US healthcare firms to boost investment

ANKARA — Turkey is emerging as one of the world's success stories in the achievement of universal healthcare and expansion of the Turkish healthcare sector. With considerable potential for growth, it provides a vast number of investment opportunities for foreign investors.

In order to attract business opportunities and increase cooperation in the healthcare sector, officials from U.S. companies specializing in medical technology will visit Turkey this week.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Arun Kumar will lead 17 U.S. companies on a medical technologies trade mission to Turkey from May 4-8. Kumar and the delegation will visit Ankara, Istanbul and İzmir.

During the visit Kumar will meet with senior Turkish government officials and private sector associations to facilitate U.S. business opportunities in Turkey. Participating firms will gain market insight, forge industry contacts, solidify business strategies, and advance specific projects with the goal of increasing U.S.-Turkey partnerships. "Turkey is designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce as one of seven priority countries that provide a good business environment for foreign investors," Michael A. Lally, the Commercial Counselor of the U.S. Embassy, remarked at a meeting to announce Kumar's visit. "The Turkish healthcare sector may also provide unique opportunities for U.S. companies seeking regional expansion," he added.

According to the World Bank, the progress in Turkey's healthcare sector in the last decade provides a vivid example of Turkey's approach to ensuring that economic gains are also reflected in social improvements. In 2003, authorities launched the Health Transformation Program, a 10-year health reform initiative designed to bring Turkey's health indicators in line with other middle-income countries and those in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Turkey's gross domestic product tripled in the past 10 years, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world today. During the last 10 years, Turkey invested nearly $5 billion (TL 10.5 billion) in healthcare. A recently announced public-private partnership initiative calls for the construction of 29 integrated health campuses throughout the country. The medical equipment and supplies market in Turkey is projected to reach $3 billion by 2015 as these health campuses are completed.

Moreover, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts, the healthcare sector in Turkey is set to boom as healthcare spending per capita will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 percent between 2013 and 2017, while most developed countries will be experiencing relatively lower growth rates.