Medical Tourism

[PigDogg]

I think medical tourism will become more and more popular.  So I'm trying to figure out the best way to invest.

Does anyone know which American brokerage has the lowest transaction costs when buying Bumrungrad Hospital stock, ticker BH?

Does anyone know which Thai hospital is poised to become the next Bumrungrad, perhaps a somewhat better value?

Below are Thai hospital/health stocks.

http://www.set.or.th/set/sectorquotation.do?sector=13&industry=7

Share prices are in baht, right?

If transaction costs are too high, I may just buy ADRs of either Apollo (India) or Raffles (Singapore).

But i think Thailand is a good middle ground between the higher prices in Singapore and the less appealing India.

[rxpharm]

Hi PD, hope things are going well with your move to Thailand! Some things to find out before you invest: does the hospital group have hospital accreditation? As far as I know, only Bumrungrad has Joint Commission International Hospital Accreditation (from USA). There are quite a few hospitals that have ISO certification, but that is not really a good standard to measure by. Bumrungrad is also involved in a joint venture hospital to be opened in Dubai by the end of 2007.

Joint Venture Hospital in Dubai

Some interesting news for you to consider is that Bangkok Hospital has a specific marketing plan for Middle East Medical Tourism. The article below mentions it.

Middle East Medical Tourism

[Snick]

Its hard to buy individual Thai stocks, and none that I know have ADRs.
TTF is a Thailand ETF, but it trades pretty high compared to the underlying portfolio (10-20% over value by my rough calculation) so I avoided it.

I keep looking for a good Thai ETF or Mutual fund, but haven't found one.

You are right that the medical sector is booming, they are doing big bussiness attracting westerners for cometic procedures; and Middle Easterners and others (Banglandesh and Pakastani mostly) for checkups and surgery.

[PigDogg]

TF appears to be trading at a slight discount and TTF at a premium according to

http://www.etfconnect.com/select....num=426

http://www.etfconnect.com/select/rank/default.asp

TTF seems to have lower expenses than TF though.
TTF also holds Sperm Suk and DP will be glad to hear they hold MK.

http://quicktake.morningstar.com/CEFNET....rtfolio

http://quicktake.morningstar.com/CEFNET....rtfolio


Trading volume is heavier with TTF than TF so that probably means the investor probaly gets a somewhat better deal on the bid-ask spread.

[SamplerDoc]

Glad to see juicy stock talk.

If you guys have certain ticker symbols or company names.  I could check here in the states options for buying, that is if you are talking about trading them in USD.  I'm I understanding the questions?  Okay Gents just let me know.

[PigDogg]

BH is the ticker for Bumrungrad Hospital which is traded on the SET.

I'm here in the states too but having difficulty finding a cost effective way to buy.

[Guest]

All the quality stocks are fully priced.....bh, bgh, and KH ( Ithink).....you can open an account at Tisco Bank stock brokers and trade online.....at 0.21% commission

[Guest]

(Snick @ Nov. 04 2006,14:31) ...I keep looking for a good Thai ETF or Mutual fund, but haven't found one.

If you don't need an SEC registered fund which is open to US citizens, either because you're not one or because your investments are through an intermediary, I have a suggestion or two for you.

But if you do need an SEC registered fund, I've never found a good one either.

[SamplerDoc]

Still researching but may I suggest..............
Buy Low and Sell High