Chinese medical equipment makers criticised by netizens for profiteering from Covid crisis
- As healthcare-related companies prosper on the stock market, some have been taken to task for raising prices during the current crisis
- Demand for medical equipment and test kits have surged amid a wave of cases as China stopped publishing infection data
Chinese medical equipment makers and suppliers are enjoying one of their better weeks as demand for their products has surged amid a wave of coronavirus cases. At the same time, they also took some brickbats for profiteering from the health crisis.
Reports of hospitals being inundated by Covid-19 cases and the medical system coming under tremendous strain have helped fuel demand for devices. From oximeters to oxygen machines and test kits, many residents are stocking up to protect their families, just in case they cannot access hospital facilities.
Industry-related stocks have prospered because of this. China’s healthcare index gained almost 5 per cent throughout November and December, when China started to dismantle its zero-Covid curbs in early November and stop publishing daily infection cases in an effort to reopen the economy.
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Some of the companies, however, were roundly criticised on mainland social media platforms such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu for raising their prices to capitalise on the health crisis. One posting took Jiangsu Yuyue to task for increasing the prices of its oximeters, which measure oxygen saturation in blood.
“The device is now priced at triple what I paid earlier in December, can’t believe the company is making money from a national crisis,” said a Xiaohongshu user in Guangdong, who posted screenshots of receipts from those purchases.
Similar posts about price surges and supply shortages involving Contec Medical Systems and Shenzhen-listed Lepu Medical Technology have also been rampant.