Local and foreign players in the health-care and retirement industry will gather for two days in Makati City as the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP)-led Retirement & Healthcare Coalition (RHC) holds its third annual summit.

With expectations the Philippines is now primed to become a major player in health-care and retirement industry, the summit dubbed “Retirement, Medical Travel & Wellness, Destination Philippines—The Take Off” will feature international experts discussing ways on how the country can capture a larger share in the global retirement market.

To be held on April 22 and 23, the summit will have KPMG Singapore’s Dr. Wai Chiong Loke as one of its lead resource speakers.

Dr. Loke previously headed Singapore’s Health & Wellness Programme Office, a joint initiative of the Ministry of Health with the Singapore Economic Development Board that promoted technology development and innovation through public-private partnerships in the health industry.

Dr. Loke will be joined by Ageing Asia Pte. Ltd. founder Janice Chia, internationally renowned architect Michael Rasi, KPMG Singapore’s director for lean transformation health-care advisory unit Clarice Woon, Australian corporate lawyer and retirement villages expert Arthur Koumoukelis, Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Daniel Corpuz and Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) General Manager Veredigno Atienza.

The summit, which has been expanded to cover two days, will be a combination of workshops, conference, and exhibition aimed at engaging the various stakeholders in the tourism, health care and retirement industries.

Currently, 15 percent of the world’s population is above 65 years old. Over the next three years, the aging population will reach over 918 million.

The RHC projects the world’s aging population to reach 1 billion by 2030 with 25 percent of them located in industrialized countries. It also noted the number of health workers in the United States, Europe and Japan have been steadily declining.

The RHC sees the Philippines as a provider of world-class medical care and wellness while having an excellent price-performance ratio and an adequate infrastructure for travel.

The RHC is chaired by the ECCP, with the Japanese, Korean, and American chambers as its core members.

This year’s summit is in partnership with the DOT and PRA with support coming from The Medical City, Philippine Healthcare Initiative, Lifedata Systems Inc. and Saint Luke’s Medical Center. The BusinessMirror is the event’s media partner.

Source: Business Mirror; The Economy; 18 April 2013