Medtronic will help Korean medical device companies to do more business globally, the president of Medtronic Korea said during a conference in Seoul today.
“We are planning to concentrate more on Korean medical firms as the country has high-quality medical technology and highly developed engineering technology,” said Hurh Joon during a press conference at the InterContinental Seoul COEX hotel, according to a report by the Korea Times.
The South Korean government’s heightened attention to the medtech sector was another reason for Medtronic’s decision, Joon said.
Korean medtech firms need to expand their businesses overseas because “there is no slump in the medical business,” added Chris Lee, president of the company’s Asia Pacific Region.
“Korea has the world’s ninth largest medical device market but the technological superiority of Korean firms is not well known,” Lee said in the Korea Times report. “We highly recognized the potential of the Korean market so we held the conference here in Korea.”
Lee urged local Korean companies to start their business first in China and other Asian markets before venturing further abroad. Medtronic will help Korean firms to develop devices and set up joint ventures, among other assistance.
“The medical device market in the Asia Pacific region is estimated at $88 billion and is expected to grow to $133 billion by 2020 to become the world’s second-largest market following the U.S.,” Lee said. “I think it would be better for Korean firms to begin their businesses in China and other Asian countries because China has an enormous medical device market.”
Cosponsored by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the conference will focus tomorrow on building business networks between Medtronic officials based in Asia and Korean firms. Today, the company presented the latest trends in the global medical device market and know-how on inaugurating businesses overseas.
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