The Malaysian Health Ministry aims to leverage on the country's positioning as an affordable and comprehensive healthcare hub, targeting to attract more than 437,000 medical tourists and generating about US$143 million for this year.

For 2010, the total number of healthcare travellers was at 392,956, with income generated for the sector reaching approximately US$125 million.

To boost the country's healthcare travel industry, the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council has plans to introduce significant players to drive the industry to a higher level.

To support this, the government has announced that they would provide tax exemptions equivalent to 100% of qualifying capital expenditure incurred for the construction of new hospitals or for the modernisation or expansion of existing hospitals in the country.

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