The objective of the visit, which was jointly organised by bw-i and BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg, was to present Baden-Württemberg’s activities in the healthcare sector. The delegates consisted of representatives from companies in Baden-Württemberg as well as scientists of the state. Another major goal of the trip to Singapore and Malaysia was to improve the development of the Singapore and Malaysian health markets for companies from Baden-Württemberg.

The Minister of Economic Affairs, Ernst Pfister, explained: “Within the coming years, both the market in Singapore as well as the Malaysian health services market are likely to experience considerable expansion both in the private as well as in the public sector. Our talks with local representatives have shown that health services providers from Baden-Württemberg stand to benefit from this expansion. I also see opportunities in the supply of high-quality medical devices and pharmaceutical products as well as in the booming biotechnology and biomedical technology markets.”

With 34,000 companies active in the healthcare sector, about eight per cent of all Baden-Württemberg companies are active in this field. This sector employs about 450,000 people, representing about 12 per cent of the overall number of people employed in Baden-Württemberg. Approximately 42,000 new jobs were created in the healthcare sector between 2000 and 2006. The Minister of Economic Affairs increasingly sees the growth potentials of the healthcare sector and the opportunities for new jobs in the state associated with this growth mainly due to the expansion into international markets.

Dr. Meike Kammler, who represented BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg on this official visit, was also positive about the trip: “There is still great demand in the expanding markets of Malaysia and Singapore, in particular in the field of high-quality medical devices and state-of-the-art know-how. Thus, the governments of these countries are now showing a greater interest in developing the healthcare sector. This offers new market opportunities for companies in the life sciences sector in Baden-Württemberg.”

The expert talks were coordinated by BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg and the bw-i business divisions “Location Marketing” and “Science, Research and the Arts”. The official trip to Singapore and Malaysia received major support through the foreign trade funds provided by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs and bw-i.

ks - 28.05.08
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