‘During my time within the healthcare industry, I recognized the need to digitize systems through an ecosystem of products and services so that patients can benefit from ahassle-free, efficient and enjoyable experience to their healthcare appointments, ’says Beh.

The interface allows users to search and book appointments with healthcare professionals in their area in a convenient manner while also offering transport and accommodation solutions through partnerships with Uber, Grab, Trip Advisor, Agoda and Airbnb.

BookDoc has also joined forces with health and fitness retail partners to encourage clients to live a healthier lifestyle and earn rewards.

BookDoc’s endorsements from Malaysia’s National Heart Institute, Subang Jaya Medical Centre and Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital and partnerships with the National Kidney Foundation Malaysia and the National Cancer Society of Malaysia have created interest on both national and regional levels.

‘We established partnerships with healthcare provider, Quality Healthcare, Town Health and Lauren Bramley & Partner in Hong Kong in late 2015,’ recalls Beh. ‘These first partnerships enabled us to expand regionally and spurred our more recent ventures into Thailand and Brunei’.

Today, BookDoc’s partners in Singapore include Thompson Medical Group, NTUC Dental, Q&M Dental, Pacific Healthcare and Asian American Radiation Oncology among many others.

The BookDoc app is available in the Apple Apps Store and Google Playstore and Beh has set his sights on future growth.

‘We intend to enter new markets over the next twelve months and we encourage healthcare providers and other partners to partner with us in order for us to grow the ecosystem together,’ says Beh.

https://sites.bookdoc.com

Investments covered tourism, oil and gas, energy, palm oil, agriculture, education, manufacturing and logistics. The State’s capital and main economic driver, Greater Kota Kinabalu, also saw significant direct investment.

‘During the second phase of the SDC, Sabah’s economy consistently grew and the gap with the national economy was reduced’, says Johari. ‘Today’s macroeconomic indicators reveal we are on par with the national average key performance indicators. In fact, our 4.7% GDP growth last year exceeded the 4.2% national-level growth rate’.

With the third phase underway, Sabah is pushing key projects such as the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), the Marine Integrated Cluster (MIC), Sabah Agro-Industrial Precinct, Keningau Integrated Livestock Centre, Kinabalu Gold Coast Enclave, Sapangar Bay Manufacturing and Logistics Cluster (SMLC) and Palm Oil Industrial Clusters (POICs).

‘We are concentrating on market accessibility, container terminal upgradingand the expansion of Kota Kinabalu International Airport to meet passenger traffic demand’, says Johari. ‘Last year, we had a record number of tourist arrivals andwe expect this trend to continue given our flight connections to thirteen major cities in the region’.

Tourists to Sabah can scale Southeast Asia’s tallest peak; Mount Kinabalu, dive in the world-renowned Coral Triangle in Sipadan Island and catch the sun on the pristine beaches of Malaysia’s longest coastline. In addition, investors, entrepreneurs, students and professors are also making their way to Sabah, all eager to take advantage of the opportunities being realized by the SDC.

‘The combined population of ASEAN member countries and China is close to two billion and we intend to leverage Sabah’s central location in the region’, says Johari. ‘Singapore has tremendous expertise in the oil and gas sector and is the logistics hub for the region. As we develop the SMLC economic area and the Sapangar Bay Container Port, we invite our Singaporean friends to collaborate with us and work ever more closely together’.

Having signed numerous investment agreements with Southeast Asian companies, Johari is keen to continue creating strong partnerships. ‘We want to engage with companies who are active in e-commerce, agriculture, bio-technology and the creative industries’, Johari concludes. ‘We have come a long way in the last decade and there are huge economic opportunities in Sabah. We fully expect the pace of development to continue and look forward to realizing Sabah’s true potential’.

www.sdc.gov.my

‘With our strong presence in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and our role as a significant player in ASEAN’s reinsurance market, we felt the need to contribute to the industry’s development’, explains ZainudinIshak President and CEO of Malaysian Re. ‘Our undertaking was in line with our regulator’s aspirations for regional economic integration andwe expectthe findings to support the development of the insurance across the region’.

ASEAN member countries have a combined GDP of approximately US$2.5 trillion and a growth rate of 5.6 percent in the next five years. In recent years, the non-life insurance penetration rate was a third of the global average at just one per cent of GDP.

‘The huge growth potential in the non-life insurance spectrum in the region drove us to initiate this study, together with our research partner in Zurich, Switzerland,’ says Zainudin. ‘ASEAN Insurance Pulse represents market intelligence for companies that are looking formore business exposure in South East Asia’.

The insurance industry a whole is highly regulated with the main aim of balancing between business growth and capital adequacy. On that note, there is a need to discuss the regional business integration agenda to ensure a smooth transition in the future.

‘Through the ASEAN Insurance Pulse, Malaysian Re demonstrated its commitment to improving the transparency of the regional market place’, says Zainudin. ‘By providing the regional insurance community with an important benchmark for strategic and operational decision-making, the industry is expected to be more informed about the business surroundings of the region’.

www.malaysian-re.com.my