SHANGHAI, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Business activities in China's healthcare sector are returning from a sudden near freeze that began in July when Beijing kicked off a year-long anti-corruption campaign, two foreign industry executives said. The campaign targets the bribing of doctors in drug and medical equipment sales and marks a sharp escalation of an anti-corruption drive in the sector that started years ago. The latest campaign has sent a chill through the sector, pummeling healthcare stocks and prompting some firms to cancel IPOs. The anti-graft drive initially caused huge business disruptions and many multinational pharmaceutical firms lost engagement with hospitals, executives said. China is one of the biggest healthcare markets for global healthcare companies but their business sentiment has turned fragile this year due to factors including the anti-graft drive.

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Persons: We’ve, Larry Merizalde, Merizalde, Andrew Silver, Miyoung Kim, Robert Birsel Organizations: Beijing, Reuters, South, AstraZeneca, National Health Commission, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Shanghai