Qualitas eyes Vietnam as the next new market opportunity within Southeast Asia

SELANGOR,MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 30 May2019 - Homegrown and leading primary healthcare provider, Qualitas MedicalGroup ('Qualitas'), aims to expand its global network of clinics withadditional 200 clinics, bringing to a total of approximately 500 clinics by 2022.Over the next 3 years, Qualitas will be predominantly focusing on the SoutheastAsia markets for its new growth and market penetration strategy.

TheGroup's next foray into Southeast Asia will be the Vietnam market, kicking off thefirst phase of Qualitas' expansion plans with the aim of providingquality and comprehensive primary healthcare services globally. Qualitas is currently inthe process of finalising an acquisition of a reputable medical centre at HoChi Minh City.

Overthe years, Vietnam has recorded steady economic growth, leading to a growingdemand for healthcare services in the country. In 2017, the healthcareexpenditure accounted for 7.5% of the GDP, and is predicted to thrive at acompound annual growth rate of 12.5% between 2017 -- 2021.[1]

"Withover 20 years of experience in the primary healthcare industry, we remainfocused in offering high quality outpatient care services within Malaysia,Singapore, Australia and beyond. When assessing new potential markets, we takeinto consideration countries with an emerging middle-class population and risinghealthcare expenditure such as Vietnam, specifically in cities like Ho Chi MinhCity, Hanoi and Da Nang. We target to own several medical centres at thegeneral and expatriate population in Vietnam over the next 5 years," said Dato'Dr. Noorul Ameen Bin Mohamed Ishack, Founder, Managing Director and Chairman ofQualitas Medical Group at abusiness briefing session held today.

Asidefrom Vietnam, the Group is exploring other new markets within the region suchas Myanmar, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

In the Southeast Asia region, there is a long-standingchallenge of more demand than supply of healthcare facilities.[2] As such,Qualitas is growing its network of healthcare facilities in the Southeast Asia inaddition to its existing presence in Malaysia, Australia and Singapore, with a networkof a total of 276 GP clinics, 1 ambulatory care centre, 13 dental clinics and 11medical imaging centres.

"Leveraging on our economies of scale as well as ourexpertise in the management and operations of GP clinics, we are able to bringour expertise and intellectual property into other new markets in acost-effective manner and by fine tuning our business model and delivery formatto suit the local context. We are also looking at a vertical growth of ourrange of healthcare services and solutions, expanding further from outpatientclinics to integrated primary care facilities," continued Dato' Dr. Noorul AmeenBin Mohamed Ishack.

Malaysia remains as Qualitas'largest primary healthcare network amongst all othermarkets, in line with the vision to boost primary healthcare amongst Malaysiansin the 21^st century.[3]Regarded as the best country in the 'BestHealthcare Category in the World 2019'[4],Malaysia is a thriving and promising market for further growth as the totalhealthcare industry spending is expected to reach RM80 billion by 2020[5].

Singapore's healthcare system aims to ensurethat the population has access to different levels of healthcare in a timelyand cost-effective manner. However, from 2010 to 2016, a rise in governmenthealth expenditure was recorded -- from over SGD$3 billion to over SGD$9 billion[6].This increase has led to the demand for other effective and innovative measures,allowing greater access to affordable healthcare.

In Australia, the improvement of healthcarefacilities takes priority ahead of other sectors including infrastructure andeducation. In line with their Health and Medical Industry Growth Plan, thedepartment of Health in Australia has plans to invest over AUD$1 billion[7]to further grow the healthcare industry in Australia, which in turn willbenefit healthcare organisations by supporting them with various initiatives todeliver comprehensive healthcare services to the community.  

About Qualitas Medical Group

QualitasMedical Group ("Qualitas") was founded in 1997 in Malaysia. With over 20 yearsof experience in the healthcare industry, Qualitas delivers cost-effective and qualityprimary healthcare services to the community comprising GP (general practice),dental and medical imaging services.

Today, Qualitas operates a global network of GeneralPractice (GP) clinics, an ambulatory care centre, as well as dental clinics,and diagnostics centres supported by over 1,700 medical doctors, dentists andsupporting personnel, backed by a network of over 250 medical clinics, dentalclinics (including a dental laboratory) and medical imaging centres.

Formore information on Qualitas Medical Group, please visit www.qualitas.com.my