Growth and Future Sales Markets
We have been represented in the key growth markets of Eastern Europe and Asia for several years with our own sales organizations and already hold leading market positions. We serve small growth markets via distributors. We want to continue to strategically expand our local range of products and local production. Acquisitions may also help us to achieve our aim of strengthening our product business: In the year under review, for example, we acquired the peritoneal dialysis business of Gambro, a Swedish medical technology company, and thereby broadening our range of activities in the area of home dialysis, particularly in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, we are using acquisitions, such as those of Asia Renal Care in Asia or KNC in Russia in 2010 see also here, to grow our network of clinics in these regions. In the year under review this included countries such as Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. In addition to China, where we once again strongly expanded our product business and our alliances with hospitals in the area of dialysis services, the Indian market in Asia looks increasingly promising in the medium term. We have been represented on the product market there through distributors since the 1990s and our product business has grown by more than 30% per year on average since we founded our subsidiary Fresenius Medical Care India in 2006. Regional and local health authorities in India are already promoting the public private partnership model (PPP), see also here. As of the current business year, we hope to conclude supply contracts with larger regional and municipal public hospitals. We expect the growing importance of the Chinese and Indian markets to accelerate our growth in the region as a whole over the next few years.