16-Feb-17 Thailand's universal healthcare scheme will not be closed down, Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn has said, after rumours of its planned cancellation. His remarks came after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha toyed with the idea of the public paying more for the scheme to reduce the government's healthcare burden. [image: Bangkok Post]

14-Feb-17 Singapore has a reputation for first-class healthcare, and is a major location for medical tourism. With 610,000 people over 65 by 2020, the government has embraced technology to improve productivity. It sounds like a brave new world, but there are warning signs that must not be ignored. The main concern is the ease with which IoT devices can be hacked. [image: Empire Media]

14-Feb-17 Malaysia has been recognised as among the top four destinations for foreigners, especially those from developed countries, to get good healthcare, according to a report by International Living magazine. Malaysia is the only Asian country in the report, ahead of Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico. [image: FMT News]

14-Feb-17 Japanese medical device producer Nipro will spend USD300 mn on a new factory in Vietnam, to meet rising domestic and foreign demand. The factory will make catheters and other products for dialysis for sale mainly in Japan and Southeast Asia. Nipro has relied on a Thai subsidiary to produce for these markets but has now decided to increase capacity. [image: Nikkei Asian Review / Nipro]

10-Feb-17 Carl Zeiss Meditec reported a 6.6% increase in revenue to €280 million in the first quarter of its 2016-2017 fiscal year, compared with €262.2 million in the same quarter a year ago. In the Asia-Pacific region, revenue increased 26.6% from €83.6 million to €105.8 million, attributed to the Chinese market and Southeast Asia and India. [image: Carl Zeiss]