Coronavirus: Mindray’s Li Xiting eyes Top 3 spot among medical device makers as Covid-19 made him Singapore’s richest man
illustration by Lau Ka-kuen
When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic in March 2020, hospital directors in the United States and Europe knew exactly where they should look to replenish their supply of medical ventilators: Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics.
Mindray's septuagenarian founder Li Xiting remembered receiving one phone call after another from ambassadors and diplomatic missions in China, all wanting him to supply medical devices, the very thing that represents his company's raison d'Etre, as the home-grown alternative to General Electric, Koninklijke Philips, Siemens and other imported brands.