• The healthcare sector’s strong growth momentum is being bolstered by increased technology adoption, sustained R&D investment, and accelerating internationalisation.
• Hong Kong continues to serve as a key platform for regional and global expansion, with particularly strong appeal for Mainland and international companies.

Driven by breakthroughs in biotechnology and recent life science innovations, a dynamic transformation is reshaping the healthcare sector. To gain a more in‑depth understanding of the profound changes underway, HKTDC Research interviewed 671 participants at the recent Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGH) and held alongside the Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair (MHF) from 11–13 May 2026.

A review of the feedback from these leading industry players reveals a broadly optimistic outlook. More specifically, some 80% of companies surveyed were confident of business growth over the short term, a figure rising to 86.4% for the medium term.

In part, such positive sentiments can be attributed to the growing integration of a number of technological innovations, including AI and genomics, into the wider healthcare industry chain. In line with this trend, the majority of surveyed companies (84.1%) indicated they were actively investing in research and development (R&D) as they prioritised embracing innovation.

It was also clear from the findings that the Hong Kong business platform is continuing to play a pivotal role in the sector. In all, 72.3% of respondents are already utilising the platform, with a further 16.1% intending to do so in the near future. This equates to 88.4% of respondents having a high regard for Hong Kong when it comes to a wide variety of commercial solutions, including product trading, technology transfer, business services, and partner sourcing.

Industry background

Of the 671 healthcare and medical operations surveyed, the largest proportion (46.1%) was focused on medical/diagnostic equipment, including consumables, medical items, and diagnostic devices. This was followed by companies with a focus on medicines/therapies (40.5%), a remit that extends to general medicine, health supplements, and health foods. In addition, some 27.6% of respondents offered community health and wellness services, while 22.8% had incorporated AI/digital devices into their business operations.

In terms of business scope, in addition to the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, 16.7% of participants were active within the ASEAN bloc, while 15.2% had a presence in North America.

It was also notable that the majority of participating companies were active in the B2B sphere. This sees them working with clients throughout the healthcare, medical and wellness industry, including hospitals/clinics (41.0%), biotech/medical R&D (11.8%), elderly care homes (10.6%) and rehabilitation centres (7.6%). Although many, clearly, have a focus on the institutional healthcare environment, 18.2% are active in both the institutional and consumer markets.

Positive future outlook

Overall, 80% of survey respondents were optimistic about business growth over the short term (within 12 months), a figure rising to 86.4% for the medium term (next 12‑24 months). Drilling down into near‑term expectations, only 18.6% expect sales to remain at their current level, while just 1.3% see any prospect of decline. For the medium term, only 12.8% see sales plateauing, with the number expecting a decrease declining to 0.7%. This can be taken as reflecting a gradual shift from caution to a more expansionary mindset.

When evaluating the results by company location, a positive sentiment was in evidence across the board. There were, however, still some local variations. With 86.6% confident of short‑term growth and 89.5% optimistic about the medium‑term, companies from the Chinese Mainland were generally upbeat. While overseas respondents were less confident about short‑term growth (83.9%), they were marginally more positive about their medium‑term prospects (91.2%). Still positive, but broadly less so, were Hong Kong companies, with 70.2% confident of short‑term growth and 78.2% having faith in their medium‑term opportunities.

Accelerated AI/Biotech Upgrade Driving Healthcare Transformation

Overall, the feedback made it clear that the integration of advanced technology is rapidly transforming the biomedical industry. Among the factors most widely acknowledged were AI applications for clinical documentation and workflow automation (42.8%); the use of AI for drug discovery (41.4%); and medical robotics / robotic‑assisted nursing and rehabilitation (21.0%).

Focusing on the surveyed companies engaged in the AI and digital devices/ health sector (n=153), 50.3% have incorporated AI technology into diagnostic equipment or platforms, while 31.4% have integrated the technology into patient monitoring protocols. Beyond that, 30.1% have utilised AI for drug discovery, an innovation said to significantly reduce the time and cost of identifying viable drug candidates.

R&D: The key to success

Confirming the primacy of technology within the contemporary healthcare sector, biotech and medical companies are placing ever greater emphasis on research and development (R&D) as they look to drive innovation and find new medical solutions. Acknowledging this, the survey shows that the vast majority of companies (84.1%) have committed ongoing investment to R&D. In terms of R&D intensity*, the distribution is relatively even regardless of company size. Notably, nearly 30% of companies (28.7%) allocate more than 20% of their annual sales to R&D activities. At the higher end of the spectrum, 9.1% of survey companies show particularly strong commitment, investing more than 50% of their annual sales revenue in R&D.

Hong Kong: The premier business platform

As a final takeaway, it was notable that 72.3% of respondents indicated that they already make use of Hong Kong‑sourced services as part of their health‑related business activities. With a further 16.1% expressing an interest in making use of Hong Kong’s resources, this equates to 88.4% of all respondents being keen to make use of the city’s services.

A more in‑depth analysis shows that companies primarily leverage Hong Kong for product‑related activities, including selling or sourcing products (with 39.3% already doing so and a further 15.4% planning to). This is followed by making use of Hong Kong’s technology and business solutions (24.0% doing so; 12.1% interested). In addition, nearly one‑fifth of companies (19.2%) make use of Hong Kong’s resources to identify business partners and a further 7.7% have an interest in doing so.

Profile of respondents

• A total of 671 industry players were interviewed (184 exhibitors and 487 visitors/buyers).

The 2026 Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGH) took place from 11‑12 May, while the Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair (MHF) ran from 11‑13 May. Both took place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.