An Executive Country Review: South East Asia An ... - EC Reviews

Healthy Contrasts:
A Look at Markets and Health
Systems Across the ASEAN Region
Southeast Asia strikes the visitor as
diverse and fascinating. In the
shadows of the global giants
China and India, 500 million people
now thrive across a multitude of nations—ranging
from very large to tiny citystates,
scattered over mainland and
archipelagos—impressing the first-comer
with unrivaled cultural wealth and diversity.
From regional human powerhouses like
Indonesia—the most populous country of
Southeast Asia and the world’s fourthlargest,—to
the island city of Singapore,
the region is a patchwork of languages,
cultures, and environments.
A sweeping financial collapse across the
region reshuffled the cards in 1997–1998.
Moving from “the Asian Miracle” to a
post-crisis situation, most of the region’s
countries displayed resilience and optimism
and hit the growth road again. Almost
10 years later, the scars still show,
but Southeast Asian nations have addressed
some of the structural weaknesses
that made the 1997–98 meltdown possible,
and have strengthened their
economies. Life science is one keystone of
the recovery.
Across the region, from Indonesia to
Malaysia and Singapore, and from the
Philippines to Thailand, local players have
expanded in their domestic markets, using
This report was prepared by Executive
Country Reviews.
Authors are Gilles Valentin
(gilles@ecreviews.com), Emmanuelle
Berthemet (emma@ecreviews.com),
Marco Parigi (marco@ecreviews.com),
and Amicie de Bodinat
(amicie@ecreviews.com).
state support and market protection to
take full advantage of sizeable home turfs.
Many have become serious regional contenders
with ambitions stretching across
Southeast Asia and beyond.
Sorting through inequalities
Indonesia is the region’s most populous
country and its economic leader, with
$865.6 billion (2005 est.) GDP (Purchasing
Power Parity) and 224 million people.
Thailand follows with 64 million people
sharing an estimated $560.7 billion (2005
PPP). These two countries lead the way
despite having been very adversely affected
by the financial crisis. Behind them comes
the Philippines, with 89 million inhabitants
and $451 billion in estimated 2005
GDP.
The development star of the region is
Malaysia, which—with 24 million people
and $290 billion of GDP (2005 estimate)—
also benefits from a solid growth, excellent
infrastructure, and a stable political life.
Singapore shares these strengths, but has a
much smaller population and less economic
clout with 4 million Singaporeans
and Singapore $124.3 billion (US $78.9
billion) at Purchasing Power Parity (2005
estimate). Yet, the city-nation is also recognized
as the key financial and service center
of the region and is often the destination
of choice for regional headquarters of
global corporations.
The region’s pharmaceutical industries
are equally diverse and reflect their countries’
histories, development paths, and social
conditions. While Indonesia, the
Philippines, and Thailand have benefited
from state protection and patronage when
70 Pharmaceutical Technology SEPTEMBER 2006 www.pharmtech.com