Profile of Hong Kong's Medical & Healthcare Equipment Industry

The Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) came into effect on 1 January 2004. All goods made in Hong Kong, including medical and healthcare products, subject to the CEPA's rules of origin, can enjoy duty-free access to the Chinese mainland beginning January 2006.


Hong Kong's medical and healthcare equipment industry is mainly targeting at the household consumer market. In Jan-Nov 2007, Hong Kong's total exports of medical and healthcare equipment grew by 27%. Exports to the Chinese mainland and the US, the largest markets for Hong Kong's exports of medical and healthcare equipment, increased by 28% and 9% respectively, while exports to emerging markets, such as Russia, increased markedly.


Aging population and increased health consciousness are factors boosting the demand for home healthcare equipment such as massagers, body-mass-index (BMI) calculators, body-fat scales, ionizers and positioning aids, as well as medical equipment for patients suffering from cardiopulmonary disease, diabetes and neurological disorders.


Modern technology is also playing a major role in the medical and healthcare equipment industry. Innovations such as microminiature and remote surgery techniques, DNA-based diagnostics, tissue-engineered organs and advanced information technologies provide solutions to some of the most persistent and debilitating healthcare problems and create demand for new medical and healthcare devices.

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IPR Seizures from China Grow Appreciably in FY2007

U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently released statistics regarding the volume and value of its seizures of intellectual property rights infringing articles during fiscal year 2007. These statistics show that the total domestic value of IPR seizures grew from US$155.4 million in FY06 to US$196.8 million in FY07, a 26.6 percent jump. The total number of seizures declined moderately in FY07, however, down by nearly seven percent to 13,657, which means that CBP officers are seizing shipments with a significantly higher value. To wit, the average domestic value of a seized shipment was US$14,407 in FY07 compared to US$10,587 in FY06.

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US House Approves Consumer Product Safety Bill

The House of Representatives passed on 19 December legislation (H.R. 4040) that would substantially modify the current U.S. safety regime for consumer products. The bill had been approved only one day earlier by the Energy and Commerce Committee and was expeditiously brought to the House floor for a vote thanks to a concerted effort by committee chairman John Dingell (Democrat-Michigan) and Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush (Democrat-Illinois).

Importers, retailers and distributors would be required to identify the manufacturer of a product, by name, address or other identifying information, where known, upon request by the CPSC.

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