Bumrungrad Set to Invest in Philippines
By Bangkok Post, Thailand
Feb. 15–Bumrungrad International Limited, the international arm of SET-listed Bumrungrad Hospital Plc (BH), plans to invest 318 million pesos, or around 255 million baht, in Manila’s Asian Hospital.
“We think the time is right to invest in the future growth of Asian Hospital and to make it a centre of medical excellence and innovation in the Philippines and the region,” said the company’s CEO, Dennis Brown.
Bumrungrad acquired a 43.25 percent stake in Manila-based Asian Hospital (AHI) for US$9.2 million in 2004, and assumed management control in February 2005 as part of long-term restructuring programme.
It has since turned the hospital around by implementing new management systems, cost control measures and new clinical programmes. The 258-bed Asian Hospital now operates nearly at full capacity. Expansion would allow the facility to keep pace with market demand.
The phased expansion programme would include the construction of a new 14-storey tower to accommodate more clinics, therapeutic services and inpatient rooms.
The infusion of new capital is seen as a vote of confidence by Bumrungrad International Limited, said Mr Brown.
Bumrungrad International Limited is bullish on the Philippines and Asian Hospital for several reasons, he added. First, the overall economic outlook for the country is improving and the mid-term forecast is positive. Second, strong population growth in the hospital’s primary service area is creating more demand for health-care services. Third, Asian Hospital is strategically located in one of the fastest-growing economic zones in the Philippines.
Erik Fox, Asian Hospital’s CEO, said the hospital is strategically positioned to serve emerging markets in south Manila and the southern Luzon corridor. “Asian Hospital is the only private, tertiary-care medical centre serving this vital economic zone, and expansion will allow us to better serve this key market,” he said.
According to Mr Brown, Asian Hospital’s expansion is just one of several projects undertaken by Bumrungrad International Limited to build and expand its portfolio. The company is actively exploring new opportunities to meet the growing demand for private medicine in Asia and the Middle East.
In 2005, Bumrungrad formed a joint venture with Istithmar, a large investment holding firm based in the United Arab Emirates, to build a hospital in Dubai. Bumrungrad invested US$9.7 million for a 49 percent stake.
The company also owns a piece of Asian Hospital in Singapore; BH’s 31.5 percent-owned associate company BIL invested in a 43 percent stake.
In addition, the firm owns all of Asia Renal Care Limited in Singapore, which provides chronic kidney disease treatment.
Shares of BH closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 40 baht, up 0.63 percent, in trade worth 29 million.
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