Himalayan News Service

New Delhi, March 27:

Chinese, British and Pakistani manufacturers of medical equipment are keenly eyeing India not only as a potential market but also for setting up joint ventures.

"With Western markets quite saturated for medical equipment, there is substantial interest in India and China as potential markets," Dina MacDonald, managing director of Britain-based medical equipment manufacturer Kinex Log, said in an interview.

"In turn, leading Chinese companies are eagerly looking at India for collaboration, network and professional exchanges," she added.

To tap this potential, the company is organising a three-day medical health expo Medicare India 2004 here April 6-8 with the largest participation coming from Chinese companies followed by Belgian and British firms. Some 100 exhibitors from 21 countries will take part in the exhibition.As India positions itself as a medical tourism destination, there is interest among European and Chinese firms to participate in the entire healthcare spectrum, said MacDonald.

"There are obvious parallels between the Chinese and Indian markets in terms of their size and growth. As such, companies that have been successful domestically are now looking at India as a massive development opportunity," said Lisa Dai of Consultac, who is heading a delegation of 12 Chinese companies to India.