Private equity is eying Asia’s healthcare funding gap as countries get wealthier and older

Asia is getting wealthier, older—and potentially sicker, as rates of non-communicable disease rise across Southeast Asia. Yet governments aren’t investing enough in public healthcare, threatening to open up a massive funding gap.

“Asia has more diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular patients than anywhere else in the world,” Abrar Mir, co-founder and managing partner of Singapore-based healthcare private equity firm Quadria Capital, tells Fortune.

Asia’s healthcare market is expected to reach roughly $5 trillion in size by 2030 and contribute 40% of growth in the global healthcare sector, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group. Yet it currently accounts for just 20% of global healthcare spending, despite making up more than half of the world’s population. 

Southeast Asia is particularly at risk from rising rates of chronic disease. The World Health Organization estimates that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) claim 8.5 million lives annually in the region, driven by lifestyle factors such as tobacco and alcohol use, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets. 

Countries are also aging faster than their level of development might suggest. Thailand, for example is quickly becoming an Read Entire Article