Taiwan to Make NT$54.2 B. of Medical-devices in 2008: IEK-ITIS
2008/02/27 | By Quincy LiangTaipei, Feb. 27, 2008 (CENS)--Production value of Taiwan's medical device industry enjoyed a high growth to reach NT$51.5 billion (US$1.61 billion at US$1: NT$32) in 2007 and is expected to further grow to top NT$54.2 billion (US$1.69 billion) this year, according to the IEK-ITIS.
The IEK-ITIS is the government-sponsored Industry & Technology Intelligence Services research program executed by local Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK) of Industrial Technology Research Institute.
The program pointed out that the 2007 global medical-device production value was US$194.84 billion, and the figure is expected to grow to reach US$247.3 billion in 2011 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1%.
Taiwan's such value has been constantly rising in recent years, IEK-ITIS said, from NT$43.31 billion (US$1.35 billion) in 2005, NT$48.6 billion (US$1.52 billion) in 2007.
The program attributed the value growth in 2007 to the increased exports of blood sugar (glucose) meters and contact lens, including an over-40% increase of the former. In addition, a increasing ratio of locally made medical devices, such as medical furniture, medical appliances, laboratory instruments etc., are replacing imported counterparts.
Most major medical-device makers enjoyed eye-catching revenue and profit growths last year due mainly to increasing orders from big international customers, including Rossmax International Ltd., St.Shine Optical Co., Ltd., Apex Biotechnology Corp. (ApexBio) etc.
IEK-ITIS suggest local medical-device makers to pay more attentions to the orthopedics market, the global supply chain in such industry has been gradually moving to Asia. United Orthopedics Corp. (UOC), a local manufacturer of orthopedic implants, instruments and precision medical devices, for example, signed a five-year agreement with Smith & Nephew Inc. of the United States to contract supply artificial joints, while the Taiwanese company has also tapped into the American market with own-brand in early this year.
In addition, IEK-ITIS forecasted, the increasing diabetes patients in the world would create strong demand for glucose meters and generate lucrative business opportunities for Taiwan companies.
Taiwan Medical Device Import/Export Values Unit:NT$100 milion | |||||||
2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007(e) | 2008 (e) | |
Production Value | 304.0 | 370.0 | 389.0 | 433.1 | 486 | 515 | 542 |
Imports | 298.5 | 319.7 | 349.0 | 363.2 | 380 | 400 | 430 |
Exports | 200.8 | 249.7 | 225.5 | 249.9 | 268 | 285 | 309 |
Added-value Ratio | 37.73% | 33.90% | 33.61% | 29.33% | 29.8% | 32.12 % | 35.6 % |
Source: IEK-ITIS. |