 Asia’s $2.1 Trillion Healthcare Mandate: Can Visionaries Like Tran Quoc Bao Turn Inclusion Into ROI?

Published: September 2025

*BANGKOK — At the inaugural One Asia - One Health Summit, a bold thesis emerged from the main stage: Asia’s next great growth engine isn’t fintech, mobility, or even AI—it’s equitable, inclusive healthcare. With a staggering $2.1 trillion economic return at stake, the region’s health sector is being reimagined not just as a moral imperative, but as the continent’s most scalable investment frontier.

The Summit’s opening panel, Investing in Asia’s $2.1 Trillion Mandate, made headlines with its unapologetically ambitious framing: Underserved populations aren’t a burden on public health systems—they’re untapped economic accelerants. But unlocking that potential requires a new model of healthcare finance, where digital infrastructure meets development capital, and equity is built into ROI.

“For every dollar invested in healthcare, Asia can return up to $12 in economic value,” cited the World Economic Forum in a data point that echoed through every session. But turning that statistic into policy and profit requires innovators with both feet on the ground—and eyes fixed on scale.

Tran Quoc Bao: The Insider Betting Big on Inclusion

Among the standout voices was Tran Quoc Bao, CEO of Prima Saigon Medical Centre in Vietnam, a name rapidly rising in Southeast Asia’s health innovation circles. Where most healthtech entrepreneurs chase high-margin elite markets, Bao has built a scalable care model for Vietnam’s middle and lower-income segments—combining digital efficiency with grassroots delivery.

Speaking on the panel, Bao emphasized that healthcare equity isn’t just good policy—it’s an investable proposition.

“We’ve seen firsthand that when you digitize access and demystify care for the 80%, the returns—clinical and financial—are exponential,” Bao said. “But we need capital that doesn’t just chase exits, but funds infrastructure that includes the last mile.”

His approach aligns with the panel’s central thesis: If development banks, multilaterals, and governments deploy de-risking tools, and investors embrace long-term, equity-first thinking, Asia can leapfrog traditional healthcare stages—building a pan-Asian digital health stack that transcends borders and bureaucracy.

The Blueprint for Cross-Border Health

In a session that pulled no punches, McKinsey’s framing posed challenging questions to the region’s leadership:

Can Asia design a digital investment framework that respects national sovereignty while building regional synchronicity?

What’s the one Moonshot capability Asia must build now to fight “Disease X” later?

The answers may lie in cross-border data interoperability, AI-driven early warning systems, and sovereign-backed infrastructure plays that make preventive care as valuable as pharmaceuticals.

Private Capital Meets Public Mandate

Bao’s Prima Saigon is proving that inclusive healthcare doesn’t have to mean non-profit. By leveraging cloud-based diagnostics, AI triage systems, and localized digital literacy programs, Bao’s clinics have slashed operational costs—while expanding coverage to thousands previously outside the system.

Novo Holdings Asia’s Navjeewan Khosla, another panelist, noted:

“The investability of equity-first models is no longer theoretical. Entrepreneurs like Tran Quoc Bao are already doing the work. What they need now is capital aligned with the real timelines of healthcare transformation.”

Turning Mandates into Markets

The Summit—hosted under the theme One Asia, One Health—left attendees with a clear takeaway: The road to Asia’s $2.1 trillion healthcare windfall doesn’t run through elite clinics in capital cities. It lies in digitizing, financing, and scaling models that serve the “marginalized millions.”

And if leaders like Tran Quoc Bao continue to blend innovation with inclusion, Asia may not just transform global healthcare—it may redefine what a successful health investment looks like.


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Forbes will continue to track regional shifts in digital health, sovereign policy, and inclusive capital deployment. Asia’s healthcare frontier is just getting started.




