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On May 22nd, Siemens (Shenzhen) Magnetic Resonance Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the People's Government of Nanshan District, Shenzhen. According to the agreement, Siemens Healthineers will invest over 1 billion yuan to build a new high-end medical equipment R&D and manufacturing base in Nanshan District, Shenzhen.

The Shenzhen base is one of Siemens Healthineers' largest R&D and production bases outside of its headquarters in Germany, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems being one of its important businesses. Ma Tianshi, General Manager of Siemens (Shenzhen) Magnetic Resonance Co., Ltd., said that the Shenzhen base has completed the full layout of the entire value chain from front-end research, component development, intelligent production to digital supply chain, becoming the only R&D and production base in Siemens Healthineers' global MRI operation system with a complete value chain.

Regarding the additional investment of over 1 billion yuan, Siemens Healthineers stated that it will increase R&D investment and further expand production capacity. It is foreseeable that the new investment will further enhance the capabilities of its Shenzhen base in the MRI field. The enormous investment demonstrates multinational companies' confidence in the Chinese medical device market and has also stirred up the MRI sub-segment market with a market size of billions of yuan.

MRI systems are important medical imaging equipment, with non-invasive and non-radiation imaging characteristics, playing an important role in diagnosing tumors and neurological diseases. According to data from China Insights Consultancy, it is expected that the Chinese MRI market will grow to 24.42 billion yuan by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of about 10.6%, far higher than the global level during the same period.

For a long time, the domestic MR field has been dominated by global medical device giants such as GE Healthcare, Philips, and Siemens Healthineers. In recent years, domestic manufacturers have gradually caught up. Minsheng Securities’ research report pointed out that domestic manufacturers have mastered core component manufacturing technology and are gradually breaking the monopoly of foreign technology. Currently, United Imaging Healthcare ranks first in the number of newly installed MR machines in China, and it is expected that the domestic firms’ rate in the mid- and high-end field will further increase.

Local medical device giant United Imaging Healthcare also mentioned in its 2022 financial report that by the the newly added market value in 2022, United Imaging Healthcare is the main MR equipment manufacturer in the Chinese market, ranking third in terms of market share.