Malaysian medical device industry’s export growth to beat global growth rate

The 56 AMMI members had collective sales of RM7.60bil last year with 90% or RM6.95bil going to Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe. Pic shows medical solution bags.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Malaysian Medical Industries (AMMI) is projecting exports for the medical device industry to grow 12% this year.

Chairman Hitendra Joshi said based on the projection, exports were expected to hit RM15.11bil from RM13.49bil last year.

“The growth will come from the organic growth of the industry as well as the companies that keep on reinvesting for more capacity.

“That is why the growth rate from our members’ survey is higher than the global industry rate of about 8%,” he told reporters after the launch of the Medical Device Industry Outlook Report 2015 here on Tuesday.

The 56-member AMMI represents leading medical device manufacturing companies in the medical technology industry, and collectively accounts for more than half of the total export revenue for “Made in Malaysia” medical devices.

Hitendra said AMMI members had collective sales of RM7.60bil last year with 90% or RM6.95bil going to Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe.

He said in line with the Government’s policy of promoting high value manufacturing, AMMI members achieved 52% of value added ratio based on total sales versus cost of raw materials.

The industry sourced 70% of raw materials and services locally last year, amounting to RM2.5bil, and only 30% was imported, he said.

This high percentage of value added and local content also facilitates more timely and convenient supply chain management while minimising the impact of important foreign exchange loss, said Hitendra.

He said due to the gradual shift towards higher-value and higher-order medical devices, AMMI members spent a total of RM54.83mil on research and development (R and D) activities, an increase from RM43mil spent in 2013.

This year, the expenditure was expected to grow further on the back of continuous R & D activities among the companies in Malaysia, he added. - Bernama