Healthcare firms to see bigger patient footfall if haze persists: report

Private hospital admissions spiked to 25.7% during the October 2014 haze.

Singapore healthcare firms may see higher inpatient admissions if the current haze conditions continues, according to an analysis of previous haze periods by financial service provider CGS-CIMB.

The market share of private hospital admissions rose to 25.7% from the average 23-24% during a haze in October 2014, and a similar pattern was observed in October 2015.

On the downside, the condition is expected to weigh on medical tourism as foreign patients may delay treatment for elective cases.

Singapore healthcare firms posted slight climb in share prices at the presence of haze between 2013 and 2016. Raffles Medical Group (RFMD) posted a more pronounced topline growth during the affected periods in Q2 2013, Q3 2014 and Q4 2015, whilst IHH saw rises in YoY inpatient admission volumes in Q3 2014, Q4 2015 and Q3 2015.

However, the correlation between rises in Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings and the share prices of RFMD and IHH Healthcare were found to be low, showing correlation coefficients of 0.39x and 0.35x respectively. RFMD’s higher correlation was attributed to its more concentrated presence in the island.