Hong Kong citizens are growing older according to a recent report by the UNFPA (United Nation Population Fund). With men and women living longer, the former British colony now has the world’s second highest life expectancy. At present life expectancy is 79.8 years for men and 86.1 for women and is projected to increase gradually to 83.7 for men and 90.1 for women by 2039. This is mainly due to advanced medical technology and health care system in Hong Kong, particular interest in healthy living and coherent family structures. Rapid development of pharmaceutical products also contributes to the high life expectancy which has a flow on effect for the Hong Kong Pharmaceutical Market.
Presently, only 6.2 percent of the cities’ population is 75 or more but will increase to 16 percent by 2039. At that time 25% of the population are 65 or over. This demographic shift creates a new market for Hong Kong pharmaceuticals wholesaling and retailing.
The aging population are well looked after due to the high-standard health care system. The government reports that total health care expenditure is increased by 5.4% from 2008 and is expected to grow at similar rate in the forecast period. Total health expenditure per capita is over HKD 14500(approx. USD 2,000) in 2009 and expected to grow to HKD 37600 in 2033. Hong Kong Pharmaceutical products rapid rate of consumption has risen more than 4% in the last two years.
These avid consumers are increasingly concerned about drug and pharmaceutical product safety. After several incidents involving pharmaceutical product safety with tainted products coming across the border from Mainland China in 2009, the government has published a major review to highlight certain pharmaceutical areas for improvement. The areas identified for improvement includes: Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP); pre-market control of drugs; regulations for importers/exporters, wholesalers & retailers; pharmacovigilance and public awareness; and increasing penalties for manufacturers/sellers. The regulations help to educate the public and draw awareness to safe pharmaceutical product use. With the support from government on legislative issue, the expanding opportunity for Hong Kong pharmaceutical and health care industry is unprecedented.
All in all, the city has greatly benefited from the growing mainland China market, with an expected average GDP growth rate of 3.7% in the forecast period. The projected total health expenditure as a percentage of GDP pegs continual growth from 5.2% to 6.5% to 2015. With this aging population we can expect greater turnover in pharmaceutical and health care industry as a whole.
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Janice Mai is a research professional with Marketsensus.com, a research company based in Hong Kong. Giving companies access to accurate, trusted competitive analysis, forecasting and strategy tools. With over 70,000 Research Reports, Marketsensus is Asia’s premier source of market insight. See http://www.marketsensus.com
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