Malaysia’s central bank will provide 2.6 billion ringgit ($791 million) to upgrade the technology infrastructure of industries including health care.
The government wants to focus the development financing on digitalising the healthcare system as it seeks to boost medical tourism and give remote villages access to services, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in an interview on Thursday.
“A lot of the focus is toward ensuring that we can transform a lot of these healthcare centres into what could be proverbially known as smart hospitals,” Fahmi said. “We are trying to leverage a lot of the infrastructure, the digital and telecommunications infrastructure to make full use of a lot of these technologies that are actually already available.”
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s two-year-old government is focused on improving the nation’s infrastructure — rather than mega-projects — as it seeks to boost economic growth and attract foreign investments. A long spell of political instability — Malaysia had seen four different prime ministers in four years — had hampered reforms.
“The government is trying to reset the growth track of the country, focus on fiscal responsibility and initiate these wide ranging reforms that can only build confidence in better governance of the country,” Fahmi said.
Malaysia’s economic growth is set to accelerate to 4.5% to 5.5% next year, from a projected range of 4.8% to 5.3% in 2024.
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Malaysia is tapping its 5G network to roll out telemedicine and e-health services in rural areas, allowing people to do their checkups “without having to go to the nearest hospital, which may be an hour away, just to get their blood pressure checked,” according to Fahmi.
Health expenditure in Malaysia is set to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 8.3%, outpacing regional peers including Singapore and Thailand over the medium term, according to BMI, a Fitch Solutions company. Malaysia remains an attractive destination for foreign patients, with its high-quality healthcare facilities equipped with modern medical products, and its cost-effective service, BMI said.
The nation will work with companies from the US, UK and Australia to boost its digital health market, the minister said.
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Malaysia also plans tap direct-to-device technology that takes advantage of low-Earth orbit satellites in “hyper remote areas where there’s zero to little connectivity” next year, the minister said.
The digital healthcare market is forecast to grow to US$549.7 billion by 2028 worldwide, from US$180 billion in 2023, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets.
