JEDDAH: The market for Saudi Arabian medical devices is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 12 percent during 2010-2012, RNCOS said in its “Saudi Arabian Healthcare Market Forecast to 2012” report. The Saudi Arabian medical device market has observed strong growth on the back of strong investments in the healthcare infrastructure made by the government. High investments in healthcare infrastructure by both public and the private sectors will result in a stupendous growth of the market. Additionally, the affordability factor will manipulate the growth of the market. The market is anticipated to grow more strongly from 2010 onwards, mainly due to the ever-increasing government and private investments. Even though Saudi Arabia does not have official standard for medical products, most of the physicians are trained as per Western standards. Moreover, the Saudi Arabian medical device market is dominated by imports, like pharmaceuticals, the report noted. Although government has done a lot to promote the local manufacturing of medical equipment and supplies, it is still not up to the mark, it added. Imported devices acquired an estimated share of around 78 percent in 2009, and it is expected to remain almost same by 2012, the report noted.
