"India presents tremendous growth opportunities for IHH"

Singapore-based IHH Healthcare, which reported revenues of $4.55 billion in 2023, owns hospital chains Fortis Healthcare and Gleneagles in India.

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It had acquired a 31.17% stake in Fortis Healthcare in 2018, while it bought a 73.4% stake in Global Hospitals in 2015 and later renamed it Gleneagles. IHH plans to increase bed capacity at its hospitals in India from 7,000 to nearly 10,000, says Prem Kumar Nair, Group CEO, IHH Healthcare. In an interview with Business Today's Neetu Chandra Sharma during a recent visit to India, Nair, 63, who took charge in October 2023, talks about IHH's M&A strategy, the opportunities in India, and exploring new markets, among other things.

Edited excerpts:

Q: How does IHH plan to leverage its investments in Fortis and Gleneagles to drive growth in India over the next five years?

A: IHH is one of the largest healthcare groups globally.

We operate more than 80 hospitals with a workforce of 70,000 across 10 countries. Historically, our founding markets were Singapore and Malaysia, with the Parkway and Pantai brands, which were later rebranded.

We then acquired Acibadem and took the company public. Fortis was our next major acquisition... As a physician, I can see that India performs a lot of advanced clinical work, such as robotics and complex transplants, with very good patient outcomes.

Fortis, in particular, has undergone significant transformation. Despite its past challenges, it is currently performing well operationally... Fortis has shed some less profitable assets, acquired new ones, particularly in the National Capital Region, and is expanding, with plans to add nearly 2,000 more beds over the next five years. We have also recapitalised Gleneagles, which is almost entirely under our control now, and we are expanding several of its facilities.

Q: What are the opportunities the Indian market offers? What is your growth strategy, including inorganic growth?