Hong Kong's pharmaceuticals/health care market should reach $1.35 billion by 2014

Growth of the pharmaceutical market in Hong Kong is expected to be steady over the medium term. The market should reach HK$10.56 billion ($1.35 billion) in value at consumer prices by 2014, up from the calculated HK$7.19billion in 2009, according to a new report from Business Monitor International.

This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.99% in local currency terms, which will somewhat decrease to 7.06% over BMI’s longer, 10-year forecast period to 2019. A testament to its attractiveness, Hong Kong now occupies fifth place in the Asia Pacific Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for first-quarter 2011, which ranks 17 key regional markets, says BMI.

The above forecasts are based on a number of trends and expectations. Private per-capita drug expenditure will continue to rise as the government aims to cut public sector deficits and as expected changes facilitate the creation of private pharmacies in hospitals. Additionally, the proposed voluntary health insurance scheme also has the potential to improve the breadth of healthcare service and the use of pharmaceuticals. Health care uptake in general is projected to rise, in part due to population expansion, but mainly because the proportion of older people within the population is rising, which requires more attention to chronic diseases.