Indonesia seen spending 18% more on pharmaceuticals in 2015

Healthcare spending in Indonesia is expected to grow strongly in the near to medium-term, according to a report summary from Business Monitor International (BMI). The growth will be anchored by rising household incomes that drive healthcare purchases. This is expected to be further augmented by the roll out of universal healthcare, which in turn is anticipated to improve access to medical services and create commercial opportunities that will drive the expansion of private hospitals, BMI said. Spending on pharmaceuticals will rise to $5.8 billion in 2015, up 18% from $4.9 billion in 2014. Healthcare spending overall is expected to reach $26.3 billion in 2015 from $26.2 billion in 2014. Indonesia ranks 13th out of 19 Asia Pacific markets on BMI's Pharmaceutical Risk/Reward Index, scoring 48.7 out of 100.0 in the third quarter of 2015. Earlier this year, growth hopes based on the country's ambitious national healthcare plan launched in 2014 were knocked down for companies like Kalbe because of more expensive raw materials they must import from China, India and elsewhere as the currency weakened. Release