BANGKOK, 17 May 2014, – The Industry Ministry is planning to position Thailand as the production hub for medical equipment and health products in the ASEAN region, by 2020.
Industry Minister Witoon Simachokedee said the nation would achieve the feat by emphasizing innovative products, and ensuring the production standard is at a global level of excellence. Prices must also be reasonable and competitive. Mr. Witoon also said the kingdom would in time relinquish its dependency on the more expensive imported supplies while creating opportunities for local industries to establish production networks on an international scale.
Already the Industry Ministry has assigned the Office of Industrial Economics (OIE) to initiate three special projects to engender a greater awareness of the nation’s medical equipment industry. Minister Witoon said these projects started two years ago, claiming there’d been good progress during that time. He said, that additional promotion had been put in place this year, giving as examples a project that encourages the use of local materials to produce medical equipment and a move to amend various policies that hinder production.
