The pharmaceutical and healthcare sector in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the flagship free zone of Dubai and the UAE, has seen robust growth consistently in the last several years.
The sector generated trade worth Dh 10.1 billion in 2013 posting an impressive increase of over 29 per cent over the trade it generated in the preceding year. The Free Zone expects similar growth in the current fiscal and also in coming years.
Jafza will be participating in the Arab Health 2015, which is going to be held from January 26-29 in Dubai, and will be highlighting rapidly expanding opportunities in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector in the region and the Free Zone's key offerings as the hub to serve these markets most efficiently, at the exhibition.
Ibrahim Mohamed Aljanahi, Deputy CEO of Jafza and Chief Commercial Officer of Economic Zones World (EZW), parent company of the Free Zone, commenting on Jafza's participation in Arab Health said: "Continued focus of governments in the region on the betterment of healthcare infrastructure and facilities and rapid increase in the healthcare spending opens huge opportunities not only for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies but also companies engaged in developing healthcare infrastructure. Jafza participation in the Arab Health aims at highlighting the huge prospects for global healthcare majors in the region and underlines the position of Jafza as the hub for multinationals to serve the diverse needs of these markets efficiently. The Free Zone seeks to attract more companies interested in the region to join the Free Zone's thriving business community in the sector" According to Business Monitor International, the healthcare expenditure in the MENA region will cross USD 200 billion in 2018 posting a 5-year CAGR of 9.2 per cent. Investment bank Alpen Capital estimates healthcare spending in the UAE alone to expand by more than 13% annually in the next four years.
Jafza is home to more than 270 leading multinationals in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors including Johnson and Johnson, Roche Group, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Quest Vitamins, Carl Zeiss, Nihon Kohden, Sodexo and GE Healthcare among others.
Arab Health is the second largest healthcare exhibition and congress in the world and the largest in the Middle East.
Source: WAM