The development prospect of medical equipment

Since the reform and opening up, China's economy has entered a stage of rapid development. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, since 2000, GDP (gross domestic product) has maintained a high growth rate, increasing from 9921.5 billion yuan in 2000 to 397,98.3 billion yuan in 2010, with a compound annual growth rate of 14.90%. From 2005 to 2010, the total output value of the medical device industry has steadily increased year by year, with a compound growth rate of more than 20%.
With the development of medical science and bioengineering technology, the demand of hospitals for high-end medical equipment such as MRI, CT, PET, gamma knife and other high-tech imaging equipment and radiation therapy equipment surges; Factors such as the reform of the medical and health system and the state's investment in the medical and health industry have also increased the demand for medium and high-end equipment in grass-roots hospitals.
At present, the financing methods for the introduction of domestic hospital equipment can be roughly divided into the following types: own funds, bank loans, foreign government loans, financial allocations, corporate investment and financial leasing. Among them, financial leasing has been gradually recognized by hospitals for its flexible, fast, large financing amount, fast funding and other advantages, and this model has been increasingly adopted in practice.
In 2010, China's financial leasing transactions amounted to about 700 billion yuan, an increase of 89% over 2009. According to HCR (Huicong Research) estimates, the amount of financial leasing for medical equipment is about 30 billion yuan. By the end of 2010, there were 181 financial leasing companies registered and operating in China, 17 more than in 2008.
According to the Measures for the Administration of Financial Leasing Companies: Financial leasing refers to the transaction in which the lessor purchases the leased item from the seller according to the lessee's choice of the seller and the leased item, provides it to the lessee for use, and collects rent from the lessee. It is conditional on the lessor retaining the ownership of the leased item and collecting rent, so that the lessee has the right to possess, use and benefit from the leased item during the lease term. Financial leasing of medical equipment means that after the hospital determines the corresponding medical equipment and suppliers (manufacturers) and completes the approval procedures for the introduction of relevant medical equipment, the leasing company purchases the selected medical equipment according to the requirements of the hospital and delivers it to the hospital for use. The hospital pays a certain amount of rent in installments during the service period to obtain the right to use the equipment and the right to profit. At the end of the lease period, the hospital pays a lower residual value of the equipment to acquire the ownership of the equipment. According to the definition, during the financial lease period, the hospital has the right to use and the right to profit, while the leasing company has the ownership of the equipment, and after the end of the lease period, the ownership belongs to the hospital.
The reason why financial leasing is widely used is that it has incomparable advantages of other financing methods: its audit conditions are relatively relaxed, mainly examining the scale of the hospital, good operating conditions and other indicators; Long financing term, flexible business procedures, short operation time; The repayment cycle is relatively long and the repayment method is flexible; The contract is strict, the rights and obligations of both parties are clearly divided, and the legal risk is low. This method is suitable for the hospital in urgent need of equipment, but the funds are insufficient for a while, so that the hospital can realize the rolling development of business scale in a relatively short time. With the steady development of business, both parties can gradually establish high credit and strategic cooperative relations; Generally, the leasing company only requires the hospital to provide regular information feedback, which does not affect the normal operation of the hospital.
As financial leasing mainly solves the capital needs of hospitals, it also has some shortcomings, which are mainly reflected in: the interest rate will change with the change of bank interest rate, and the lessor will charge more management service fees; When making the contract, the lessor neglects the responsibilities and obligations of equipment quality, service and maintenance, which brings risks to the hospital. These deficiencies are important factors for hospitals to adopt financial leasing or other means to introduce equipment, and it is precisely because of unclear responsibilities and obligations that many legal disputes occur in the process of financial leasing.
At present, domestic hospitals mainly use direct leaseback, manufacturer leasing and sale leaseback to raise funds and introduce equipment. Direct leasing refers to the leasing in which the lessor uses its own funds or funds raised in the capital market to purchase equipment and lease it directly to the lessee. Vendor leasing refers to the signing of a financing cooperation agreement for its customers between the leasing company and suppliers and agents. The suppliers and agents recommend customers, and the leasing company provides financial leasing services to its customers. Sale-and-leaseback is a process in which hospitals revitalize assets, transfer the ownership of existing equipment to a third party to obtain working capital, pay rent during the lease period, and redeem at the expiration of the lease term.
Financial leasing is the innovation of market allocation of resources, opening up better capital allocation channels, and realizing the innovation of investment methods and investment portfolios. The state and many local governments have issued corresponding policies to encourage and support the multi-channel financing of financial leasing companies, and provide fiscal and tax policy support, incentives and subsidies for the development of the financial leasing industry. With the encouragement and support of the policy, the form of financial leasing will certainly solve the hospital's demand for equipment more effectively, thus promoting the development process of the medical and health industry.