China probes dumping by dialysis-kit makers

China launched over the weekend an anti-dumping investigation into makers of blood dialysis equipment in the EU and Japan, including market leader Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) AG & Co KGaA, challenging the international firms which currently dominate the global and domestic markets.

The country will examine any negative impact on Chinese rivals, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

The investigation is the latest in a string of trade issues involving China where companies in the healthcare sector have come under increased scrutiny over the last year over pricing and allegations of corruption in the Chinese market.

FMC, which controls close to half of the Chinese market for blood dialysis machines, is part of the anti-dumping investigation, a company spokesman said. China was Fresenius' second-largest market for dialysis products in 2013.

FMC believes that it has acted correctly and has not broken any laws, the spokesman said.

Foreign companies dominate the dialysis market in China with around three quarters of the devices used in the country in 2012 being imported, according to a 2013 report from consultancy Research in China, with the US, Europe and Japan the major sources of supply.

A smaller number of patients with severe forms of Kidney disease may require dialysis.

The market investigation could help local firms break the hold of larger international rivals over the country's dialysis market, said Chinese companies in the sector.

The biggest foreign company is Germany's Fresenius, which has 34 percent of the global market through its listed-subsidiary FMC, according to the firm's 2013 financial report.

US firm Baxter International Inc, which owns Sweden-based dialysis-kit maker Gambro, has a share of around 30 percent.

Japanese firms, including Nikkiso Co and Nipro Corp, are the closest rivals to their US and European counterparts.