitrile Examination Gloves Table 2: Arab Health 2017 - List of MREPC Pavilion Exhibitors 3
MREPC Pavilion Figure 2. Arab Health 2017 Hall 5 8 Layout 3 sqm 3 sqm 16 sqm 4 sqm 3 sqm Supermax H7. A01 (12 sqm) Figure 3. Arab Health 2017 MREPC Pavilion Layout 4
Figure 4. MREPC Pavilion 5
MREPC booth displayed a wide range of rubber medical products such as medical gloves (latex and nitrile examination and surgical) as well as specialty gloves like high-risk, chemotherapy, gynaecological, dental and clean room. Condoms, catheters, probe covers, finger cots, breathing bag, medical tubes and dental dams were also displayed at the MREPC booth. MREPC s booth incorporated a full wall poster promoting Malaysian-made rubber medical devices and displaying pictures of medical gloves, catheters and condoms. Promotional materials such as flyers, CD directories, STRETCH magazines, glove and condom samples and MREPC giveaways were distributed to visitors. Mr Patrick Leong from Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers' Association (MARGMA) promoted the upcoming 2018 International Rubber Glove Conference & Exhibition (IRGCE) at MREPC booth. Magazines on IRGCE were also distributed at the booth. Figure 5. Exhibits at the MREPC booth 6
2. Individual Participation Two Malaysian rubber products manufacturers, namely ASAP International and Medidata were participated under MATRADE pavilion which is located next to MREPC pavilion in Hall 7. While, Top Glove, Rubberex and Cross Protection were participated on their own in Sheikh Saeed Hall 1, Za abeel Hall 5 and 7 respectively. Medidata is no longer manufacturing and exporting rubber medical gloves. The company is currently focusing on promoting pharmaceutical and surgical face masks. While, Cross Protection is situated in Za'abeel Hall 7. This hall is a make shift air-condition tent which is located right towards the end of the convention centre. Hence, there are lesser crowd compared to the rest of the halls. No Exhibitors Booth Number Products 1 ASAP International Sdn Bhd 2 Cross Protection (M) Sdn Bhd H7. A34 Latex & Nitrile Examination, High Risk and Cleanroom Gloves Z7. D05 Latex & Nitrile Examination and Dental gloves 3 Medidata Sdn Bhd H7. A14 Pharmaceutical and surgical face mask 4 Rubberex Malaysia Sdn Bhd Z5. B52 Latex & Nitrile Examination and Industrial Gloves 5 Top Glove Sdn Bhd S1. G02 Latex & Nitrile Examination, Surgical, Household, High Risk, Cleanroom and Industrial Gloves Table 3: MREPC members individual participation 3. Trade Enquiries Breakdown of Enquiries by Country and Product MREPC recorded a total of 57 trade enquiries for the 4-day event. Majority of the enquiries were from UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are from the Middle East region. Most of the enquiries were on latex examination gloves (42%), followed by surgical glove (18%) and medical glove (11%). The following table shows the breakdown of the enquiries: No Country Total Enquiry Region 1 UAE 17 Middle East 2 Saudi Arabia 7 (Total Enquiries = 39) 3 Kuwait 1 4 Iraq 3 5 Iran 6 6 Bahrain 3 7 Lebanon 1 7
8 Oman 1 9 Pakistan 5 South Asia 10 India 4 (Total Enquiries = 11) 11 Sri Lanka 2 12 Morocco 2 North Africa 13 Egypt 3 (Total Enquiries = 5) 14 Myanmar 1 South East Asia 15 Italy 1 Europe Grand Total 57 Table 4: Breakdown of enquiries by country and region South East Asia 2% Europe 2% North Africa 9% South Asia 19% Middle East 68% Chart 1. Breakdown of enquiries by region. 8
Catheters 8% Exam Glove-Nitrile 5% Condom 5% Probe Cover 3% Medical Glove 11% Exam Glove-Latex 42% High Risk Glove 2% RMD 6% Surgical Glove 18% Chart 2. Breakdown of enquiries by product. Visitors Profile 53% enquiries were received from distributors, followed by agents (28%), importers (15%) and 2% each from traders and others. Others 2% Trader 2% Agent 28% Importer 15% Distributor 53% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Chart 3. Visitors profile. % 9
4. Business Matchings A total of 25 business matching sessions had been successfully arranged with Malaysian rubber medical devices manufacturers. Majority of the buyers were interested on examination and surgical gloves, followed by condoms and catheters. The list of buyers and their profile are shown in table 5. No Company Profile Product Interested 1 Caravan Lights Est Distributor from Saudi Arabia Examination and surgical glove 2 Biomatrix Pakistan Distributor from Pakistan Catheters 3 Modern Pharma Distributor from Egypt Condoms 4 Al Baraa Trading Co Distributor from UAE Examination and surgical glove 5 Panache International Distributor from UAE Examination and surgical glove Table 5. List of buyers profile for business matching Figure 6. Business matching sessions between Malaysian manufacturers and buyers 10
5. Market Information MENA Healthcare Overview Al Masah Capital reported that the healthcare sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will be worth $144 billion by 2020, significantly higher than the $81.1 billion recorded in 2011, for a CAGR of 6.6 percent during the interval period. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, namely the countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, is expected to account for $69 billion of the total MENA healthcare market by 2020. MENA countries spent $72 billion, or 4.0 percent of GDP on healthcare in 2010, led by the GCC region, which spent about $40 billion, or 3.5 percent of GDP. The projected increase in value of the healthcare sector in MENA is a result of demographic factors such as an aging population, decline in mortality rates, and the rise in lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disorders. Rising income, the influx of expatriates, and greater healthcare insurance penetration are also key factors. Almost two-thirds of the 3,300 hospitals in the region are government-owned, with majority of these facilities found in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco. The report also noted that the public sector is responsible for 64 percent of MENA healthcare market expenditure. By 2020, this would shrink to a still substantial 58 percent as more private companies enter the market. Governments in MENA are trying to attract more private enterprise participation into the healthcare industry to raise the level of care given to residents to world-class standards. Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have successfully convinced renowned institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, and Harvard Medical International to partner with regional hospitals to boost local treatment standards and medical tourism programs. In the UAE, which is bidding to become a major medical tourism hub, Saudi- German Hospital Dubai recently became the first hospital in MENA to be granted an international medical tourism certification from the Medical Travel Quality Alliance (MTQUA). Egypt Emerging as a Global Healthcare Market in MENA Region Egypt s medical device market is the second-largest in the Middle East. Imports of medical devices totalled US$ 625 million in 2015, a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Since 2008, sales in medical devices had increased by 28 percent, at a compound average of 6 percent per year. By 2020, it is estimated that the population of Egypt will grow to 100 million people. Egypt is embarking on an undertaking of huge scale and ambition to build an entirely new US$ 30 billion capital city from scratch in only 5 7 years. This includes construction of 663 hospitals and healthcare facilities. 11
Mediconnex trade show, annually held in Cairo, Egypt, focuses on North Africa region. Mediconnex is the largest healthcare platform across North Africa. In 2016, it featured 155 exhibitors and over 8,529 visitors. Running parallel to the exhibition were three conferences that featured 128 international and local speakers and almost 2,000 participants. Informa is the main organizer for Mediconnex and it is also handling other reputable shows such as Arab Health in Dubai and FIME in USA. Super-specialised Care to Improve in GCC Recent findings indicated that limited super-specialised care in areas such as oncology and cardiology are driving outbound medical tourism in the GCC. In Dubai alone, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) spent AED 307 million towards overseas treatment for its citizens. Around 14% of this expense was incurred on neurosurgery treatments, followed by oncology treatments (12%), orthopaedics (11%) and cardiology surgeries (7%) due to the existing gap in specialised care currently available in the country. These statistics show that there is an evident need for increased investment in specialised care in the region. A number of new, advanced medical hands-on-training courses have been added to train more than 900 healthcare specialists in advanced medical techniques and help bridge the current specialist skills gap in the region. The training will allow physicians, surgeons and technicians from the region to learn and practice new techniques utilising pioneering equipment. Training will focus on specialised treatments in cardiology, neurology, surgery, gastroenterology, urology, oncology, 3D medical printing, bariatric surgery, ultrasound, haematology, neonatal respiratory and radiology using state-of-the-art equipment. Saudi Healthcare Transformation Programme Saudi Arabia s Ministry of Health reached out to local and foreign investors for the first time with specific market opportunities at the Arab Health conference in Dubai. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and the Ministry of Health host a series of workshops focusing on opportunities in primary care, laboratories, hospital commissioning, medical cities, radiology, long-term & home care, rehabilitation and pharmacies. Both organization are working together to spearhead the transformation of the Saudi Healthcare System as a key part of the Kingdom s ambitious Vision 2030 blueprint. This widereaching and comprehensive transformation programme represents an exciting opportunity for companies seeking to develop new business opportunities in the region. Ministry of Health officials have said the concentration on these areas will be the first steps towards doubling 12
the private sector s participation to be a growing player in transforming healthcare delivery in the Kingdom. The Government plans to spend $160 billion over the next ten years to meet rapidly growing healthcare demand in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is the largest healthcare market of all the GCC countries and is growing rapidly. The public sector still supplies majority of health care services in Saudi Arabia. The budget for 2016 was US$232.38 billion, of which US$28 billion has been allocated towards health and social affairs. The healthcare sector is heavily depended on imports. In pharmaceuticals and medical technology, over 80% and 90% is imported respectively. Figure 7. Saudi Arabia total healthcare expenditure includes government and private sector spend (Source: SAGIA/ WHO, BMI research report, United Nations, Ministry of Health, KSA) Figure 8. Structure of Saudi Arabia Healthcare System (Source: SAGIA) 13
Figure 9. Saudi Arabia health infrastructure and human capital achievements (Source: SAGIA/ Ministry of Health Report 1436H WHO)) 6. Market Intelligence Other Exhibitors and Products Sempermed, which was located in Za abeel Hall 5, booth no A25, aggressively promoting its lightweight Sempercare Velvet nitrile examination glove that has a feather light formulation of 3 gm combined with a force at break of 6N. The glove is also design for heighten extraordinary wearing comfort and tactile sensitivity. Meanwhile, Fitone Latex Products which is the largest condom manufacturer in China has a booth located in Hall 8, E58, which was predominantly occupied by the China pavilion. The company also manufacture medical disposable gloves. St. Mary's Rubbers is an Indian manufacturer that produces a variety of medical gloves including examination and surgical gloves under the Medismart brand. The company booth was located in Za'abeel Hall 4, E34. The company promoted polymer coated powder free latex examination and surgical gloves. Kanam Latex from India, located in Za'abeel Hall 5, D20D, displayed examination and surgical gloves under the Surgicare and Kaltex brand. The company is actively promoting Surgicare Neoprene Soft, which is a powder-free polychloroprene material in mint green colour. Medline Industries, Inc. from USA, distributed exam and surgical gloves was located in Hall 1, D51. The company is actively promoting DermAssure TM Green powder-free synthetic 14
surgical gloves. The glove is made from a next-generation polychloroprene material without chemical accelerators and is coated with a synthetic polymer to assist with damp-hand donning. The glove is dark green in colour making it an ideal underglove. Meanwhile, another USA distributor, Mexpo International which has a booth in Sheikh Saeed Hall 3, B70, displayed its colloidal oatmeal coated latex and nitrile examination gloves under the Blossom brand. An All Encompassing Online Platform 'OMNIA' - The Global Medical Directory Launches The digital revolution has transformed both sales and marketing but has left exhibitions relatively untouched. However, with the launch of OMNIA - The Global Medical Directory by Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions, that is about to change. A new digital platform, OMNIA will provide exhibitors and visitors alike with a genuine experience beyond the exhibition. Allowing companies to upload a company profile, product listings, images, demonstration videos and catalogues, OMNIA bridges the gap between exhibitors and visitors all year round. The platform also gives members the ability to track product popularity by providing analytics about how products have performed in their category as well as providing a simple means for visitors to request more information from vendors, generating solid leads that are sent through to sales teams directly. Companies can use the platform to generate interest in their offerings before and after exhibitions, providing a nice boost to awareness on the show floor. Besides that, OMNIA also provides a one stop shop for evaluating products away from the time limited exhibition floor, with videos and catalogues granting access to a wealth of information. It also puts them in direct contact with companies as well as allowing them to better plan their visits to exhibitions by generating a walking list based on the specific products and vendors they most want to see on the show floor. OMNIA promises to provide users with a 365 day exhibition experience, providing both vendors and buyers with significant value adds. For more information, go to OMNIA s website at www.omniagmd.com. Dealers and Distributors Zone at Arab Health 2017 Dealer & Distributor Zone is located in Za abeel Hall 4 at stand Z4.B10. Exhibitors will have opportunity to display company and contact details, along with the products you are selling or looking for, on a dedicated board for free. The main aim for this zone is to allow exhibitors to identify which distributors/ dealers are looking for their products and set up a meeting directly on-site. The dealers and distributors zone can be one of the methods to assist companies in getting more business matching by displaying their company contact details and products to the dedicated board so that potential buyers/ distributors can easily identify and contact manufacturers directly. 15
Figure 11. Dealers and Distributors Zone 7. Conclusion It is recommended that MREPC participates again in the next Arab Health 2018 to be held from 29 January 1 February 2018 with a bigger booth space, knowing that the healthcare market sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is growing at a rapid pace due to the growing population and increasing disposable income of its citizens. In addition, continues participation at the show is important to promote high quality Malaysian-made rubber medical products to consumers, convincing them to buy Malaysian rubber medical products as their number one choice. Prepared by: MREPC February 2017. 16