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Fortis to invest 
650 Crore for domestic expansion
By siliconindia
|
Thursday, 04 November 2010, 18:41 IST
New Delhi: In an effort to bridge the gap between their competitor Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Healthcare is planning to invest 
650 crore in the next 18 months to open new hospitals in the country.
Fortis, as of now primarily a north India entity, has designed the domestic expansion to drive the company presence into tier II and III cities to enable Fortis to achieve a pan-India presence. "We are moving into secondary cities. By virtue of demand and need, we have an opportunity to provide our services in these cities," said Bhavdeep Singh, CEO, Fortis Healthcare.Singh said. It is looking to expand into tier-II cities such as Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Gwalior and Gurgaon, he added.
The domestic growth plan comes in the wake of company's income going up during quarter ended September by 89.1 percent to 354.73 crore from 187.58 crore in the same period of last year. The significant revenue growth has been observed by Fortis Noida, Fortis Mohali, Fortis Malar and Fortis Jaipur hospitals, with the Parkway sale proceeds too aiding the growth. Singh also indicated company's willingness to spread to south on its own, but did not specify the road ahead. "We have for long been cherishing the idea of being a pan-India health services player and growth in the region is inevitable," he added.
Fortis had in July failed in its bid to acquire a controlling stake in Singapore-based hospital operator Parkway Holdings. It subsequently sold its stake in the company to rival, Malaysian investor Khazanah.
650 crore in the next 18 months to open new hospitals in the country.
Fortis, as of now primarily a north India entity, has designed the domestic expansion to drive the company presence into tier II and III cities to enable Fortis to achieve a pan-India presence. "We are moving into secondary cities. By virtue of demand and need, we have an opportunity to provide our services in these cities," said Bhavdeep Singh, CEO, Fortis Healthcare.Singh said. It is looking to expand into tier-II cities such as Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Gwalior and Gurgaon, he added.
The domestic growth plan comes in the wake of company's income going up during quarter ended September by 89.1 percent to 354.73 crore from 187.58 crore in the same period of last year. The significant revenue growth has been observed by Fortis Noida, Fortis Mohali, Fortis Malar and Fortis Jaipur hospitals, with the Parkway sale proceeds too aiding the growth. Singh also indicated company's willingness to spread to south on its own, but did not specify the road ahead. "We have for long been cherishing the idea of being a pan-India health services player and growth in the region is inevitable," he added.
Fortis had in July failed in its bid to acquire a controlling stake in Singapore-based hospital operator Parkway Holdings. It subsequently sold its stake in the company to rival, Malaysian investor Khazanah.