GCC healthcare market to reach $94bn by 2021: Report

Dubai  :  Private healthcare in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) region, estimated at $62 billion in 2016, is forecasted to expand 8.7 per cent annually to reach $94 billion in 2021, according to a leading research company in the region.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) together represent more than two third of the market, where the latter is witnessing the fastest growth in the region, the report by MENA Research Partners (MRP) said. 

Anthony Hobeika, Chief Executive Officer at MRP, said: "Healthcare services account for the lion's share of the healthcare industry at 79 per cent and is the fastest growing segment in the UAE."

The healthcare services market is undergoing structural shifts to adapt to the demands of health-conscious and digital savvy population, it said. 

Although still at a nascent stage, telemedicine, home healthcare and longterm care were outperforming traditional health service providers such as hospitals and clinics.

"The fundamental change in market dynamics from curative to preventive care and the digital wave transforming the sector are creating investment opportunities in the niche segments of specialised and customised healthcare in the region," Hobeika said.

Hobeika explained that despite last years' turmoil amid oil price slump which led to budget adjustments in many GCC countries, healthcare remained the major government expenditure and the private sector is considered as a key partner in the long-term development of the sector, in particular in terms of quality care.