Industry ready for stimulus

       The medical equipment industry is hoping for strong growth in the latter half of the year, driven by the massive investment spending of the government's Strong Thailand campaign.
       The program is a relief for the industry,with investment cut back since the first half of the year as the economy struggles.Private hospitals in particular have felt the impact.
       CMC Biotech, a local distributor of Toshiba medical equipment, expects the X-ray medical equipment industry to increase more than five-fold in the second half of the year.
       Adisorn Meechaijaleon, the X-ray department manager of CMC Biotech, said the X-ray equipment industry was valued at 2 billion baht last year and is likely to double this year, despite a considerable reduction in the first half.
       "Industry value could hit 4.7 billion to 5.7 billion baht this year, with 4-5 billion in revenue expected in the second half of the year alone from the Strong Thailand stimulus package," he said.
       Admittedly, he is unsure how much of the 1-trillion-baht-plus stimulus package will be allocated to medical service improvement through state hospitals,government health care agencies and medical schools.
       But budget handlers will conclude their purchasing deals with medical equipment providers by October of this year."The government wants to inject money into the economy fast to boost economic circulation, local spending and improve consumer sentiment," he said.
       In the first half of the year, the industry contracted as much as 30% to 700 million baht from shrinking investment from private hospitals, as customers shifted to cheaper medical providers.
       "These hospitals delayed their equipment purchasing plans to wait for the economy to improve," Mr Adisorn said.
       Fortunately, public hospitals kept their spending budget intact in the first half,he added.
       CMC Biotech believes that once private hospitals resume investment, its new product, a CT scan of 320 images,will see better sales.
       CT scan or Computerised Tomography is a type of X-ray device that uses a computer to interpret and display images.
       The company claimed its Toshiba CT scan provides better resolution with 320 images, more advanced than current CT scans that are capable of producing 64 slices of images.
       "More X-ray images allow a more precise diagnosis," said Mr Adisorn.
       Manoon Vikraipaisarn, CMC Biotech general manager, said Ramathibodi Hospital is the only place in Southeast Asia that has this high-technology device available for service. He is hopeful of selling the device worth about 100 million baht to another public hospital by the end of the year. He is also in discussion with a leading private hospital.