San Francisco, Wednesday (January 15, 2014): Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp), in partnership with CIMB Investment Bank, today held a special investor briefing and networking session in San Francisco, USA, to introduce and highlight the attractive opportunities and value propositions Malaysia offers to investors and companies looking to build a presence in the fast growingAsian healthcare industry.

“Malaysia is one of the most competitive healthcare hubs in Asia-Pacific, with a huge biodiversity that the industry can capitalise on. Our country’s healthcare industry is growing at a rapid pace, driven by incremental healthcare spending, pro-business government policies as well as increasing use of new technologies. We are poised to be the bridge into Asia’s healthcare opportunities,” said Dato’ Dr. Mohd Nazlee Kamal, Chief Executive Officer of BiotechCorp at the investor briefing.

Asia, being home to more than half of the world’s population presents arguably the most compelling growth opportunity globally in the healthcare industry driven by the emergence of a rapidly growing middle class, strong growth in disposable income, an ageing population and the increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases, amongst others.

“We are pleased to have hosted over more than 50 healthcare companies and investors to discuss business opportunities and funding collaborations in support of the potential expansion plans of their business operations” added Dato’ Nazlee after the investor briefing held on the sidelines of the 32nd JP Morgan Healthcare Conference and the 6th Biotechnology Showcase Conference in San Francisco, which combined, represents the largest annual gathering of healthcare companies and investors globally.

The investor briefing was supported by CIMB Investment Bank, who provided insights into the current business and investment environment for healthcare companies and investors in Malaysia, ASEAN and Asia Pacific as a whole, and highlighted current trends and opportunities for capital raising and acquisitions in the region.

Vijay Karwal, Managing Director and Head of Healthcare Advisory, CIMB Investment Bank, who spoke at the event, said, “We are witnessing strong interest from companies and investors globally to participate in the fast growing Asian healthcare industry. Malaysia’s developed capital markets, deep investor base, and place at the heart of ASEAN make it a uniquely attractive base for Asia-focused healthcare players. Some of the largest and leading healthcare companies in the region have successfully listed their shares and raised capital on Bursa Malaysia. As one of the leading advisors to the healthcare industry in Asia Pacific, CIMB expects this trend to accelerate in the coming period and we are actively focused on facilitating and supporting these fast growing investment flows into the Malaysian and Asian healthcare industry.”

Dato’ Nazlee supported this outlook, “The Asian healthcare market as a whole is estimated to be valued at more than US$ 1.2 trillion in 2012 and is expected to reach US$ 2.9 trillion by 2020”.

He continued to share that the Malaysian bio-based industry is in the second phase of the National Biotechnology Policy which is the “Science to Business” phase. This phase involves the acceleration of commercialisation activities by industry players. Biotechnology International Advisory Panel member, Dr. Roger Wyse emphasised that Malaysia has proactively developed global collaborations to accelerate development of its BioMedical Industry. These collaborations include entrepreneurship, company formation, and access of global innovation via venture capital funds. Malaysia now seeks additional capital from global investors to further accelerate the industry’s growth through an innovative assemblage of investors intending to expand into Asia.

To-date, there are a total of 229 BioNexus companies of which 66 are Healthcare companies, with a total of RM3.2 billion in approved investments.

According to Jay Padasian, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Investment, BioMedical of BiotechCorp, Malaysia has a solid healthcare ecosystem that provides excellent support for companies to base their global or regional hub activities, and to launch their products and services in Asia.

The event attracted a wide spectrum of healthcare companies and investors, some of whom were Malaysian diaspora and successfully introduced Malaysia’s competitive advantages in the Asian Healthcare industry. Feedback from the participants was positive with a surge of interest in how Malaysia can play a key role in their expansion plans in Asia.