INSTEAD of choosing Moscow or St Petersburg - Russia's largest cities - a Singapore company has chosen Vladivostok, in the Far East, to build its first medical centre.

The Sourcelink Group runs a small group of general practice clinics and a cancer clinic here. It also distributes medical products such as masks and gloves.

It decided on Vladivostok because "it is like the blue ocean of the eastern bloc of countries", said its general manager, Mr Delvin Khong.

In recent years, the city's fortunes have climbed, closely linked to the booming freight business in Vladivostok port.

To be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009, the International Medical Centre, Vladivostok, will serve the city's population of about 700,000, especially its well-to-do top 15 per cent.

It will also directly serve the neighbouring Khabarovsk, with a population of about 600,000. Mr Khong said that these medical tourists usually go to Korea, Japan or Singapore for treatment that is higher in quality than what the Russian health system can offer, even though public health care is free.

"Every day, there are about 15 to 20 Russians coming to Singapore to seek medical treatment. There is an opportunity to target this group here," he said.

Two of the new medical centre's focuses will be obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as cardiology - both of which are in demand. The centre also has hospital facilities.

Cardiologist Leslie Lam, 65, who has a number of foreign patients and who was recently invited to visit the Russian city and the centre's development, told my paper that the new facility would fill a technology gap.

"I noticed that the amount of cardiac services there now are limited. Some of the big hospitals there did not even have facilities for angiograms, which are very basic for heart problems," he said.

"Right now, they have very basic hospitals which look like ours from about 10 to 15 years ago. We can provide the more advanced care that they need." Russia-Singapore ties have recently been in the spotlight, with 100 local companies in the arts and business sectors heading for Moscow in June for an exchange programme.

Miss Jaisey Yip, International Enterprise Singapore's centre director for Moscow, told my paper that Russia is today the world's ninth largest economy.

It had over 8 per cent gross domestic product growth and over US$45 billion ($61.2 billion) in foreign direct investments last year.

Singapore's total trade with Russia has more than doubled, from $0.88 billion in 2002 to $1.88 billion last year.

Miss Yip said that Russia's "healthy economic growth, stable political climate, favourable investment environment, direct air links and fast growing middle class", were all factors that made the country one with "untapped opportunities and great potential".

serl@sph.com.sg

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