.JPG "Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ir Amiruddin Hamzah speaks to reporters July 26, 2018. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri")
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — The Finance Ministry (MOF) is confident that Malaysia will achieve its targeted revenue of RM2.8 billion from medical travellers by 2020 as arrivals are expected to double this year alone to more than two million people.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah said last year, some one million healthcare travellers generated RM1.3 billion in revenue for the country.
He pointed out that as the Sales and Service Tax (SST) is not imposed on medical bills, Malaysia will remain a competitive destination for medical travellers.
“At the same time, the MOF provides incentives such as the Investment Tax Allowance (ITA) and Double Tax Deductions to enable more investments in medical travel,” he said at the Insight 2018 on Medical Tourism Industry conference here today.
He added the incentives also allowed private healthcare providers to acquire international accreditation, which improves the quality of their services.
He said the medical travel industry in Malaysia has seen immense growth over the last 30 years, especially in private healthcare.
The growth of the industry, said Amiruddin, driven by commercialisation and entrepreneurship, supported by strong governance and incentives from the government.
“In 1980, we only had approximately 50 private hospitals, 2,000 beds, and 200 specialists. Today, we have 232 private hospitals, providing around 15,000 beds, served by around 14,000 specialists,” he said
