2022/2023 - Foreign Direct Investment and Policies in the Health Sector in Asia and the Pacific

Global peaks and falls have been replicated in the FDI received by countries in the Asian and Pacific region, while the share of global inward FDI in the health sector in Asia and the Pacific has declined over the period. [...] Part II reviews the linkages between FDI and health; Part III delves into the subsectors comprising the health sector, and the recent trends in FDI in the health sector in Asia and the Pacific countries; Part IV assesses the key policies currently affecting FDI in the health sector and the policy changes implemented in light of the COVID-19 pandemic; Part V proposes policy recommendations for incr. [...] Global peaks and falls have been replicated in the FDI received by countries in the Asian and Pacific region, while the share of global inward FDI in the health sector in Asia and the Pacific has declined over the period (figure 1). [...] The decrease in investment in the health sector since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed mainly to contractions in the medical devices subsector, which declined sharply in 2019, compared to smaller contractions in the health-care and biotechnology subsectors, and an increase in the pharmaceuticals subsector (figure 3). [...] The race to develop and distribute the vaccine was essential in combatting the pandemic, and investing in the necessary skills and technology to achieve these results can boost the attractiveness of a country as a place for innovation in the health sector.